West Week in Review
September 18, 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.
Save the date!
6:30 - period 1
6:40 - period 2
6:50 - period 3
7:00 - period 4
7:10 - period 5
7:20 - period 6
7:30 - period 7
7:40 - period 8
7:50 - period 9
8:00 - band / orchestra
An email containing the Zoom links will be shared with guardians on Thursday prior to the event.
Return to School
Here is the link to last week's letter about the return to school plan in case you would like to review it again:
Gold Out Day
Technology Reminders
1. If you are having technology issues, please notify your teacher and attempt to reconnect. If there is an issue with your device, please reach out to the IT department at https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/5970 .
2. The Acceptable Use Policy for technology is in effect. Students are expected to use their devices and technology resources in accordance with the policy.This includes refraining from engaging in "Zoom bombing". Violations of this policy will be addressed in accordance with the discipline code up to and including the involvement of law enforcement. http://go.boarddocs.com/pa/boyr/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=AF4GGF433A3C
Important Health Information!
Dear Parents and Guardians,
This has been a very unprecedented year to say the least!
On behalf of the nurses in the district I am reaching out to you to give you some directions on changes that are happening in the BASD Health Rooms.
- Medication Drop off: please obtain medication authorization papers on-line to take to your physicians to be completed. Once they are completed, make an appointment with your school nurse for drop off, either call or email for mutual time to receive medication and paperwork. Have the medication authorization and the medication in a labeled container to bring to the nurse. Parents will not be permitted into the building to drop off medication.
- Amount of medication: Please consider supplying no more than a month supply of medication in the health room at any given time. Should we need to close for any reason, you will not be short any medication.
- Inhalers and Epi pens: follow above directions. It is recommended that students who can self-carry their own medications (inhalers/EpiPens only) should do so, provided we have the required paperwork on file for administration. This will enable the student to bring his/her medication back and forth to school. Should we be closed again for any reason, the student would have access to their medication. It is not an expectation that your child will administer it by themselves, it is only to keep the medication in the hands of the user, should we need to shut down school without notice. It will be the student’s responsibility to make sure that the medication comes back and forth with them daily. If this arrangement is not conducive for your child, we can keep medication in the health room, but we will not make immediate concessions to return it to you should school be closed for any reason.
- Nebulizer treatments: Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 we cannot administer any nebulizer treatments in the health rooms due to aerosolizing particles. Should your child require a nebulizer, you will need to administer it at home.
- Daily assessment of your child: Just a reminder that you should be assessing daily your child’s health status and monitoring for signs and symptoms of Covid-19. If you feel your child has been exposed or if they have symptoms, please have them tested and do not send them to school. This would include siblings as well from the same household, as they may be contagious as well.
- Health Room: If you child is exhibiting any of the symptoms of Covid-19, you will be notified to come and pick them up. It is our expectation that you will be at school in a relatively short period of time. Please understand that the symptoms of Covid-19 are like other illnesses, such as allergies/colds/flu/asthma. Therefore, children will be sent home for suspected symptoms.
- Returning Paperwork: Please return paperwork either with your child, or via email to the nurse at the building the child attends. You can scan, photograph, and email copies of all paperwork to us. All current state mandates are still in effect and will be required to be submitted.
We wish all of you a happy and healthy school year and are looking forward to seeing you back at school or virtually. If we can help in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Your school nurse can be found by going to the BASD website, choosing the school the child attends, and go to health. The staff nurse and Certified School Nurse are listed there.
Elizabeth Vamvakias, RN, MSN, CSN
Nursing Supervisor
610-473-5039
Virtual Wednesdays
Our return to school for all students during the week of October 5 will be scheduled so that half of our students are in the building on Mondays and Tuesdays while the other half participates virtually. Students would flip roles for Thursday and Friday with the second half being face to face while the remaining students participate virtually. Special education students who are part of the September first and second wave of in-person learning will continue to attend in person 4 days per week.
Wednesdays will remain a virtual day for all students, and starting on September 16 students will follow a virtual half-day live schedule every Wednesday morning, followed by asynchronous afternoons. Attendance will be taken during homeroom as usual. Teachers will host a live online session to check in with students, explain the work for the day (including asynchronous activities for the day and the option of a live mini-lesson) and share any small group meeting times that students will need to follow. The afternoon will provide opportunities for teacher professional development and collaboration while students work on asynchronous assignments.
Library Books are now available!
Even though we're learning virtually for a little while, you can still check out library books! Here is a video that explains the process: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RJr7vla2VjulxCb70uw_p2phlvBZJZFb/view
Follow these steps to request books (up to 3 at a time):
- Go to https://destiny.boyertownasd.org
- Click "Boyertown Middle School West"
- Click the catalog tab on the upper left-hand side of the screen.
- You can search by keyword, title, author, subject, or series.
Once you choose books that you'd like to check out, fill out and submit this Google Form: https://forms.gle/46uWWd1QuTgobaKDA. You must be logged into your BASD Google Account to access the Google Form.
Mrs. Palopoli will email you at your BASD email account to let you know when your books are ready for pick up. Books can then be picked up Monday-Friday from 7:00am-4:00pm at the West main office.
Due dates will be stamped on the card in the back of your book. Be sure to check there to see when your books need to be returned.
Please email Mrs. Palopoli at spalopoli@boyertownasd.org if you have any questions.
Picture Day
All students in grades 6 through 8 who have not previously had their school picture / photo ID taken during the 20-21 school year will have an opportunity to have their picture taken on the following dates during school hours. Additionally, there has been a designated evening date and time scheduled for our BOL and BASD Virtual Learning students.
• Fall Original Dates: 10/13/20 & 10/15/20
• Only Virtual Students: 10/13/20 4:00pm-6:00pm
• Fall Retake Dates: 12/1/20 & 12/3/20
Updates and Reminders for the 2020-21 School Year
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is the platform that all middle school classes will be based in. If you are not familiar with how to use Google Classroom, this brief tutorial may be helpful: https://youtu.be/VOOnCwWZxX4
Office Hours
Teachers have also created an Office Hours Google Classroom. This link can be used during period 10 on any day that the teacher does not have an advisory group. The teacher will be available at this time for any student who needs help or has questions about an assignment to speak with them over video.
Back-to-School Updates
Several documents that have been shared over the past few weeks are available on the West page of the district website. These documents are available here: https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/6000 if you have not already done so, please check here for codes for the various Google Classrooms.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15wUE0SSQC9touXvDDmthpGlosR1JjI9otHlclXtb5pc/edit?usp=sharing
Yearbooks have arrived!!!
If you can't remember if you purchased a yearbook, please email Mrs. Palopoli at spalopoli@boyertownasd.org and she can check the list. We no longer have extra yearbooks available for purchase.
Grab 'n Go Meals Continuing!
Health Reminders
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. At this time, the Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has not made any changes to the state immunization requirements other than to implement a two-month deadline extension. This requirement applies even to students who are continuing with virtual instruction. 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. Hopple, our West school nurse, at dhopple@boyertownasd.org with any questions.
PA Mandated Dental and Physical Exams for 2020 - 2021 School Year
The PA School Code requires dental exams for all students entering Kindergarten, 3rd and 7th grades, and physical exams for students entering kindergarten, 6th and 11th grades. For students entering these grades in September 2020, physical or dental exams that are completed on or after September 1, 2019 are acceptable. If you need a form for an upcoming appointment, you can download one from the BASD website @ http://www.boyertownasd.org under Resources - Nurse – BASD Health Service link. Completed physical and dental forms can be submitted to the health room at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. Because the health room is closed for the summer, if you submit a completed form over the summer please retain a copy for your records.
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.
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