March 25, 2022: Berkley Beat

March 25, 2022: Berkley Beat 

• Rogers Students Parade as Favorite Book Characters
• Battle of the Books at Pattengill
• Angell Elementary Celebrates March is Reading Month
• Author and Illustrator Remy Lai Virtually Visits Burton Elementary
• BHS Celebrates Spirit Week
• Rogers Students Compete in Battle of the Books
• Pattengill Community Celebrates Reading Month with Theme Days
• Choirs Throughout Berkley Schools Advance to State Choral Festival
• Berkley Schools Board of Education Honors Students at March Meeting
• PTA Founders Day Virtual Celebration
• Oakland County 4-H Discovery Day
• BEF Off to the Races - Tickets & Horses on Sale Now
• 2022 General Fund Operating Millage Renewal FAQ
• March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
• March is Women’s History Month
• Berkley School District is Hiring 
• Sign Up for Text Alerts

Rogers Students Parade as Favorite Book Characters

Rogers Elementary continued its celebration of Reading Month with its annual character parade on March 24, 2022. Students decorated paper bags as their favorite book character and held them up, bringing the characters to life as they paraded down Rogers’ halls. Some of the characters included The Pigeon, Harry Potter, Elmer the Patchwork Elephant and Clifford the Big Red Dog. 

Battle of the Books at Pattengill

The annual Battle of the Books competition took place at Pattengill this week. Battle of the Books is a reading challenge for 5th grade students in which participants are placed on a team, read from a selected list of books, and then compete against other teams by answering questions about those books. The goal of Battle of the Books is to encourage students to read various genres of books and to enhance their reading comprehension. 

Pattengill students read the following books: The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown, All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel, Starfish by Lisa Flipps, Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi, Pax by Sara Pennypacker and The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. 

Congratulations to Pattengill’s winning team, The Book-n-Neers!

Angell Elementary Celebrates March is Reading Month

Angell students and staff enjoyed a month of activities and reading challenges during March. In celebration of March is Reading Month, students participated in a book swap, skate night at Troy Skate World, a book fair and a pajama read-in on the last day of school before Spring Break. Students could also participate in “One Book. One School.” a school-wide reading initiative in which the student body reads the same book. This year’s book was titled Sideways Stories from Wayside School. All students who participated in the “One Book. One School.” challenge received tickets to a United Shore Professional Baseball League game and a prize. 

Author and Illustrator Remy Lai Virtually Visits Burton Elementary

Author and Illustrator Remy Lai virtually joined 3rd-5th grade classes at Burton on March 21, 2022. Remy Lai lives in Brisbane, Australia and is the author and illustrator of the critically acclaimed books Pie in the Sky, Fly on the Wall and Pawcasso. Ms. Lai explained the drafting, editing and illustration process of creating her books and answered questions from the students. 

BHS Celebrates Spirit Week

During the Week of March 21-25, Berkley High School celebrated Spirit Week.

On Monday, students dressed in a Groutfit (a gray outfit), Tuesday was “anything but a backpack day,” Wednesday was PJs vs Professionals day, Thursday was the pep rally and students dressed as the elements: Freshman - Wind (white), Sophomores - Water (blue), Juniors - Earth (Green), Seniors - Fire (red), and Friday was hats and helmets day.  In addition, three days included an opportunity to raise funds for the Wave Project, the charity recipient of Spirit Week. On Monday it was pancake day, Tuesday was a euchre tournament and Wednesday was a Powerpuff volleyball game.

At the pep rally, students cheered for their classmates, celebrated spring and winter athletes, competed in games and watched a performance from Encore!

It was a fun way to lead into Spring Break while raising funds for a Metro Detroit non-profit.

Rogers Students Compete in Battle of the Books

Battle of the Books is a reading challenge for 4th and 5th grade students in which participants are placed on a team, read from a selected list of books, and then compete against other teams by answering questions about those books. Rogers Media Specialist Daniel Duffey shared, “The Battle is an enriching and challenging opportunity for students to take their reading beyond their normal duties.”

Rogers students read the following books: The Great American Dust Bowl by Don Brown, All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel, Starfish by Lisa Flipps, Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi, Pax by Sara Pennypacker and The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. 

Congratulations to Roger’s winning team, The Berkley Bookworms!

Pattengill Community Celebrates Reading Month with Theme Days

Students and staff at Pattengill had the opportunity to participate in various theme days throughout the month of March in celebration of March is Reading Month. Principal Shamika Womble shared “Our students and staff have a great time celebrating March is Reading Month. Its a great time to promote literacy.”
Some of the theme days included beach day, Pattengill Pride, and favorite sports team day. 

