Happy Friday!
This week sees the end of our first 5 weeks and if, to you, it
feels like we just started school, our staff feel the same way! We often comment to parents in our 5th
grade orientations that this 3 years of middle school will feel like it flew by
and this past 5 weeks is testament to that.
In my observations of students over the last 5 years I see
stark changes in attention and distractibility.
I don’t know if this is related to device-use but I suspect so. The sway that devices have in the lives of
children is more pervasive and prevalent than it has ever been and the truth
that we struggle with as educators and as parents is that we have no idea what
this means to our children in 5, 10 or 20 years from now. Our school-based approach on this
consequently is the age-old expression ‘all things in moderation.’
This is why we do not allow students to bring their
Chromebooks to lunch or use their cell phones in the lunch room. The result – LOUD, but we love it. The students are talking, touching base,
making connections and reinforcing social skill. Throughout my career I have always been what’s
referred to as an ‘early adopter.’ I
have long been willing to try anything that might help students. Some might observe that this stands in
contrast to an ethos of moderation but I always try to remain informed by what I
read coming out of respectable research outlets. This week I saw this article “Your
Teen’s Phone is Ruining Her Concentration” and I was reminded of this theme
of moderation and that there is a ‘time and place’ for all things.
I hope you find the article as insightful as I did, but even
more I hope you have a great long weekend.
We teachers try to take at least one day off from school-work over a
long weekend to focus on our own families and to get away from all distractions
as a reminder that our families are our most important priority!
Enjoy your family no matter its structure and Have a Great
Long Weekend!
Mike Klugman
End of Week Notes
Thank you - WOW - What a Great Salads for Kids Day
For those who may not be aware, we have fewer students this year than we have had in more than 10 years. So why did we eat more salad than ever before?!
One Answer; our students love Salad and fresh Veggies from our Garden.
Special thanks to ...
Student Leadership Committees (Formerly PAC)
For those who may not be aware, we have fewer students this year than we have had in more than 10 years. So why did we eat more salad than ever before?!
One Answer; our students love Salad and fresh Veggies from our Garden.
Special thanks to ...
Mr. Warford and the Garden Club
To our Cafeteria Staff for their support
To our many parent - volunteers who make this event possible!
Student Leadership Committees (Formerly PAC)
Yesterday I sent an email out to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students via their school-based email addresses encouraging them to consider joining one of our 9 leadership committees. A list of these 9 committees came out of our earlier survey of students with regard to those things they'd like to engage with to make our school better. We have a Student Leadership Committee (SLC) website with more information.
Unfortunately for parents, you WILL BE able to visit the website but the Google Classroom and Meeting Pages for each committee can only be opened by students (they will need to be signed into their school accounts). If you want to review these you'll have to look over your students' shoulders when they are logged and you can tell that Mr. K gave you permission!
You may notice that our website also has a calendar and this is an intentional redundancy that should begin showing the dates of our committee meetings so please bookmark the SLC website linked above.
Please also encourage your son or daughter to pick one committee and get engaged. The only way we have to demonstrate to them that their voice and leadership are important is by creating opportunities like this and the skills they can learn, while not measured on any standardized test, will carry with them forever!
PTO Meeting - Open to ALL Parents and Students
Reminder – Our PTO Meeting on Monday, October 16th
(7:00 PM in the Library Media Center) is open to BOTH parents and
students! It has become an annual tradition
to have representative students from our various clubs and activities come to
speak and orient about what their groups do.
It’s a great way to create engagement and a sense of belonging. Students who participate in events outside of
their curriculum feel more ownership of the middle school as “theirs” and also
come to form wider associations in their peer groups.
For more information about our clubs and opportunities
you can also check out: http://www.bethlehemschools.org/bcms/parents/
Next Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Bethlehem Central School District Strategic Planning Committee is hosting a Community Forum from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the high school library.
The committee is seeking to gather input for a strategic plan tentatively titled Design for Excellence 2025. The long-term plan will examine the district’s core values, mission and vision, and map out goals and strategies that will help guide district decision-making into the next decade. The planning process is just beginning and will likely extend through early 2019.
Please consider attending the forum on Wednesday to share your vision for the future of BC. You can RSVP here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BCSD-Community-Forum
Learn more about the Strategic Planning process: http://www.bethlehemschools.org/strategic-planning-committee/
From our PTO
Thanks to everyone for supporting our PTO
Picture days went great
thanks to you
Date to be included in the directory extended !!!. You now have until Sunday 10/8 to sign up for
the directory!! Consider joining & supporting the PTO too. The easiest way is to go to our PTO website, bcmspto.org, go to the PTO Store tab and do online.
Also, you can pay for the agenda book, there if you haven’t already done
so.
~Please remember to bring in your Box Tops (receptacle box in
lobby)
For all 7th and 8th Graders… Winter sports sign-ups are happening now for middle school and
high school sports. Any interested athletes should
visit their school health office to sign up. The deadline is Friday, October
13 and all paperwork is due to the health office by Monday, October 16.
Have a great Weekend
