Week 4/25/2022
.... It's a GREAT place to be!
Birmingham Covington Schools (BCS)
Office Hours: 7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Website: https://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/bcs
Location: 1525 Covington Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301, USA
Phone: 248-203-4444
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Birmingham-Covington-School-257853467700898/
Twitter: @bcs_cobras
4/25/22 - Week's Events
*denotes more information provided below
Monday, 4/25
Tuesday, 4/26
- BCS Pride Meeting 4:15-5:00 p.m. in Mr. Emmi's Room
Wednesday, 4/27
Thursday, 4/28
Friday, 4/29
- Half Day in AM, Professional Development in PM
Upcoming Dates:
- May 6 - Proud Dads Eat and Run
- May 11 - Half Day in AM, Professional Development in PM
- May 15 - BCS Blast Road Rally and Tailgate
All School News
Greetings, BCS Families!
Happy Friday and Happy Earth Day!
Our students across grade levels have been engaging in activities celebrating our Earth and learning about the importance of protecting, preserving, and promoting the care of our natural environment. Thank you to our parents, staff, and students for their collaboration in these initiatives. As always, we are best when we are together.
Like the adage tells us - a picture (and we will add video) is worth a thousand words, we leave you with a video created in a Choice Hour by BCS students and 3/4 teacher Mrs. Erin Coletti. Whether our Cobras are engaged in service-learning projects, exploring new texts and media, or learning about our Earth including all of its complexity and beauty, "WE DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TRY, IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME!"
Yours in BCS solidarity,
Dr. Hakim & Mr. Hill
BCS Happenings
Food Delivery to Students
Gorillas on the Line
Got any old cell phones lying around? Please gather them up and send them to BCS by April 30! Help us save gorilla habitats and reduce our use of minerals used to make new phones. Collection box inside the front door of BCS.
Garden Donations
The students and teachers in two Choice Hour classes this quarter are planning a clean-up and replanting of the Global Garden next to the BCS playground. Our goal is to have a garden for flowers, vegetables, and herbs to attract pollinators - honey bees and butterflies.
We welcome your donations of flower, herb or vegetable seeds and live plants that you may be dividing this spring. There is a plastic bin in the BCS lobby with a sign for your donations. Most of the garden is full sun, but there is one area of partial shade.
Students will be working in the garden every Wednesday and Friday, weather permitting. Interested parents/guardians are welcome to join us. Thank you.
Questions - mleduc@birmingham.k12.mi.us
Media Center Volunteers
BCS students visit the Media Center at least once a week for a library lesson about literacy, research skills, or Digital Citizenship, followed by time to check out materials. Be sure to ask your child what they’ve learned in the library each week!
Volunteering in the Media Center
We are always looking for volunteers in the Media Center! Please see the schedule below to find out when your child visits the Media Center:
3/4 Team
Bates/McNulty - Monday AM
Parkin/Wallington - Monday PM
Frishman/Butzin - Tuesday PM
Mali/Coletti - Friday AM
5/6 Team
*5/6 students visit with their ELA class; 6th grade ELA in AM, 5th grade ELA in PM
Cook/Lowery - Wednesday
Arbaugh/Brown - Tuesday
Joesph/Warner - Tuesday
Burns/Burdick - Wednesday
7/8 Team
*7/8 students visit with their ELA class
C-1, C-3, C-5 - Wednesday
C-2, C-4, C-6 - Thursday
Spring Testing Update
BPS Outdoor Art Event
May 7th from 1-4 at Beverly Park, all of the art departments in the district will be hosting an out-door, hands on art making event in lieu of the normal district wide art show held at the EAC every year. Our hope as a department is this event gives us an opportunity to engage with our community. Every school will be offering a different art experience. BCS will be gathering materials for a large outdoor textile weaving. We are also offering staff, students, and families to participate in a large collaborative mural. If you would like to be a part of the BCS mural you will need to turn in a finished plastic container (see example below) by April 22, 2022.
We appreciate you participation and are excited to see what creative artwork you all make.
Amanda Husband
Art Teacher
BCS
Please return BCS Open House Yard signs!
BCS Choice Hour
Important Reminders
- Choice Hour runs daily from 3:20-4:10pm
- Busses come AFTER Choice Hour
Choice Hour Schedules
Schedules are available online listed by Student ID number HERE.
