Bulldog News
BMS Parent/Guardian Newsletter December 2021
INCLUDED IN THIS ISSUE:
- Upcoming Dates
- Principal's Corner
- The Bulldog Way
- STEAM & Classroom Happenings
- After School Activities Highlights
- Family Resources
- Who to Contact
UPCOMING DATES
Monday, December 20 – Friday, December 31st Winter Break
Monday, January 3rd – School resumes
Thursday, January 6th – Fiddle Fest Concert 7:30pm PC Auditorium
Monday, January 17th – Martin Luther King Day – No School
Wednesday, January 19th – Choir Concerts: 6th & 7th Grade at 6:00pm/8th Grade at 7:15pm in PC Auditorium
Thursday, January 20th – District Middle School Honor Band Concert 3:00pm at Osseo Middle School
Friday, January 28th – Mid Trimester 2 Progress Report Cards distributed to students
Monday, January 31st – Staff Workshop Day – NO School for students
Tuesday, February 1st – Tri 2 Parent Teacher Conferences – Virtual
Thursday, February 3rd – Tri 2 Parent Teacher Conferences – Teacher Classrooms
Wednesday, February 9th – 8th Grade Band/ Solo Ensemble/Orchestra Concert – BMS North Gym 7:00pm
Monday, February 21st – Conference Release Day – No School
PRINCIPAL'S CORNER
Hello Brooklyn Middle STEAM School Families,
It is hard to believe that we are in Trimester 2 already! Where do the days go! As I reflect on these past several months, I am reminded of something I read from a Principal Leadership Magazine (September 2021). The article was about Wellness: How to Foster Leadership and Resilience in These Times. Renowned writer, leader, teacher, coach and podcaster Elena Aguilar stated, “all of the stressors that have occurred over the past 18 months have reminded us that we all have resilience to weather the storm that has battered us”. She provided several strategies in this article to build resiliency in ourselves and I would like to take this time to remind each of you, each of you have resilience: that you can do this, and we all got this STILL! Here are some of her strategies:
1). Self-Talk: Tell yourself: Right here, right now, everything is ok.
2). Breathe: Breathe slowly. Learn the science behind the power of breathing. For the most effective breath, exhale longer than you inhale.
3). Recognize, name, and accept your emotions: Consider your emotions as friends. What are you feeling (sad, lonely, frustrated, overwhelmed)? Listen to them. Learn from them.
4). Stay connected: Be sure to connect with friends or family. You don’t want to suffer from a “loneliness pandemic.” Ask yourself: Who can I connect with who will be nourishing to my soul, to fill me up?
5). Take Care of Yourself: Sleep, eat and exercise. Ask yourself: What is one thing you can do today to help myself?
6). Practice perspective: Look at the lives of other people who have suffered. You don’t need to diminish your own suffering. Use “and” as in, “What they went through was hard AND what I am going through is hard too.”
7).Be kind to yourself: See strategy #1!
8). Distract yourself: Use a healthy distraction like reading, cooking, exercising, or even binge-watching shows on Netflix. You get bonus resilience points if you create something as a healthy distraction!
9). Look for bright spots: Our brains are designed to latch onto negative thoughts. Ask yourself: What has been one bright spot in my day?
10). Practice Gratitude: Practice Gratitude for yourself, for others, for anything.
11). Practice Maybe: Remember that what is occurring now is not the end of the story. ‘Maybe’ there is more.
During time of crisis and uncertainty, we often focus on the negative, but there is a power to changing the narratives for ourselves and to recognize that we have the power to make this change that will make a difference in our lives and the lives of others. Parents, please make sure that you too are keeping your “resiliency tank” full!
Sending each of you and your families Bulldog Love from Brooklyn for a wonderful New Year!
Remember that December 20, 21 and 23 are non-school days. The school calendar has been changed for these three days to extend the break for staff, students and families. We will see students again on January 3, 2022.
Kim Monette, Principal
The Bulldog Way
Engaging BMS Families In Digital Citizenship Through Common Sense Media
Help Kids Balance Their Social Media Lives:
STEAM HAPPENINGS
Southeast Asia Gallery
Gateway to Technology
TinkerCAD Gingerbread Design
- Manipulating the tools and features within TinkerCAD, students designed a structure that roughly modeled their gingerbread house, created a blueprint for it and designed their models.
