West Week in Review
May 8, 2020
Connect with us!
Please check your email weekly for our West Week in Review! In order to help us connect with you and make sure you are not missing any important information, please add messenger@boyertownpa.mg.infinitecampus.org to your trusted senders in your email so that you don’t miss out on important information. Infinite Campus is now open. Also, be sure to follow us on the Boyertown Middle School West Facebook page and our Twitter/Instagram accounts @WhatsUp_West.
It's Educator Appreciation Week! West Teachers ARE Awesome!
Current Updates!
Immunization requirements for 7th grade entry
Attention Parent(s)/Guardian(s) of students entering 7th grade; your child is required to have 1 dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acelluar pertussis (Tdap) AND 1 dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) by the first day of school or risk exclusion. At this time, the Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has not made any changes to the state immunization requirements. This information can be found in 28 Pa. CODE CH.23 (School Immunization) http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/Immunizations/School/Pages/default.aspx or https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/programs/immunizations/Pages/Immunizations.aspx. Please email Mrs. Moser cmoser@boyertownasd.org with any questions.
Week #4 Assignments Due Sunday, May 10 by 9:00 PM
Just a reminder that each week’s assignments are due on Sundays by 9:00 PM. That means the assignments made for the week of May 4 are due this Sunday, May 10 by 9:00 PM.
Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week
This week was Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. We had so much fun coming up with ways to salute all of the hard work and love our staff are showing to our students! Thank you to all of our students who helped us celebrate our AWESOME West team!
Attention Sixth Grade: Scheduling Information Coming Monday
Sixth graders: On Monday, scheduling information will be available in Mrs. Jones’s Road to Success classroom. Read and follow the instructions carefully. Reach out to Mrs. Jones at ljones@boyertownasd.org with questions.
Attention Seventh Grade: Scheduling Information Coming Monday
Seventh graders: On Monday, scheduling information will be available in Mrs. Tyler's Road to Success classroom. Read and follow the instructions carefully. Reach out to Mrs. Tyler at ttyler@boyertownasd.org with questions.
Attention Seventh Grade: Bear Ambassador Application Information Available
Seventh graders: If you are interested in being a Bear Ambassador for the 20-21 school year, go to Mrs. Tyler's Road to Success classroom. Reach out to Mr. Schwegler at mschwegler@boyertownasd.org with questions.
Attention Eighth Grade: Course Request Changes Due by May 15
Eighth grade, please be reminded that any course request changes need to be made by May 15. The high school will not honor any request changes after that date, nor will they change courses in the fall. Reach out to Mrs. Turnbull for help at gturnbull@boyertownasd.org.
Attention Eighth Grade: Student Council Applications Due TODAY
If you are interested in being a part of Student Council at BASH for the 2020-2021 school year, complete the google form below. If you want to be considered for the Student Council Homeroom, your google form must be submitted by Friday, May 8th. BASH Student Council Google Form: https://forms.gle/3DXnrMjR6hrtQbiD9
If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Kusniez (BASH Student Council advisor) at jkusniez@boyertownasd.org
Transition Information Available
Please note that we are resuming work on our transition plans for the 20-21 school year. Families with a student coming to Grade 6 next year should look for an e-mail this weekend with information. Current sixth and seventh graders who are getting “rightsized” to the other middle school received information last week. A link to the transition documents can be found here. https://www.boyertownasd.org/Domain/1773 Thanks for your patience with this process.
If I work on Saturday or Sunday, do I submit my attendance?
No, we are not tracking your attendance on weekends. You are only responsible for submitting Monday through Friday.
Grading Update
Teachers are now posting scores for completed assignments, allowing you to track your progress. All of the courses, major subjects and special areas, will receive a pass/fail grade at the end of the trimester. Due to the fact that we are changing our grading metric in the middle of the school year, our software vendor has informed us that we cannot change the individual assignments to pass/fail, so you will continue to see the percentages for the assignments. At the end of the marking period, any student with a 60% or higher will receive a “P” for the trimester. We will also be issuing pass/fail grades for the final grade for each course. However, whatever letter grade the student received in the first two marking periods will remain on the final report card. We will not be generating honor roll certificates for the marking period since they are based on grade point average. GPA cannot be calculated when using pass/fail grading.
