Week of 10/26/2020
.... It's a GREAT place to be!
Birmingham Covington Schools (BCS)
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
10/26/2020- Week's Events
*denotes more information provided below
Monday, 10/26
- Quarter II Choice Hour sign up goes live
Thursday, 10/29
- ALL GRADES Materials Distribution Time: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Friday, 10/30
- Half day for students
- ALL GRADES Materials Distribution Time: 11:15 am - 12:15 pm
- V1 Schedule for 3-4 Students
Coming up...
- Teacher Professional Development Days for 5-8: No School on November 2 and November 4 (5-8 students only)
- Election Day: No School 11/3 (all students)
- Quarter II Choice Hour Sign Up due 11:59pm on Nov 3
- 5-8 In-Person & Hybrid Return November 5
- Picture Retakes November 11
Greetings, BCS Families!
As we continue to progress forward with our hybrid model, we would like to remind families with BCS students in Grades 5-8, we will transition to our half-day hybrid model on Thursday, November 5, 2020. Please note that November 2 and November 4 will be planning days for teachers; students in Grades 5-8 will not have school or asynchronous assignments. Dr. Hakim and Mr. Hill will provide an asynchronous assembly activity for BCS students Grades 5-8, and it should not take more than 45 minutes to complete. The assembly will review our new schedule as well as safety procedures & protocols for an in-person return.
For 5-8 families choosing an in-person return, please see the following MUST-DO PARENT CHECKLIST. As always, thank you for your ongoing support and partnership!
Yours in BCS Solidarity,
Dr. Hakim & Mr. Hill
All School News
Covid-19 Reminders
If your child has exhibits one or more of the following symptoms:
*Fever 100.4 or higher
*Significant cough
*Abdominal pain with vomiting or diarrhea
*Significant runny nose
*Sore throat
*Rash on body
*Muscle / body aches
Out of an abundance of caution and per the OCHD guidelines and recommendations, we will request that you pick up your child from school.
For more information, refer to the Birmingham Public Schools website. We appreciate all your efforts in keeping our BCS Family safe and healthy!
BCS Loop Etiquette
- Please have students exit the car on the sidewalk/passenger side of the car to avoid any accidents.
- Please make sure student is wearing mask before exiting the car.
- Please pull forward around the loop at dismissal. Your student will walk to your vehicle.
Reminders for Bus Students
If you have any questions regarding your route, please contact Durham Transportation at 248-203-3940.
If your student is riding a different bus home, please send a note with your child including name, name of student/friend they are riding bus with (if necessary), reason for a change, bus number, and date. A principal will sign off on the note, then the student will give the note to the bus driver.
ALL KIDS EAT FOR FREE during Remote Learning
Birmingham Public Schools in collaboration with Chartwells has developed a take home meal
service which will allow students to have great food while at home. Due to the nature of the
pandemic, the meals sent home do not directly reflect our everyday school lunch program. Meals are FREE to any children 18 years or younger or 26 years or under with a disability.
Children do not need to be enrolled at BPS to receive free meals. Pick up Meals Are Available Thursdays at Groves High School from 10am –Noon.
Please check out our website for more information.
https://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/site/default.aspx?DomainID=1821
BCS Girls Swim Team
Please reach out with any questions and Go Cobras!
Coach Johansson wjohansson@birmingham.k12.mi.us
Coach Brown mbrown@birmingham.k12.mi.us
Trunk-or-Treat: Event Sponsored by Groves Student Congress
This year, Groves plans on hosting their first ever Trunk-or-Treat on Thursday October 29th from 6:00-7:30pm, and would love to see our BPS families join in the fun! Trunk-or-Treat is a community based event where kids Pre-K through 5th grade can dress up, come with their families, and “trick-or-treat” at the trunks of each student’s car. Families will enter Groves off of 13 mile road and park near the athletic entrance. Families will walk over to the staff lot near the auditorium to check in and fill out a health screener before starting to Trunk-or-Treat. Cars, students, and families will all be socially distanced from each other, and masks will be mandatory! In order to ensure a safe environment, we ask families to sign up for one of three time slots:
6:00-6:25pm
6:30-6:55pm
7:00-7:25pm
Link for family sign ups: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044CA5AA2DA3F49-trunk1
BCS Choice Hour Update
As a reminder, quarter I Choice Hours end Monday, November 2, 2020.
Quarter II Choice Hour will run VIRTUALLY and will tentatively begin Monday, November 9 (please note that the quarter begins on Wed Nov 4 but Choice Hour will begin the following week) and run through January 15, 2021.
Sign up will be live and available on Wednesday, October 28 and is due by Tuesday November 3 at 11:59pm. Choice Hour for quarter II will be offered during two timeslots, one at 10:55am and one at 3:25pm in order to accommodate both of our cohorts.
Please direct all Choice Hour Questions to Courtney Bassett at cbassett@birmingham.k12.mi.us or 248-203-4625.
Updated Materials Distribution Process
Going forward, materials distribution for ALL GRADES will be:
Thursdays: 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Fridays: 11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Because we will have students in the building throughout the day, materials distributions are limited to the above days and times. If you cannot pick up during these times, please coordinate with a friend or family member to do so. Not all Grades or Classes will have distributions each week.
