BRMS January Family Newsletter

January 23rd, 2025

A Word From the Principal Team

Hello Badger Ridge Families! It is hard to believe that the first semester is behind us and that second semester has begun. It has been a busy month with our students just finishing STAR Reading and Math and submitting their final assignments for 2nd quarter. Thank you for continuing to support our scholars’ academic success!

This newsletter has information regarding assessments, 8th to 9th grade transition, AVID, and PBIS focus areas for second semester. Kick back, enjoy, and stay warm!

School Announcements

📅 Important Dates to Know

January 21st - Semester 2 begins
January 30th - Deadline for Course Requests for 8th Grade Students
January 31st - BRMS/CKCS All School Dance
February 1st - First Day of Black History Month
February 11th - Student Schoolwide Selections Due
February 17th - Presidents’ Day

📝 Assessments

Star Testing: We are currently taking the winter Star assessments. The window for these assessments closes on February 5th. Reports will be printed the week of February 10th and then sent out to families. Please see this Star Family Letter for a deeper explanation of our Star assessments.

💻 Tech News/Updates

Digital Citizenship: Students and staff have continued to dig into the digital citizenship lessons from Common Sense Media during their Advisory period in December and January. In December, students learned about their “Media Balance and Well Being” and in January they learned about “Cyberbullying, Digital Drama, Hate Speech.” For more information, Common Sense Media provides a family activity and tips about each theme.

👥 Family Engagement and Community Needs Assessment Survey

Thank you to those who have taken the time to take the survey! The family engagement team is currently in the process of deep data analysis, developing concrete next steps for the remainder of this year and into next year, and developing communication to families about our findings (themes). We plan to have this finalized and shared with you by our February newsletter.

Parent Resources of the Month

🤝 Family Emergency Safety Planning Support

We have heard members of our school family express a wide range of emotions and fears given recent political developments. There is support available for Badger Ridge families, including assistance with safety planning, designation of a Power of Attorney for minor children, and referral to an Immigration Attorney. If you need support, please contact Sarah Hall, School Social Worker, at halls@verona.k12.wi.us and Charlie Knott, Spanish Interpreter, at knotte@verona.k12.wi.us.

Hiring/Volunteers

We are looking for volunteers to support students and staff in various capacities throughout the school year! If you are interested in volunteering, please explore our volunteer opportunities and complete a volunteer application and background check. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Hall, School Social Worker, at halls@verona.k12.wi.us or (608)845-4408.

Notes From Our Nurse

💉 School Vaccine Clinic

Public Health Madison & Dane County is partnering with Madison Metropolitan School District and SSM Health again in a month to offer another school vaccine clinic to get and keep students up to date on their school vaccines. This clinic will take place at the below time and date in Madison.

Saturday, February 8 – 10am-12pm – at Holtzman Learning Center

It is highly recommended that you schedule an appointment. Scheduling is very simple through our website, and there is important information in the appointment confirmation and reminder emails to help families prepare for the clinic so that it’s a faster and more positive experience for everyone.

It is recommended that families bring students’ immunization records with them to the clinic or to take a picture of their record and upload it when they schedule their appointment (there will be an option to upload any records they have).

Find more information on the flyer, or via publichealthmdc.com/schoolclinics.

Student Services

🎓 8th Grade Transition Update

As many of you already know, VAHS needed to postpone the Programs and Pathways event due to cold weather. The new event is scheduled for Thursday- January 23rd from 5-8 pm. The same program format will be followed. This also impacted the window for registration of courses which has been adjusted to open after the event on Thursday so your scholars can see all there is to offer before making course requests for the 25-26 school year. We hope all families will attend this event.

6th and 7th Grade Transition Update

BRMS 6th and 7th grade students will soon begin the course selection process for the upcoming school year. During the week of February 3rd, our school counselors will be presenting important information to students about their options for schoolwide classes. Students will then have the opportunity to make their selections, which must be submitted by February 11th.

Please encourage your child to consider their interests and goals carefully when selecting their courses. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our counseling team.

Amie Pittman- 608-845-4431 or pittmana@verona.k12.wi.us

(serving 8th grade students and 6th grade students with last name A-K)

Elvis Ajong- 608-845-4425 or ajong@verona.k12.wi.us

(serving 7th grade students and 6th grade students with last names L-Z)

📓 Supplies for 2nd Semester Schoolwide Courses

It’s time to send in supplies for your child’s 2nd Semester Schoolwide classes! Students should deliver their supplies directly to their Schoolwide teachers.

