Ballenger Creek Middle School

Dear Ballenger Creek Middle Families,

I hope that you and your loved ones are well. We are just a few short days away from spring break, a time that we wish to be restful and rejuvenating for you and your families before we enter the final stretch of the school year! While we won’t wish any time off away, here are some events and dates to look for in the weeks ahead:

• Monday, April 14th - Monday, April 21st - Schools Closed - Spring Break

• Thursday, April 24th from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. - BCMS Multicultural Night - Please join us to learn about the cultures represented in our community and enjoy free food samples from different cultures.

• Monday, April 28th - Thursday, May 1st - 8:00 - 10:40 a.m. - MCAP testing - Please make sure your students are on time, well-rested, ready to show what they know, and that their Chromebooks are charged!

We’ll look forward to seeing you and your students after the break!

Take care,

Jay Schill

Principal, BCMS

This year, Ballenger Creek Middle School is focused on helping every student achieve their best, with goals around academic success, attendance, behavior, and wellness. We're working to improve proficiency in both English and Math, reduce chronic absenteeism, and ensure that students are supported in making positive choices. Strategies include high-dosage tutoring, early intervention for attendance, social-emotional learning, and wellness activities.

Families play a huge role in student success! Please encourage your child to attend school every day, and check in regularly on their progress. Together, we can create a strong foundation for your child’s future success.

Thank you for your continued partnership!

The first step of the process is to follow these detailed directions (instrucciones detalladas en español) on how to create an account in Unified Talent and then how to complete the two required trainings. After you complete your trainings, you will receive an email with the next steps in the process. Please be aware that the process can take 48-72 hours and MUST BE COMPLETED PRIOR to you volunteering for FCPS.

If you are a current FCPS Employee who is interested in volunteering, you must complete the Volunteer training listed under your Recommended Courses on your Unified Talent Home Page.

The panoramic picture day for 8th grade will Monday, May 19th. More information will be provided in the upcoming Community Newsletters and via email.

Twice weekly students take part in SEL lessons that focus on the social and emotional well being of middle schoolers as well as connecting with one another. The most recent topics covered in the SEL lessons are:

• Healthy Friendships
• Impact of Words
• Celebrating Accomplishments
• Understanding Perspective
• MCAP Practice

Please take a moment and talk with your child about what they learned in the most recent SEL lessons.

Car Rider Drop Off and Pick Up

Please be sure to use the car rider line to drop off and pick up your child each day. Our goal is to ensure the safety of everyone coming to and from school daily. Dropping off students on Ballenger Creek Pike is not only dangerous, but is not permitted. We kindly ask that all car riders are dropped off and picked up properly each and every day.

Students' Walking Home

To ensure the safety of all our walkers, please remind your child to walk on the designated sidewalks and not cut through the car rider line to get the path in the back of the building. It is imperative that our students follow the directions of our staff members daily to ensure that they all get home safely. Also, please remind your child to use designated crosswalks to cross all roadways.

Cell Phones/Personal Electronic Devices

Students are not permitted to use cell phones or any other type of personal electronic device in FCPS middle schools while school is in session. At BCMS, our rule of thumb is "Off and Away from 7:30am-3:00pm." This is important for all of our students as they should be focused on their learning and socializing with their peers and teachers. Please support BCMS by reiterating this message to your child at home.

Outside Food

Outside food is not permitted in our cafeteria. If a student does not have a lunch because they forgot it at home, school staff will support your child in getting a lunch from the cafeteria. However, in the event that you do have to drop off a lunch for your child, please know that your child may not eat food from a restaurant in the cafeteria. The student will be asked to eat the food elsewhere before reporting to the cafeteria. It is best practice to drop off a lunch that is in a packed lunch box for your child so that he or she may remain in the cafeteria during their lunch.

Attendance

Students are to be in their 1st period class each day by 8:00am. If they arrive after 8:00am, students will be marked tardy. When they accumulate 3 tardies, they will be issued a lunch detention and if the chronic tardiness continues, students will be issued after school detention(s). If your child is going to be tardy or absent for any reason, please send an email to BCMS.Attendance@fcps.org. Please be sure to indicate your child's first and last name as well as the reason for the tardy or absence. Thank you for your continued support.

The ELA department welcomes Ms. Karen Whitehair to our team in the 8th grade. Ms. Whitehair is our long term substitute for Ms. Nuckols. Ms. Nuckols recently welcomed her new baby into the world and is enjoying time bonding with her bundle of joy. Ms. Whitehair can be contacted via email at karen.whitehair@fcps.org. Ms. Whitehair will be with us through the end of the school year.

