Bobcat Blog

• Monday, October 9: Indigeneous Peoples' Day - No School
• Thursday, October 19: Jasmine Cardenas presentations for students
• Thursday, October 26: Early Student Dismissal at 11:00 am / Conferences
• Friday, October 27: Early Student Dismissal at 11:00 am
• Tuesday, October 31: Halloween Parade and Parties (More information below)

The month of October is National Bullying Prevention Month. This is a month-long event to prevent bullying and promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. Across the district our teachers will be teaching the Bullying Prevention Units, which is a 4 week curriculum designed to teach students to recognize, refuse and report bullying. As a reminder, conflict in childhood is natural and something that all human beings experience at all ages. Bullying is different from conflict in that it is ongoing in nature and a set of behaviors that have the intent to harm, hurt, or humiliate the victim. They involve power and control dynamics between two individuals or groups. Bullying can be reported at any time to a school staff member or by using this form. Over the next few weeks you will be seeing home links in our newsletters to let you know what your child is learning about bullying prevention!

Halloween will be here before we know it. Please see the district Halloween letter below. More information will be forthcoming, but here is a preview of what the day will look like.

• 11:40 - 12:35 Regular Recess and Lunch Time (Students can be picked up to go home for lunch and change into their costumes if you wish)

• 1:10 - 1:40 Halloween Parade around the building and school campus block

• 1:40 - 2:40 Halloween parties in the classrooms (no food or drink)

• 3:00 Regular Dismissal

If you would prefer your child not participate in the parade and parade, please email the homeroom teacher and Mrs. Sullivan so we can plan an alternate activity.

Families,

Last year, after presenting our Beye School Improvement Plan at a PTO meeting, a conversation began and some people in attendance initiated the idea of forming a PTO School Improvement Plan working group. I was excited that we formed that group and about 8-10 folks joined. We will be continuing with that work. Some of the folks from last year will be continuing, and we are looking for new members as well. Anyone who is interested in joining the PTO SIP working group, please see below. We will let you know when we will first be meeting. For those of you who are knew, the School Improvement Plan outlines the goals and action plans in the areas of Reading, Math, Sense of Belonging and Engagement. Our SY24 SIP will be shared soon.

You can go to this link and request to join the SIP Support Google Group (sip@beyeschoolpto.org)

https://groups.google.com/u/2/a/beyeschoolpto.org/g/sip

Please help remind your child to pick up their items next week.

Calling all volunteers! The annual book fair will be held Wednesday, October 25th through Friday the 27th. We’ll need help in two hour shifts starting Wednesday afternoon with set up and ending Friday afternoon with breakdown. Link to sign up is here. Thank you!!

Beye Book Fair Sign up Genius

The Beye PTO Programs Working Group is seeking parent/caregiver volunteers to help plan events for both Lunar New Year and Black History Month events. There are many possibilities for each of these events, but we'd love your fresh ideas, experience and expertise to make them meaningful and fun for all. Please connect with Terrell and Tanya at programs@beyeschoolpto.org if you are interested or have questions.

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.

Dear District 97 Families,

With Halloween approaching, families who celebrate may be discussing costume choices. Although students are not required to wear costumes in District 97, we recognize that they can be a fun and creative part of fall.

Our goal is to create a positive learning environment where all students, staff and families feel a sense of belonging. In that spirit, if your student does choose to dress up in a costume, we ask that you ensure that their costume choice does not portray a stereotypical image of any group of people or culture, or be offensive to any racial, ethnic or religious group. We appreciate you being proactive with your student in making thoughtful costume choices.

To support you in your conversation with your student and to build your understanding around this topic, we have compiled links to resources that you may find helpful:

• "I Am Not a Costume" (information about Laurier Students' Public Interest Research Group campaign)
  
• "Teaching Tolerance: Teach About Blackface and Other Racist Halloween Choices" (written for educators, but provides useful prompts for discussions at home)
  
• Halloween: When the Goblins, Ghosts and Stereotypes Come Out - Anti Defamation League

Thank you for your continued support of our students and schools.

- Oak Park Elementary School District 97

In 2024, District 97 will be offering Math Enrichment Bridge Courses for Acceleration and Summer Math Review Courses for students in grades 5 through 7. Families should SAVE the DATE if their student is interested in participating in these courses (CLICK HERE to view the program flyer>>).

Registration information and additional details about this program will be shared with families in January.

Kindergartners, Sixth-Graders, and New Students

The State of Illinois requires all kindergarteners, sixth-graders and students new to our district submit a current State of Illinois school physical with up-to-date immunizations. Detailed information on the requirements can be found here under “Health Requirements.”

Please note that according to Section 27-8.1 of the School Code of Illinois, District 97 is obligated to exclude students from school beginning on Monday, Oct. 16 who have not provided proof of the required physical examinations and/or immunizations, until they are in compliance.

If you have been contacted by your school nurse that your child is missing any of the required forms/information, please submit those records directly to them before the Oct. 16 deadline. Thank you for your assistance with this important matter!

We hope you can save the date and join us at school Thursday, November 9 between 6:00 and 7:30 pm for lots of math fun! More information will be coming soon.

As a reminder, we are offering a free dental clinic October 24th and 25th, available to all current Beye students.

This is a great offering in partnership with the IWS Children's Clinic, and will occur during the school day at Beye.

Dental exams are required for all students in Kindergarten, 2nd and 6th grades, due May 15th.

Consent forms must be submitted to Nurse Shilpa at Beye School no later than October 13th, 2023.They were sent home in September; you may also pick up an extra consent form in the front office.

Thank You,

Nurse Shilpa

I love dogs; I have two of them. However, we need to begin (for some) or continue keeping them off of school grounds. This is for safety reasons and understanding that some people have allergies related to dogs or are not comfortable around them. Beginning Monday, please either keep your furry friends home during arrival and dismissal or in the parkways. Our school campus is closed to dogs during school hours. Thank you for understanding.

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

See the flier below for details. For more information including pricing, email:

jodiwalkerspeech@gmail.com

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