Choirs Throughout Berkley Schools Advance to State Choral Festival

On Monday and Tuesday, March 21-22, Berkley Schools choir groups participated in District Festival competitions. District Festival performances include a warm-up, performance, clinic and sight reading. Each choir performs two selections of a contrasting nature for a panel of judges as part of their performance. 

Congratulations to all Berkley Choirs for excelling at the District Festival - all choirs that performed advanced to the State Choral Festival! This includes at BHS: A Cappella, Belle Tones, and Concert Choir; at AMS: 7th/8th Grade Combined Choir, 6th Grade Choir; at Norup: 7th/8th Grade Combined Choir and 6th Grade Choir.

Congratulations! The choral director said they are “very, very proud of their kids!”

Berkley Schools Board of Education Honors Students at March Meeting

At the March 14th Board of Education Regular Meeting, the Board honored the Berkley High School Debate team and the Middle School Swim Team for their outstanding seasons. 

2021-22 BHS Debate Team

The BHS Debate team was back to competing for the first time since the mid 1980s. This team, under the guidance of coach Scott Warrow, excelled at every tournament including top finishes for many students, six students receiving Speaker Awards, sending six students to the State Championship, qualifying four debaters for the Varsity National Qualifying Tournament and four debaters for the Junior Varsity National Tournament. The Debate Team will also be sending four debaters to the National Debate Tournament in April 2022. Individual students were also honored by the Board for their accomplishments this season.

Nina Warrow

• Nina qualified for the State Tournament and was on a team that finished 2nd in the Novice State Championship. Nina qualified for the Varsity National Qualifying Tournament, finishing first in the State and qualified to represent Michigan in the National Debate Tournament in April 2022. Nina also received the 1st Place Speaker award at the National Qualifying Tournament. In addition, Nina received many Speaker Awards throughout the year.

Shakanah Harlan

• Shakanah qualified for and competed at the Novice State Tournament.  

Sharmel Gibson

• Sharmel competed at the Novice League Championship and qualified for the Junior Varsity National Qualifying Tournament.

Aria Dwoskin

• Aria competed at the Novice League Championship and qualified for the Junior Varsity National Qualifying Tournament.  

Ava Cohen

• Ava competed at the Novice League Championship and her team went undefeated, qualifying them for the Varsity National Qualifying Tournament. At the National Qualifying Tournament, Ava’s team finished in 2nd place, qualifying her team to represent Michigan in the National Debate Tournament in April 2022. 

Maddie Watts

• Maddie qualified for and competed at the State Tournament. Maddie also qualified for the Varsity National Qualifying Tournament and finished in 2nd place, qualifying her team to represent Michigan in the National Debate Tournament in April 2022. 

Zachary Wagner

• Zachary qualified for and competed at the State Tournament. Zachary also qualified for the Varsity National Qualifying Tournament.

Iris Macaulay

• Iris qualified for the State Tournament and was on a team that finished 2nd in the Novice State Championship. Iris also qualified for the Junior Varsity National Qualifying Tournament. 

Zack Kirkwood

• Zack qualified for the State Tournament and was on a team that finished 2nd in the Novice State Championship. Zack qualified for the Junior Varsity National Qualifying Tournament, finishing first in the State and qualified to represent Michigan in the National Debate Tournament in April 2022. Zack also received the 4th Place Speaker award at the National Qualifying Tournament. 

Middle School Swimming

The Girls Middle School Swim Team were honored for their individual and relay accomplishments at the Middle School State Swim Meet. The following are the results from the State Meet as well as the school records that the team accomplished.

Relay Results

• 200 Yard Medley Relay of Isabella Roddis (AMS), Mia Mracna (Norup), Hannah Conti (Norup) and Sloan Scully (AMS) finished in 5th place
• 200 Yard Freestyle Relay of Mia Mracna, Sloan Scully, Ruby Spurgeon (Norup) and Maddie Collins (Norup) finished in 3rd place
• 400 Yard Freestyle Relay of Hannah Conti, Isabella Roddis, Ruby Spurgeon and Maddie Collins  finished in 5th place