Students will finish module 8 (Geometric Figures) and continue to module 9 (Measure Figures). In module 8, students will finish using angle relationships to find missing values, as well as solving for missing values in triangles, analyzing scale drawings, and exploring three-dimensional figures. In module 9, students will begin by finding the circumference and area of circles, as well as finding the area of composite figures.

7ACC:

Students will complete module 11 (Geometric Figures) and briefly begin module 12 (Area, Surface Area, and Volume). In module 11, students will use angle relationships (such as vertical, adjacent, complementary, and supplementary) to find missing values, as well as use parallel lines to find missing angles, solve for missing values in triangles, analyze scale drawings, and explore three-dimensional figures. In module 12, students will begin by finding the circumference and area of circles, as well as finding the area of composite figures.

8th Grade:

Students will be reviewing topics frequently seen on the Math MCAP Test. These topics include Scatter Plots, Two-Way Tables, Volume (Cylinders, Cones, Spheres), Congruence and Similarity in Geometric Figures. Students will also be reviewing material from prior modules in order to prepare for the MCAP Test.

Algebra:

Students will be finishing module 11 (Quadratic Functions) and working through module 9 (Exponential Functions). In module 9, students will explore the difference between exponential growth and decay as well as investigate the graphs of exponential functions and their transformations.

Students should be checking their grade reports on Schoology weekly to see updates regarding missing/re-do work. If there are any questions regarding student grades, please reach out to your student’s grade level math teacher.

6th Grade:

Students attended Outdoor School for two days between April 4th - April 11th. Please ask your child to share what they learned in Outdoor School with you. Thank you to all of the adult chaperones who gave up their time during the day to spend time in the great outdoors with our students. The support was appreciated!

For more information about Outdoor School and FCPS Outdoor Education, please visit https://sites.google.com/fcps.org/outdoorschool/home.

7th Grade:

Students are working to design a project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes

8th Grade:

Students will be working to analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

Happy Spring!

Please know that as the Maryland State Tests approach - MCAP for ELA and Math - the ML Dept is working hard to prepare your child. We hope they do well on the tests.

There is still time to create a presentation for our Multicultural night with Ms. Rogers on April 25th. So if you are interested in sharing your culture with our school please make a poster or trifold presentation over Spring Break and message Ms. Rogers through Schoology. We have so many wonderful cultures that make up our school community, it would be fantastic if more ML students educated us about the country you come from. Don’t know what information to put on the poster? Well, you can write about holidays, food, customs, clothing, examples of your language (how you say “hello!” or “goodbye!”, greeting customs (bow or shake hands), your family’s traditions, where in the world you come from, geographical features of your country and so much more. You can add pictures too! Also, you can make some national foods and bring them in for people to taste. It sounds like a fun way to get to know each other and each other’s cultures.

If at any time during the school year, you have questions or concerns about your ML student please don’t hesitate to email one of us.

ML Teacher Contact Information:

Sarah Birmanns - 8th grade and A - H 6th grade

• sarah.birmanns@fcps.org

Claudine Webb - 7th grade and I - Z 6th grade

• claudine.webb@fcps.org

April is National Poetry Month!

While your families enjoy Spring Break, consider getting creative and writing some poetry! Perhaps you’ll be inspired by the colorful bloom of the flowers and the budding leaves of the trees.

We have MCAP coming up after Spring Break. We are excited to see how much progress our Bulldogs have made since last spring.

Maryland students in grades 3-8 and 10 take the math and literacy assessment each year. The Literacy assessment will include text-based comprehension questions, vocabulary questions, and constructed response writing prompts to assess:

ELA/Literacy

• Vocabulary

• Reading

• Literary

• Informational

• Writing

• Written Expression

• Written Conventions

In order for our students to do their best, we want them to:

• Come prepared with a charged Chromebook, a pencil, and a book

• Sleep well

• Eat a healthy, filling breakfast

• Stay focused

• Use your time to try your best

Contact Information:

Katherine Shaffer, Literacy Specialist

Email: Katherine.Shaffer@fcps.org

Phone: 227-203-2150 Ext. 41608

It’s time to check in with where we are on ALEKS topics. At this point in the year we should be 60% or more of the way through our ALEKS topics for our curriculum. Teachers assign 5 ALEKS topics a week to be completed. But if the student is not retaining the topics when taking their Knowledge Checks then you will see a drop in topic mastery. This is important because I will have students come to me and say they do their 5 topics why should they care to do more. The answer is that if we can get the students to be close to the 60%-70% mastery before MCAP they will have a higher chance of being proficient. If we can get them to 80%-100% before the end of the year we can set them up for success in the next curriculum they see for next year. This reduces their stress when learning the next material because they will have the prerequisites needed to be successful.

