West Week in Review
June 12, 2020
Connect with us!
Please check your email weekly for our West Week in Review! In order to help us connect with you and make sure you are not missing any important information, please add messenger@boyertownpa.mg.infinitecampus.org to your trusted senders in your email so that you don’t miss out on important information. Infinite Campus is now open. Also, be sure to follow us on the Boyertown Middle School West Facebook page and our Twitter/Instagram accounts @WhatsUp_West.
Report Cards Have Been Posted
Grading Procedure Reminder
At the end of the marking period, any student with a 60% or higher received a “P” for the trimester. We also issued pass/fail grades for the final grade for each course. However, whatever letter grade the student received in the first two marking periods is still on the final report card. We will not be generating honor roll certificates for the marking period since they are based on grade point average. GPA cannot be calculated when using pass/fail grading.
Grading Rationale
Our rationale for employing pass/fail grading was that we did not have the same controlled environment that we would normally have if we were here “brick and mortar”. We recognize that for a variety of reasons, we did not have the same amount of “face time” or equal opportunity for all to access the services we were providing. To categorize students by letter grades seemed unfair. Please contact me if you have questions or concerns.
Lost and Found
Remaining lost and found items have been bagged up and any unclaimed items will be donated to the Salvation Army late next week.
Summer Wellness Challenge for BASD Families
Check out the link below for a Summer Wellness Bingo card. We ran this challenge last summer and it was very successful. All activities are updated to follow current regulations and we also added some SEL activities. All information is also posted on our Wellness website: https://www.boyertownasd.org/Domain/47
Grab 'n Go Meals Continuing this Summer!
Yearbook Ordered?
Yearbooks are not coming until later next month. We will send out an e-mail and post to social media when they are available and details for pick-up.
Obligations
Some students still have obligations owed for lunch money, laptop charges, library late fees, TE projects, missing uniforms, lost textbooks, etc. Please take care of all obligations as soon as possible. Students who have obligations will not receive their schedule until the obligation is satisfied. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
2019-2020 Lunch Account Obligations
All lunch account obligations for the 2019-20 school year should be paid in the building or online prior to June 24, 2020. Checks should be made out to BASD Cafeteria fund. Payment between June 15 and June 24 must be completed in the main office (by appointment only) or online. Any online payments made after June 24 will be credited to the upcoming 20-21 school year and will not clear the student obligation for this current school year. After June 24, a payment to clear the 2019-20 lunch account obligation can only be made in the office by cash or check made out to BMSW.
Academic Awards
While this year has brought many challenges, we did not want to overlook the great work of our students. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our annual end-of-year awards assemblies. However, we will still be issuing our academic, athletic, and community service/citizenship awards that are given to our students. Award winners' guardians received a phone call from us last week. We will also be issuing President's Awards for Academic Excellence to qualifying 8th graders via U.S. Mail this summer. Congratulations to all!
Summer Reading Requirement Information
Sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth graders have one book to read over the summer. See our website for the letter, book list, and book summaries for grades 7, 8, and 9.
https://www.boyertownasd.org/Domain/908
Immunization requirements for 7th grade entry
Attention Parent(s)/Guardian(s) of students entering 7th grade; your child is required to have 1 dose of tetanus, diphtheria, acelluar pertussis (Tdap) AND 1 dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV) by the first day of school or risk exclusion. At this time, the Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has not made any changes to the state immunization requirements. This information can be found in 28 Pa. CODE CH.23 (School Immunization) http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/Immunizations/School/Pages/default.aspx or https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/programs/immunizations/Pages/Immunizations.aspx. Please email Mrs. Moser cmoser@boyertownasd.org with any questions.
PA Mandated Dental and Physical Exams for 2020 - 2021 School Year
The PA School Code requires dental exams for all students entering Kindergarten, 3rd and 7th grades, and physical exams for students entering kindergarten, 6th and 11th grades. For students entering these grades in September 2020, physical or dental exams that are completed on or after September 1, 2019 are acceptable. If you need a form for an upcoming appointment, you can download one from the BASD website @ http://www.boyertownasd.org under Resources - Nurse – BASD Health Service link. Completed physical and dental forms can be submitted to the health room at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. Because the health room is closed for the summer, if you submit a completed form over the summer please retain a copy for your records.
Field Trip Refunds
Thank you for being patient with us as we have been working to identify which field trip funds had already been deposited and distributed for payment and which ones were still in the queue. We have determined what refunds we are able to get from our trip vendors. We recently completed the process of final documentation of student payments received. Checks that had not yet been deposited were mailed out last week. Field trip checks that were already deposited, as well as cash payments and money orders, will be refunded by check. Because the district is in the process of making thousands of refunds, we cannot give a specific date of when you might expect your refund. The business office has a goal of getting all refunds processed by June 30.