Individual Results

• Maddie Collins (Norup), took 2nd in both the 50 Yard Freestyle and 50 Yard Butterfly
• Mia Mracna (Norup), finished 6th in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and 12th in the 100 Yard Individual Medley
• Ruby Spurgeon (Norup), finished 12th in the 200 Yard Freestyle and 18th in the 100 Yard Freestyle
• Sloan Scully (AMS) finished 18th in the 100 Yard Individual Medley and 10th in the 50 Yard Freestyle
• Hannah Conti (Norup), finished 15th in the 100 Yard Individual Medley and 10th in the 50 Yard Butterfly

Congratulations to the following swimmers for being members of the State team as alternates: Sadie Ross, Tatum Saltsman, Ava Gruara and Charlotte Gray

New School Records

The following swimmers set new school records this season:

• Maddie Collins in the 50 Yard Freestyle and 50 Yard Butterfly
• 200 Yard Freestyle Relay Team: Mia Mracna, Sloan Scully, Ruby Spurgeon and Maddie Collins

PTA Founders Day Virtual Celebration

On Tuesday, March 22, at 7 pm this year’s Berkley Area PTSA Council Founders Day event premiered on the Berkley School District’s Facebook page. 

Founders’ Day celebrates the founding of the PTA and the outstanding Berkley PTA members, teachers and staff persons of the year. The event included recognition for each member, staff and teacher of the year, and messages from Scott Francis, Berkley Schools Superintendent, and Kristy Conti, the Berkley Area PTSA Council President.

Congrats to this year’s nominees:

Educator of the Year

• Erin Burke Anderson Middle School
• Michelle Hoerner Angell Elementary School
• Katy Levinson Berkley High School
• Kim Ternus Burton Elementary School
• Jim Bowering Norup International School PYP
• Amy Carter Norup International School MYP
• Jen Vail Pattengill Elementary School
• Rikki Kwas Rogers Elementary School

Support Staff Member of the Year

• Jeff Knight Anderson Middle School
• Amy Lister Angell Elementary
• DeWayne Green Berkley High School
• Bettye Piester Burton Elementary
• Jaclyn Georgiou Norup International School
• Stephanie Noonan Pattengill Elementary
• Becky Smith Rogers Elementary

PTA Member of the Year

• Staci Wittenberg Anderson Middle School
• Caitlin Thrasher Angell Elementary
• Meggan Ross Burton Elementary
• Jason Deneau Norup International School
• Nicole Heger Pattengill Elementary
• Rachel Mendoza Rogers Elementary

Oakland County 4-H Discovery Day

The Michigan State University Extension programs presents 4-H Discovery Day on Saturday, May 7, 2022. This free family event will provide educational hands-on experiences in a friendly atmosphere. Information will be available about joining 4-H and exhibiting at the Oakland County Fair (July 8-22).

4-H Discovery Day activities include: 

• Live animals 
• Crafts
• Activities
• Rock Wall
• Horse Show
• Food Trucks

BEF Off to the Races - Tickets & Horses on Sale Now

It’s time to buy tickets and horses for the Berkley Education Foundation’s annual fundraiser Off to the Races. The event takes place on Saturday, May 14, from 6:30-10 pm at Club Venetian in Madison Heights.

All the fun from previous years is back - simulated horse racing, owning & naming horses, silent auction (powered by mobile bidding), vacation give-away, connecting with friends, and most importantly, funding the #BerkleyDifference.

Horses on sale now.

Buy and name a horse that will race during Off to the Races! 70 regular horses ($50) and 10 golden horses ($250) are available.

Buy your horse today 

Tickets on sale.

Don’t miss out on all the fun. Buy tickets for Off to the Races today. $30/person. Bundle event tickets with OTTR Bucks for a discount. Bucks pay for horse betting and drinks at the event. $20/10 Bucks at the event, or add them on to an event ticket for a $10 discount.

Buy event tickets here

Win a vacation.

This year the Golden Race is a big one - the winner will take home a $2,500 vacation, courtesy of the BEF. The prize is bigger so the stakes are higher: bet on this race with a Golden Ticket!

Add a $50 Golden Ticket to an event ticket or buy at the door. Don’t miss out on a chance for a $2,500 vacation of your choice!

Learn More

Silent Auction - something for everyone.

This year’s silent auction has big prizes (including an autographed Kobe Bryant photo) and small prizes (gift certificates to local restaurants). There is something for everyone. The BEF will announce all silent auction items soon! Watch the BEF’s Facebook page where items will be announced as they come in! Prepare for the event - watch this video on how to use mobile bidding.

Thank you, sponsors!

