BHMS Weekly Update

Dear Beacon Hill Families,

As we end the week, I want to express my sincere thanks to the students who engaged in peaceful, orderly protests regarding recent national events. The walkout at BHMS on February 4 was a collaborative effort involving student leaders, myself, and other school administrators, designed to offer students who chose to amplify their voices an opportunity to do so while ensuring a safe, supervised, and orderly campus environment. I especially appreciate that students returned to class immediately.

I would also like to thank the parents who reached out to share their perspectives regarding the students who participated in the walkout organized by DHS on Friday, January 30. Recognizing that student safety is a shared commitment between families and schools, I appreciate you taking the time to communicate your concerns. My directive was to follow the same plan discussed for February 4. However, it appears that while I was away on school business, the plan was not executed as intended.

Any incident involving students is taken very seriously. I assure you that I will take the feedback received to gain deeper insights into this matter and address the concerns internally with staff for clarity and consistency in our approach moving forward.

Since Beacon Hill is a public school, both plans also aimed to minimize disruptions to classroom instruction while honoring the diverse perspectives within our community. Participation in the walkouts was voluntary and should not be seen as an endorsement of the demonstrations by the school.

In response to the events of Friday, January 30, and Wednesday, February 4, no students involved on either day will receive disciplinary action. This decision offers BHMS an opportunity to enhance our processes and to adopt a proactive approach that balances student voice with established board policies for student demonstrations.

Thank you again for your partnership in ensuring the safety and success of all students at BHMS, as well as your ongoing support for our school community.

As we prepare to celebrate Black History Month, we are excited to share a snapshot of the meaningful and engaging activities planned for February. These experiences are designed to honor Black history, culture, and excellence while building community and student voice.

All Month | Hallway Soundtrack of Black History
Throughout the month, students will hear instrumental or clean music by Black artists during class transitions, arrival, and dismissal. Playlists will feature a variety of genres and eras, highlighting the richness and influence of Black music.

All Month | Black History Read-Alouds
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, students will hear short texts, poems, or excerpts shared during morning announcements that highlight Black history and voices.

Feb. 2–6 | Door Decorating Week – “Local Legends”
Advisement classes will decorate their classroom doors to highlight local Black leaders and changemakers. PAC students will serve as judges, and prizes will be awarded to the winning advisement classes.

Feb. 9–13 | Black History Trivia Week (with prizes!)
Daily trivia questions will be shared during morning announcements, featuring Black contributors, scientists, inventors, artists, activists, and local Black history. Students will submit answers using a Google Form that includes their name and advisement.
Points will be awarded for correct responses based on submission time:

• 1st correct response: 3 points

• 2nd correct response: 2 points

• 3rd correct response: 1 point

Advisement classes will compete throughout the week, and the top advisement from each grade level with the highest total points will win a prize.

Feb. 23–27 | Black History Spirit Week
Flyers with visuals will be shared soon. Spirit days include:

• Monday – Black Excellence Day: Dress as a Black leader, innovator, artist, or athlete, or wear HBCU, college, or career gear

• Tuesday – Unity Day: Wear red, black, or green to show unity in diversity.

• Wednesday – Do It for the Culture: Celebrate the vibrancy of Black culture and wear clothing that represents your culture.

• Thursday – Blackout Day: Wear all-black to celebrate unity and solidarity.

• Friday – School Colors + Black History Matters: Show school pride and celebrate Black history with affirmations

We appreciate your support and participation as we honor Black history, culture, and excellence throughout the month.

This is a reminder to families about the BHMS traffic plan, to support student safety, keep traffic moving, and ensure continued access for our neighbors during morning drop-off.

Walking, biking, or riding the bus are always encouraged. If you drive your student to school, please follow these reminders:

• Use the Agnes Scott Drop & Walk Zone for AM drop-off only (do not park).

• Follow one-way traffic on Ansley Street, Kings Highway, and Adams Street.

• Do not stop in travel lanes or block intersections to drop students off. This includes stopping in both lanes on Adams Street or at parking lot exits.

• The front drop-off lane must remain continuously moving. Please do not idle, wait, or stop to make phone calls after dropping off your student.

• Do not drop students off on Kings Highway, including near the side entrance or parking lot corner. Stopping in these areas blocks crosswalks and creates unsafe conditions for students and crossing guards.

• Do not block the entrance to the bus loop.

• Please do not park in staff-designated parking spaces.

Thank you for helping us keep mornings safe, efficient, and respectful of our school community.

At Beacon Hill Middle School, our mission is to ensure every student feels Seen, Supported, and Successful. To achieve this, we rely on a strong partnership with our families. We invite you to participate in the annual GaDOE School Climate Survey, an anonymous statewide tool that measures perceptions of school safety, relationships, and our overall learning environment.

Your feedback is more than just data; we use it to revise and create our BHMS Action Plan (School 90 Day Plan). These insights allow our School Leadership Team to monitor progress and implement targeted strategies that directly enhance your child's daily experience. Please take 10–15 minutes to share your perspective and help us continue to elevate the standard of excellence at BHMS.

Beacon Hill Middle School Family Survey

Is your student currently enrolled in a high school-level course at Beacon Hill (World Language I, World Language II, Enhanced Algebra, Enhanced Lit/Comp)? If they earn a 70 or above, they will automatically receive high school graduation credit. While these credits count toward graduation, they do not impact your student's high school GPA or HOPE Scholarship eligibility.

Should You Decline Credit?

It is strongly recommended that parents decline credit if a student earns below an 80 in the course. This allows the student to retake the course in high school to build a stronger foundation without penalty.

How to Opt-Out

If you wish to decline credit, you must complete the Course Credit Refusal form in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal by Thursday, February 26.