Collaboration
Research & Build
Brown Bag Lunches
3M Tech Talks
Boston Scientific
The Paper Clips Performance
And more STEAM FUN!
Paper Circuit Greeting Cards
Ozobot Robots in Math
Popcorn With Professionals- Virtual Chat With a Video Game Designer
After School Activities
Future Chefs
3D Printing
Students in the 3D printing after-school club use items like a 3D pen or 3D printer to make figurines of all shapes and sizes.
I've Got Skills
Want to advance your academic skills and grades?! Students work on study skills to help them be a better student. Classes are after school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Bulldog Tech Leaders
KIND Group
Film + Drama Club
In drama club, students do improv and plays. Currently, students are finishing auditions for Cinderella.
Film club: Students are all directors by filming the drama club.
FAMILY RESOURCES
Park Center Activities Reminder
Calendar Change and Winter Break:
Winter break extended to a full two weeks
This school year has again been a year like no other. It’s taken some time for both students and staff to adjust back to school in this challenging environment. Everyone is tirelessly working to do their best.
For the health and wellbeing of all, Osseo Area Schools is adding some time to winter break in order for everyone to re-energize. Winter break has been extended to a full two weeks and now includes Dec. 20, 21 and 22 as non school days. School will resume on Monday, Jan. 3 as originally planned.
As a result of the calendar change, additional modifications were needed to meet state learning requirements. The professional development days on Monday, Jan. 31 and Monday, May 2 will now be online student instructional days. Attendance will be taken virtually and students will be expected to work on teacher-provided learning activities during these days. In addition, all high school seniors will now be required to attend school through Wednesday, June 8.
Thank you for your flexibility with these calendar changes. Having some extra time to recover will help kick the new year off in a stronger fashion.
Face coverings/masks to be worn through Jan. 31
Our schools and communities continue to see an increase in COVID-19 cases. The highest weekly numbers of positive COVID-19 cases among staff and students were recorded over the last few weeks of November. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has categorized Hennepin County’s transmission level as high. This transmission level has been seen since the Delta variant emerged late last summer.
The school board reviewed the district’s COVID-19 Preparedness Plan at the Nov. 16 school board meeting. A new face covering/mask resolution was proposed during that time because of the current state of COVID-19 in our schools and communities. This included a modified expiration date of Jan. 31, 2022. The school board voted on and approved the resolution. This means that staff and students in early childhood through grade 12, as well as visitors, will continue to be required to wear a face covering/mask inside all school facilities until Jan. 31, 2022.
Every effort is being made to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 so that staff and students can continue to attend school as planned. This is a layered approach, which includes a number of strategies and tools from masking to distancing to ventilation. Please visit the COVID-19 Hub for details on the multitude of ways Osseo Area Schools staff, students and visitors are working to mitigate COVID-19.
The COVID-19 vaccine is a mitigation tool as well. Access was recently expanded to children ages 5-11. Hennepin County Public Health (HCPC) is offering vaccine clinics for 5-11 year olds on Sunday, Nov. 21 and Tuesday, Nov. 30. Visit HCPC’s website to register for these clinics. Check out the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)’s Vaccine Connector for additional vaccine offerings for all school-age children.
As always, Osseo Area Schools is committed to providing a safe and healthy learning environment for staff, students and visitors. The district will continue to stay up-to-date with the latest COVID-19 information, which includes consulting with health officials and reviewing county, state and federal health guidance.
Thank you for persevering through this challenging time. Your continued efforts to work collectively are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your continued help in creating safe school environments.
WHO TO CONTACT
School Office: 763-569-7700...............................BMS Website: https://bms.district279.org/#
Attendance: 763-569-7616………………………………..Transportation: 763-391-7244
6th Grade
Annessia Xiong, Counselor 6th Grade .....Email: XiongAnnessia@district279.org
Donnay Green, SMS 6th Grade.......Email: GreenD@district279.org
7th Grade
Liz Johnson, Counselor 7th Grade ......Email: JohnsonElizabeth@district279.org
Larry Bilbro, SMS 7th Grade......Email: BilbroL@district279.org
8th Grade
Judy Anderson, Counselor 8th Grade .......Email: AndersonJ@district279.org
Rachel Kalk, SMS 8th Grade……..Email: KalkR@district279.org
District Tip Line.........763-391-8660
Follow BMS on Social Media
Website: https://bms.district279.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bmssteambulldogs/
Twitter: bmssteam