Congratulations to Jessica Manske, Kimberly Rasberry and Kate Clark who are our Volunteers of the Month.

Jessica and Kimberly are a dynamic duo when it comes to hospitality. Throughout the year they have been spoiling our teachers with treats and meals.

Kate is our 8th Grade Chair and along with her committee they have been planning all things 8th grade this year including the social event, 8th Grade shirts, carnation sales and of course, the upcoming 8th Grade Dance.

Thank you to all three of these amazing ladies for their time and dedication to BDJH PTA.

We truly appreciate you!

Encourage your child to walk or bike to school on Thursday, April 13!

Walk/Bike to School Day is an annual event that promotes walking and bicycling for many reasons. It's great for physical activity while teaching safe pedestrian and bicycling skills to children. There are crossing guards at several locations to ensure your child is being safe.

If your child doesn’t normally walk or bike, this is a great way for them to learn just how walkable and bikeable our community is. And they just might realize how fun it is!

It also helps reduce the traffic congestion around the school, and for those of you who sit in the car line, wouldn’t it be nice to take a break one day?

If you typically drive your child to school, you can always find a stopping point away from the school to allow them to walk the last couple blocks rather than being dropped off at the front door. Any bit of walking is exercise!

Each child who walks or bikes to school will receive (1) raffle ticket to drop in their grade level basket inside the rotunda. There will be 2 winners per grade level. The lucky winners will receive a bicycle safety light and a $20 Amazon gift card.

Please sign up on the link below to help us on that day to pass out raffle tickets to all students walking or riding their bike to school in the morning:

All current 5th Grade parents who are zoned to Beckendorff JH (incoming 6th grade parents) are invited to attend a Parent Coffee "What You Need to Know About Junior High".

We will have a parent panel to share information and also answer questions.

We will talk about carpool, lockers, how JH is different from elementary, KAP, GT and academic classes, special ed in JH, PE, volunteering opportunities and lots more!

After our parent panels speaks, we will answer parent questions.

We would love to meet you and welcome you to Beckendorff.

Thursday, April 13 at 1 pm

Beckendorff JH LGI

Coffee, water and snacks will be served.

Parking for visitors is in the back of the school, walk around to the front and check in at the front office. You must bring your ID.

Please RSVP below so we know how many to expect."

Online ordering for pre-packaged school supplies is NOW AVAILABLE!

Each kit contains supplies needed for the grade level (choose the grade your child will be in for NEXT year).

Each kit includes a PTA membership and FREE SHIPPING TO YOUR HOME.

The deadline to purchase is July 1.

NO extra kits will be sold at Bear Blast this year.

Here are some great articles by teens for teens (and pre-teens!) to help them understand how they can be supportive to their peers with autism.

Take a moment to read them together and talk about ways your child can incorporate this awareness into their day.

As a parent, it can be overwhelming to know how and when we should begin talking with our kids about drugs and alcohol.

This article provides research and recommendations that will help:

Underage drinking - How many times should we discuss it? - NaturalHigh.org

In Texas, the funding each school district or charter school receives per student is known as the Basic Allotment (BA).

The BA is not based on the actual cost of educating a student, nor is it decided by educators; it is decided every other year by politicians during each legislative session.

Currently, the BA is $6,160, which hasn’t changed since 2019 (think how much the price of a gallon of milk has gone up in that time!). If the Legislature adjusted the basic allotment for

inflation annually, the basic allotment would be $7,074 for 2022.

An increase to the basic allotment will allow our school districts to maintain their facilities,

invest in innovation, and guarantee raises for teachers and staff every year.

The BA is also the basis that funding for other programs is built from; if the BA increases funding for programs such as Special Education, Career & Technology (CTE), Bilingual Education, and Gifted & Talented (GT) will increase as well.

This Thursday, April the 6th the Texas House will debate the state budget.

Call your representative and let them know you support increasing the basic allotment and automatically adjusting it with the cost of living.

Representative Jacey Jetton, House District 26

512-463-0710

Most families that attend Beckendorff are in House District 26. You can confirm that at: Who Represents Me? (texas.gov)

Sources for additional information:

- National Coalition for Public Education: Facts — National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) (ncpecoalition.org)

- Texas PTA: Fund the Future Fact Sheet - Google Docs

- Raise Your Hand Texas: Where We Stand on School Funding - Raise Your Hand Texas

- Texas Comptroller: Texas Public Education Funding Sources: Texas School Finance

The Bylaws Committee recommends an amendment to the BDJH PTA Bylaws to change the Membership dues to $12 (previously $10)

Voting for this will take place at the General Membership Meeting on May 5, at 10:30 am in the school LGI.

We invite all PTA members.

Every year, Katy ISD hosts a fantastic event to honor ALL volunteers around the district. They are showing their appreciation to us, throughout this amazing morning.

This event is made even more memorable for everyone by music, food, your peers, and this year's speaker, Geoff Blum.

You don't want to miss it! This is a free event, meant for every volunteer in every Campus in the District... our "Champions"!

If you plan to attend, kindly RSVP here:

*NO SCHOOL*

This Friday & Monday, April 7 & 10

Teacher Appreciation Week

April 24-28.

Thank you for all your donations!

Last BDJH PTA Membership Meeting

All PTA Members are invited. Incoming 6th Grade parents are welcome.

Friday, May 5, 10:30 am, LGI.

Last day of school:

Thursday, May 25!