August 26, 2022: Berkley Beat
August 26, 2022: Berkley Beat
- #BSD1stDay - Share Your Photos with Us
- Launching the Strategic Plan - New District Videos
- Berkley Schools Staff Kick Off School Year with Inspirational Morning
- Berkley Students Engage in Summer Learning
- BHS Students Form Relationships at Orientations
- BSD Performing Arts Summer Camps and Retreats
- The Online Back to School Packet is Still Open - Fill Out Today
- Berkley Schools is a Remind District
- Important Food Service Information
- Join the Berkley Schools Family
#BSD1stDay - Share Your Photos with Us
The first day of school is Monday, August 29th!
Share your first day of school photos with us. When you post to your social networks, be sure to use #BSD1stDay and make your posts public, so we can see them.
Not sure you want to go public? That's OK, email them to communications@berkleyschools.org instead.
We can’t wait to see all your photos!
Launching the Strategic Plan - New District Videos
This year the Berkley School District is ready to start this school year with a new Strategic Plan leading the way. Our vision, Our inclusive culture will inspire, empower and lead all learners to realize their full potential and make a positive difference in their future and community, will drive our work. This means we will set priorities to strengthen our District culture by listening, learning and leading. We will strive to become a place where all stakeholders feel a sense of belonging.
With our new Strategic Plan, we also adopted a Portrait of a Learner. The Portrait of a Learner identifies six traits that are critical to developing well-rounded individuals. We hope to partner with parents, guardians and the community, to prepare our students to be critical thinkers, creative, collaborative, communicators, curious and courageous while they are with us and take those skills with them when they graduate. You will begin to hear these words guiding and describing our work this year.
Superintendent Scott Francis shared, “It is my hope that through our new guiding principles, our students will find their passion and their purpose and let it empower them to make a difference in their future, their community and the world around them. My sincere thanks to everyone who shared their feedback to shape the Strategic Plan.”
Watch our new District videos that encompass the new Strategic Plan.
Berkley Schools Staff Kick Off School Year with Inspirational Morning
On Tuesday, August 23, Berkley Schools staff gathered for the annual Opening Day meeting. Staff gathered for lunch, friendship and lawn games in the BHS courtyard and moved into the Auditorium for the opening day welcome message and school year kick-off.
The Opening Day agenda included opportunities to celebrate staff, an alumni panel, watching new District videos, talking about the Strategic Plan and Superintendent Scott Francis’ welcome message.
The afternoon celebrations started with District swag for all staff - a new t-shirt and swag bag with the new District tagline. Then, all staff names were entered into a spin-o-rama raffle to give away a day off to six staff members (a teacher, paraeducator, custodian, secretary, administrator and an additional staff member from the All-Staff list). District administrators will take the lucky winners’ jobs for the day. Employees who have been with the District for 25 years were also recognized with a small gift. Thank you to the following staff members for your 25 years of dedication to students in the Berkley School District!
- Stacie Angel, Supervisor of Instructional Services, Administrative Offices
- Donna Bell, Paraeducator, AMS
- Kim DePaulis, Art Teacher, BHS
- Pam Kilbride, Orchestra Teacher, AMS & Elementary Schools
- Lara Overy, Executive Assistant to the Director of Teaching, Learning & Technology
- Colleen Seewald, Paraeducator, Pattengill
Superintendent Scott Francis spoke about take-aways from the 2021-22 school year and starting this year with a blank slate for employees and students. He also talked about the new Strategic Plan, highlighting the new Vision, Mission and Portrait of a Learner. As part of the discussion of Portrait of a Learner, Superintendent Francis invited three alumni to speak to District staff about when they were inspired in school, what skills they hope educators focus on to help prepare students for their future and sharing their story of what they’re doing now and how they got there. Thank you to Austen Brantley, a Detroit-based sculptor, Steven Hawring, CEO/Founding Partner of Hexagon Creative and Emily Hessenthaler, an Associate Attorney for Dickinson Wright, for sharing with District staff.
The afternoon ended with a surprise performance from the Berkley High School Marching Band, performing the BHS fight song and everyone watching the new District video - Who We Are.
Berkley Students Engage in Summer Learning
Summer Difference Program
The Berkley Summer Difference Program was held from June 27 - July 28, 2022. Students in Grades TK-8 worked with Berkley teachers to help maintain or grow their academic achievement from the 2021-2022 school year. It was also an opportunity for students to form relationships with schoolmates of all ages and from different elementary schools in the district.
STEM Camp
During the first week of August, Berkley Schools students grades TK-8 had the opportunity to explore, create and experiment at this year's elementary and middle school STEM Camps. Students explored programming with Bee-Bot’s and Ozobots and building with blocks, LEGO, pipe cleaners and Strawbees. Campers collaborated with classmates to design and test their own Mars rovers, bridges and structures. Students also enjoyed enriching opportunities such as The Oakland Schools’ STEMi truck and Mad Science Detroit.
Angell Media Specialist and STEM camp instructor Julie Mckeeman shared, “STEM Camp is an asset to the Berkley Summer Difference. We focus on hands-on learning which helps develop a variety of skill sets.”
BHS Students Form Relationships at Orientations
BHS Freshman
Incoming Berkley High School freshmen participated in Freshmen Orientation on August 22. Students started the day by gathering in the Auditorium and were greeted by BHS Principal, Andy Meloche. As part of the orientation, students were taught the BHS fight song and experienced a surprise performance by the BHS marching band. After spending time in the Auditorium, students split up into small groups and went on a tour of BHS. These tours were led by Student Leadership students and various other club leaders.