Contact Information:

Laura Boyer, Math Specialist

Email: Laura.Boyer@fcps.org

Phone: 227-203-2150 Ext. 41574

Local Summer Enrichment Programs:

• Frederick City: Summer Camps and Activities - be sure to use the filters to make the activity list more manageable.
  
  

• Frederick County: Parks and Recreation Summer Programming - be sure to use the filters to make the activity list more manageable.

• GEMS Summer STEM Enrichment Program
  Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (GEMS) is a free, U.S. Army-sponsored, summer STEM enrichment program for middle and high school students that takes place within Fort Detrick’s research laboratories and engineering centers. Students will receive a $125 stipend at the end of the program. The student application is open until April 14. For more information, visit the GEMS website.

Christine Brown | Middle School Advanced Academics Teacher Specialist

Serving Ballenger Creek MS & Brunswick MS

URGENT: BCMS PTSA officers needed for 2025-2026

BCMS Community:

The Nominating Committee of the BCMS PTSA is seeking candidates to fill the following 4 officer vacancies on the 2025-2026 Board of Directors:

• President – runs the PTSA meetings and serves as the main point of contact for the PTSA
• Vice President – acts as an aid to the president
• Treasurer – responsible for the monthly budget reports, making deposits & handling the disbursements of funds
• Secretary – records and distributes the monthly meeting minutes

If these positions are not filled by the PTSA’s general membership meeting in May, there will be no PTSA next year.

What does not having a PTSA mean for the BCMS staff and students? Without the PTSA, there will be...

• No PTSA funds for student field trips
• No PTSA funds for the 6th, 7th and 8th grade year-end picnics
• No PTSA funds for the BCMS SGA
• No PTSA funds for the BCMS Friendship Club
• No PTSA funds for the BCMS Chorus, Band or Orchestra
• No PTSA funds for the BCMS Drama Club
• No annual Reflections contest for BCMS students
• No “Welcome Back” breakfast for the BCMS staff
• No Conference Week dinner for the BCMS staff
• No Holiday Cookie Party for the BCMS Staff
• No Staff Appreciation lunch during Teacher Appreciation Week in May

Do you have the time to attend one evening Zoom meeting each month? Then the PTSA could use your help! Most of the current PTSA Board members are working parents and since there is no daytime commitment required to volunteer with the PTSA, we encourage you to consider helping out next year. Training will be available. The PTSA is a wonderfully supportive team of parents and staff members, and we would love to have your help.

Officers will be elected at the PTSA's General Membership Meeting in May and their terms will take effect July 1st.

Please contact the BCMS PTSA at ballengercreekms.ptsa@gmail.com if you are willing to step up.

Thank you for your consideration.

The 2025 Nominating Committee,

Nancy Gardetto, Jen Pond, & Lauren Thuro

BCMS Spirit Wear

BCMS SPIRIT WEAR IS STILL AVAILABLE!

Spirit Wear can be purchased online all year. Spirit wear makes great gifts for birthdays and holidays so we encourage you to keep us in mind. Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for the next school year and purchase spirit wear in advance.

New designs have been added showing our Bulldog mascot! Orders can be placed online at http://www.ballengercreekspiritwear.com.

PTSA MEMBERSHIP

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING THE PTSA!

Families, faculty and students: this is a great time to join the BCMS PTSA. Yes, that’s right! Students are permitted to join the PTSA. The cost of a membership for parents is $10 but is only $5 for students.

The PTSA’s Board of Directors typically meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month virtually. The link will be sent out via email ahead of the meeting date. All PTSA members are welcome to attend these monthly meetings. Joining these meetings is a wonderful way to get involved with your child’s school. We want to hear from you!

The goal is 130 members this year. There are nearly 800 students and over 90 staff members at BCMS this year. We can do it! You may join the BCMS PTSA by going to https://bcms.memberhub.com/store.