Grading Rationale
Our rationale for employing pass/fail grading is that we do not have the same controlled environment that we would normally have if we were here “brick and mortar”. We recognize that for a variety of reasons, we do not have the same amount of “face time” or equal opportunity for all to access the services we are providing. To categorize students' performance by letter grades seemed unfair. Please contact me if you have questions or concerns.
Have You Moved or Changed Residence Since March 12?
If you have moved or changed residence since March 12, please contact Mrs. Covaleski at 610-473-3701 or lcovaleski@boyertownasd.org. She will be happy to help you navigate the change.
Dance Marathon Update
Sadly, one of the events that has fallen victim to the CDC recommendation regarding large gatherings is our annual Dance Marathon. While we were no longer gathered together to dance the night away, our school can still make a huge positive impact in our community by supporting the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life. It is our sincere hope that our donors and sponsors will allow us to still contribute the almost $30,000 that we had already raised to the American Cancer Society. We still plan to print the shirts with sponsors’ names and are working on plans to acknowledge our sponsors in other ways as well. We also intend to recognize our Cancer Crushers. Food donations are no longer needed. For those who have purchased gift cards and other prizes, we will give you the option of having your prizes returned to you or you can contribute them to our West Dance Marathon to be held onto and used next year. Refunds of Dance Marathon donations will be given by request only. If anyone wishes to make an additional donation for Dance Marathon, checks can be made out to BASD Student Activity Fund and mailed to Boyertown Middle School West.
Take Care and Be Well
On behalf of the entire West staff, our very best wishes that this finds you and your family in good health. We feel blessed to serve this wonderful district!
Building Update
As of now, the physical buildings are closed through the remainder of the school year. The office is operating remotely. If you need assistance from the office, please dial (610) 369-7471. If no one picks up, leave a message and we will return your call.
Since Governor Wolf’s announcement, we have received many individual e-mails asking about access to the building to retrieve items, laptop pick-up, instrument pick-up, sports equipment pick-up, and refunds for our multitude of cancelled activities, events, and field trips. To those of you who took time to e-mail, thank you for sharing your concerns and questions. We are very sensitive to the fact that some of your requests have economic impact for your family. We are limited by federal, state, and local mandates for social distancing and building access that have hampered our efforts, but we are working diligently as a district team to honor your requests as quickly and safely as possible. More info on field trip refunds to come soon!
Where can I find more information?
Students: What Do I Do Now?
Since April 13, the assignments that teachers post for you are required. Here is how you should proceed:
- Set up a daily routine for yourself. If you need help organizing yourself, there is a copy of an optional student planner for you under the Road to Success Google Classroom "Classwork" -> "General Information" -> "Student Planner". (Thank you, school counselors!)
- Complete the Attendance Google Form daily between the hours of 7am to 10pm. This is how we are tracking your “school attendance”. The link is located here: https://tinyurl.com/Westattendanceform
- Check your student e-mail at least twice a day for new messages. Teachers will be giving you instructions on how/what to complete, how to submit it, etc. Some of your teachers are using Zoom. These sessions are voluntary. You will need to get the logon and password information from your parent/guardian to participate. There are no penalties if you don’t participate.
- Assignments will be graded and recorded in Infinite Campus. Don't forget about your specials! Your assignments for each week are due Sunday by 9:00 PM.
- We are expecting you to work an average of 3 hours total per day. It does not have to be all that time at once. I am encouraging you to take breaks. I usually work for about 20 minutes, then take a 5-10 minute break. There may also be a day where you work a little more or a little less. Remember, this is an average.
- Reach out to your teachers through e-mail if you need help. They are preparing lessons, attending virtual meetings, and helping others so know that they want to help you, but may not be able to get back to you right away.
- Teachers have “office hours” set up for you. That is a time that you can get a quicker e-mail response to questions you have because they have set aside that time specifically to answer your e-mail questions. Again, they may be helping another student, so it may not be an immediate response. We have set up a directory on the West website homepage that lists the teachers alphabetically so you can see their office hours and how to connect with them. Here is the link to the directory:
- Take care of yourself: Exercise for at least 20 minutes daily, get 8 hours of sleep, and eat healthy.
