The BULLetin
October 22nd, 2021
Bulls Prep Weekly Newsletter
Key Dates
Nov. 4-5: Report Card Pickup
- Nov. 4: Regular school day; conferences 4:15-6:15pm
- Nov. 5: Conferences 8:15-11am
Nov. 5: Free Covid-19 Vaccines- more details to come
Message from the Principal
We’re excited to welcome our students back to school on Monday! I wanted to provide our community with a few important updates coming out of our Fall Pause. Our staff spent a significant amount of time this week internalizing the Noble Pact and how it can be better implemented across our campus. Here are the highlights:
We started the week with additional training from Project Restore Initiative. This training focused on the roots of Restorative Practices and tools for our staff to implement these practices within our policies.
We reaffirmed our belief in the core beliefs of our Noble Community Pact. These beliefs are 1 - We respect and value ourselves, 2 - We respect and value each other and 3 - We respect and value our shared learning environment. Please continue to discuss and reinforce these beliefs with your children in partnership with us.
We reinforced our belief that shifting to a restorative model for student discipline does not mean the absence of accountability. High expectations and accountability are necessary to ensure our students can thrive academically, emotionally, and socially. We spent time norming and updating our systems to ensure student accountability when our beliefs are breached. One of our primary tools to support student learning and accountability is R^3. R^3 stands for Respond, Restore and Repair. R^3 provides space for students to reflect, build skills and be held accountable for harm they may have caused to themselves, fellow peers and/or the school environment.
We wanted to provide our community with a couple important updates that will begin next week coming out of our Fall Pause for R^3.
Students will be held accountable for arriving at school and class on time. Our primary goal is to maintain safe and supported classrooms that are conducive to meeting ambitious academic goals. Being on time for class means being seated before the bell. This has always been the standard at Bulls Prep and it will remain the standard. Students who are late to either school 3 or more times per week or who are late to class 3 or more times in a week will be required to complete an after-school R^3. These will take place on Monday through Thursday from 4:00-4:30pm and Fridays from 1:15-2:00pm. This policy will start on Tuesday, 10/26 and we will spend time reviewing this with all students in advisory on 10/25.
Cell phones are not permitted to be visible, audible or used during class time. Students are expected to put their phones away (locker is preferred) prior to entering the doorway of the classroom. Students may still use their cell phones in common spaces (before and after school, lunch and passing periods as needed).
A student can earn a R^3 for other reasons including disrespect to other students or staff, or academic dishonesty. Students will be notified by staff when they need to complete a R^3 and when they will need to complete it.
Safe Passage Route and Dismissal: We will continue to use our safe passage route at dismissal.
We will continue with our staggered dismissal through 11/5/21. We ask that you do not request an early dismissal for your 9th or 10th grader between 3:20-3:30 (Tuesday through Thursday) and 12:55 - 1:05 (Friday). Please encourage your child to go directly home once they leave campus. Students will not be permitted to use the park until further notice.
We value your input on whether we should continue with this staggered dismissal for the remainder of the year. Please provide your input and perspective here.
- Finally, we’ll be holding our monthly Parent Advisory Council Meeting on Tuesday night at 6pm via this zoom link to discuss these changes and hear your questions or feedback. We’d love to see you there.
I continue to be grateful for your partnership as we build the Bulls Prep that we all know is possible. Please reach out to your advisor or anyone on our leadership team with any questions. And we hope to see you on 10/26! We are Bulls Prep Mr. Hamstra
Safe Passage Route
Essential Info
Honoring Amanii Lindsey
PAC Meeting: Student Safety, Arrival, and Dismissal
- Learn more about new systems we’ve put in place for student safety
- Provide suggestions and feedback around arrival and dismissal procedures
Please RSVP by emailing Ms. Curtin, kcurtin@bullscollegeprep.org. If you don’t already receive emails about the PAC from Ms. Curtin, please sign up here to join our Family Partners list.
Student Fees
- You will need your student's ID
- Password is the first three letters of student's last name. The first letter is uppercase, while the other two are lower case.
SAVE THE DATES for Quarter 1 Report Card Pickup
- The primary windows for conferences will be Thursday, Nov. 4 from 4:15-6:15pm and Friday, Nov. 5 from 8:15-11am. Classes will be held as usual on Thursday, and Friday will be an asynchronous learning day.
- Conferences will be held both virtually and in person at Bulls Prep (based on each family’s preference).
- The building will be open for families to meet with both advisors and teachers during the windows above, and the main office will also be open at these times.
- Quarter 1 grades close on Friday, October 29.
Homecoming Game & Dance with COVID guidelines
Senior Cap and Gown Portraits + 9th-11th Photo Retakes
- Senior cap and gown photos: In order to manage wait times, students are assigned a 30 minute window to attend-- see here for details, including assigned times and dress code expectations. Caps and gowns will be provided that day.
- 9th-11th graders who missed getting their picture taken in September will also get their pictures taken on Nov. 5. They may come any time 11-12:30 that day, and they must wear a school-branded top.
COVID-19 Testing
Family Engagement Opportunities
Shades for the Future Program by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
- The Shades for the Future program is a 6-week work experience at Lurie Children’s Hospital that will provide students with unique experiences for those interested in pursuing a future in a healthcare related career. Students must be 17 years of age by the start of the program and must apply by Sun, 1/24. Here is this flyer for students and their families and you can apply here. Reach out to Ms. Gunty at sgunty@bullscollegeprep.org with any questions.
Greenwood Project’s Virtual High School Internship Overview on 10/26
- This virtual session will give students face time with the CEO & Founder of Greenwood Project and cover the benefits of their two paid financial internship programs. Open to all 11th and 12th grade Noble students and their families, attendees will also gain support for the application process. Here is this flyer for students and their families. Interested students can register here for the Zoom virtual event that’s scheduled for Tues, Oct 26 from 6-7 pm. Reach out to Ms. Gunty at sgunty@bullscollegeprep.org with any questions.
Rush Education and Career Hub (REACH) at Rush University Medical Center - Internship Program Information Sessions on 10/21 and 10/28
- REACH is welcoming students, parents, and teachers to join them for their 2-day informational session to learn more about the MedSTEM Explorers and MedSTEM Pathways internship programs. Here is this flyer, which also includes Zoom registration links. Reach out to Ms. Gunty at sgunty@bullscollegeprep.org with any questions.
London and Paris Trip Summer 2022
We wanted to send a reminder if you haven’t yet enrolled for our Europe trip! Our trip with EF Educational Tours will take place next Summer 2022. There has been an overwhelming amount of interest and excitement around this destination. We’ve been blown away by the response and wanted to give everyone one final chance to enroll.
Make sure to enroll by the deadline of October 22nd at 9:00pm PDT to reserve your spot. Enroll and see our trip website at eftours.com/2469246CD.
*EF is offering a Risk-Free Enrollment Period, meaning if you sign up now, you have until February 1, 2022 to cancel with a full, 100% refund. This allows families with uncertain financial situations in the future to cancel, if needed, and lose no money in the process!
If you have questions, please let me know or call EF traveler support at 1-800-665-5364.
Interested 8th grade families: In-Person Open House
Chicago Bulls College Prep
Email: admissions@bullscollegeprep.org
Website: https://nobleschools.org/bulls/
Location: 2040 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL, USA
Phone: 773-534-7599