Bobcat Blog
Saturday, November 11
Notes and Reminders
- Tuesday, November 14: Beye Dine Out (See details below)
- Friday, November 17: 1st Trimester Ends
- Tuesday, November 21: 5th Grade Trip to Lorado Taft
- Wednesday, November 22: Turkey Trot
- Wednesday, November 22 - Friday, November 24: Thanksgiving Break
Thank You
- Brian Dailey for promoting and speaking at the screening last week of The Right to Read.
- PTO for supporting Math Night
- All of the families that were able to attend Math Night
- Molly Greenwood-Whalen for speaking that evening and selling Beye Wear
- PTO for setting up the November Dine Out coming up Tuesday
Lockdown Drill coming up Thursday
Dear Beye Families,
The physical and emotional safety of our students and staff is our highest priority every day. One of the most important things we do to keep our schools safe is practice a variety of drills each year to ensure that everyone is prepared should an emergency occur. This includes:
- Three fire drills, including one with the fire department present to observe and provide feedback;
- One severe weather drill;
- One bus evacuation drill; and
- One law enforcement drill (more commonly referred to as a lockdown drill).
Our school’s annual lockdown drill will occur on Thursday, November 16.
This year, District 97 is utilizing the Standard Response Protocol language and visuals developed by the I Love U Guys Foundation, a national organization dedicated to school safety. Lockdown is the protocol used to secure individual rooms and keep occupants quiet and in place if there is a threat or hazard inside the building. Additional details about the drill are included below.
- Law enforcement support from the Oak Park Police Department is an integral part of our process. Police will be on site to observe and assist in evaluating the effectiveness of these drills.
- The goal is for drills to be teaching moments, not fear-inducing exercises. As such, District 97 does not use any type of reenactment.
- Students are briefed by school staff members in an age-appropriate manner before any lockdown drill so that they know what to do in the event of a lockdown being called.
- All building occupants participate in the lockdown drills: students, staff, and any visitors who may be in the building at that time.
- A parent or guardian may exempt their student(s) from participating in a lockdown drill. If you choose to exempt your child, you must notify our office in writing at least 24 hours prior to the drill. Under state law, schools must provide important safety education and instruction related to a lockdown event to students who do not participate in the lockdown drill, employing a less sensorial training approach.
- Families are also encouraged to review the district’s safety resources page for additional information about supporting safety and mental health at home.
Should you have any questions regarding our lockdown drills, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your partnership.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Sullivan
Beye Principal
Math Night Success
It is my hope that this will be an annual event in the fall. For those of you who couldn't make it, it was like a Math Carnival where students and families engaged in math games together. I loved seeing the kids have so much fun! So many teachers and staff members donated their time planning the games, making posters, setting the games up, and/or facilitating them that night. Thank you all!
State of Beye Presentation from November 9 General PTO Meeting
Thank you to the many families that attended our brief PTO meeting. As I shared that night, please see below for a high level look at some of our data from the end of last year, the beginning of this year, and some of our action steps for this year to reach our goals. Next week you will receive a more detailed copy. Due to the short meeting and the fact that the students were in attendance, this one is fairly general.
PTO News
Turkey Trot - Wednesday, November 22
Green Team Volunteer Opportunities
You do not need to be a Green Team member to volunteer. There are lots of options for one time or recurring volunteering shifts.
Lunchroom sorting sign up here
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0E49ADA92CA4FBC70-lunchroom
Student Green Team, Earth Month Events, First Grade Garden, Shoe Drive, and Food Recovery sign up here
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0E49ADA92CA4FBC70-45667625-beye
Beye Fundraiser Updates
Dine Out for Beye 11/4: Coming up on Tuesday, Nov. 14th at Penny's Noodles. Dine in and carry-out orders will support Beye School, with 15% of sales donated to the Beye PTO. Remember to mention this is for the Beye Fundraiser.
Sock Pals Fundraiser: Did you or your kids notice the cool socks on display at the Bookfair? Well, you can purchase your own mismatched socks at the Beye FUNdraiser sale page: https://palssocks.rallyup.com/beyepto/Campaign/Details
Purchase between now and 12/15, and $5 of every sock sale will be donated to Beye!
Check Out the Sock Pals FUNdraiser sale, on now!
Back by popular demand, Beye School is doing a FUNdraiser with Sock Pals! Please check out our sales page at: palssocks.rallyup.com/beyepto and browse the cozy and adorable selection of mismatched socks for babies, toddlers, big kids and adults. These make great gifts-- or something nice for yourself as the weather turns cold-- and for every pair sold, Sock Pals makes a donation to the Beye School PTO. Purchase between now and December 15th!
As of today, we are only at 9 percent of our goal. Let's see that number climb!! Thanks for supporting the PTO.