- Practice calm. Your school counselors’ Road to Success classroom has several great activities posted.
- Just do your best and know that is good enough! This is new for all of us: you, your parents/guardians, your teachers and counselors, your principals . Things might seem frustrating at times. Do not worry! We are in this adventure together. I have seen you accomplish great things this year. I know this is going to be your greatest accomplishment yet!
Additional Information Regarding Attendance
Instructions for daily attendance are listed below:
o At the middle level, students or parents/guardians are permitted to verify attendance.
o On each school day (Monday-Friday between 7am-10pm), students or parents/guardians should access and complete the Google Form using the following link: Click Here. We recommend that you bookmark this link on your browser.
o If a family has multiple children in the same school, use the link provided above to submit a form for each student.
o The form will ask for general information including e-mail, date, student ID, homeroom teacher and name.
Support for Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
As a district, we have begun a 3-year implementation plan focused on Social Emotional Learning. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. At this link, https://sel4us.org/blog/social-emotional-learning-supports-around-covid-19/, you will find a post from the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the United States, that offers SEL supports around COVID-19. The post offers suggestions for families to reinforce each of the 5 SEL Core Competencies which include: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Thank you for partnering with us to prioritize safety and well-being during this school closure.
Student Services - School Counselor Contact Information
We are here for you! School Counselors are only an email or phone call away. If you would like to reach out to your child’s school counselor, please feel free to do so. Counselors are monitoring email messages and receive phone messages through their district email.
https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/632
The Middle School Counseling Department wanted to reach out to parents/guardians during this unprecedented time to keep you updated on the counseling services that we are providing. At this time our counselors are working to connect with students on various levels. Some of the ways we are connecting with our students:
- Emailing students to set up times to video conferences with students using zoom. It is important to note that because it is an online platform, we cannot guarantee the same level of confidentiality that we could in our offices. We ask that parents, siblings, etc. provide students with as much privacy as possible when they are video conferencing.
- Students may also conference via telephone with counselors.
- The best way to reach counselors is via email. Counselors will be available for support at various hours; please see the office hours document on the Middle School West’s main webpage.
We understand that families are experiencing financial and emotional stress right now. Below is a list of local resources that may be helpful for you and your family during this difficult time.
- Salvation Army 409 S Reading Ave Boyertown PA 19512 (610) 367-4089
- Boyertown Area Multi-Service 301 Spring St Boyertown PA 19512 (610) 367-6957
*Please also reach out to your school counselor if you need any assistance with food, clothing, etc. as they have a more extensive community resource list.
If your family is experiencing a crisis, local county crisis services are still available for families who need these services. If there is an emergency, it is still recommended to call 911.
- Montgomery County Crisis Unit: (888) HEL-P414
- Berks County Crisis Unit: 610-236-0530
Community Assistance Needed
The COVID-19 outbreak has produced an increased need for donations at two of our local assistance agencies. Boyertown Area Multi-Service and the Salvation Army of Boyertown are in need of personal care items, paper products, cleaning supplies, and foods such as granola bars, peanut butter, jelly, bread, pancake mix, syrup, oatmeal, cereal, canned meat, and canned soup. They would greatly appreciate any support you can give.
Be safe, be well, be awesome!
Trouble Connecting to Your Home Wi-Fi?
If you are having trouble connecting your school device to the Wi-Fi in your home, IT has suggested the following:
Come by any BASD building and start up your laptop outside the building within range of our wifi. Check your internet connection to see that you are connected to BASDSTUDENT. Wait a minute or two and reboot the laptop. When the reboot is complete, check the list of possible wi-fi connections to see if there are x’s in any of them. If not, you should be able to log into your Wi-Fi when you return home. If you try that and still can’t log in at home, call the Support Center at (610) 473-3500.
