Bobcat Blog

• Friday, November 17: 1st Trimester Ends
• Tuesday, November 21: 5th Grade Trip to Lorado Taft
• Tuesday, November 21: 1st Trimester Celebration (grades 1-4) Pajama Day/Board Games depending on class (5th will celebrate a different day)
• Wednesday, November 22: Turkey Trot
• Wednesday, November 22 - Friday, Nov. 24: Thanksgiving Break
• Monday, November 27: Return to School
• Friday, December 8: Report Cards emailed home

I can't believe the first trimester ended today. With Thanksgiving approaching next week, I want to share how grateful I am to be the Beye Principal. Each day I enjoy coming to work with the wonderful students, staff and families. I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

As we begin the second trimester Monday, we would like to see students lining up with their classrooms between 7:50 and 7:57 a.m. Thank you to all of the families already doing this. Beginning the day with their class on time sets them up for a great day of learning. With winter weather days ahead, please allow extra time when necessary to help your Bobcat be on time. We appreciate it.

Finally, I want to share that your children did a fabulous job during Thursday's lockdown practice. Our beat officer, teachers/staff, and myself were very proud of them!

Aftercare on-site at Beye School, M-F through 6pm, with By Discovery:

By Discovery Art Enrichment Program currently has full and part time openings, M-F. We also have limited need-based scholarships available, offering a 50% reduction in the program fee. Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director & Lead Art Educator, is a former Beye parent who founded By Discovery in 2011 (formerly Beye Discovery). Students enjoy outdoor play everyday, weather permitting. Projects include painting, illustration, sculpture, clay, fiber/textile art, collage and printmaking. Follow us on Instagram at by_discovery_llc to see what our students are creating with us. To register, please visit https://forms.gle/YDLD31eMuELySwZg9 or visit https://www.bydiscovery.org/ For questions, please contact Jocelyne at jocelyne@bydiscovery.org Thank you!

See information about the upcoming Beye Turkey Trot. We would love for you to join us!

New from the Student Green Team (SGT)

Wednesday, 11/8 was National Plastic Free Lunch Day and the Student Green Team reduced the amount of single use plastic used in the lunchroom that day. They replaced the plastic single use silverware with reusable silverware.

The SGT counted 80 pieces of reusable silverware which kept 80 pieces of single use plastic tableware out of the landfill!

Next up, brainstorming how to repair or replace the lunchroom dishwasher to return to the daily practice of using reusable silverware and lunch trays.

Wednesday 11/15 was National Recycling Day and the SGT Shoe Crew sorted, counted and bagged the recent donations. They’ve added 126 shoes to their tally!

Marker Recycling is available!

A collection bin is located in the office. The used markers are brought to SCARCE and diverted from the landfill.

The Pantry Crew helped organize and tidy the pantry. With the colder weather around the corner they removed items in glass containers to prevent breakage from freezing temps. They also placed non perishable items such as applesauce, juice boxes and crackers from the lunchroom food recovery into the Beye Pantry. Perishable items collected from the lunchroom food recovery (as seen in the picture below) are transported to one of the local Community Fridges. If you’re interested in helping with this effort please sign up here

Next Green Team meeting: Monday, 11/20 @ 6:30pm

https://meet.google.com/hmn-drbe-hud

You do not need to be a Green Team member to volunteer. There are lots of options for one time or recurring volunteering shifts.

Lunchroom sorting sign up here

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0E49ADA92CA4FBC70-lunchroom

Student Green Team, Earth Month Events, First Grade Garden, Shoe Drive, and Food Recovery sign up here

https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0E49ADA92CA4FBC70-45667625-beye

Back by popular demand, Beye School is doing a FUNdraiser with Sock Pals! Please check out our sales page at: palssocks.rallyup.com/beyepto and browse the cozy and adorable selection of mismatched socks for babies, toddlers, big kids and adults. These make great gifts-- or something nice for yourself as the weather turns cold-- and for every pair sold, Sock Pals makes a donation to the Beye School PTO. Purchase between now and December 15th!

As of today, we are up to 20% of our goal. Let's see that number climb!! We want to reach 100% by December 15. Thanks for supporting the PTO.

As part of the Portrait of an Oak Park 8th Grade Graduate design process, District 97 will be holding multiple listening sessions in the coming months to get feedback from staff, students, families and community members. Please join us to share your experiences and feedback as we design our Portrait!

LGBTQ+ Families - Tuesday, Nov. 28, 6 p.m.

• Where: Julian Middle School, 416 S. Ridgeland Ave.

• RSVP: bit.ly/3SdXDLQ

• Details: Childcare and food will be provided.

Learn More about the Portrait

For more on Portrait of an Oak Park 8th Grade Graduate, visit www.op97.org/ourportrait. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the Portrait Design Team via Let’s Talk.

What: Drama Club

When: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-4:30 beginning at the end of December

Where: Beye School Auditorium

Why: The goal of Drama Club is for students to be involved in performing or working backstage on a musical. This club helps create positive connections between 4th and 5th grade students, helps with reading fluency and comprehension, characterization, and allows students to build confidence on stage and in life! Come join in on the fun!

Help us spread the word that Golden Apple Awards nominations are open!

Honor an outstanding Pre-K-3rd grade teacher by nominating them for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching today: https://www.goldenapple.org/nominate-a-teacher

#TeachGolden #GoldenAppleAwards

In the Know with the PTO!

Good bye, Konstella; Hello, Google Workspace!

Hi Beye families! As you may have heard, the PTO has transitioned to Google as our main communication platform. To join your child's classroom group, go to this document, and follow the instructions. Once your request is approved, you'll be notified that you've been added to your child's classroom. Once there, you'll be able to communicate with other families and get information from your classroom Room Leaders.

Join the 'Beye School Families' Facebook Group to connect with other Beye families and stay in the know about upcoming PTO events/programs

Thank you to the many families that attended our brief PTO meeting. As I shared that night, please see below for a high level look at some of our data from the end of last year, the beginning of this year, and some of our action steps for this year to reach our goals. Next week you will receive a more detailed copy. Due to the short meeting and the fact that the students were in attendance, this one is fairly general.

State of Beye Presentation from 11/9 General PTO meeting

The breakfast and lunch menus for our elementary and middle schools are available at http://www.op97.org/business-office/food-service. During the 2023-24 school year, students may:

• Bring a nut-free lunch from home.
• Order school lunch.

Free and Reduced Lunch Application
Students may receive meals at a free or reduced cost either by being directly approved by the State of Illinois OR being approved after completing the 2023-24 Free and Reduced Lunch Application (English/Spanish). All families who are directly approved by the state will receive an approval letter by email. If you feel your student may qualify for free or reduced priced meals but are not directly approved, we encourage you to complete the application as soon as possible Please visit https://www.op97.org/business-office/food-service for more information.

Cheryl Sullivan

Beye Principal

csullivan@op97.org

Location: 230 North Cuyler Avenue, Oak Park, IL, USA
Phone: 708- 524-3070
Twitter: @MrsSullivand97