Badger Middle School Newsletter
December 8, 2023
Hello Badger Students and Families,
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving Break. The time is flying by and we are reminded of the winter break quickly approaching. Just prior to break is a great time to check in on academic progress; the end of the quarter/semester comes up quickly in January.
This week we are celebrating our First Lego League Competition Teams, one of which qualified for its Regional competition and is looking to advance to State! I hope you will join me in celebrating this and the many other awesome things happening at Badger—some of which will be highlighted in this newsletter. It is my hope that our school community will not let the very negative actions of a few overshadow the good experiences and accomplishments of the many.
I hope to see you at one of our several holiday concerts and celebrate the talent of our students. Check the school calendar for more events to support our students. As always, feel free to contact me anytime and thanks for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Patrick O'Connor
Principal
Badger Middle School
(262) 335-5456
Students of the Week
Congrats to our most recent Students of the Week.
Students are selected based on their contributions to the school, excellence in the classroom, and their positive impact on others. They are first nominated by House teachers, then selected by elective teachers.
With great students like these in our hallways, the future is looking bright!
Staff of the Week
Staff of the Week are nominated by students. See recent staff of the week below
Facebook Highlights!
Ms. Bloedel's art class created "clay monster vessels."
7A students earned an opportunity to smash some pumpkins!
Level two foreign language classes attended the Holiday Folk Fair Education Day recently.
House Challenge
Congrats to House 7A for winning the challenge focused on following adult directions! Stay tuned for further challenge updates!
PTO Meeting
The December PTO Meeting has been canceled. The January meeting is scheduled for 1/11/24 at 6:30 PM in the Badger Cafeteria.
Building Closing Info
In case of Inclement Weather, or other need to close the building, please view the information here.
Lunch/Breakfast Menus
Winter Break
Just a reminder there is no school 12/23/23 - 1/2/24. Enjoy the Winter Break!
New club starting at Badger
We are excited to announce that we are starting a Youth Impact Club (YIC) at Badger. It is a peer-to-peer program that focuses on increasing connectednss, mental wellness, and suicide prevention. The high school has had a similar club for many years and has seen a positive impact. One of the main components of the YIC will be in training students how to care for their mental well-being and support their peers. Students will not be trained to be counselors, but rather how to recognize when a peer is in crisis and how to refer the peer to a trusted adult. The YIC Club will be using the same training program that the high school uses. It is an evidenced-based program that is provided by Hope Squad and is implemented in over 1,600 hundred schools across 43 states. Students can nominate themselves or be nominated for the club by their peers. Badger Youth Impact Club (YIC) members are students selected by their peers for being:
Concerned about others
Easy to talk with
A good listener
Someone you could turn to if you needed a friend
Someone who does not bully others
If you would like to get more information about the Badger YIC Club, or would like to nominate your son/daughter, feel free to reach out to the club advisors: Jack Chamberlain jchamberlain@wbsd-schools.org or Shawn Becker shbecker@wbsd-schools.org
The West Bend School District is going to be hosting a series of four mental health awareness conversations. The sessions will start at 5:00 and run until 6:30. Each session will feature a panel of parent, student, and community speakers. The sessions are free and open to the public. They will provide families and community members with useful information and resources to help them support the emotional well-being of someone who may be going through a mental health challenge.
The first conversation will be held at the West Bend School District Office in the lower level Board Room on Wednesday, December 13th.
The topic is: Understanding the Impact of Mental Health on Families
The main theme will be: understanding how an entire family is impacted by a person living with a mental health challenge. We will hear from a family about their experience, supporting their son, who is living with a mental health challenge. They will share their struggles, celebrations, and lessons learned along the way. We will provide an overview of the more common mental health challenges, along with the signs and symptoms. We will also discuss community resources that are available for individuals and families.
Click here to register for Session 1
Click here to learn more about and/or register for the other sessions.
