Bobcat Blog

Thursday, April 14

Notes and Reminders

Wednesday, April 27: Talent Show
Saturday, April 30: All School Community Gathering 8:30 - 10:00 (see below for details)
May 2 - May 6 Staff Appreciation Week
Friday, May 6: Beye Bolt Fun Run
May 9-20: Spring MAP testing window
Friday, May 27 Olympic Day (Details will be coming)
Friday, June 3: All School Picnic Celebration (Details will be coming)

***Please see the Can Do Community Challenge information below. Let's show everyone how great the Beye Community is with helping others. If you click on the link you can see how all of the schools are doing with the challenge.

Principal Message

Hopefully you have seen the announcement from the district that I have been named the permanent Beye Principal. I am so grateful and excited. This is a wonderful community. I appreciate all of the kind words. I am really excited to have been given this opportunity to continue to build on Beye's strengths and work hard on our areas of opportunity. I look forward to getting all of the stakeholders' thoughts and keeping you informed of our school improvement plans. This is a busy time of year as we are continuing to work hard in the classroom. Additionally, we have some exciting things planned as you will read about some of them below. We are also looking ahead to next year. Please remember to complete the student profile form sent to you by the district. It is optional, but we value your input.

Beye Student Profile Form (for rising 1st - 5th grade students)

Visitor Restrictions Lifted April 18 - read below for guidelines

UPDATED 2020-2021 VISITOR GUIDELINES

***For example if you are a chaperone, you will need to have a background check done with the district. Additionally, you will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative test dated within 48 hours (rapid antigens are accepted)

Guidance for District 97 Visitors for 2021-22 School Year

Beginning April 18, 2022, visitors will be permitted in District 97 schools. All visitors must adhere to Board Policy 8:30 (Visitors to and Conduct on School Property).

Updated April 14, 2022

We are asking all visitors to review the COVID-19 recommendations and requirements outlined below.

COVID-19 Mitigations/Requirements for District 97 Visitors

Drop-off, pickup or brief front office visits
Meetings with adults (must be scheduled in advance)
School events (e.g., open house, curriculum night, end-of-year celebrations
Spectators (athletic events, theater and instrumental/choral concerts)

Masks recommended, not required.
Maximize physical distancing.
Do not enter schools if you are sick (click here for a list of COVID-19 symptoms).
Practice proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.

Classroom or lunch volunteers, or anyone engaging directly with students

Masks recommended, not required.
Maximize physical distancing.
Do not enter schools if you are sick (click here for a list of COVID-19 symptoms).
Practice proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.
Proof of vaccination or a negative test dated within 48 hours (rapid antigens are accepted)

From the Beye School Green Team

Share how you’ve been helping the Earth

This month we’re recognizing the great work the students have been doing to help the Earth. Students have been sorting their lunch waste in the lunchroom trash into compost, recycling, and landfill bins, bringing their own reusable bags and utensils and reducing the amount of unwanted food they bring to school. We’d love to invite students to share what you do at home or in your community to help the Earth. Please send an email or video to beyegreen@gmail.com. We will celebrate earth day at an IN PERSON assembly in a few weeks, date to be announced!

Recycle Your Markers

Did you know you can recycle your coloring markers and dry erase markers at school? Bring in your spent markers to the marker recycle box in the office!

Plant and Flower Sale Volunteers Needed

We are looking for volunteers to help set up and distribute plant sale orders on the day of delivery, Friday, May 13th. Volunteer for a one hour shift between 9am-6pm.

Google sign up sheet here

Reminder that plant sale orders can be picked up Friday, May 13th between 1:00-5:30pm on the back deck at Beye.

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A quick reminder before all of the volunteer slots are taken… This is going to be fun!

We are thrilled to smell spring in the air and are preparing for this year's First Grade Garden! Read about all of the activities here: https://www.konstella.com/app/school/5b09cde3e4b02961c5ca4ed1/signups/623a63b9421af25b4a5e3821

The activities will be enjoyed on three different days, with a lot of opportunities for family members to volunteer to help and enjoy these moments with the students. Please note each class has designated time slots for parent volunteering on the specified dates.

Save the date! All Beye School Community Meet-up

All Beye School Community Meet-up

April 30th

8:30am to 10:00am

Beye School Deck and Playground

Come as you are and drop-in at whatever time works best for you! Enjoy delicious coffee while mingling with other Beye families and staff. Learn what the PTO has accomplished this year and has planned for the remainder of the year.

