Bobcat Blog

• February 3rd : MAP Scores sent home
• February 9: Family Conferences
• February 9 and 10: Student Dismissal at 11:00 a.m.
• February 20: No School in Observance of Presidents' Day
• Saturday, February 25: (SAVE the DATE) PTO Black History Month Event at Beye (10 am - 12 pm) More details coming shortly.
• March 9 - 23 District IAR and ISA assessment window for 3rd - 5th grade students (More information coming soon)

***Please label all student water bottles, lunch boxes, sweatshirts, coats, etc. We want to reduce the amount of things we have in lost and found this year. Thank you.

The specialists at Beye are available to meet and discuss your child’s progress at scheduled conferences on Thursday, February 9th between 12-7 p.m.

To sign up, click the Google Calendar Appointments link for that teacher, click the right arrow to go forward to February 9, then choose the appointment and fill in your student’s name.

Please add ZOOM in the notes if you would prefer a remote conference.

(Some of our teachers travel between several schools, and will ONLY be available via Zoom, as indicated below.)

ART

Kristen Sundquist ksundquist@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2040

Google Calendar Appointments

MUSIC

Grades K-2 General Music

Katie Kurilko ckurilko@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2201

Sign Up Genius Appointments

Grades 3-5 General Music, Band, Chorus

Gabby Rosenblum grosenblum@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2034

Google Calendar Appointments

Orchestra - ZOOM ONLY

Sha Ranney sranney@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2666

Google Calendar Appointments

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Chaz Simatic csimatic@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2066

Google Calendar Appointments

SPANISH

4AT & 4BV - ZOOM ONLY

Aaron Jaramillo ajaramillo@op97.org

Google Calendar Appointments

All other K-5 classes

Elvira Colmenero mcolmenero@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2019

Google Calendar Appointments

TEACHER LIBRARIAN

Richard Withers rwithers@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2043

Google Calendar Appointments

ENRICHMENT SPECIALIST

Mark Bulger mbulger@op97.org (708) 524-3070 xt. 2016

Google Calendar Appointments

Hello families! District 97, in partnership with the District 97 Teacher Librarians, will be kicking off our first annual One Book, One District: Elementary Edition next week! This is an opportunity for all families, students and staff to read the same book together over the course of the next month. This could include families reading together each night or read-alouds in classrooms.

The name of the book is a secret and will be revealed to our students and staff in each elementary building on Friday, Feb. 3! Thanks to District 97 and each elementary school PTO, every family and staff member will receive a complimentary copy of the chosen book on Friday, Feb. 3 as well. More information and details about the One Book, One District: Elementary Edition will be sent to families next week after the kick-off. We are very excited to go on this journey together. Happy reading!

A separate family letter to 4th and 5th grade families will go out this week about students taking the test. They should not take it yet.

Beye had the highest percentage (by A LOT at 45.6%) of families who completed the survey last year. Let's go for a repeat!

Below as seen in the D97 Wrap Up:

Parents/guardians all 10 of our schools are encouraged to take the Illinois 5Essentials Survey between January 24 through March 31, 2023: http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/.

Thank you for participating in this important endeavor and for your continued support of our schools and the children we serve.

ABOUT 5ESSENTIALS

District 97 is administering the Illinois 5Essentials Survey again this year to certified staff and parents/guardians from all 10 of our schools, as well as students in grades four through eight.

The online survey was developed by the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research and is derived from the Five Essentials for School Success, which is an evidence-based framework that identifies five factors that can lead to important student outcomes such as improved attendance and significant gains in test scores. These five factors/essentials are:

• Effective Leaders
• Collaborative Teachers
• Involved Families
• Supportive Environment
• Ambitious Instruction

The parent survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You may skip questions you do not wish to answer, but the survey must be completed in one sitting and cannot be retrieved once it is submitted. If you have more than one child enrolled in a building (i.e., two students who attend the same school), you have the option of completing multiple surveys for that building. In addition, if you have children enrolled in multiple schools (i.e., a District 97 elementary school and middle school), you may participate in the survey for each school. However, only one parent/guardian per household may fill out the survey.