1. Login: Access the Parent Portal and select your middle school student.

2. Locate Document: Click on Documents in the menu and select Course Credit Refusal.

3. Submit: Choose "I do NOT want this credit" for the specific course, sign electronically, and click submit.

Note: If no form is submitted, credit will be awarded automatically. Once submitted, this decision is final.

For technical support, please contact Robyn Tibbetts

This week, we celebrate National School Counseling Week, and we are incredibly fortunate to have the best in the business. Our counselors work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure every student feels seen, supported, and successful.

To make the week even more special, our counseling team went above and beyond by gifting the BHMS staff with a fun "sticker treat" as a token of appreciation. It is a testament to their spirit—even during a week meant to celebrate them, they are busy uplifting everyone else. Please join us in thanking them for their unwavering dedication to our school community!

Our Sixth Grade Earth Scientists brought their energy unit to life this week through an immersive inquiry-based simulation! Grounded in our mission to ensure every student is Seen, Supported, and Successful, students moved beyond the textbook to analyze the real-world impact of resource depletion.

Through this hands-on "cultural lab" of science, students:

• Investigated Depletion: Analyzed the rate at which different resources disappear over time.

• Compared Sources: Evaluated the long-term sustainability of renewable vs. nonrenewable energy.

• Built IB Skills: Applied critical thinking and transfer skills to global environmental challenges.

A lucky raffle win from Little Shop of Stories brought an incredible opportunity to Beacon Hill this week! We were honored to host a virtual visit with acclaimed authors Karina Yan Glaser and James Ponti for our 6th and 7th-grade students.

This engaging session aligned perfectly with our ELA standards, offering students a firsthand look at how professional authors utilize context, background knowledge, and vocabulary to build meaning. Having a recent Newbery Award winner share their expertise was a true highlight of the week. Thank you, Mr. Bartl, for organizing this event for our 6th and 7th-grade students!

Spring is just around the corner, and we are getting ready to grow! We are excited to announce that we will soon be starting seedlings for our school garden using the seed snail method. To make this project a success (and to keep it eco-friendly), we are asking for donations of specific recyclable materials that you might otherwise throw away. We are currently collecting: Plastic Foam Wrap: The thin white foam sheets often found wrapping new electronics or dishes. Bubble Wrap: Any size or bubble type. Woven Feed Bags: Empty dog food or chicken feed bags. Note: Please ensure all items, especially pet food bags, are wiped clean and dry before donating to prevent attracting pests.

Drop-off Instructions: If you have any of these items, please drop them off at the Main Office. Please label the bag or stack for Krysta Johnson. Thank you for helping us turn your recyclables into a living classroom for our students!

City Schools of Decatur has a long-standing tradition of honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King by celebrating students who embody the values of freedom, justice, democracy, and service. The opportunity is open to students currently enrolled in City Schools of Decatur, from 3rd to 12th grade.

How to Participate: All BHMS students are invited to submit an original response to this year’s prompt through artwork, video, an essay, or a poem. For full submission details, the official prompts, and a student-friendly checklist, please refer to the 2025-26 CSK/MLK Family guide linked here. We can’t wait to see your creativity in action!

Important Dates:

• Virtual Information Session: Monday, January 26, 5:00 – 5:30 p.m

• Join via Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/pfk-pvzi-fro.

• Submission Deadline: Thursday, February 12, 2026, by the end of the school day.

District Awards Ceremony: Wednesday, February 25, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m

Read the February 5, 2026, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

Your Safe Routes to School (SRTS) champions would love your support to help recognize and celebrate our wonderful bus drivers, who safely get our kids to and from school every day, regardless of the weather or how much traffic is on our streets. Often these drivers work double duty…getting students to games, events and field trips.

As we did for our crossing guards, we are collecting contributions for our CSD bus drivers until Friday, February 13 (before Winter Break begins). All donations will be distributed to our bus drivers at an event on February 25.

If you would like to contribute, then please reach out to Leah Manley (LeahManley@gmail.com) or donate directly through Venmo or PayPal @leahmanley (last four digits of the cell are 3007).

You also can drop off gift cards at the BHMS front office or deliver your own notes of kindness personally to your bus driver. Please remind your children to greet and thank their driver this month…and every day.

Let’s show our love and appreciation! Thank you for all your support.

Donations to the BHMS PTA directly support our teachers, staff and students during the 2025–2026 school year. Through your generosity, we are able to fund a variety of events such as the Staff Self-Care Day (pictured above), organized by the PTA Wellness Committee and the BHMS Counseling Department. Staff were treated to a hot beverage bar, sweet and healthy treats, sensory and mindfulness activities, complimentary chair massages from Hand & Stone Decatur, and other relaxation and rejuvenation activities. All donations to the PTA are tax-deductible. To make a donation, visit the BHMS PTA website at https://bit.ly/BHMS-PTA.

PBIS BARK STORE
The PBIS B.A.R.K. Store celebrates students who demonstrate Best Effort, Accountability, Respectfulness and Kindness. Volunteers are needed on Fridays during student lunch periods (which run from 11 am to 2 pm) to help distribute items students have earned through BARK points. Do you have an hour to spare? Sign up here.

BHMS STAFF APPRECIATION: SECOND SEMESTER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

A few slots remain for donating items to the teacher/staff snack cart and lounge, as well as operating the cart on snack cart days, and helping with the end-of-year staff luncheon. Please take a moment to review the available slots in our sign-up link.

NOTE: We will host a separate series of events for staff during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4 through May 8. A sign-up will be sent specifically for that major event.

PTA CAR MAGNETS
Beacon Hill Middle School car magnets are a great way to show school spirit and support the PTA! They are available for $5 each through this payment link. (Please include your student’s name in the comment section.) Magnets can be picked up at the front office for pickup by you or your child.

• BHMS Website
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• Grading Quick Facts 6-12
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