Bobcat Blog

• Saturday, September 9: General PTO Meeting - 10:00 am in Beye School Library (see details below)
• Sunday, September 17: Bobcat Farmers' Market Feast (see details below)
• Monday, September 25: District Closed - No School
• Thursday, September 28: Picture Day

Please see the information below about Saturday's important general PTO meeting. We would love to have many new and familiar faces both in the library at 10:00 am or online. Thank you in advance for joining the meeting if you can.

See below for some information highlighting aspects of some of our PTO working groups.

Come to school Saturday for the general PTO meeting at 10:00 am in the library. It will conclude by 11:00 am This will give you a chance to learn more about the PTO, how to get involved, and share thoughts. You will also be able to participate in the board election.

If you can't come in person, you can join us online: meet.google.com/xxa-ussv-pew

Fitness & Nutrition:

The Beye Fitness & Nutrition Working Group is thrilled to bring back two of our flagship events: Kids Running Beye and our annual Turkey Trot. Kids Running Beye is a program in which students gather to run or walk around the school for fun and fitness once a week after school for a month-long session leading up to a race. Our annual Turkey Trot (Nov. 22, 2023) is a one-mile run that brings together the Beye community for a fun fitness activity to kick off the school break. In addition to those two programs, we’re also excited to host our first ever Bobcat Farmers’ Market Feast on September 17 where the Bobcat community will have an opportunity to taste simple dishes featuring fruits and vegetables from our local Farmers' Market.

Green Team:

Student Green Team

• Green Team sponsored student club held during the school day. Open to all students.
• Start date Wed 10/4, runs during the lunch hour twice per month, end date 6/5.
• Permission slip is live with a deadline of 9/25 to sign up.
• https://forms.gle/6pHBx9Jf22GTqzrj7

School Wide Waste Reduction Efforts

• Daily lunchroom sorting-compost, recycling, landfill, and food donations for the Beye Pantry and for other community fridges. Student Green Team members volunteer for sorting shifts. Parent/guardian volunteers needed, sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E49ADA92CA4FBC70-lunchroom#/
• Green Locker clean out at the end of the school year focuses on collection of unused school supplies for upcycling, recycling and donations with the goal to divert unused items from ending up in the landfill.
• Special initiatives such as Got Sneakers drive to upcycle and recycle worn shoes.

Annual Earth Month Assembly/Event

• An event in April to celebrate Earth Month-details TBD based on budget

Parental Involvement:

The Parental Involvement working group is responsible for community-wide events like the back-to-school and end-of-the-year picnics, providing meals for teachers during fall and spring parent-teacher conferences, as well as working with room leaders to help plan grade-wide and school-wide events.

Programs:

We are so excited to bring back family enrichment events focused on
math, reading and science. These are opportunities to "take a peak
behind the curtain" and get the experience of learning from and having
fun with our fantastic Beye teachers too! It sends a powerful message
to our kids when they see their family and neighbors excited about
learning together at school. Plus, it's a great opportunity to get to
know fellow families and try your hand at the new math strategies!

It's no secret that our Beye students are talented and it's a treat to
see their artistry and skills showcased at our annual talent show! We
have comedians, dancers, singers, stunt masters and even expert rubix
cubes solvers and we are lucky to have fantastic staff members who
help bring the show to life.

Just because we are far from an ocean doesn't mean we can't dive in to
exploring the sea! This year we invited an ocean explorer team with
talents as marine biologist, naturalists, expedition leaders, pilot,
actor, comedian, artist, authors, storytellers, educators, scuba
diving instructors, and award-winning underwater photographers to
share about their Belize whale shark expedition. Students will get to
experience a high-energy, interactive, multi-media show that
incorporates stunning underwater visuals, both digital video and
stills, using a 4K digital projection system, and also includes the
use of props, models, and specimens.

My apologies for not getting this message out sooner. When it is raining (not just misting) or if it is below 15 degrees temp or windchill, students will enter the building before school instead of waiting in line for their teacher. Students will come in their regular entry doors. Kindergarten, second and fourth grades will head to the auditorium. First, third and fifth graders will head to the Commons (lunchroom.) Some staff will have signs to remind and direct students to those locations where supervisors will be waiting for them. Homeroom teachers will then pick them up to head to class. If your child is having a tough time, you may bring them to the front office, and we can have someone escort them to the proper location.

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.

For anyone who doesn't know, Beye has an award winning Green Team! Additionally, I am excited to share that last year the Green Team added a student green team! This came as a result of students wanting to be involved.