AMS 6th Grade
Anderson Middle School (AMS) incoming 6th graders spent the morning of August 22, 2022, getting acclimated with their new school. Principal Mike Ross and Assistant Principal Carman Smith gave a welcome address and an overview of the culture and values of AMS. Students received a class schedule and a Chromebook. They then practiced opening their lockers while meeting new classmates, teachers and staff.
BSD Performing Arts Summer Camps and Retreats
BHS Marching Band
Marching band camp took place August 1-5 at Hurley field under the direction of Band Director Jonathan Thomann. All week the band drilled songs from their new halftime show “Still Standing.” The new program includes "Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC, “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John and “Separate Ways” by Journey.
On Friday, August 5, friends and family were invited to a performance of the show. The band showcased marching skills, drills and pre-game music. Superintendent Scott Francis attended the performance and shared, “I left Hurley Field feeling such an incredible sense of pride and inspiration.”
BeDrama Camp
This year, the BeDrama Camp was split into three sessions. The first session, General Musical Theater Camp, covered introductory concepts to middle school aged students. During Acting Camp the following week, students in grades 6-12 explored character development, improvisation, script writing and more. In the third session, Advanced Musical Theater Camp, students learned about the audition process, and worked on songs from "A Chorus Line."
BHS Orchestra Retreat
From August 17-August 20, students in the BHS Orchestra classes attended a retreat at the Sherman Lake YMCA Outdoor Center. At the retreat, students rehearsed, swam, hiked, participated in team building exercises and more. They rehearsed songs such as, “The Halo Theme,” “The Titanic Theme” and a Lady Gaga medley.
The students got to know each other and work together in a way that they wouldn't during a normal school day. Benjamin Moy, Director of Orchestras, shared, “Many students shared how they felt more connected to each other and how orchestra is much more than just a class to them now.”
The Online Back to School Packet is still Open - Fill Out Today
All TK-12 parents are required to complete the Online Back to School Packet - if you haven't done so, please log into the MISTAR Parent Portal and finish the packet today!
BBB parents - you do not have a packet to complete.
Berkley Schools is a Remind District
Starting last year, the District partnered with the Remind 101 platform to give teachers the option to communicate with parents via Remind.
Remind is a platform that is synced with our Student Information System, MISTAR, and can send text messages, emails and phone calls. Next week, the District will be sending out notifications to our families to claim their Remind accounts. These notifications will come from Remind and will look like this:
Remind can be accessed in a browser or with the Remind App.
Important Food Service Information
There have been big changes to the food service program - please take the time to read this important information.
First, the free meal program that was in place for the last two years has not been reauthorized by Congress. That means that for this year, meals are no longer free for every student. However, there are opportunities for children to receive free or reduced price meals. Berkley School District participates in the National School Lunch Program. Families who qualify can receive free or reduced price meals for their children.
If you think you may qualify for free or reduced priced meals, fill out an application today to verify your eligibility! Visit the Berkley School District's Food Service webpage to view the paper application, Federal Income Guidelines, and Frequently Asked Questions.
- Online Application: The Free/Reduced Meals application is embedded in the MISTAR Parent Portal. To access the application, login to the MISTAR Parent Portal. Once there, select any child shown. In the “School Links” section, select the link named “Apply for Free or Reduced Meal Benefits.” Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the application.
- Last week in the MISTAR Parent Portal, the online Free/Reduced Meal application was not letting families login. This has now been fixed - please try again if you were not able to get through last week.
- Paper Applications: If you prefer to use a paper application to apply for the National School Lunch Program, contact the Food Service Department at 248-837-8122 or download the form from the Food Service website.
Family Benefits for Qualifying for Free/Reduced Price Meals
When families qualify for free/reduced price meals, they are also eligible for the following benefits:
- Reduced Summer School fees
- Reduced Athletics Resource Fees for students grades 6-12
- Reduced field trip fees
- Reduced AP testing fees
- Potential additional benefits for Bridge Cards/P-EBT
Second, the District is starting a breakfast program for all schools. Berkley High School and Norup International School will begin their established breakfast program on the first day of school. Angell, Burton, Pattengill, Rogers and Anderson will begin their breakfast program on Monday, September 12. Buildings will share their breakfast start times with their school communities before the program begins. The breakfast program is available for all students, and those who are eligible for free/reduced price meals will also receive a free/reduced price breakfast. Full price breakfast is $1.50 and reduced price breakfast is $0.30.
Third, Nutrislice, an online platform for school meals and menus, will be up and running by the first week of school. Nutrislice not only has all school menus loaded it also has nutritional information loaded in for all menu items. Menus are loaded five weeks at a time and are also printable. You can print the whole month, or days you’d like, with or without the nutritional values. Nutrislice can be accessed on the Berkley Schools website as well as through the Nutrislice app.
If you have any questions about the Food Service items in this email, please contact LaVon Larson, Food Service Director at 248-837-8122.
Join the Berkley Schools Family
The Berkley School District is hiring! We are looking for talented individuals to fill a variety of positions. Visit our website (https://bit.ly/3BVnZH1) to apply and share our postings with your networks!
Now Hiring:
- School Nurse
- Family Consumer Science Teacher
- School Psychologist
- School Social Worker
- Speech & Language Pathologist
- Special Education Teachers
- Paraeducators
- Coaches
- Custodians
- Berkley Building Blocks Assistant Teachers
- Lunch Aides
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!