Updated class lists will also be given to the teachers weekly while we process choice hour changes. The master schedule is also posted on the Choice Hour Board in the main hall. Our teachers do a great job of acclimating our students to Choice Hour the first few weeks!
Reporting a Choice Hour Absence
Email BCSChoicehour@birmingham.k12.mi.us or leave a message at 248.203.4625
Questions? Contact Courtney Bassett at BCSChoicehour@birmingham.k12.mi.us
BCS Pride
Attention all students! Want to be part of a fun club dedicated to making B C S a safe space for everyone?
Join BCS Pride! We meet every Tuesday 4:15-5pm in Room 600B. Email Mr. Joe for more information: rjoseph@bps-schools.com
PTA Update
BCS Blast Road Rally Pre-Sale is Open!
Also available for pre-sale is VIP Parking at Tailgate, Raffle Tickets, BCS Car Sticker/Magnets and More! Click here to register!
BCS Blast Road Rally
Do you remember the GooseChase app from last year’s BCS Blast Road Rally?
Are you new to GooseChase?
Did you just say, “What’s GooseChase!?!”
GooseChase is the app we use to run our Road Rally! This year, we created a TEST GAME for you to play to check out the app and see how it works! There are just a few missions to help you learn to answer questions and post photos.
GooseChase has technical support M-F during regular business hours to help you with any app-related issues. They know we have this test game running and are prepared to assist you!
You can find plenty of information and FAQs on their website as well: www.goosechase.com
New this year: our Road Rally with be a TEAM game. Each member of your team can create submissions from their own device, but only 1 submission per clue will be allowed for your team. You can practice forming a team during the test game. This does NOT have to be your same team for the official Rally. More details can be found here. GooseChase recommends choosing a Team Captain to build your team. Note that during the official Rally, your team will need to stay together for the entire rally to earn points!
To join, download the GooseChase app and create a log in. Then search for ‘BCS Road Rally Test Game 2022’ or enter code: VW7PG5. The test game opened Monday, April 11th, and will end May 1st at 5pm.
Staff Appreciation Week donation request
It’s that time of year again and we are SO looking forward to spoiling our BCS Staff. Help us collect goodies for Staff Appreciation Week. Items are due by Friday April 29th.
2022 BCS Blast Auction - Call for Volunteers
Please help us make the 2022 Blast Auction a huge success! Did you know that PTA fundraising is the primary source of financial support for BCS's unique curriculum? Our annual Blast Auction is the largest PTA fundraiser and supports the purchase of technology, books, supplies and programming not covered by public funds. Last year's Auction raised over $28,000 in funds to support BCS - we need your help to do this again!
Check out the positions we could use YOUR help with and volunteer! Please sign up by February 10th.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D4FA8AD2AAAF85-bcsauction
Disability Awareness Workshop - Volunteers Needed
BCS Parents,
The Disability Awareness Workshop will be presented to all BCS 5/6 grade students on Thursday, May 26th and Friday, May 27th. This program is a hands-on; activity based workshop whose main emphasis is to help student’s understand how difficult and complex daily living can be for individuals with disabilities. The program includes activities centered on an empathetic understanding of physical, speech, hearing, vision and learning impairments. The students participate in a wheelchair obstacle course wear glasses that give them momentary vision impairments, experience speaking with an electric larynx and experience several reading disabilities. The goal is for the students to learn through this hands-on experience that people should be resected no matter how they may look, act, walk or talk.
We welcome ALL parent volunteers, please consider volunteering for a full day or half day assignment. To make this workshop a success we need a minimum of 18 volunteers per day.
SIGN UP TODAY https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C49A9AD2FA5F58-disability
Questions, please feel free to contact DAW parent coordinator, Amy Slosar at 248-506-0060 or email amyslosar@gmail.com.
BPS Community News
BEF Teacher Appreciation Week
- Teacher Appreciation/Tributes: May 2-6
- Thank the special educators, administrators, secretaries or coaches in your child's life by honoring them with a tribute through the Birmingham Education Foundation.
- Tributes will be delivered electronically with a personalized message tag from you.
- Choose any donation amount you wish for your tribute.
