Bobcat Blog

• Wednesday, December 20: Beye Winter Festival of Music (6:30 - 8:00 pm) This concert features the Beginner Band, Chorus, Intermediate Band, Jazz Band, and World Drumming.
• Friday, December 22: Winter Break Begins - No School
• Friday, December 22 - Friday, January 5: Winter Break
• Monday, January 8: Return to School

"You know us and love us from attending BASE Camp in the summers and now, the Oak Park Education Foundation is teaming up with Beye After School! Beye school staff and the Oak Park Education Foundation are joining forces to offer a variety of hands-on, innovative educational STEAM programs, after school! Join us! These programs are open to all Beye students, K-5th Grade and will be running for a full 12 weeks of FUN!

Program Registration: Opens Sunday, January 14th at 4:00pm

Classes Dates: Feb 12-May 10th (no classes Feb. 19th, March 19th, Spring Break)

See attached flyer for more details, class offerings and QR code to scan for more information! If you have questions, please contact Tara Oetting, Programs Director at Oak Park Education Foundation at toetting@opef.org.

We are so excited for our upcoming Winter Festival of Music at Beye School! This concert involves nearly all of our 4th & 5th graders, specifically those in Beginner Band, World Drumming, Intermediate Band, Jazz Band, and Chorus.

Uniform is white tops and dark (preferably black or navy blue) bottoms. Students should report for their earliest call time, as listed below (i.e. - Aloysius is in Beginner Band & Chorus, he should report at 6:15 pm). Please do NOT drop students off before their call time. When they are finished performing, students may join their grown-ups in the audience, or may be dismissed.

Winter Festival of Music

Beye School Auditorium

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

6:30-7:45 p.m.

Beginner Band Report to Commons at 6:15 p.m. Perform 6:30 p.m.

World Drumming Report to Music room at 6:30 p.m. Perform at 6:45 p.m.

Intermediate Band Report to Commons at 6:45 p.m. Perform at 7:00 p.m.

Jazz Band Report to Commons at 6:45 p.m. Perform at 7:15 p.m.

Chorus Report to Commons at 7:15 p.m. Perform at 7:30

Thank you!

Mrs. R

p.s. Just a reminder that Beye Orchestra students will perform at Julian Middle School on Wednesday, December 13. Beginner Orchestra report at 5:45 and perform at 6:30. Intermediate Orchestra report at 6:45 and perform at 7:30 pm. Mr. Ranney sent out an email with more specifics last week!

MAKE A YEAR END GIFT TO BEYE AND WIN A BULLS COURTSIDE EXPERIENCE

Please join me, the Beye PTO Board of Directors and William Beye Elementary volunteers in making a year-end, tax deductible gift to the William Beye Elementary School PTO. Learning best occurs when our school has the support and resources they need. Your year-end gift will be used to support enriching educational programs, vibrant community activities, necessary classroom supplies, and teacher grants and wish lists. Donations to the PTO last year supported assemblies like Opera for the Young and the Earth Day presentation, community-wide events like Dia de los Muertos and the Black History Month celebration, Beye School t-shirts for every student, hot meals for teachers during parent-teacher conferences, a copy of last year's One District One Book selection, Maya & the Robot, for all our teachers to read along with students, and grants to teachers towards classroom-specific needs such as chairs and cushions, art supplies, games and workbooks. These and many more activities are planned for the rest of this school year, however we rely on your support-- both through your volunteerism and your financial gifts-- in order to make these plans a reality. Click 'Donate' on this page to make a donation via paypal: https://www.beyeschoolpto.org/fundraising.html By making a gift by Friday the 15th, you will be automatically entered into a Raffle for a courtside experience for two for an upcoming Bulls Game, generously donated by Wendy Borlabi!

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! There's just two weeks left to participate, so please check out the sale now! As of today, we are up to 34% of our goal. Let's see that number climb!! We want to reach 100% by December 15. Thanks for supporting the PTO.

Just Launched: Take Home Baking Kits from Schoolhouse Kitchen

Beye School PTO is proud to partner with local nonprofit Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio to provide take home baking/decorating kits for Beye families. Purchase your kits now for school pickup on 12/13. Schoolhouse Kitchen preps the kits in the commercial kitchen, and pick-up is done at Beye. These are some great (and delicious) kits to bring home over winter break that will allow you and your kids to make and decorate donuts, cinnamon rolls and/or pizzas-- and for every kit sold, Schoolhouse Kitchen will donate $5 to the Beye PTO. Check out details and order now through 12/10, here: https://www.iloveschoolhouse.com/https/wwwiloveschoolhousecom/beyepto2023

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

District 97 will host a virtual Erin's Law session for families on Tuesday, Jan. 9, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

"Erin's Law," or Illinois Public Act 097-1147, requires all public schools to implement a prevention-oriented program that teachers students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade age-appropriate techniques for recognizing sexual abuse and ways to tell a trusted adult.

The program also includes training for school personnel, and provides education and resources to parents and guardians.

The virtual parent session will be facilitated by the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center. Virtual meeting details will be available closer to the meeting date at www.op97.org.

There are still a handful of spots available for early childhood blended classrooms at Whittier Elementary School for the 2023-24 school year!

District 97 is seeking students who:

• Are non-IEP students who will be between the ages of 3 and 4 years by Sept. 1, 2023;

• Demonstrate age-appropriate language and social skills;

• Are Oak Park residents;

• Are not enrolled in a preschool program.

Click here to apply to the 2023-24 Early Childhood Blended Program>>

For more information about the Early Childhood Blended Program, including please visit https://www.op97.org/teach-learn/ecblended.

If you have any questions, please contact the district's early childhood coordinator, Michele Suedbeck, at 708-524-3134.

Emergency Closings and E-Learning Days

Please take a moment to review the information shared in the district’s Weekly Wrap-Up on Dec. 1 regarding winter preparedness.

The district’s emergency closing and E-Learning procedures are outlined in this brief deck; full details are posted at https://www.op97.org/communications/emergency-closings.

Cold Weather Reminders for Families
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 temperature, with wind chill, 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.

Keeping Our Schools Healthy

This season, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is encouraging individuals to be aware of respiratory viruses, including the flu, RSV and COVID-19. CLICK HERE to watch a brief video of everyday strategies to keep our schools healthy this winter >>

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!

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