Bobcat Blog

• Sunday, April 7: Beye PTO Basketball Tournament (see details below)
• Monday, April 8: Total Solar Eclipse (see below)
• Thursday, April 11: Dine Out at Daly Bagel - PTO Fundraiser
• Thursday, April 18: Reading Night: "Read, Recite, Recycle"
• Thursday, April 25: Choral Festival at OPRF
• Monday, April 29: Incoming 6th Grade Julian Parent/Guardian Orientation Night at 6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 30: Elementary Instrumental Festival at OPRF

Thank you so much to the PTO for funding the fantastic assembly students had on Thursday. Students learned a lot from Mr. and Mrs. Brown who shared all about their Belize Whale Shark Expedition.

You will see information in the District's Weekly Wrap Up. Click here to learn more about One Book, One District >> Thank you for encouraging your child to read the designated pages or read with them. Here is the schedule again: reading schedule

Please help us prepare for our Reading Night by sending in gently used Children's books if you can. We are hoping to get a lot of books. Then at our "Read, Recite, Recycle" Reading Night, students will be able to take home "new" books.

You will see an update in the D97 Weekly Wrap Up, but wanted to share here as well since we will be a pilot school. More information will follow, but for now:

The Core Instruction team shared this update regarding K-5 literacy in the March 22 Weekly Wrap-Up.

We are now planning for the 2024-25 school year which includes organizing students into homerooms. Organizing students into homerooms is a complex process that takes into consideration multiple variables and has several stages. For this initial stage, we wish to provide an opportunity for you to provide us information about your child.

To access our brief form, please click the following link: Beye Student Profile Form.

The placing of students in classrooms is an important decision and we use information about our students' strengths and assets to inform classroom organization.

• Gender/race/ethnicity balance
• Balance of performance levels
• Balance of students with special programming (Special Services, English Language Learners, etc.)
• Balance of varying social skill and work habit levels
• Equitable class size across grade level
• Equitable access to school resources for programming needs.

The information you will provide will help us as we make the best class placement decision for your child. Due to the nature and complexity of this task, we cannot reduce the process to accepting requests for specific teachers. Please be aware that requests for specific teachers will not be considered in this process.

Completing this form is optional. If you wish to complete it, please do so by 8 a.m. on Monday, April 8 as we will be working on class lists beginning Wednesday.

On Wednesday, April 3rd our K-3rd grade students participated in an Author Visit Assembly ~ sponsored by the Beye PTO.

Ms. Chanani is an award-winning author and illustrator of over a dozen books. Her graphic novels include Pashmina, Jukebox, and the Shark Princess series. She wrote and illustrated the picture book What Will My Story Be? She’s illustrated a number of picture books, including I Will Be Fierce, Strong, and Binny’s Diwali. Nidhi lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

We have 3 of Ms. Chanani's books here that you can purchase for your student(s): Shark Princess #1, Shark Party (Shark Princess #2) & Surfin Shark (Shark Princess #3).

If you'd like to purchase a book (or books) attached is an order form for your convenience. You can also order the books using THIS LINK. Deadline has been extended until Friday, April 19.

See the flier below.

We'll see you at 1PM on Sunday and bring your refillable water bottle!

The Beye School PTO 3-on-3 basketball tournament is finally here! Spectators: join us on Sunday, April 7th in the school gymnasium at 1PM for an afternoon of fun and entertainment. We have...

• 20 kindergarten-second graders competing in the free-throw shoot-out
• 10 teams of third-fifth graders competing in a 3-on-3 tournament
• 3 teams of adults competing in a 3-on-3 tournament
• a special performance by the Beye School Drill Team
• tasty but healthy nut-free concessions for sale
• an assortment of BeyeWear for sale

Come cheer for your fellow Bobcats! (and bring your refillable water bottle!)

This is not a fundraiser, this is just for fun!

Please help support the PTO by shopping at Daly Bagel for Beye School this Thursday 4/11. From 6:30am-2pm, Daly bagel will donate 15% of sales if folks mention "Beye School" when they place their order.

OAK PARK ECO-EXTRAVAGANZA

Saturday, April 6th 10:00-12:00

The Beye Green Team has been invited to participate in the Oak Park Eco-Extraganza. Stop by the main library Saturday between 10-12 to celebrate Earth Month. Organized by the Library, Village and local non-profit One Earth Local, the all-ages event will feature a treasure hunt and information fair for community members interested in learning more about local sustainability efforts.

JOEY FINERHYME EARTH MONTH ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, April 10th

The Beye Green Team is excited to welcome back Joey FineRhyme for our annual Earth Month Assembly. Joey FineRhyme (birth name Joey Feinstein) is an educator, public speaker, and raptivist (rap activist). Driven by the belief that rhythm and rhyme are powerful tools to inspire action, the anchor for many of FineRhyme's lyrics returns to this ethos of Be the Change.

EARTH DAY CLEAN-UP IN COLUMBUS PARK

Saturday, April 20th 9:00-12:00

Looking for a tangible way to give back to the Earth on Earth Day Weekend?