Hybrid students will receive material IN CLASS. No pick up is necessary.
Student Medications & Medical Updates
PTA Reflections
The National PTA Reflections Art Contest is up and running for this year! The theme is “I Matter Because...” Please have your student submit art work based on the theme in visual arts, photography, music composition, literature, dance choreography, or film production!
Please take a look at this video to see what the Reflections Art Contest is all about!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sQ6TrKdOdsoN1huP9jgKoJCyCoI1Wdo9/view?ts=5f8882de
Due date: Wednesday, 11/11!
For more details, go to the BCS Homepage>PTA>Reflections:
https://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/domain/1845
We are excited to see what our BCS students can create!!
3/4 News
3/4 Gym Schedule
Wednesday, October 14 through Friday, November 13:
Butzin, Davis (Grace), Coletti, and Wallington will SWIM.
Frishman, Seley, Maliszewski, and Parkin will be in the GYMAttention to Clear to Go and Attendance
If your 3/4 student is a Hybrid Student, the Clear to Go screener must be submitted for your student BEFORE they enter school for the day.
Parents/Guardians must email the attendance line at bcsattendance@birmingham.k12.mi.us to provide detailed information regarding your students’ absence or tardiness by 8:45 am each day.
Absences or tardies not reported to the BCS attendance office will be recorded as unexcused (please note that sending a note to your child’s teacher does not excuse your child. Always contact the attendance office in the event of a student absence). Please send an accompanying doctor’s note as well (PDF format) if appropriate.
5/6 News
Looking for a way to help our 5-6 team?
Check out the 5/6 Donors Choose Proposal for the OWL Pro Video Conferencing System. The organization will donate matching funds up to $50 for the next 7 days. This means we can fund our entire project for half the actual cost!
If we have 130 donors donate $50 we can cover the entire project.
To receive matching funds from the organization, you need to include the code LIFTOFF at checkout.
Here is the link to the proposal page: 5/6 Donors Choose Proposal for the OWL Pro Video Conferencing System
7/8 News
High School Virtual Open Houses
Seaholm High School Virtual Open House
Monday, October 26, 6:00pm
Seaholm is excited to invite families to their Virtual Open House! At this event, you will get the opportunity to explore the Academic Departments, Counselor's Corner, Inspiration and Resources as well as meet staff and students who will be happy to answer your questions. Please complete the Seaholm Virtual Open House Interest Form by October 23 to receive your Zoom invitation.
If you have any questions, please contact Suzanne O'Leary, Community Service Organizer at soleary@birmingham.k12.mi.us or at 248-203-3725.
Groves High School Virtual Open House
Monday, November 2, 6:00-7:00pm
Groves is excited to offer families the opportunity to virtually tour the campus, meet staff members and current students, and ask questions in a comfortable and safe manner. Anyone interested in the Virtual Open House should complete the Groves Virtual Open House Interest Form by October 30 to receive a formal email invitation.
Celebrate BCS!
Join us in congratulating our BCS teams!
BCS Forensics
On Saturday, October 24 the BCS Forensic team hosted and competed in their first virtual tournament of the season, the SPOOKtational. Nineteen BCS students competed in this seasonal tournament, complete with costumes! Congrats to Julia T, Dominic B, and Indu H for their top three finishes in the costume contest! Other individual tournament results included:
- Broadcasting - 1st Place Julia T, 2nd Place Ella G
- Dramatic Interpretation - 1st Place Sofia P, 1st Place DI 5/6 Megan G
- Declamation - 1st Place Nathan S, 2nd Place Phoebe A
- Extemp - 1st Place Dina K, 2nd Place Brooke T
- Impromptu - 1st Place Marina A, 2nd Place Indu H
- Informative - 1st Place Ziya Z
- Original Interpretation - 1st Place Eli H, 2nd Place Maddie Z
- Sales - 2nd Place Vidu H, 1st Place Sales 5/6 Ari L
- Storytelling - 1st Place Nikhilas S, 2nd Place Jalen B, 1st Place Story 5/6 Cate M
Shop BCS!
2020-2021 Yearbook
Yearbooks for the 2020-2021 school year can be purchased for $35 with the given link.
https://yearbookforever.com/schools/birmingham_covington_school_buy_yearbook_308378/
BCS Tumblers & Bottles
Kaiser Studio School Photos Contact Information
Picture retake day is November 11, 2020!!!
e-mail: cs@kaiserstudio.com
CUSTOMER SERVICE HOURS
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
STUDIO LOCATION
Kaiser Studio
1825 Birchwood Drive
Troy, Michigan 48083
T: 248-619-9119
F: 248-619-9143
Other Helpful Resource Links...
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
BCS Media Center Material Circulation
The BCS Library Media Center is excited to begin circulating materials for the 2020-21 school year! Until we are back in school face-to-face, we are implementing a holds-and-pickup system. All patrons are invited to find materials using our Destiny Library Catalog. If you find something you want, put it on hold! Mrs. Truesdell, your school library media specialist, will pull the materials that are available and have them ready for you by your next grade level pickup day at BCS. Please visit our library website or watch this video for more details.