Bring your own snacks, please.

Calling all Beye students! Sign up today for the Bobcat Bolt Fun Run!

Through this fun run, to be held during school hours on Friday, May 6, we will promote exercise and fun while raising money for our school.

Register or re-Login to your parent dashboard and complete your child’s student webpage with a PICTURE at getmovinfundhub.com. School Identifier: 6231cfe597ac7

See full flyer that was included in the email highlighting the Bobcat Blog last week.

Student Goals!

· Our goal is to have 100% of all students registered online! It’s easy, FREE, and takes few quick minutes!

· Each student is encouraged to raise $50, but there is no fundraising requirement and registration is free.

· There will be AWESOME & FUN INCENTIVES for the grade with the most participation!!

OUR TOTAL SCHOOL GOAL is $15,000.00

Your donation to Beye School PTO, as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is 100% tax deductible and will only be used for activities that further the charitable mission of the PTO.

Calling all Beye students! Sign up today for the Bobcat Bolt Fun Run!

A fun and healthy way to raise money for the students of

William Beye Elementary

Event Details:

· Event Date: Friday, 05/06/2022

Final Donation due date: 05/12/2022 11:59 PM

o Donations in the form of cash & checks (in-school donations), should be turned in to the school.

o Please make checks payable to: Beye School PTO

Through this fun run, to be held during school hours on Friday, May 6, we will promote exercise and fun while raising money for our school. Please help us reach our fundraising goal by supporting the Bobcat Bolt 2022. We have teamed up with Get Movin’© to make this event fun and profitable with online mobile friendly technology!

William Beye Elementary is raising money to support student field trips, teacher resources, classroom

enhancements and technology upgrades in the coming year. Signing up is easy—just scan the QR code below, or visit getmovinfundhub.com today!

Follow these 3 Simple Steps to get to goal fast!

1. First Register or re-Login to your parent dashboard and complete your child’s student webpage with a PICTURE at getmovinfundhub.com. School Identifier: 6231cfe597ac7

2. Make an online donation using the red Donate button right away

3. Share with friends and family, they want to help!

· Send 10-15 emails and/or text messages

· Post Facebook or Twitter

· Help your child reach their goal in 24/48 hours

In Case you Missed It

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CAN DO Community Challenge

The CAN DO Community Challenge is a hunger relief campaign sponsored by Beyond Hunger – schools compete to see who can collect the most points. We help raise food, funds and awareness to help end hunger locally. And our school is in it to win it. Contribute to our school’s Virtual Food Drive to help us win the Can DO Trophy. Beye School's CanDo Page: https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/CanDo

We will be collecting a limited set of food donations for this year’s Challenge. We have a list of 10 non-perishable food items worth 5 points each:

• Jelly

• Peanut Butter

• Canned Chicken Soup

• Cheerios’ Cereal

• Canned Mixed Vegetables (low sodium)

• Diced Tomatoes

• Tomato Paste

• Bagged Rice (White or Brown)

• Refried and Dry Beans (Pinto and Black)

• Canned Pineapples

These are items we have trouble procuring and need to help stock our Despensa, an off-site pop-up pantry serving newly immigrant families that relies entirely on private donations. We are limited in space and staff/volunteers for sorting, so please stick to the list.

Items can be brought to Beye School throughout April.

A critical component to ending hunger in our communities is raising awareness. This year your school or group has the opportunity to gain more points by helping educate others about good nutrition and using their combined voices to become anti-hunger advocates. Teachers or team captains can share videos and examples of group activities in the following ways:

1. Create a Video Work together to create a 1 minute shareable video about how your school is raising awareness, food, and funds for Beyond Hunger. Send that video or public link to Sarah@GoBeyondHunger.org so that we can brag about your efforts through our social media channels. 150 Points

2. Share a MyPlate Activity Head to MyPlate.gov for activities that are appropriate for different age groups like KIDS, TEENS or PRESCHOOLERS. Submit examples of activity sheets, or send us a summary of one of the apps for points. Email photos or submission to Sarah@GoBeyondHunger.org 50 Points

3. Create your own Cooking Video Choose one of the Healthy Recipes from our website and create your own cooking video for us to share to our social media and YouTube channel. Once we post your video be sure to share it with your friends.

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Music Information and Dates to Put on your Calendars

Dear Beye Families:

We are so excited to plan live concerts again! As we hurtle towards the end of the year, the 4th & 5th grade performing ensembles have several concert opportunities, which will be held in the evenings. In addition, EVERY Beye student will be preparing for a Spring Sing Performance with their grade level cohort.

