Banks Middle School

Dear Families,

As we approach fall break, I want to wish you all a joyful and restful week and hope you all have time to connect with family and friends! After the break, we have three weeks of school and then it will be off to winter break. Here are some brief updates on various topics, and we also have quite a lot of new content in today's newsletter, so read on!

Banksgiving - We are excited to announce that we are doing a district-wide drive this year for canned food, clothing, and toys! All 13 grades will be in teams. Collection boxes will be in first period classes. We are collecting new clothing, food, and new toys. You can send items with your student to school from December 2nd to 13th!

Book Fair - Our annual Scholastic Book Fair will be taking place the week of December 11-15! This is a fundraiser for our school, as well as a fun opportunity for your students to check out some awesome books! If you would like your child to be able to purchase books with an e-wallet, you can add money to their e-wallet account here.

February 20th - Science Fair and Outdoor School Information Night - Save the Date! We have two important events coming up on February 20th. First, from 4-6 pm, we will be hosting our annual Science Fair. This is a family friendly event where students showcase their projects and we will also have some hands on science displays. After that, we will be hosting an Outdoor School Information Night for 6th grade families, from 6:15-7:15 pm. If you have questions about Outdoor school, or just want to learn more about the experience, I highly encourage you to attend. A representative from Outdoor school staff will be there to answer your questions.

Read on for more information on:

• Braves Apparel fundraiser from our PTO
• Teen programming at the Banks Library, including a makerspace
• Parenting seminar on talking to teens about tough topics (mental health and substance abuse)
• Vaccine clinics in Forest Grove

Best wishes,

Caitlin Everett

BMS Principal

November 22nd - Twin Day, Spirit Assembly and Banksgiving Drive Kick-off

November 25th-29th - No School, Fall Break

December 2nd - 13th - Banksgiving - Food, Clothing, and Toy Drive

December 9th-13th - Winter Drawing Contest

December 11th -15th - Book Fair

December 11th - Winter Craft and Cookie Fest hosted by Leadership, 3:15-4:30 pm

December 12th - Winter Band and Choir Concert

December 16th -20th - Winter Spirit Week and Friday Assembly

December 21-January 5 - Winter Break

February 20th - Science Fair 4-6 pm

February 20th - Outdoor School Family Information Night 6:15-7:15 pm (after the Science Fair)

April 22nd - 25th - Outdoor School for 6th graders

Every Tuesday and Thursday after school from 3:15-4:00 - Homework Club

Leadership is kicking off our first fundraiser of the year! We are now 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.

Yearbooks are now on sale!

We want to feature many amazing students and staff, so we are increasing the size of the book!

The cost is $25 and money can be turned in to Mrs. Turner in the office or online at Jostens. Books are on sale until February 28, 2025

Homework club is an after school activity where students can work on school work in a supervised setting. Homework club is from 3:15-4:00 on Tuesday and Thursday in the library beginning 9/3/24. Permission slips are required, students can get a permission slip in the office. Please note, a student needs to have work to do during homework club. It is not a place to "hang out" or pass time after school. Also note that attendance is not taken, please be aware of your child's homework club attendance plans ahead of time and ensure they have a way home, as transportation is not provided.

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.