Summer Reading Goes Virtual at Boyertown Community Library
This Summer will look a little different at the Boyertown Community Library. We will reopen eventually, with dates announced when they are available, and we will have measures in place to address safety concerns related to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Announcements about changes to the library schedule, as well as e-resources available during the closure, can be found on the library website . We are excited to be using Beanstack, a digital platform where participants can log their reading and find activity challenges designed by library staff. We have activities for all ages, babies to adults, that can be completed at home. As users log their reading and activities, they will earn digital badges. Each badge will act as a virtual raffle ticket for an end of summer drawing. The library also will offer a selection of live events via Zoom. Watch the library website for an announcement of when the Beanstack site goes live (scheduled for June 8).
Throughout the Summer, library staff will continue to share announcements and activities on social media. Readers are encouraged to check Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter for library posts.
Transition Information Available
Please note that we are resuming work on our transition plans for the 20-21 school year. Families with a student coming to Grade 6 next year should have received an email with information. Current sixth and seventh graders who are getting “rightsized” to the other middle school received information as well. A link to the transition documents can be found here. https://www.boyertownasd.org/Domain/1773 Thanks for your patience with this process.
Have You Moved or Changed Residence Since March 12?
If you have moved or changed residence since March 12, please contact Mrs. Covaleski at 610-473-3701 or lcovaleski@boyertownasd.org. She will be happy to help you navigate the change.
Take Care and Be Well
On behalf of the entire West staff, our very best wishes that this finds you and your family in good health. We feel blessed to serve this wonderful district!
Where can I find more information?
Support for Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
As a district, we have begun a 3-year implementation plan focused on Social Emotional Learning. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. At this link, https://sel4us.org/blog/social-emotional-learning-supports-around-covid-19/, you will find a post from the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the United States, that offers SEL supports around COVID-19. The post offers suggestions for families to reinforce each of the 5 SEL Core Competencies which include: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Thank you for partnering with us to prioritize safety and well-being during this school closure.
Student Services - School Counselor Contact Information
We are here for you! School Counselors are only an email or phone call away. If you would like to reach out to your child’s school counselor, please feel free to do so. Counselors are monitoring email messages and receive phone messages through their district email.
https://www.boyertownasd.org/Page/632
We understand that families are experiencing financial and emotional stress right now. Below is a list of local resources that may be helpful for you and your family during this difficult time.
- Salvation Army 409 S Reading Ave Boyertown PA 19512 (610) 367-4089
- Boyertown Area Multi-Service 301 Spring St Boyertown PA 19512 (610) 367-6957
*Please also reach out to your school counselor if you need any assistance with food, clothing, etc. as they have a more extensive community resource list.
If your family is experiencing a crisis, local county crisis services are still available for families who need these services. If there is an emergency, it is still recommended to call 911.
- Montgomery County Crisis Unit: (888) HEL-P414
- Berks County Crisis Unit: 610-236-0530
Community Assistance Needed
The COVID-19 outbreak has produced an increased need for donations at two of our local assistance agencies. Boyertown Area Multi-Service and the Salvation Army of Boyertown are in need of personal care items, paper products, cleaning supplies, and foods such as granola bars, peanut butter, jelly, bread, pancake mix, syrup, oatmeal, cereal, canned meat, and canned soup. They would greatly appreciate any support you can give.
Be safe, be well, be awesome!
IXL Log-In Instructions for Students
Our district IXL license has been renewed and will be available for voluntary practice over the summer. Feel free to continue practicing your skills!
You can access the IXL site using the IXL BASD LINK and the “Sign in with Google” button.
Once you click on the “Sign in with Google” tab, you can use your regular BASD credentials to log in.
You can also sign in to your Google account first, then try the “Sign in with Google” button for IXL. You should automatically get in to IXL.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are having trouble with IXL telling you that you have "timed out":
○Student must be sure to be logging in to the Boyertown IXL site at: https://www.ixl.com/signin/boyertownasd
○They will see "Welcome, NAME" at top right of the screen when successfully signed in
○If this link is lost, a quick Google search using ‘IXL Boyertown’ will lead you to the site.
○Students will need to log-in to the district IXL site BEFORE following links provided by teachers in Google classroom
○The ‘Remember Me’ box on the log-in page may also remedy this
Boyertown Middle School West
Email: sllandis@boyertownasd.org
Website: http://www.boyertownasd.org
Location: 380 South Madison Street, Boyertown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-369-7471