If your child would like to participate in the Student Green Team, open to all ages, please complete the form below. The Green Team leaders would like families to complete it by September 25.

Beginning in October, students meet on Wednesdays during their lunch time. They still participate in recess on those days.

https://forms.gle/6pHBx9Jf22GTqzrj7

Thank you to the Beye PTO Fitness and Nutrition Group for this exciting opportunity.

Bobcat Farmers' Market Feast is being hosted by the PTO on Sunday, September 17 from 2-4 pm at Beye on the back patio. We're asking families to respond by September 11 so we can get a head count for guests.

Here is the link to the RSVP for Bobcat Farmers' Market Feast:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFjmHacagWkd9LvcSg6P0qzje0vpPz1FIs3h-9uSvAjLXPmA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thank you for taking a peek and signing up!

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

The Beye PTO will soon be moving away from using Konstella as a means of communication. They will be using google instead. They are working on building out their database of family emails for communication this year. With your approval, please take a minute to record a family email or two that the PTO can use for Beye communication this year.

If you have a Konstella account you do NOT need to submit your email as the PTO will migrate contacts from Konstella to Google.

Beye PTO Brief Communication Survey (If not a part of Konstella, please consider completing this so the PTO captures emails for communication)

Report Card Dates for 2023-24 School Year

Student learning and accomplishments are reported regularly and in a variety of ways by District 97 schools. The report card, which is issued each trimester, is one of the ways we report student progress. This year’s report card dates are:

• Dec. 8, 2023 (Trimester 1)

• March 22, 2024 (Trimester 2)

• June 4, 2024 (Trimester 3/Last Day of School)

You may also receive information about your child’s progress through standardized test reports, assessments, progress reports, phone calls, personal letters, portfolios, exhibits of student work, and/or family-teacher conferences. Our fall conferences will be held Thursday, Oct. 26, and Friday, Oct. 27. Additional details will be shared by your child’s school.

CLICK HERE to view the updated 2023-24 school calendar. >>

District 97 remains committed to maintaining safe and healthy schools. We continue to work in partnership with the Oak Park Department of Public Health, following guidance set by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

When should a child remain home from school?

Staying home if you are ill is essential to keep infections—including the virus that causes COVID-19— out of schools and prevent spread to others. Please visit the District 97 Health Services page for more information about when to stay home. If you have specific questions, please contact your school nurse.

COVID-19 Guidelines for 2023-24

Following IDPH guidelines, individuals who test positive for COVID-19 must stay home for five days after the first day of symptoms or testing positive (Day 0). They may return to school on Day 6 if:

• They are 24 hours fever free with no fever-reducing medication AND

• No diarrhea or vomiting for 24 hours AND

• Improvement of other symptoms.

Masks are strongly recommended around others for five days (through Day 10). Per local guidance, anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should also complete Oak Park Department of Public Health's Positive at Home COVID 19 Test form.

For more information, please visit: COVID-19 Guidelines for D97 Students and Staff

From the District on August 18

The district sends periodic text notifications from the short code phone numbers 79041 and 87569. You may opt-in to text messages from your school at any time by sending YES to these numbers. You must have your phone number on file with your child's school to receive text messages. Once you opt-in, BrightArrow will send you a confirmation that your phone number is opted-in.

Consider signing up as we use this communication weekly to remind families about Wednesday’s early dismissals and when necessary for things like bus delays.

See the flier below for information about this program.

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

jodiwalkerspeech@gmail.com

District 97 has updated the Student-Family Handbook for 2023-24. It contains important information regarding school policies, procedures, guidelines, student rights and responsibilities, and notifications required by state and federal law.

The purpose of this handbook is to outline for students, families and staff the expectations for building an educational community where everyone feels safe, included and able to learn. Having shared expectations, procedures and policies helps us respect all members of the school community in which we learn and work every day. Please take the time to read through the handbook and review it with your child.

As seen in the District Handbook:

To help ensure the safety and inclusivity of all students, regardless of food-allergy status, religious or cultural practice, or medical condition, District 97 school celebrations are “food free.” This means that no food will be served during celebrations at our schools. More is available at: https://www.op97.org/health-services/food-free-in-three.

On a student's birthday, we announce it over the intercom, and they receive a birthday pencil and birthday ribbon from their homeroom teacher. Food items are not permitted to come to school; however, if you want to have them pass out something little to each classmate you may.

Due to latex allergies, balloons are also not permitted. at school.

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