• Silver sponsors: EDSI and Artichoke Garlic Foundation
• Bronze Sponsors: McCarthy & Smith, Eagle Rock Insurance, Stantec, Jim Shaffer & Associates
• Golden Race Sponsor: M3 Investment Services
• Race Sponsors: Meijer Woodward Corner Market, Yeo & Yeo CPAs and Business Consultants, Clark Hill, NOVA Environmental, Michigan Educational Credit Union

Sponsorships available!

Event sponsorships, race sponsorships and prize sponsorships available for all budgets, ranging from $100 - $5,000. Investing in Off to the Races includes a variety of incentives from social media shoutouts to tickets to the event. Interested in sponsoring?

Email berkleyfoundation@berkleyschools.org

Sponsorship details

Every dollar raised funds the #BerkleyDifference. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for May 14! Every dollar the BEF raises during Off to the Races supports teacher innovation-grants, the elementary enrichment program, student scholarships and the 8th grade college tour. Help us support the Berkley School District by supporting Off to the Races. Visit our website for more details.

2022 General Fund Operating Millage Renewal FAQ

On May 3, 2022, the Berkley School District will place a General Fund Operating Millage Renewal on the ballot, calling for a 19.4937 mills renewal for taxes that are levied on business and non-primary residences. The District would, however, only levy 18 mills. This would not be a levy (tax) on primary household residences. This is also known as a Non-Homestead Millage. 

The revenue generated from the General Fund Operating Millage is considered by the State when calculating the District’s per pupil amounts, and generated approximately $3.8 million in 2021. Without this millage, the District would be facing more than a $640 per pupil loss – out of the $8700 per pupil rate in 2022. 

This millage was previously approved by Berkley School District voters in 2013, and again with a Headlee Restoration Millage in 2019, and will expire in May 2023. The 18 mills are levied 100% within the summer tax bill.

General Fund Operating Millage dollars are used to support the District’s every day expenses including classroom supplies, teacher salaries and technology.

The full list of Frequently Asked Questions are posted on the District’s website. A couple are listed below.

If the General Fund Operating Millage is not passed by voters, will my tax rates go down if I’m a primary homeowner?

No. The General Fund Operating Millage is a tax on non-homestead properties, not primary residences.

What happens if the General Fund Operating Millage is not approved?

The revenue generated from the 18 mills totals approximately $3.8 million annually. If this millage does not pass, the Berkley School District would be forced to reduce or cut programs to offset the $3.8 million loss.

What is the last day to pick up an absentee ballot from my City Clerk’s Office?

The last day an absentee ballot can be requested to be mailed is 5 pm on April 29, 2022. Absentee ballots can be picked up at the City Clerk’s Office up to 8 pm on Election Day (May 3, 2022).

March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month is observed in March in the U.S. NationalToday.com shares, “The campaign seeks to raise awareness about including people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life. It also creates awareness of the difficulties that people with disabilities still face in fitting into the communities in which they live.”

Here are resources to learn more about National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month as well as resources to learn more about disabilities and equity.

Visit the NationalToday website to learn more.

ASD 365: Inclusion & Equity Every Day

The Arc Michigan - The mission of The Arc Michigan is to ensure that people with Developmental Disabilities are valued in order that they and their families can participate fully in and contribute to their community.

March is Women’s History Month

The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.

Here are some resources to learn more about Women’s History Month

American Women: A guide to Women's History Resources at the Library of Congress A major new online research guide highlights hundreds of sources that tell the stories of women through a wide variety of perspectives and media in the Library of Congress collections.

Her Story: How Women and Girls Transformed the World! Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative for virtual workshops for children ages 3-6 and their adult companions. Learn about art, history, and more!

Women Suffrage: Women Fight for the Vote.

Celebrate Women’s History at The Henry Ford

Berkley School District is Hiring 

The Berkley School District is hiring multiple positions including building substitute teachers, school social worker, speech pathologist, coaches, custodians, GSRP/Head Start associate teachers, paraeducators, childcare assistants and lunch aides and kitchen support. If you or someone you know are interested in these positions, visit the employment page on our website. On this page you will find more information on the positions and how to apply.

Sign Up for Text Alerts

Quick Steps to Receive Text Alerts from Berkley Schools

In order to receive text messages from the District or your school, you must opt-in. Text messages will be sent out when the District closes or there is an emergency situation. Texts may also be sent from the District and schools for reminder messages during the day that are not urgent. 

In order to receive text messages, every parent/guardian must opt-in each cell phone listed in MISTAR.

Steps to Opt-In

Text the word YES (in the message field) to the phone number 67587 (in the To field).  Then you are all set!