BMS Families,

What a week! It was very exciting to welcome all of our learners back! Our classrooms and hallways were full of learning, laughter and smiles. Our learners did a wonderful job adjusting to be being back in school full time and I know they will continue to grow.

I had the opportunity to spend time in many of our classrooms this week. I observed learners collaborating, engaging in discussion, and critically thinking.

Our learners were eager to learn, participate and reconnect with their classmates. This has been refreshing to observe!

This week, we focused on intentionally teaching our expectations and what it means to be respectful, show compassion and have integrity. With each of these core values we have defined what it looks like in different areas throughout the school. We will continue to teach these expectations as we continue to build our learning community for the 23-24 school year.

We are looking forward to another great week at BMS.

Joe Sage, Principal

Tuesday, September 19..................................Picture Re-take day

Friday, October 6th..........................................Homecoming

Tuesday, October 10th....................................Student Conferences - 2 Hour Early Release

Thursday, October 12th...................................Student Conferences

Friday, October 13th........................................Flexible Learning Day

Thursday, October 19th..................................NO SCHOOL

Friday, October 20th.......................................NO SCHOOL

*Details for some activities will be shared closer to dates.

Want to be involved? Have a passion for Curriculum and Programming? Farmington Area Schools is currently looking for community members, parents and students to serve on our Instructional Program Review (IPR) Committee. This committee generally meets 3-4 Tuesdays a year, from 5:30pm – 7:pm.

This year the dates will be 9/19, 12/5 & 3/19. We review programming that is happening in the district and we appreciate all the feedback we receive. If you are interested in serving, please contact Deb Mayer-Schmitz (dmayer-schmitz@farmington.k12.mn.us) and she will make sure you receive the agendas.

Thank you for your consideration.

The NWEA MAP tests are adaptive computer delivered assessments that are administered to more than 11 million students across the country, which provides a large National Norm sample for comparison. Farmington Schools chooses to administer tests in reading and math to students in grades 2 through 8. The adaptive nature of the tests means that the test adjusts to the student's responses. As a student answers correctly, the test gets more challenging. As they get items wrong, the test presents easier items. The purpose of the assessment is to identify the student's academic level in the specific content area, regardless of age, grade level or prior achievement.

To read more about the NWEA test, please visit the school website, linked here. There is a link to the Opt Out information for both the NWEA tests on the left side of the webpage. Here is a direct link to the form. Please complete the form and return it to the front office.

Specific Dates:

• Week of Sept. 18 - NWEA Math in regular math classes
• Week of Oct. 2 - NWEA Reading in regular LA classes
• 
  

*If a learner misses a test, they will make it up upon return.

Farmington Schools continue to review current research and update safety plans each year. Throughout the school year, we will practice and engage students in conversations about how we would respond in different situations (i.e. Fire Drill, Tornado Drill, and Run-Hide-Fight). Next week during Tiger Connections at Boeckman Middle School, we will engage our students in a common presentation and conversation about this enhanced approach to emergency preparedness. Students will have opportunities to ask questions, seek clarification, and become even more familiar with their surroundings around our school campus. We will also familiarize our students to what the lockdown tone sounds like and demonstrate our blue indicating a Run-Hide-Fight situation. To read more about this, please click here.

If you would like to opt your learner out of these conversations or drills in which we will demonstrate the lockdown tone sounds, please reach out to Jsage@farmington.k12.mn.us.

We are excited to partner with Every Meal to offer a free weekend meal program to all our students. Every Meal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships. They strive to make a difference in children’s lives by focusing on food gaps like weekends, school breaks, and summer when they cannot receive food in school.

· Free for all families

· No qualifications required

· Students enrolled in the program will receive a 4-5 pound bag of nutritious, nonperishable food each week

· Every Meal does not collect information from families; privacy is protected

· Families may choose to participate in the program anytime throughout the school year

· Families may choose from a variety of different weekend food bag options

Please contact Tenille Jennings at tjennings@farmington.k12.mn.us or 651-460-1478 to participate or for more information.

s your youth looking for an activity after school or in the evening? Intramural Co-Ed Flag Football or Soccer and IGNITE Golf Squad start the week of September 11, and Machine Sewing starts September 20! The activity bus is available for students to take right after school. Register your youth today through Community Education at:https://bit.ly/CE192MiddleSchoolYouth23.

In need of fee assistance to participate? Youth on free and reduced lunch or who have extenuating circumstances are eligible to apply for fee assistance. Apply here: http://bit.ly/192CEyouthfeeassistance.

If a student will be absent, a parent/guardian must call Boeckman Middle School’s attendance line at 651-460-1405 prior to 9:45 AM each day of the absence. We ask that parents/guardians provide the reason for the absence at the time they call. The school determines if the absence falls within the excused or unexcused parameters. If the school does not receive a call from the parent/guardian the day of the absence, the student’s absence is automatically unexcused.