Tech Support
The Boyertown IT Department is offering in-person hardware service appointments for student and staff computers that are broken and need servicing. Appointments can be scheduled by using the appropriate links below. There are two choices to select from:
- Option 1- IT Technician appointments to diagnose operation issues which can include; battery problems, black screens, not powering up, student laptops not connecting to Wi-Fi, and other operation issues. These appointments are available in 1-hour time slots. Please click the link below to schedule an appointment.
Link for Diagnosis Appointments
- Option 2- Laptop pick-up; Appointments strictly for students or staff who have been notified their repaired laptops are ready for pick-up. These appointments are available in 15-minute time slots. Please click the link below to schedule an appointment.
Link for Repaired Laptop Pick-Up Appointments
To help maintain social distancing practices, staff and students are asked to wait outside the building to limit exposure and maintain distancing from the IT Staff. For 1-hour time slot appointments, you will need to provide a cell number. The IT Department will contact you when the diagnosis has been completed or a loaner can be provided.
For those users that require other support, our IT help desk is available 7:30am to 4:00pm by dialing 610-473-3500 Option 1.
Using Your School G-Mail Account
If you need to reach out to any adults at school for help during this time of extended absence, please feel free to reach out via email. Please remember that you should NOT be sending mass emails through your school G-Mail account or using your G-Mail for personal use.
Free Internet Service Available
Both Comcast and Service Electric are sponsoring free internet services at this time.
Comcast Internet Essentials – free internet for 60 days: https://www.internetessentials.com/covid19
Service Electric - SECTV will offer free 10x5 Internet service for 90 days for new customers during this ongoing national emergency: https://www.sectv.com/Web/aspHome.aspx?strSystem=LV
IXL Log-In Instructions for Students
A quick reminder for students. I have received several requests from you for this information again.
You can access the IXL site using the IXL BASD LINK and the “Sign in with Google” button.
Once you click on the “Sign in with Google” tab, you can use your regular BASD credentials to log in.
You can also sign in to your Google account first, then try the “Sign in with Google” button for IXL. You should automatically get in to IXL.
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If you are having trouble with IXL telling you that you have "timed out":
○Student must be sure to be logging in to the Boyertown IXL site at: https://www.ixl.com/signin/boyertownasd
○They will see "Welcome, NAME" at top right of the screen when successfully signed in
○If this link is lost, a quick Google search using ‘IXL Boyertown’ will lead you to the site.
○Students will need to log-in to the district IXL site BEFORE following links provided by teachers in Google classroom
○The ‘Remember Me’ box on the log-in page may also remedy this
Important announcement from Boyertown Area School District Food Services Department Regarding Distribution of Grab-n-Go Meals
Beginning on Monday, March 30, 2020, grab-n-go meals will be consolidated to two days per week with pre-packaged meals being provided on Mondays and Thursdays. Meal pick up time will remain from 11:00 am-1:00 pm at the Senior High loading dock. On Mondays, families will receive three breakfasts and three lunch meals per child. On Thursdays, families will receive two breakfast and two lunch meals per child. All meals will be pre-packaged and will continue to meet or exceed meal patterns and nutritional guidelines set by the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. For our staff to best plan and prepare for this bulk pick up, if you plan to participate and have not already done so, please communicate the number of students that will be participating by contacting the Food Services Department via email at Foodservices@boyertownasd.org. We look forward to continuing to provide meals for your children during school closure.
Try the Fit at Home Challenge!
During the time when we are asked to stay home, it is important not to surrender to anxiety, boredom, and negative emotions. This challenge will help you to stay in shape both physically and mentally by encouraging you to engage in physical, social and emotional activity each day. Every Monday, the BASD Wellness Committee will post a physical activity log, journaling log, and a list of daily challenges. All you need to do is follow along and have fun. When does it start? The challenge starts on Monday, March 23rd, and lasts for as long as the schools are closed. Who can participate? ANY Boyertown Area School District Student, Student Family Member, Staff, Staff Family Member or Boyertown Community member! How do I sign up? There is no need to sign up. Just log on to our website and print out the weekly log and challenges. Fit at Home – Boyertown Wellness Challenge
Boyertown Middle School West
Email: sllandis@boyertownasd.org
Website: http://www.boyertownasd.org
Location: 380 South Madison Street, Boyertown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-369-7471