School Counselor Contact Information:

• Grade 6 - Johnny Webber (johnny.webber@fcps.org)
• Grade 7 - Rebecca Reese (rebecca.reese@fcps.org)
• Grade 8 - Dave Ledyard (david.ledyard@fcps.org)

FCPL-April Programs @ the Public Library

The "BCMS Media Center Pass" System

• The "BCMS Media Center Pass" system allows students to sign up to use the Media Center for book checkout, independent work in the Media Center (with teacher permission), and lunch opportunities. The pass system link is in our Schoology Course.

Overdue Books:

• Students can also use their LS2 accounts to check their account status and which books they have out.

• Still have overdue books? Please send them ASAP.

• We can also take books from other schools, check them in, and send them back to where they belong.

Technology Reminders:

Device Care & Usage - All students have been issued an FCPS Chromebook and are responsible for proper care and use of their devices. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Keeping the device in the school issued case at all times.

• Refraining from sharing the device and/or charger with others.

• Refraining from adding stickers or drawing on the device.

• Only using websites and programs as instructed by staff.

• Charging their devices each night so it is ready for use the next day.

As a reminder, when students are assigned a Chromebook, charger, and case, the use of a school issued device, during the school day or at home, is a privilege that comes with responsibilities. If repair for a damaged device incurs a charge, a financial obligation will be issued as follows:

• 1st Incident: $30
• 2nd Incident: $60
• 3rd Incident: $120
• 4th Incident: Full replacement cost: $317
• Lost Charger: $30
• Case: $25

FCPS reserves the right to charge full replacement/repair cost if the device is intentionally damaged. Any damage that occurs to a device while not in the case will be considered intentional.

Mr. Steedley

isaiah.steedley@fcps.org

User Support Specialist

Update from Ms. Rogers, Community Liaison

I am the person who you will reach out to if you are in need of any resources for your child or your family. I also work collaboratively between home and school to bridge the communication and make things easier for everyone. Some supports that I can assist you with are getting food if your pantry is low, helping to locate a therapist, transportation, school lunch support, etc. I am here to support our school community and am only a phone call or email away.

Ms. Kathleen Rogers

kathleen.rogers@fcps.org

240-236-5773

Frederick Food Bank Information

The Frederick Food Bank at Trinity (6040 New Design Road) will operate for food distribution from 2:00pm to 4:00pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for residents seeking assistance.

The Food Bank at 14 E. All Saints will continue to operate from 2:00pm to 4:00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It is also open from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Additional Food Pantry Information:

Crestwood Middle School will have a food drop that will take place the 4th Tuesday of every month, which is also open to families from our school community.

Want to Be a FCPS Volunteer?

Please follow all directions to create an account in order to complete the FCPS volunteer training, which is linked at the top of our Community Newsletter.

Lunch Monitor Volunteers NEEDED

BCMS is looking for volunteers to help support lunch monitoring in all of our grade level lunch shifts. Lunch occurs between 11:00am to 1:25pm Monday through Fridays. If you are interested in volunteering by monitoring lunch shifts, it would be greatly appreciated. It is also most helpful to have someone who will volunteer on a specific day/time each week so that our students get to know the volunteer. If this volunteer position is of interest to you, please call me at 227-203-2168 ext. 4158. BCMS could really use your support!

Free and Reduced Lunch Information

I am pleased to announce that you can now register for Titans Youth Soccer Camp.

Camp will be held at Tuscarora High School from 8:30a-12:30p on 6/23-6/26. We will hold Friday, 6/27, open as a rain date. This is a 4-day camp.

Camp is for boys entering Kindergarten - 9th grade for the 2025-26 school year (currently in Pre K-8th).

Follow this link to find information about camp:

https://soccer.titansportscamps.com/index.cfm

Follow this link to register:

https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?sport=7&id=292488

Follow this link for last year's camp video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=nKQ6lX7SgTQ

We've shattered camp records over the last 3 summers, finishing last summer with 162 campers. Soccer has grown so much in our community and camp has become so popular that we will be forced to move away from the coed model and have a separate girls camp, likely the week after the boys camp (more info to come).

Thanks and hope to see you there!

Todd Knepper

Tuscarora High School

Drawing & Painting Teacher

Boys Soccer Head Coach (Twitter: @giveallgainall)

• April 14th - April 21st - Spring Break (Schools Closed)
• April 28th - May 1st - MCAP Testing (All grade levels)
• May 7th - Spring Chorus Concert @ 6:00pm
• May 8th - Spring Instrumental Concert @ 6:00pm
• May 9th - Mid-Term (2 Hr Early Dismissal for Students)
• May 26th - Memorial Day (Schools and Offices Closed)
• June 12th - Last Day of School (2 Hr Early Dismissal for Students)