With current guidelines, our students will be performing 3 ft. apart, with assigned spots for contact tracing. We will be able to have a live audience, but we will also have a Zoom available for friends or family who need to isolate. If these guidelines change, we will let you know prior to the concert.

Can you please fill out the Google Form below to indicate if your child will be participating in the concerts or not? (List of concerts at the end of the email.) That will help the music teachers with our planning.

Beye Spring Concert Form

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact your student's music teacher:

Ms. Theoni Acosta

K, 1, 2 General Music

Mr. Sha Ranney

Orchestra

Mrs. Gabrielle Rosenblum

3, 4, 5 General Music, Band, & Chorus

Thank you!

Mrs. R

Tuesday, May 3 - Beye Intermediate Band @ Julian

Report @ 5pm; Perform @ 6 pm

Tuesday, May 10 - Beye Intermediate Orch @ Brooks

Report @ 5pm; Perform @ 6 pm

Tuesday, May 10 - Spring Sing @ Beye

6:00 pm 3rd Grade Spring Sing

6:30 pm 4th Grade Spring Sing

7:00 pm Beginner Band & Chorus

Wednesday, May 11 - Jazz Band @ Julian

Soundcheck @ 6:00 pm; Perform @ 6:30 pm

Thursday, May 12 - Spring Sing @ Beye

6:00 pm Kindergarten Spring Sing

6:30 pm 1st Grade Spring Sing

7:00 pm 2nd Grade Spring Sing

Thursday, May 26 - Beye Beginner Orch @ Julian

Report @ 6:45 pm; Perform @ 7:30 pm

Friday, June 3 - Beye Beginner Band, Beginner Orchestra, & Chorus @ Beye

Perform @ 8:30 am

(Audience will be current 3rd grade ONLY)

Monday, June 6 - 5th Grade Event @ Beye

Report @ 5:30 p.m.; Perform @ 6:00 pm

District 97 to Resume Hot Lunch on April 11 - Menus Now Available

District 97 to Resume Hot Lunch on April 11 - Menus Now Available
Beginning Monday, April 11, all District 97 schools will resume serving hot lunch. The new menus and nutritional information are linked below.

Lunch Reminders

Meals brought from home must be nut-free.
Lunch will continue to be served at no cost to families.

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One Book One School - We will all read Wishtree in April

“WISHTREE” LIVE

We hope you are continuing to enjoy Wishtree. We will begin the 3rd week Monday.

Here’s the schedule that our classrooms will be following. Enjoy the book right along with us.

Week 1….Chapters 1-12

Week 2….Chapters 13-25

Week 3….Chapters 26-38

Week 4….Chapters 39-51

District News

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Base Camp

BASE Camp registration is off to a great start! We at OPEF know that the mad rush to register for summer camps is over, and now is the time to review all the choices and fill in the gaps! There are still openings in several of our most popular camps such as Frisbee Physics, Anime Quest and Lego Mindstorms. Visit www.opef.org for the latest camp information and to see what’s open. We strive to create camps that are fun and engaging, while simultaneously teaching them about science, technology, engineering, art and math. Give your children a summer camp experience they will never forget!

Information about Acceleration Opportunities in District 97

District 97 believes that all students should be challenged and supported to develop to their maximum potential. For students who demonstrate they may benefit from accelerated placement, we provide opportunities to participate in an instructional setting that is usually reserved for students who are older or in higher grades than the child. This includes, but is not limited to:

Single subject acceleration
Whole grade acceleration

In accordance with the Illinois Accelerated Placement Act, District 97 has continued to refine procedures to ensure equitable access to acceleration opportunities for all students. New this year: all students who are grade eligible to take the Illinois Assessment for Readiness (IAR) must participate in the assessment in order to be deemed eligible for acceleration. The IAR is a critically important measure in determining the mastery of grade level standards and must be considered by the school team along with other sources of data.

Referrals for single-subject and whole-grade acceleration will be accepted from March 1 to May 15 of each school year. The general process is outlined HERE.

Information about the District 97 Accelerated Placement Program, including definitions and timelines, can be found at http://www.op97.org/acceleration. We will send additional communication to families as we near the opening of our referral and application windows next year. This information session will provide an avenue for families to share questions as well as receive information about the acceleration process. Please find additional information in the information session flyer.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us by visiting our Let’s Talk page (bit.ly/D97LetsTalk) and clicking the button labeled “Acceleration.”