Bobcat Blog

• Tuesday, October 31: Halloween Parade and Parties (More information below)
• Thursday, November 9: General PTO short meeting (15 min.) followed by Math Night (6:00 - 7:30 pm)
• Friday, November 10: Institute Day: No School
• Friday, November 17: 1st Trimester Ends
• Wednesday, November 22 - Friday, November 24: Thanksgiving Break

• All of you for attending conferences; we appreciate the partnership.
• Charity Caldwell for all of your hard work preparing a wonderful Día de los Muertos celebration here at Beye last Sunday! While I wish more could have attended, I heard that those who did had a fabulous time and loved the all female Mariachi band.
• All of the families who were able to attend.
• Everyone who participated in the Q BBQ Fundraiser
• Jacqueline Gelman and Joanna MacKenzie for organizing and helping with the Book Fair
• Thank you to all of the people who helped at the Book Fair: Gordon Ferguson, Sharon Lomasney, Mike Kellogg, Morgen Alexander, Ali Schoenfeldt, Darnita Bowen, Laura Barnard, Nicolette Becker, Dessalina Day, Suzanne Feeney, Kimball Ingram, Kelly Scanton, Katie Waller, Kirsten Olde-Riekerink, Katelyn Schuster and Amy Daiger
• Everyone who supported the Book Fair by purchasing books & other items
• Molly Greenwood-Whalen for organizing the wonderful staff meal Thursday.
• All of the families who donated items or helped in some way: Eranthie Mendis, Morgan Benson, Curtis Cox, Aly Schoenfeldt, David Paumier, Christina Townsend, Fran Knechel, Linsey Rosen, Claire Weinstein, Amy Daigler, Alycia Mason, Lauren MacGregor, Katie McElligott, Michele Jurewicz, Audrey Wojtonik, Sara Semelka, Casey Goldberg, Sara Pastrovich, and Rachel Gershenson-Gates.

**Please email me if I accidentally missed listing your name for either event.

See below for the Dia de los Muertos village flier. At the event, they will share the final map and QR code with all the ofrendas around Oak Park and River Forest.

We will be celebrating Day of the Dead. Beye School, together with other places in the community, is preparing an altar to honor loved ones who have passed away. The ofrenda -titled "We Remember You"- will be finished on Wednesday, November 1st and you can visit it till November 5th (new big windows by door 5E, right in front of the playground). Come and honor our loved ones!

If you haven't already completed this 1 question survey for each of your children at Beye, please do so asap. Students going home for lunch will be taken to the North Blacktop for pick up. When students return, they should enter through the main office by 12:35 p.m.

Halloween Lunch/Recess Plan 1 question Survey

For costumes, please remember:

• Students will change into costumes at home (depending on survey) or right after lunch
• No weapons
• No masks covering the face
• No culturally inappropriate costumes

Schedule:

• 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. Please come out and see the parade around the school block. We will begin and end through the main doors. We will begin inside the building for other students to see the costumes so if you come out to see the parade, know that we will be coming soon after 1:10 :)

• 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 party, please email the homeroom teacher and Mrs. Sullivan so we can plan an alternate activity.

We look forward to meeting for a brief, general PTO meeting Thursday, November 9 in the auditorium beginning promptly at 6:00 pm. At this time, I will be highlighting our School Improvement Plan. Following this, students and their families (siblings are welcome to join in the fun) will be able to engage in a lot of math games throughout the building. Many staff members will be here to guide the fun. Please mark your calendars!

You are invited to join some other Beye parents and myself (as well as many other community members) on Nov. 6th for a free screening of The Right to Read at the Oak Park Main Library. Click HERE to learn more and to register.

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!

NEWS FROM THE STUDENT GREEN TEAM (SGT)

Hello from the Student Green Team!

We’re a group of 67 students with lots planned for this year. Look for our news and updates here in the Bobcat Blog!

Happy (early) Halloween!

Check out ideas on how to "green" your Halloween from Seven Generations ahead.

Compost your pumpkin instead of sending it to the landfill. Pumpkin Smash's are fun and the smashed pumpkins get composted!

Pumpkin Smash Event

Saturday, 11/4 @ 9am-12pm

Forest Park Picnic Grove at Altenheim Property

7824 W. Madison St. Forest Park

Shoe Crew Update:

We've collected 44 pairs of shoes to recycle so far!

Our goal is to keep 444 pairs of shoes out of the landfill this school year!

Beye Community Pantry update:

Student Green Team (SGT) is working with the Fitness and Nutrition Team to help maintain the pantry. You can help too!

Sign up to volunteer here.

Help collect and donate items.

Get others involved.

SGT members and neighbors of 100 N. Cuyler held a pantry drive at their recent block party and collected non-perishables, hygiene and household supplies.

Community groups of all sorts can help-Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, faith groups, etc.

Give what you can, take what you need. Neighbors helping neighbors= Beye strong!

What: Drama Club

When: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-4:30 beginning at the end of December

Where: Beye School Auditorium

Why: The goal of Drama Club is for students to be involved in performing or working backstage on a musical. This club helps create positive connections between 4th and 5th grade students, helps with reading fluency and comprehension, characterization, and allows students to build confidence on stage and in life! Come join in on the fun!

Help us spread the word that Golden Apple Awards nominations are open!

Honor an outstanding Pre-K-3rd grade teacher by nominating them for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching today: https://www.goldenapple.org/nominate-a-teacher

#TeachGolden #GoldenAppleAwards

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.

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

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

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