A great first semester has come to an eventful end! Thank you to everyone for supporting what we do here at Bednarcik for our kids! We have seen tremendous progress this year as we continue to help our students grow! Over the first semester, we have celebrated our love of reading and what it can do for us. We have worked to improve our math skills and problem solving ability. Together, we have celebrated the accomplishments of our community and brought back traditions that were put on hold over the past few years.

As we move onto the second semester, we have a lot to look forward to! During our first week back, we will kick off the second semester with the aassembly and celebration scheduled for 12/22 and continue to celebrate all that is great in our community! We will bring back our Watch DOG program with the inclusion of more than just dads and father figures. We will continue to help our kids Do the right thing, Own their responsibility, Get positively involved, and Stay safe in all they do!

Enjoy this break with family and friends!

12/23 - 1/6/23 - No School - Winter Break

1/9/23 - School Resumes @ 8:10am - Prepare the day before & be on time!

1/16/23 - No School (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)

1/23/23 - Report Cards available @ 4:00p

HAVE A GREAT WINTER BREAK & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ms. Truemper received the Fulbright U.S. Distinguished Teaching Award!

She will have the opportunity to travel to Vietnam for the Fulbright Teacher Exchanges project: The Language of STEM: Strengthened Pedagogical Approaches and Curriculum Design in English.

Out of thousands who applied, 20 people received this opportunity and we are so excited for what lies ahead for Ms. Truemper! Ms. Truemper is humble in all she does and leads students to heights greater than they can see for themselves. We are honored to have Ms. Truemper as part of our community. Plesae join me in congratulating her and this outstanding accomplishment!

Congratulations to SD308 First Lego League Robotics Team, Domo Arigato, winner of the Engineering Excellence Award and state tournament qualifier. Along with finishing in 3rd place on the robot game table at the Oswego Qualifier Tournament, the team had a great innovation project presentation that showed how much they learned while having fun. Showing enthusiasm and passion for robotics, along with demonstrating scientific reasoning and application of engineering principles, showed the judges that the team knew how to apply all the core values of competition. To help them with their innovation project challenge, learn about their Sensational Solar Shutter project and answer a couple of questions on this survey. The team will compete January 14th at Elgin Community College.

In the spirit of giving and the cold winters that we get in Illinois, there will be a HAT, GLOVE, SCARF tree in the front office. We would like to receive donations of new hats, gloves/mittens and scarfs to distribute to families in need. Please have your student bring their donation to the front office and place them on the tree. Let's make the Bulldog tree filled and colorful. No deadline, keep bringing donations through the colder months. Call Mrs. Kiliszewski at (630) 636-2516 with any questions. Thank you for your generosity! We will keep this going through the month of January.

In response to a community need to engage middle school students in a successful high-quality after school program, The City of Aurora, Cities In Schools Aurora, Oswego School District 308, other public and private organizations have designed and developed a collaborative citywide after school program named MyTime.

This free after school program for middle school students is designed to ultimately engage the city’s pre-adolescent students in positive activities beyond the school day. Through a mix of recreational, arts and enrichment activities, the program nurtures positive interpersonal relationships among students and actively engages them. The program offers age-appropriate learning opportunities, including tutoring and games designed to improve math and reading skills, plus recreational activities, community-based services and other experiences, and fine art opportunities.

Click here for more information

Click here for the student application

Please email all completed applications to Melissa Kiliszewski - mkiliszewski@sd308.org

Interested in trying out for the Bednarcik girls basketball team? Tryouts for both 7th and 8th grade girls will be after school on Tuesday, January 17 th and Thursday, January 19 th from 3:20-5:00pm each day. All girls interested in trying out these days MUST be registered online through the Bednarcik Athletics website 8to18. All athletes MUST have an updated physical on file with the school nurse or they will not be eligible to participate. Athletes must attend BOTH days of tryouts to be eligible to make the team. Please contact Mrs. Herrick at mherrick@sd308.org (7th grade) or Mrs. Bell at sbell@sd308.org (8th grade) with any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing all of the athletes on those days!

Bednarcik is continuing with our building cell phone and electronic device usage expectations for students. Students will be able to access and use their phone once they advocate for their need to a staff member. When students do this, staff will work with the kids to determine the best time to use their phone. This could be used for texting parents and other communication needs.

To help with this, we ask that parents and families do what they can to avoid texting students throughout the day. This provides constant distractions for kids and takes their attention away from the learning taking place throughout the day.

All students will have Chromebooks with them throughout their day and email would be a great form of communication if/when needed.

This doesn’t mean that students are not allowed to bring their phones to school. The expressed language in the student handbook states that students are to have their cellphones turned off and out of sight during these times except as approved by building administration, which is the same expectation from the 2022-23 school year. This will continue, and include the lunchroom as an area that students will need the permission to use their cell phones.

If you have questions, please reach out to Bednarcik Administration. Our number is 630-636-2500.

Food Service

The federal program providing free breakfast and lunches to all students during COVID-19 has expired and meals are no longer free for all students. However, for families that qualify, free or reduced meals are available with an approved application.

Free/Reduced Lunch

Those who qualify for free or reduced cost meals must complete an application. The deadline to apply is October 1. Information and the application can be found here. This is the same program that was in place prior to COVID-19.

Meal Costs

Students who are not using the free/reduced meal program will have the option to purchase a complete meal, just a beverage, or ala carte options from the cafeteria at Breakfast and/or Lunch. Junior High and High School students should have their student ID with them in line during lunch, so applicable charges can be deducted from their balance. Elementary cafeteria staff will assist those students with charges.

Adding funds

Parents/guardians can add money to a student meal account eaily using the PushCoin online system; there is no transaction fee for doing so. Alternatively, a check can be sent to the school and the funds will be added to the student account.

Meal Choices

Supply chain challenges have decreased, so we anticipate that planned meals and food offerings will be more readily available, with less substitutions. Ala carte options are returning as they were prior to the pandemic- offerings vary by grade level. More information about offerings can be found on the Food Service page of our website.

Breakfast

Breakfast is available before school at all locations. It is open to all, including those with free/reduced lunch, and those charging their PushCoin account. Snack items can be chosen during the breakfast service and saved for a designated snack time or for after school. Options vary by school and building level.