Session 2 (Will be at the West Bend High Schools Auditorium)
January 10th: Understanding the Impact of Mental Health on School
Session 3 (Will be at the West Bend High Schools Auditorium)
February 7th: Parenting Strategies for Supporting Your Child’s Mental Health
Session 4 (Will be at the West Bend High Schools Auditorium)
March 13th: Coping Strategies, Hope, and Resilience
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Shawn Becker: School Mental Health Navigator at shbecker@wbsd-schools.org or by phone at 262-306-4715.
Supplies Needed
Badger staff is working on planning our ninth annual student Holiday Activity Day which will be held the last day before break in December. There are a whopping total of nine different activities available this year, and all students have the same opportunity to sign up for two different activities from that list. With that said, we are looking for your help to make this event a success! Making gingerbread houses is an extremely popular event which most students sign up to participate in, and all excess candy is used as prizes for the other activities students can participate in.
Our House is hoping to support this event with donations of the following items:
Items of Greatest Highest Need:
Graham Crackers*
White Frosting*
Candy (e.g. M&Ms, Sour Drops, Hershey Kisses, Skittles, Licorice, etc.)*
Mini-Marshmallows*
Other Items:
Hot Cocoa Packets
Small Candy Canes
Plates
Gallon Ziploc Bags
Sandwich Ziploc Bags
Cups for Hot Cocoa
If you can help out with any of these items (which are still sealed and unopened), we would really appreciate your support.
We will be collecting the materials up until December 15th and they can be given to any of your core teachers (Social Studies, ELA, Math, Science). Thank you so much for helping to create a positive and fun environment for your students here at Badger!
Promotion Video
Mr. Schalewski is once again planning to prepare a Promotion Video. Photos will need to ve submitted by 5/10/24 to be considered. Please see more info here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ebMNy0wPwxNvP3kDDM30Da12lUXF5EZxGqfExNvnAys/edit?usp=sharing
West Bend Optimist Club Essay Contest
This year, the West Bend Optimist Club is running an essay contest that is open to all students in West Bend under the age of 19. The theme is "Optimism: How it connects us". The contest runs now until February 1st. Essays can be collected and dropped off at Silverbrook Intermediate School, emailed to optimistclubofwestbend@gmail.com, or mailed to Optimist Club of West Bend, P.O. Box 1076, West Bend, WI 53095.
Prizes include a first place medallion and $150, and a second place medallion and $100. For more information here is the informational page and contest application.
Second Step Curriculum Preview
Here's a Preview of upcoming Second Step Lessons:
12/13/2023
Grade 7 - The Effects of Sexual Harassment
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn about the effects of sexual harassment, and how to identify support resources available at school.
Question: Help your child brainstorm a list of trusted adults at school who can help if they, or a peer, experiences sexual harassment. Remind them to report any incidents of harassment to you as soon as they can.
Grade 8 - Environmental Factors that Contribute to Bullying
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will identify environmental factors (the physical space and rules of an area) that contribute to bullying and harassment, and explore how they contribute to bullying and harassment in their school.
Question: Ask your child what environmental factors are. Share your observations about environmental factors that you’ve witnessed in the world outside of school.12/20/2023
Grade 7 - Gender-Based Harassment
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how to recognize gender-based harassment. This is when people are bothered, teased, or bullied because of their sex, or because they look, act, or have interests that are different from male and female stereotypes.
Question: Remind your child that it's important that they tell you if they experience gender-based harassment. If you feel comfortable doing so, share an example of gender-based harassment you or another person has experienced and how you or the other person dealt with it.
Grade 8 - Lesson on Connection and Kindness
No Second Step Lesson today - Students will learn the benefits of kindness and then participate in a team-building activity related to finding things in common with one another.
1/03/2024
No Lesson This Week
1/10/2024
Grade 7 - Our Rights and Responsibilities
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will better understand how they’re protected from harassment at school and their responsibility not to harass others.
