Banks Middle School

Dear Families,

We’re excited to welcome everyone back for another great year at BMS and see many of you at registration day tomorrow! We have been busy preparing for a new school year in more ways than one this summer! When you visit, you may notice that we are currently under construction in the main office, where we are installing upgraded security systems and re-working the main entry to allow for visitors to be pre-screened via a video doorbell before entering the office. This means we are installing a new door directly from the vestibule into the main office, where you will be able to buzz in if you want to visit during school hours. This work should be finished soon after school starts. In the meantime, you can continue entering the building through the main double doors into the foyer. As a reminder, this safety and security upgrade is made possible by the bond our community passed last year. We were able to do this work first, as it does not impact the overall district master plan.

In other news, we would also like to introduce our two new staff members! Please join me in welcoming Tyne Reckers (7th and 8th grade math) and Nicki Vanderzanden (Learning Specialist). Additionally, we have a new club offering this year, Chess Club, thanks to a parent volunteer. You can find the flyer for that below. We also have a new BMS Public Calendar (on google calendar) to help you keep up to date on events at BMS and A day/B day tracking. You can view that calendar by clicking this link.

If you are new to BMS, please familiarize yourself with our pick-up/drop-off traffic flow map so we can keep our parking lot safe for our students and minimize congestion.

Here are a few more. important back-to-school updates:

• Registration Day is Tuesday, August 12, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is also picture day, so please plan to have your student’s photo taken. You can also read over this doc detailing what to expect at registration day.

• Kona Ice will be at registration from 2:30–4:30 p.m. – a sweet way to kick off the school year and support our PTO!

• Registration/Back-to-School Packets were mailed last week. Please check your mail for these important documents and bring them with you on registration day. In the packets, you will find a printout of your contact information, please verify. this information and correct any mistakes. In case you didn't get it yet, here are links to the school supply list and the welcome letter from Principal Everett.

• First Day for 6th Grade is Monday, August 26 (full day). This is full day for 6th grade students only.
• New 7th and 8th grade students are invited to drop in for a short tour on August 26 between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. This is visit usually takes 30 minutes or less, parents if you drive your child please plan to wait.

• We would also like to invite you to Back to School Information Night on Tuesday, September 9th from 6-7 pm, where we will review key information for parents to know to best support your student and answer any questions you may have.

• If you haven't yet, please install the ParentVue app on your device, or bookmark the website. 6th grade and new BMS families will be given the information to create your account on registration day. ParentVue is how you can check your child's class schedule, grades, locker information, report cards, attendance, and other important information about your student.

• The other main platform parents will want to be familiar with this year is Google Classroom. You can view everything on Google Classroom by viewing it through your child's school Google account at classroom.google.com, or by following the invitations sent to you by teachers to their individual Google classrooms.

If you are new to Banks, or just haven't taken a look yet, here is a link to our Banks School District Student Handbook, which contains all of our important policies and procedures. This handbook was updated last year significantly.

We can’t wait to see our students and families and are looking forward to a fantastic year ahead at BMS!

Best wishes,

Caitlin Everett

Banks Middle School Principal

August 12: Registration Day, 8 am - 6 pm. (Kona Ice coming from 2:30-4:30)

August 19-22: Teacher Inservice Week

August 25: First day of school for 6th graders. Drop in visits for new 7th and 8th graders.

August 26: First day of school for 7th and 8th graders

August 29-Sept. 1: No School, Labor Day weekend

Sept. 3: First meeting of Chess Club (every Wednesday from 3;05-4:00). Permission slip coming soon.

Sept. 9: First meeting of Homework club (every Tuesday from 3:15-4:00). Permission slip here.

Sept. 9: Back to School Information Night from 6-7 pm @BMS Cafeteria

Sept. 15: BMS PTO Meeting from 5-6 pm in the BMS Library.

The BMS PTO has invited Kona Ice to BMS registration day (August 12) from 2:30-4:30. This fundraiser will benefit the PTO and all they do for our students and our school! Please come by to support our PTO and our school!

We are excited to release student schedules tomorrow at registration day! Since last February, we have worked to build a school schedule that maximizes academic opportunities for students and allows them a chance to pursue their interests through their elective choices. We review each student schedule in order to ensure that it meets core requirements and balance class sizes, and have made every effort to give students the electives they ranked highest. That said, we cannot always place students in their top choices if that class is full or has a conflict with another class they wanted. If you believe we have made a scheduling error, such as the wrong level, missing course, or a repeated course, you can fill out a schedule change request form. Our team will do our best to make adjustments as they are possible.

BMS Student Leadership is continuing their BottleDrop fundraiser this year as a BottleDrop Give organization and participating using “blue bags”.

Once you fill the bag, you can:

1) Have your student pick up a blue bag with QR code sticker from Ms. King

2) Return it to Mrs. King full of cans/bottles and she will take it to a BottleDrop

3) You can also return it to a BottleDrop location and make sure they scan the BMS Leadership QR code.

If you shop at Fred Meyer you are now able to support our PTO by enrolling in the Community Rewards program with Fred Meyer. Once enrolled, they will contribute $ to the PTO for all eligible purchases.

Signing up is easy. Visit https://www.fredmeyer.com. Once logged into your Fred Meyer account, you can search for Banks Middle School PTO either by name or "VI069" and then click "Enroll". New users will need to create an account, which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a rewards card.

Please see below for our full updated student handbook.