6th Grade List

7th Grade List

8th Grade List

You can also shop and send us supplies directly using our Amazon Wish List!

AVID

💼 Badger Ridge Career Fair

We will be hosting another Career Fair this coming spring. On April 23rd, students from Badger Ridge will be able to hear from many people about their amazing careers, jobs, and experiences. If you are interested in sharing about your career with students, or know someone who would, please note interest through this JotForm. We can only offer this opportunity to students with willing presenters! Thank you!

📔 AVID Elective

We have some exciting news to share! We will be expanding our AVID Elective class to one section of 7th grade students starting next school year! Every year, we analyze student data to recruit students into the next cohort of Elective students. Students can elect AVID only by invitation and interview process based on a comprehensive data review of qualifying indicators. AVID is for students with the potential for honors, advanced, Pre-AP®, and AP® work in high school but need support paired with rigor. Students in AVID must maintain an NM or higher in their standards for all of their classes throughout the school year.

Criteria we consider when selecting AVID Elective students include:

1st-generation college student
Strong attendance (90% or higher)
Academic “middle” (regularly Near Mastery or Mastery of Standards)
Average to high test (STAR, Forward) scores
Desire to attend college

What the AVID Elective is not...

an “at-risk” system. It is designed to support students who would otherwise not attend and graduate from a four-year college/university.
for students who struggle to complete any of their classwork.
for students who consistently receive grades of “NE” or “BL”.
for students who receive other services to support their learning needs that would make taking the AVID elective difficult (sheltered and/or self-contained classes) or have multiple interventions.
for unmotivated students. They must have individual determination.

Please reach out to Christina Grove (grovec@verona.k12.wi.us), AVID Coordinator, with any questions.

📆 Student Planners

Looking for ways to talk with your student(s) about their planners? Check out these ideas:

How are you using the planner to help you stay organized and track assignments?
How could you track other activities in your planner (clubs, appointments, family events)?
What goals do you have? How can you set an action plan in your planner?
Ask to see it! Talk to them about what you see (or don’t see).

PBIS and Restorative Practices at a Glance

⛄ January Focus Expectation

Our PBIS team decided to start the year off strong, but having our January challenge be around our Power 6 of “Ready and Focused on Learning”. Advisories get points for setting organizational goals and using their planners. Next month we will be focusing on showing our Power 6 in the hallways!

🧠 7 Mindsets

We just finished learning about the Mindset of “We are Connected” and will begin moving into “100% Accountable” in the coming weeks. As we close out our learning related to the "We are Connected” Mindset, we will come together during an all school assembly on Friday, January 24th as a way to celebrate community and be transparent about what we have learned from our students related to their perceptions of belonging in school.The 100% Accountable mindset empowers us to take control of our happiness and success by acknowledging our choices, actions, and attitudes shape our life. Family guides that provide additional detail and information about connections to home are provided in both English and Spanish! Please reach out to Olivia Berch, Dean of Students, with any questions!

⌛ Climate Survey

Students took a climate survey focused on belonging at the end of December. As a building, our strengths at Badger Ridge are that students….

Know and use their classmates preferred names
Feel others know and use their preferred name
Feel that adults at school welcome students’ personality and how they show up
Show up to class prepared

Our areas of priority to grow are providing an environment where students:

See aspects of their identity reflected at school
Feel adults show interest in their life outside of school
Have regular opportunities to honor their culture, language, and things that are important to them

The assembly will be another opportunity to support belonging by bringing our community together.

Themes of the assembly will include a brief review of our climate data, time to reflect on personal identities, and dialogue on how all members of the Badger Ridge family can co-exist within our space.

Highlights of the Month

TWI Family Night

On January 14th, we had a very successful TWI Family Night! Students, teachers, and district leaders had an opportunity to connect through games, conversation, and snacks. Then, our 8th grade students and their families learned more about the transition to high school and TWI high school offerings.

8th Grade Students Design Carnival Games

Jill Scheibel’s students in her 8th grade science class utilized the engineering design process to construct carnival games. The designers and users of the games reflect on how their design applies to Newton’s 2nd Law.

Students Design Mini Bouquet Arrangements

Students in Ms. Frisch’s AG class designed mini-bouquet floral arrangements last Wednesday. Here are some of the students’ pieces.