BYRAM TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS
January 18, 2019
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
January 21, 2019: MLK Day - School Closed - Teacher Inservice
January 23, 2019: Report Cards available on Parent Portal
January 23,2019: Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00 pm, BIS
January 30, 2019: New Kindergarten Registration
January 31, 2019: New Kindergarten Registration
February 12, 2019: 100th Day of School (pending snow days)
February 18,19 2019: School is closed for Winter Break
February 20, 2019: School is in session to make up for a snow day100th Day of School
Spirit Week for The Great Kindness Challenge
SMART WATCHES & CELL PHONES - PLEASE READ!
New District App and Notification System
Click here for instructions on where to download our new official app. You should have received an email containing instructions on how to log in to the new notification system to verify your contact information is accurate to ensure you are receiving all of the messages sent to you. The subject of this email was "*Important* Byram Schools’ New Communication System Info.” If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our Technology Department by emailing helpdesk@byramschools.org.
IMPORTANT NOTICE - APPOINTMENT REQUIRED
PLEASE READ!
Please click here to view an important message regarding gaining entrance into our schools.
SLOW IT DOWN!
Please be sure to adhere to the speed limit when entering the school grounds. Several cars have been observed speeding into the parking lots. Thank you for helping us keep our students and staff safe!
BYRAM LAKES ELEMENTARY
GOVERNOR RECOGNITION AWARD WINNERS!
ALLISON ANDREWS
2018-2019
Governor Educator of the Year
KERRY SCHNEIDER
2018-2019
Governor Educational Service Professional of the Year
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
If you, or someone you know, has a child who will be turning five years old PRIOR to October 1, 2019 and would like to register him/her for kindergarten for the 2019-2020 school year, please click here to schedule an appointment and to access the required documents that you will need to register your child(ren).
PRESCHOOL REGISTRATION
We hope you will consider joining our Byram Lakes family!
FAMILY FUN NIGHT
Click here for a flier regarding a fun, math and reading night for students in grades K-2 and their families. We hope to see you there!
BYRAM LAKES’ CHARACTER TRAIT OF THE MONTH
January's character trait of the month is PERSEVERANCE. Perseverance is the will to continue something despite difficulty or roadblocks on your path to success. In school, concepts and skills will sometimes be more challenging to master than others. We have to make sure our students know that the greatest triumph is not in succeeding when something comes easy, but rather it is when we overcome the adversity we all must face from time to time. Remember this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.:
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
BUS RETURN FEE - PLEASE READ!
Please note that if your child is returned to school at the end of the day because no parent is at the bus stop, the parents will be assessed a $25.00 fee that is assessed to the school by Byram Bus. Please refer to page 10 of the school calendar for the full procedure.
STUDENT PRIVACY - PLEASE READ!
It has been brought to our attention that people are posting pictures that were taken while in our school. While you are obviously permitted to post pictures of your own child(ren) on Facebook, Instagram, etc when you are a visitor to our school you MUST adhere to our privacy and confidentiality rules. All parents are asked to sign off at the start of each school year to allow their child’s picture to be posted. Since you do not know who has given permission or not, it is strongly advised that you DO NOT post pictures of other people’s children on your social media accounts. Please respect other parents’ choices regarding their children's privacy online. We would not want to have to institute a no photo rule at our school. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation with this matter.
DRESS FOR THE WEATHER
Students will go outside for recess as long as the temperature is above 32℉. Please be sure that your child comes to school dressed appropriately for those colder temperatures. Students will not be permitted to stay inside if the other students are outside. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
CONCERTS, SHOWS, & EVENTS...OH MY!
As part of our effort to keep our students and staff safe and secure while in the school building, we are adding another new procedure with regard to large events, such as school concerts, shows and events that parents and family members attend DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. This year, if your child’s grade level is hosting an event, you will be provided with two tickets for it. (You can request additional tickets as needed from your child’s teacher). When you enter the building for the event, you will need to show the ticket in order to be granted access into the building. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TICKET, YOU WILL NOT BE PERMITTED INTO THE SCHOOL. If you have any questions about this new procedure, contact Byram Lakes for more information.