As with the student and teacher surveys, your identity will be kept completely confidential and your responses will not be linked to you. In addition, school-level reports will only be generated if at least 20 percent of our parents/guardians complete the survey, which can be accessed until March 31, 2023, by visiting http://survey.5-essentials.org/illinois/survey/parent/. This percentage will be based on the total number of students enrolled at each school.

If we successfully meet this requirement, we will receive our reports in Spring/Summer 2023. The results will also be made available to the public via the State School Report Cards, which will be released in the fall.

You can access general information about the Illinois 5Essentials Survey by visiting https://www.uchicagoimpact.org/our-offerings/5essentials.

As a reminder, students need to have cell phones and smart watches out of sight and aren't to be used during school hours.

Recycle your old sneakers and earn money for Beye School!

Bring any and all sneakers, in any condition, to the school for donation January 9th-31st.

The Beye Green Team has partnered with gotsneakers.com to keep sneakers out of landfills and earn money for Beye!

The acceleration window is quickly approaching. The informational flyer for the Feb. 8 family session on acceleration is below. Similar to last year, the referral windows for those seeking single subject or whole grade acceleration opens on March 1 and closes on May 15.

Families can access information about the process here as well.
Click here to view the Acceleration Family Information Session flyer >>

In an effort to streamline communication for families, starting Jan. 15 automated low or negative lunch balance calls/emails from District 97 will go out to families once a week on Sundays around 5 p.m. If you have any questions, please reach out to food service coordinator, Carla Ellis, at cellis@op97.org.

District 97 believes it is important for students to have opportunities for physical activity and play time during the day—even during the cold winter months. This winter, students will be permitted to go outside for recess when the wind chill or temperature is 15 degrees or higher. The district utilizes the Wind Chill Chart developed by the National Weather Service.

• It is important that students dress in warm layers when cold temperatures are expected. Students should remember to bring hats, gloves/mittens, scarves, coats, snow pants and boots. It is recommended that families label these items with their children’s names,
• Our staff will carefully monitor students while outside and take the necessary steps to ensure students are appropriately clothed/prepared for the cold weather, watching out for signs of frostbite and other cold-related issues.

We want to show our Beye Spirit by encouraging students and staff to wear Beye Wear or blue and white colors each Friday or the last day of the week.

If you are wanting to purchase some Beye clothing, please visit the Beye Website (Go to www.op97.org and then click on Beye) and then go to the PTO tab and then scroll down to the bottom to find the Beyewear. If you haven't joined Konstella, a way for families to connect with one another, consider signing up. Thanks! I can't wait to see all of the blue and white next Friday.

• Beginning Monday, November 21, students will be bringing home their iPads home each night. Many of our students have already been doing this, but for our younger students this will likely be a change in practice. This will be in effect until Spring Break.
• Students should come to school daily with their iPad fully charged
• In the event of an E-Learning Day, students will log on to their homeroom teacher's Zoom Link which will be shared with you at 8:00 a.m. for attendance.
• If your child will be absent on an E-Learning Day, you will notify the homeroom teacher and office as usual.
• They will follow the regular school day, working both synchronously and asynchronously. When it is time for music for example, they will go to the music zoom.

The breakfast and lunch menus for our elementary and middle schools are available at http://www.op97.org/business-office/food-service. During the 2022-23 school year, students may:

• Bring a nut-free lunch from home.

• Order school lunch.

PLEASE NOTE: During the 2022-23 school year, all students will be required to pay for their breakfast and lunch meals unless they are directly approved by the State of Illinois or approved after completing the 2022-23 Free and Reduced Meal Application.

Process for Reporting Positive COVID-19 Cases to D97 Schools
If a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, they must complete the following steps:

1) In order to notify the school nurse and receive a return-to-school date, families/staff must complete the confidential COVID-19 Positive Case Notification Form as soon as possible following the positive test. Information provided will also be shared with the Oak Park Department of Public Health.

2) Families must continue to report student absences via the school attendance line, and staff must enter their absences in Frontline.

To see the rules for isolation and quarantine, click here. Additional resources are linked below.

• Summary of District 97's COVID-19 Mitigations
• 2022-23 COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan

Cheryl Sullivan

Beye Principal

csullivan@op97.org

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