Question: Tell your child about a time you or someone you know had to speak up about something difficult. Ask your child what might make it difficult for people to speak up when they experience or witness negative things like harassment.
Grade 8 - Pause on Second Step Lessons
On November 8, November 15, and January 10 ALL 8th graders will participate in the DPI required Academic and Career Planning lessons. The lessons will take place during the 30-minute time that is typically allotted for Second Step lessons. If your child has opted out of Second Step lessons, they are required to attend their resource on November 9, November 15, and January 10 to fulfill the DPI required lesson.1/17/2024
Unit 3: Thoughts, Emotions & Decisions
In this unit, students learn how to recognize strong emotions and unhelpful thoughts. They learn to apply strategies for managing their emotions and for reducing stress. This unit’s content helps students understand that all emotions are valuable because they provide us with information about our environment. Students learn to respond to their emotions in ways that help meet their wants and needs.
Grade 7 - Emotions Matter
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn how their brain handles strong emotions and brainstorm positive and negative decisions they might make when they feel a strong emotion.
Question: Ask your child about a negative decision they recently made because they were feeling a strong emotion. Help them think about how they can turn that negative decision into a positive one if they feel that emotion again.
Grade 8 - Understanding Stress and Anxiety
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will examine how they feel, what thoughts they have, and how their body responds when they’re stressed.
1/24/2024
Grade 7 - Feel, Think, Do
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will distinguish thoughts from emotions. They will also analyze how emotions affect their thoughts, and how their thoughts can influence the decisions they make.
Question: Ask your child to explain the difference between an emotion and a thought. Take turns expressing sentiments aloud and having the other person identify if the sentiments are thoughts or emotions. (For example, Emotion: “I’m so mad at the coach for not putting me in the game.” Thought: “That’s it—I quit!”)
Grade 8 - Where Does Stress Come From?
Summary: In this week’s lesson, your child will learn where stress comes from, identify stressors in their life, and examine which stressors they can control.
Information below has already been communicated but is here for your reference
Daily Announcements
Daily announcements are read in the mornings. You can read what is read on the announcements here.
Newsletter Archive
Missed a Newsletter, or looking for prior information? Check out the ARCHIVE.
Badger Pride
Did you know you can help support Badger Pride?
Students that demonstrate Badger Pride values (respect, responsibility, readiness to learn, and safety) can earn Badger Pride stamps to be used at our weekly store. The Badger Pride store is seeking donations for items that students can purchase with their stamps. Items can be small (candy, happy meal toys, fidgets, etc...) or they can be larger items that will be raffled off (local gift cards, team memorabilia, hobby kits, etc...). Donations can be dropped off in the main office. Please label donations BADGER PRIDE STORE to ensure they are used as intended.
Busing
Just a note that Riteway has at times sent a small bus for afternoon routes instead of making students wait until a long bus is available.
Second Step Lessons
Weekly mini-lessons in social-emotional skills led by classroom teachers have started. This occurs every Wednesday during Resource. The skills and concepts are designed to help students both in and out of school. The Second Step resource includes five units:
Mindsets and Goals
Recognizing Bullying and Harassment
Thoughts, Emotions and Decisions
Managing Relationships and Social Conflict
You will receive regular communication about each lesson through this newsletter. The communications will include information about the current unit of study and specific information about each lesson to help you reinforce the language, skills, and goals taught within the lessons. If you have any questions about the social-emotional learning lessons, please don’t hesitate to contact me for more information. In addition, if you prefer that your child does not participate in the lessons at all, please communicate that preference to me prior to the lesson and we will make alternate arrangements for the student during that time.
Badger Middle School
Mission: We will be respectful of ourselves and each other, work together to develop integrity, persevere in the face of difficulty, and strive for excellence.
Website: http://west-bend.k12.wi.us/BMS/
Location: 727 S. 6th Ave., West Bend, WI, USA 53095
Phone: 262-335-5455
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BadgerMiddleSchool/