BIRTHDAY SNACKS FROM SODEXO
Please click here for a letter from Mr. Shriner, the Sodexo cafeteria manager, regarding the process for ordering snacks for your child’s birthday (if you choose to do this). Click here for the order form. If you have any questions regarding this procedure, please call the main office and ask to speak with Mr. Shriner.
GOVERNOR RECOGNITION AWARD WINNERS!
Pete Morris
2018-2019
Governor Educator of the Year
Jill Wolak
2018-2019
Governor Educational Service Professional of the Year
Schedule Changes
As we shift to the second semester (third marking period) your child’s schedule will be changing as well. Please check their related arts classes to see what new class they will be attending starting on January 17th. If your child has questions or is unsure about where to go, please have them ask their morning meeting teacher for help, or stop by the main office and we can help them.
BYRAM NEWS NETWORK (BNN)
Help us make the BNN even better than it already is! We have a new semester starting, and we'd like to give these suggestions to the new 8th grade BNN crew!
Our mission is to highlight all the wonderful things going on inside and outside our school! Your feedback will continue to help us grow! Thank you! Please click here to help us.
Phones
Students who have phones are to keep them in lockers until the end of the day. At the end of the day we are asking all student to please keep phones in their bags or in their pockets until they get on the bus. We have some students who are accessing phones as they are packing up for the day and it is causing a delay for our busses to dismiss on time. We will be talking to students about this during school and wanted to make you aware of our request.
Developing Readers
This year at BIS we have worked to help develop a love of reading with our students. Teachers are displaying books they love or are currently reading throughout the halls and in their classrooms. We have participated in the Global Read Aloud by having the whole school read the book Refugee. Parents are often asking what can they do to help their child develop a love or habit of reading and we came across a great article that contains 17 tips for parents to develop reading habits.
Spotlighting Accomplishments
At our school we are fortunate enough to have a Mass Media program that highlights accomplishments and achievements of students within the school. These accomplishments are played on the BNN (Byram News Network) and viewed by every student during their morning meeting. If your son or daughter has an accomplished something of note, a dance recital, hockey tournament, chess competition, etc we would love to be able to to put in on our news station. All you would need to do is contact Mr. Clayton -- clayton.james@byramschools.org -- our Mass Media teacher and he would be happy to include a short clip about your child’s accomplishment.
Extracurricular Activities
One of Byram Intermediate core values is to have students Find their Passion. We are fortunate to offer a number of extra-curricular activities at BIS for students to explore and find activities they connect with. With that being said, academics and learning set the foundation for all of our students and if a student has not earned at least a 70 in all classes he or she will not be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities until his/her grades have improved. The policy can be viewed by clicking this link.
BasketBall
Any student staying after school for basketball must bring in a note by 9:00. This allows us to take accurate attendance and account for all after school students.
Extra Help
If your student is struggling in ELA or Math, please contact his or her teacher to see if he or she qualifies to participate in our before school or after school help sessions. For qualifying students this program runs from 7:30 - 8:30 in the morning and 3:40 - 4:40 in the afternoon Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
PTA/BTEF
Byram's Got Talent
Exciting News
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
After School Activities
Volunteers Needed
We need volunteers to Chair the following committees/events.
- Cup Cake Wars
- 4th Grade T-shirt design Contest
- 8th Grade Scholarship Committee
- Spring Spirit Wear Sale (we have all the information just need a contact person to make the calls to the company)
- Lake School Program Chair
- Intermediate School Program Chair
- Intermediate School Teacher Appreciation Week (May)
We also need committee members to work with the Chair people on organizing these events. You can sign up to be a chair person or committee member, just email us at ByramPTA@gmail.com
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
PTA Meetings will be held in the Lakes School Cafeteria starting at 7:15 PM on the following dates:
February 21st, 2019
March 21st, 2019
April 11th, 2019
May 16th, 2019
June 6th, 2019