In Case You Missed It
General Reminders
"Students should NOT be carrying any other medication at school of any kind, including: eye drops, cough drops, topical steroid creams, supplements, tylenol, ibuprofen, etc. No prescription or over the counter medication. All of those items require a medication authorization form completed by the physician and signed and dated by the guardian.:
Also, please remember, we are a nut safe district. Please do not pack nuts/nut containing foods for your child.
Congratulations Beye School
I have some good news to share about the 2023 School Report Card, which was released Monday, Oct. 30, by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). The Report Card for Beye Elementary School, which contains school performance data from the 2022-23 school year, can be viewed HERE on the ISBE website.
One component of the Report Card is the annual summative designation—a federally-required accountability measure that describes how the school is meeting the needs of all students. It falls into five categories, and is based on eight indicators of academic performance, including growth and proficiency in English Language Arts and Math.
On our 2023 Report Card, I am proud to see that Beye Elementary received an Exemplary rating, which is granted to schools that are performing in the top 10% of schools statewide and have no underperforming student groups. A new visual on the Illinois Report Card (Beye Elementary) helps to explain the data behind our summative designation. On the left side, click on “accountability” and then click on “summative designation.”
The exemplary rating is an indicator that we are headed in a positive direction, and is a reflection of the positive teaching and learning efforts underway at Beye Elementary School and across District 97 schools. I hope you can come next week on Thursday, November 9 at 6:00 pm for a brief PTO meeting ahead of the Math Night. At that time, I will give a brief overview of our data from the end of last year, where we are at now, and our School Improvement Plan for this year.
Beye Drama Club - Join the Fun! 5th Graders received application forms Friday and 4th Graders will receive them Monday
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-4:30 beginning at the end of December
Where: Beye School Auditorium
Why: The goal of Drama Club is for students to be involved in performing or working backstage on a musical. This club helps create positive connections between 4th and 5th grade students, helps with reading fluency and comprehension, characterization, and allows students to build confidence on stage and in life! Come join in on the fun!
Nominate a Pre-K-3rd grade teacher for a 2024 Golden Apple Award today!
Help us spread the word that Golden Apple Awards nominations are open!
Honor an outstanding Pre-K-3rd grade teacher by nominating them for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching today: https://www.goldenapple.org/nominate-a-teacher
#TeachGolden #GoldenAppleAwards
SEEKING VOLUNTEERS TO HELP PLAN LUNAR NEW YEAR and BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS
The Beye PTO Programs Working Group is seeking parent/caregiver volunteers to help plan events for both Lunar New Year and Black History Month events. There are many possibilities for each of these events, but we'd love your fresh ideas, experience and expertise to make them meaningful and fun for all. Please connect with Terrell and Tanya at programs@beyeschoolpto.org if you are interested or have questions.
In the Know with the PTO!
In the Know with the PTO!
Good bye, Konstella; Hello, Google Workspace!
Hi Beye families! As you may have heard, the PTO has transitioned to Google as our main communication platform. To join your child's classroom group, go to this document, and follow the instructions. Once your request is approved, you'll be notified that you've been added to your child's classroom. Once there, you'll be able to communicate with other families and get information from your classroom Room Leaders.
Would you like to join us on the PTO School Improvement Plan Working Group? Last Call; We would love to have you join us.
Families,
Last year, after presenting our Beye School Improvement Plan at a PTO meeting, a conversation began and some people in attendance initiated the idea of forming a PTO School Improvement Plan working group. I was excited that we formed that group and about 8-10 folks joined. We will be continuing with that work. Some of the folks from last year will be continuing, and we are looking for new members as well. Anyone who is interested in joining the PTO SIP working group, please see below. We will let you know when we will first be meeting. For those of you who are knew, the School Improvement Plan outlines the goals and action plans in the areas of Reading, Math, Sense of Belonging and Engagement. Our SY24 SIP will be shared soon.
You can go to this link and request to join the SIP Support Google Group (sip@beyeschoolpto.org)
Join the Beye School Families' Facebook Group
Meal Information for the 2023-24 School Year
The breakfast and lunch menus for our elementary and middle schools are available at http://www.op97.org/business-office/food-service. During the 2023-24 school year, students may:
- Bring a nut-free lunch from home.
- Order school lunch.
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
Students may receive meals at a free or reduced cost either by being directly approved by the State of Illinois OR being approved after completing the 2023-24 Free and Reduced Lunch Application (English/Spanish). All families who are directly approved by the state will receive an approval letter by email. If you feel your student may qualify for free or reduced priced meals but are not directly approved, we encourage you to complete the application as soon as possible Please visit https://www.op97.org/business-office/food-service for more information.
William Beye Elementary School
Cheryl Sullivan
Beye Principal
Location: 230 North Cuyler Avenue, Oak Park, IL, USA
Phone: 708- 524-3070
Twitter: @MrsSullivand97