Join One Earth and partners in cleaning up historic and beautiful Columbus Park and the state-of-the-art BUILD Chicago campus in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago's Greater West Side.They will provide gloves and bags... you bring your energy! Sign up here: bit.ly/24ed-cleanup

After, they’ll provide a free vegan lunch and gather in a circle to reflect on our accomplishment.

YOUNG FILMMAKERS CONTEST

Is your student interested in making a short film about the environment? The One Earth Film Festival is seeking submissions for their Young Filmmakers Contest. Students in grade 3 up through age 25 are invited to submit films, they are due by June 25, 2024. There are no submission fees. All winning films will premiere on September 22, 2024, and some will be selected for the One Earth Film Festival in March 2025.

Here is a link for the permission slip and information about Kids Running Beye: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6h1WnsCQlMms18k4Ugq-_fk-wRLb0_yyQU__KnOt7WuyjLw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Parent University Spring 2024: Student Social-Emotional Wellness - April 10

Oak Park and River Forest High School will host an in-person parent university session on Wednesday, April 10, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Join us for an empowering evening of informative presentations designed specifically for parents seeking to support their teens’ and adolescents’ mental health. Check out the event flyer here.

Online registration for the 2024-25 school year in District 97 is now open for all students. Complete details about the process—including residency documents, timelines and other helpful resources—are available on the district web site: www.op97.org/registration.

Returning Students

Registration for returning District 97 students will be open March 5 - April 19. Complete details can be found at https://www.op97.org/hr/returning-student-registration.

New Students and Kindergarteners

Registration for kindergarten and new students opened Feb. 22. Please click the links below to learn more about the registration process for kindergarteners and new students.

• Kindergarten Registration

• New Students

In order to register your student, you must be the custodial parent/guardian and currently reside in Oak Park. Students who are registering for kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year must be at least 5 years old and must be born on or before Sept. 1, 2019.

We appreciate your partnership in preparing for a successful 2024-25 school year!

2024-25 District 97 Blended Preschool Program

District 97 is now accepting applications for the early childhood blended classrooms at Whittier Elementary School for the 2024-25 school year. There are a limited number of spaces available. Click here to view the 2024-25 D97 Blended Preschool flyer >>

District 97 is seeking students who:

• are non-IEP students who will be between the ages of 3 and 4 years by Sept. 1, 2024;

• demonstrate age-appropriate language and social skills;

• are Oak Park residents;

• are not enrolled in a preschool program.

The registration window will be open through May 24, 2024. For more information about the Early Childhood Blended Program or to apply, please visit https://www.op97.org/teach-learn/ecblended.

Beye’s Student Leadership Team is leading Beye School in the Can Do Challenge! Starting April 1st we will be collecting food for Beyond Hunger, our local food pantry. We would LOVE for Beye to win the trophy. Although there are many ways to earn points, one is by bringing in certain foods.

Food Donation List - Most Needed Items:

High Need Items – 8 points

• Dry black-eyed peas (1-2lb bags)

• Canned salmon

• Brown Rice

Essential Items – 5 points

• Peanut Butter

• Canned Chicken Soup

• Cheerios’ Cereal

• Canned Mixed Vegetables (low sodium)

• Tomato Paste

• Bagged Rice (White or Brown)

• Refried and Dry Beans (Pinto and Black)

• Canned Pineapples

• Canned peaches (in natural juice)

• Canned chicken (in water)

Create your own Cooking Video with your family!

Star in your own cooking show! Students can choose one of the Healthy Recipes from our website and create their own cooking video for us to share on our social media and YouTube channel. Try to keep the video approximately 2 minutes or less. Once we post your video, be sure to share it with your friends and school community. Send video submissions to: corina@gobeyondhunger.org.

500 Points

Dear Beye Community,

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible (weather permitting) in the Chicagoland area. The following is the expected timeline:

• 12:51 p.m. - Total Eclipse Begins

• 2:08 p.m. - Max Point of the Total Eclipse

• 3:22 pm - Total Eclipse Ends

Looking at the sun—even for a brief period of time—can be damaging to our eyes without the right eye protection. Because of this, I wanted to reach out to you to let you know our plan for April 8 to ensure the safety of our students and staff:

• We will supply each student and staff member with the proper protective eyewear should their class decide to go outside during the total eclipse timeframe.

• Students MUST wear protective eyewear in order to go outside during the total eclipse timeframe.

• We will speak to our students about how to responsibly experience the total eclipse and about the necessary safety precautions when going outside during a total eclipse.

• Your teacher will share more about specific plans for your student’s class.

• You will have an opportunity to opt your student out of the experience (see below). Should you decide to opt out, they will be provided with an alternate activity.

Opting Out

If you DO NOT want your child to participate in any solar eclipse activities while at school, please email me at csullivan@op97.org no later than Friday, April 5.

Eclipse Resources

The following are some resources should you want to learn more about the Total Solar Eclipse - 2024:

• National Science Teaching Association

• American Astronomical Society

• NASA - Total Solar Eclipse

• Adler Planetarium

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Mrs. Sullivan

Beye Principal

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.

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

Cheryl Sullivan

Beye Principal

csullivan@op97.org

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