- To make a tribute visit: supportbef.org/memorials-and-tributes.html
BEF Shop for our Schools
- Shop for our Schools in downtown Birmingham | Wednesday, May 11 - Thursday, May 12
- List of participating businesses will be posted in schools and on the BEF website by May 1st: https://www.supportbef.org/events.html
- Be sure to mention Birmingham Schools and 20% will be donated to the Birmingham Education Foundation
Girls Seaholm Swim & Dive Announcement
Attention all 8th grade girls interested in becoming part of the Girls' Seaholm Swim & Dive Team next year. We want to encourage you to visit our booth at the Seaholm activities fair currently scheduled for 6/1/22. You will have a chance to meet some of your future teammates and learn more about this awesome team. If you are unable to attend the activities fair and want to learn more don't hesitate to reach out to:
Swim Team Reps
Kara Gifford - kara.f.gifford@gmail.com
Amy Murray - ctmurrays@gmail.com
Dive Team Rep
Jessica Ballard - jessicapottballard@yahoo.com
(Note: no prior diving experience necessary)
Be sure to submit your contact information via the activities fair sign-up sheet or through the above contacts, to ensure you receive early communications. We kick things off in July with team events, and practice begins in August. Looking forward to meeting all of you!
MiSelf in Books
The Birmingham Public Schools Library Media Department is pleased to invite our community on a journey into the world of story. We hope to share with our community some of the diverse content in our libraries and how it impacts the way we walk in this world. We are inviting you to listen to a read-aloud and participate in a discussion of a selection of books chosen from the MISelf in Books list. This event occurs weekly on Thursdays 7-7:30pm, excepting school scheduled holidays.
For more information and to register for this event, visit https://www.smore.com/skn6a.
Announcements from Chartwells
BCS is going cashless:
If students would like to continue to make a cash payments, the student can find Mr. Allen in the cafeteria during breakfast.
Other Helpful Resources...
Student Medication
If the BCS Clinic needs to house medication for your student, please drop it off in the Front Office. Be sure you have an updated Permission to Administer form and Action Plan. These forms need to have a physician's signature. Contact Joni Say Gan at JSaygan@birmingham.k12.mi.us with any questions.
Early Dismissal Procedures
Please review these procedures to help keep your students and school safe.
Parents
- Buzz the front door
- Enter building and sign out student
- Show ID
- Student will be called to office
Students
- Will be released after the office staff calls the teacher
- Student will be sent to the office
- Student will be released to the parent
STUDENT IS NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE CLASS UNTIL PARENT IS HERE. STUDENTS MUST BE SIGNED OUT IN THE OFFICE. STUDENTS CANNOT EXIT THROUGH ANY OTHER DOOR.
No Early Dismissal after 3:00 p.m
Counseling Corner
We are here to help support your child academically, socially and emotionally during this time. If you would like to request a counseling appointment for your son or daughter, just email his or her counselor using the contact information below. Your counselor will then respond in order to set up an appointment.
Please keep us updated if we can be of any help at this time.
Your BCS Counselors,
Karen Kohler - Last Names A-K (kkohler@birmingham.k12.mi.us) and
Jenny Wagner - Last Names L-Z (jwagner2@birmingham.k12.mi.us)
Schoology Help
If students are having trouble logging in to Schoology or if they found that upon entering, there were no classes, please contact the Help Desk at HelpDesk@birmingham.k12.mi.us or at (248) 203-3123.
Schoology Parent Introduction:
You should have received more information about Schoology, our learning management system. Please review the attached district resources for additional Schoology information.
Note: Your child's teachers will provide class-specific guidance to students/families as they begin to integrate Schoology's features in their courses.
Parent & Student Schoology Reference Page
Check out the Student Schoology Reference page! This document will provide students and parents with instructions on setting up their Schoology account, navigating Schoology, and performing everyday tasks in courses. This reference sheet may provide helpful resources for you to use to help your students become proficient with Schoology.
Emotional Health & Wellness Resources
Cobra Crew
On Thursdays during 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8 lunch-recesses, we will be hosting Cobra Crew, an opportunity for peer engagement through games and conversation for any interested students.
A limited number of passes will be available each Thursday for those who would like to join. The purpose of Cobra Crew is to promote kindness, empathy and community at BCS.
If you are interested in opting your child out of this opportunity, please email your child’s counselor.