Banks Middle School

Dear Families,

It has been a great start to the New Year at BMS, and we are excited to wrap up this semester in a few short weeks, as we look forward to new electives and changes to our daily schedules.

As we reflect on this first half of the school year, I am hoping we can hear from you with feedback on how we are doing. If you could take a moment to complete this brief survey (just four questions!) it will help us assess our school wide goals, which include parent and caregiver engagement. Thank you for your feedback!

Finally, I sent an email regarding about our district Student Success Committee application for community members, if you are interested, see here for more information, and you can fill out the application here.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and let’s make the second semester even better than the first!

Read on for information on the following topics:

• End of semester grades
• Expectations for BMS students taking classes located at BHS
• 2nd semester schedules and schedule change requests
• Save the date - Science Fair and Outdoor School Family Night February 20th
• Teen winter newsletter from the Banks Library
• Inclement weather bus route information
• Flash alert for school closures and updates

Best wishes,

Caitlin Everett

BMS Principal

January 23- Last day of Semester 1

January 24th - No school, grading day

January 27th - No school, teacher work day

January 28- First day of Semester 2

February 17 - No school, President's day

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

Semester 1 is coming to an end on January 23rd. You can check your students progress now via ParentVue. Teachers will communicate any final due dates between now and the end of the semester. Please contact your child's teacher directly with any questions!

Many of our students take an elective class at Banks High School. Recently, the high school shared that our BMS students are arriving at BHS as early as 7:45 am and are not behaving well or following adult directions during their before school time. Given this concern, we need ALL students taking a BHS class to report to BMS in the morings. We will travel to BHS together as a class to prevent any further concerns. Any BMS student who is at BHS before 8:20 will be escorted back to BMS and parents will be contacted. This policy will remain in place for semester 2. Please discuss this expectation with your child, and thank you for your support.

We are still making internal adjustments to Semester 2 schedules to balance class sizes. We have also had students asking about schedule changes; however we have fewer electives in total next semester. With fewer electives, schedule changes may not be possible due to class sizes. If you have a question about your student's schedule, you can reach out to our counselor, Ms. del Villar at coryd@banks.k12.or.us.

With winter weather approaching, please make sure you are registered with FlashAlert. This is how we communicate school closures, bus route changes, and any other important information regarding our school! You can register for FlashAlert here. You register online or by downloading the app to your smart device.

With the presence of inclement weather brings the possibility of changes to our school district operations. The potential changes are:

• Transportation - Individual Routes may be placed on Snow Routes or Limited Routes (More Severe). The exact modifications for each route (Snow or Limited) are listed here. Please note, if the route is adjusted for the AM trip, the PM trip will follow the same adjustment.

• Delayed Opening - School buildings may be delayed in opening for two hours from their original time.

• Full District Closure - If conditions are such that staff and students can not safely travel to school.

• Early Release - In the event of the onset of inclement and worsening conditions during the school day. This is rare, however families should discuss the potential need of unexpected childcare.

Our process is to continuously monitor weather forecasts throughout winter. When forecasts indicate a chance of inclement weather we begin monitoring conditions the evening prior. Then, transportation and district officials monitor actual conditions in the early morning. A decision on transportation or other operating conditions will be made by 5:30 AM. All information will be communicated through Flash Alert. Please make sure to subscribe to this service.

Washington County has informed us that over 80% of our students reside below 200 feet in elevation. As a result, the majority of the winter our weather response will be adjusted by bus routes. However, some families will experience significantly different conditions based on their elevation. Families will always be supported in making their own decisions for their students and there will be no academic penalties for students who are unable to attend due to transportation concerns.

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. 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.

Please see below for our full updated student handbook.