BMS STAR - Week 3

Good Afternoon BMS Teachers and Staff,

Hawk Hooray for an amazing first full week together!

• Please take a moment to review the BMS Calendar and Weekly Bulletin for the week ahead.

• Check out the Important Links section to find slides from our professional learning this week.

Enjoy the three-day weekend — wishing you a restful and peaceful Labor Day!

#ALLIN!

V

"A community is a group of people who agree to grow together." ~Simon Sinek

• Thank you to the 8th grade team for being positive and patient with me through my first full week as the 8th grade lead. Your help and reassurance means a lot!
• Thank you to my SEL team for being the best supportive team I could ever ask for!!! You guys make my challenging days so much better <3
• Hawk Hooray to the ELA teachers on their first FULL week of HMH curriculum implementation! XOXO
• Renee Swidron...thank you for being so organized leading 8th grade and getting everyone what they need!
• Ms. V- I appreciate your positivity and efforts to connect with every student and every staff member in the building. Your positive energy and dedication to school improvement (in all capacities) is evident in everything you do. Thank you!!
• Mrs. G for stepping into my classroom twice this week when we needed it! Learning didn't stop and that makes me SO happy and grateful! Thank you, Mrs. G! -Mrs. Baker
• Mr Ramel for supporting my friends when we needed their para elsewhere. Thank you Mr Ramel!!
• Patricia at the front desk! I am not fluent in spanish (practicing every day) and I have been asking Patti for help translating. There have been a couple times I've needed to contact parents regarding the health of their child and without Patti I would have been lost! The health office, students and parents appreciate her so much!
• Thank you Beth, Mike and Sam for letting me borrow a few students on Friday. Greatly appreciated! -Sublett
• To Cunniff and Cots.... thanks so much for the support at the beginning of this year. You made me feel like I can handle this!
• Marian Q for helping me make sure all chromebooks were passed out!
• Thanks to my co-teachers (Verardi, Moritz, and Alberico) for being flexible, understanding, and great collaborators!
• Sarah Taylor for jumping in to help model STAR behaviors in the Cafeteria during 6th grade lunch. Thanks for being such a great teacher, person and team mate. Proud to report 6th Grade lunch was very successful yesterday and the whole grade earn Blackhawk Bucks, we owe some of that thanks/success to you! - Amy R.
• Hip Hip Hooray for Mrs. Barca & Mrs. Mazzone! I’m so glad to co-teach in your classroom, collaborating and learning alongside you is such a joy. 🎉
• BIG shout out to Nick Georgopoulos and his organization for donating the backpacks to our school. Your generosity and thoughtfulness show how much you care about our kids, and we really appreciate the extra effort you put in to support them. You truly make a difference in our school. The SEL team.
• "V" for your support during my meltdown. Thank you for your kindness & understanding!
• Mary Corbett, thank you for all of your work preparing for MAP testing and rostering. You are AWESOME!
• Thank you to the Assessment Team (Cora, Tara, Elyssa, Katie, Carly, Mary C., Matt, and V) for supporting all that goes into smooth MAP testing here at BMS!
• Melissa Glynn, Sarah Tayor, Beth Moritz, Lauren Cunniff, Lia Cotsiomitis, Jack Sullivan & Dave Ellett for turning in a CARE Request!
• Jesse Delacruz, thank you for navigating all of the changes and working to make sure our students and teachers have access to all of their tech needs!
• I forgot to add Bill Winters to the teacher list of who "submitted" CARE requests. Thank you!

• Sarah Taylor & Julie Polifka - I’m so blessed to have found my home with y’all!! Looking forward to an amazing year ladies! :)

• Thank you, Jacqui for getting us organized and providing consistency! We appreciate it!

• Thank you, Kim, for all of your help and diving right in!
• The best tech partner someone could ask for - MARY CORBETT!! - Anonymous IT person

• SY25-26 BSD2 Classroom Expectations and Guidelines
• BSD2 Dress Code
• BMS Go-To Contact List 2025-2026 (Live Document - still adding to it)
• BMS Referral Flowchart Revised August 2025.pdf
• 8.18.25 Institute Day
• 8.19.25 Institute Day
• Prioritizing Student and Staff Safety

• Grounding our Work in The Opportunity Myth

  • Slide deck

  • Three Levels of Text Protocol

  • 6 Word Summary Strategy

• Attendance and Absenteeism Policies, Procedures, and Expectations
• Student Handbook

Link your individual presentation as “View Only” HERE by September 8, 2025.

Shout out to Jessica Seiglie and Mary Corbett! The scripts have been added into the templates section in Kinvolved to make it easier to communicate with parents! Hawk Hooray!

To improve safety during arrival and dismissal, we will be making a temporary adjustment in the parking lot.

From Monday, September 8 through Friday, September 12, 10 parking spots along the side of the school building will be coned off in order to extend the student drop-off and pick-up zone.

Please note: Parking will not be allowed in these designated spots between 6:30 AM – 3:30 PM.

This adjustment is temporary and is intended to:

• Improve the overall flow of traffic in the parking lot
• Reduce backup onto Church Road
• Increase visibility for pedestrians walking near the building

Based on the results of this adjustment, we will evaluate whether to make this change permanent.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in keeping our school community safe and efficient during arrival and dismissal.

Interested in joining our PTO? We meet in the cafeteria once a month and start promptly at 6:30 PM.

• President: Diana Medina
• Vice President: Marissa Jimenez
• Secretary: Mojca Anaya
• Treasurer: Michelle Juran

Our first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 4.

All purchases, even small ones, should be submitted for purchasing by the District or school offices. Staff should not purchase items with their own funds. Reimbursement requests are generally not accepted any more.

Please know this is different than what you may be used to. We are not able to provide reimbursements moving forward. Thank you for your cooperation.

Schools will be available the first two Saturdays (August 16th and August 23rd) as well as the last two Saturdays of the school year (June 6th and June 13th). Teachers will have access from 7:30am-3:30pm.

District 2 prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Title IX Coordinator. The notice of nondiscrimination is located at https://www.bsd2.org/students-families/non-discrimination-title-ix-and-anti-harassment

Diana Vergara - Principal

dvergara@bsd2.org

Jacquelyn LeMon-Williamson, Assistant Principal

jlemon@bsd2.org

Kim Shaffer, Interim Assistant Principal

kshaffer@bsd2.org

Mary Hamilton, Students Services Coordinator

mhamilton@bsd2.org