September 30, 2022: Berkley Beat

September 30, 2022: Berkley Beat 

• Angell Families Celebrate Back to School at Fall Festival
• Building Blocks Fall Festival
• Norup Robotics Students Learn STEM Concepts
• Important MISTAR Parent Portal Updates
• Homecoming 2022 - Tonight!
• Berkley High School Hosts Blood Drive
• National Hispanic Heritage Month
• BHS College & Career Fair
• Saturdays for Success - Registration Now Open
• Federal Government Offers Discounted Internet Service Program
• Travel to Scotland in March 2023
• Food Service Alerts & Adding Funds to Your Child’s Account
• Join the Berkley Schools Family- Now Hiring!
• Sign Up for Text Alerts

Angell Families Celebrate Back to School at Fall Festival 

Angell Elementary hosted their annual Fall Festival on Thursday, September 29, 2022. Angell families and friends participated in pumpkin decorating, lawn games, music and a raffle while enjoying pizza, ice cream, cider and donuts. This fundraising event is in support of and provided by Angell’s PTA. Thank you to Woodward Corner Market for donating pumpkins to this year’s event. 

Building Blocks Fall Festival

Berkley Building Blocks families celebrated fall and a new school year on Thursday, September 29 at the annual Fall Festival. Families enjoyed playing outside, lawn games, scavenger hunt, temporary tattoos, a photo opportunity, cider and donuts. Students also enjoyed music from ​​Beverly Meyer - The Music Lady. Students also chose their own pumpkin to take home courtesy of Western Market in Ferndale. 

Norup Robotics Students Learn STEM Concepts 

Students in Lydia DiVito’s middle school robotics class have been enjoying activities using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) concepts. Last week, students were challenged to create a mechanism to launch and catch a ball using corrugated cardboard, plastic cups, wooden rulers, paper, pencils, rubber bands and paper clips. Each material had a quantity limit and a “cost” per item for students to consider as they built their machines. 

Teams designed and tested their machines with a focus on Design Thinking: empathize, ideate, test, define, prototype. After completing their assignment, teams were scored based on the total distance their ball traveled in centimeters minus the cost of materials.

This assignment explored concepts of engineering and physics such as simple and complex machines, projectile motion, velocity, potential and kinetic energy. 

Important MISTAR Parent Portal Updates

On Monday, October 3, the MISTAR Parent Portal will undergo a system upgrade. As a result of the upgrade, all who log into the MISTAR Parent Portal will be required to change their password when they log in next. 

Here’s what all Parent Portal users need to know:

• Starting on 10/3/22 all existing Parent Portal user accounts will be required to change their password at the next login
• The new password must be at least 8 characters
• After 10/3/22, District staff can no longer assist with password changes
• Parent Portal users can continue to use the “forgot my password” link on the login screen to send a reset link to their email address on file 
• If the email address in MISTAR Parent Portal is incorrect, users will not be able to reset their password. District staff can help update email addresses as needed

Homecoming 2022 - Tonight! 

Calling all Berkley High School alumni! Join the District in celebrating Homecoming on Friday, September 30, 2022. The Berkley High School Varsity football team will take on the Royal Oak Ravens at Hurley Field starting at 7 pm - the community is welcome to attend. At the game, guests will also enjoy a half time performance by the BHS Marching Band and BHS Cheer and Dance Teams. Go Bears!

Berkley High School Hosts Blood Drive

On Tuesday, October 4, Berkley High School invites the community to sign up for their Blood Drive, hosted in partnership with Versiti Blood Center of Michigan.

The drive will take place from 8:30 am - 1:30 pm in the Auditorium Lobby.

• Advance sign up is required. Sign up on the Versiti website.
• For children under 16, parents/guardians must fill out this form to turn in at the blood donation appointment.

National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15th - October 15th is nationally recognized as Hispanic Heritage Month. The month-long celebration highlights the culture, achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.

Share in the learning about Hispanic Heritage Month with your family by visiting these resources:

• PBS:  All About the Holidays Hispanic Heritage Month Video
• Library of Congress: National Hispanic Heritage Month Website with Events
• PBS: 11 Picture Books Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month
• Scholastic: A Month of Ideas for Celebrating National Hispanic Month
• Unmaking “Hispanic”: Teaching the Creation of Hispanic Identity
• Honoring LGBTQ Voices During Hispanic Heritage Month 

Saturdays for Success - Registration Now Open

The Berkley African American Parent Network (BAAPN), in partnership with the Berkley School District, sponsors the Saturdays for Success (S4S) program. The purpose of S4S is to help all Berkley students have a successful academic experience by providing educational opportunities in literacy and math, and developing study skills that will ensure long term success. S4S classes are facilitated by Berkley Schools teachers.

What happens at Saturdays for Success?

• Literacy and math support for students in grades TK-5
• Saturday tutoring, homework help and small group work for students in grades 6-12 for math and language arts
• National Honor Society High School students will be volunteering with elementary student(s) assisting with math drills/ games and literacy activities.

When are the S4S Sessions?

• October 8, 15, 22, 29 & November 5, 12
• 9:30-11 am
• Berkley High School

Cost

• The cost of the program is $20 per child (fee covers all 6 sessions). If your family is eligible for free and/or reduced lunch benefits the cost is $10 per child.

Location

• Berkley High School

Sign Up

Complete this registration form to sign up

Federal Government Offers Discounted Internet Service Program

Berkley Schools families can now access a new Federal program for discounted home internet service, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP was launched by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help connect qualifying families and households struggling to afford broadband internet service. 

The ACP program provides: 

• A discount of up to $30 per month for home internet service
• A discount of up to $75 per month for home internet service for households on tribal lands 
• A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet purchased through a participating provider 

Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail in application.

You can learn more about the benefits, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting the ACP website, or by calling 877-384-2575.

Travel to Scotland in March 2023

Norup MYP will be collaborating with EF Tours on a guided tour of Scotland for Spring Break 2023! Go beyond seeing Scottish landmarks and experience the kingdom of the north through the stories of the Scots. This trip is open to all Berkley middle schoolers, ages 11-15. View the slideshow for more information.

BHS College & Career Fair

Berkley High School families and students are invited to the BHS College and Career Fair on Thursday, October 6 from 6-7:30 pm in the BHS West Gym. Students will learn about various college and career opportunities for life after BHS from 66 different schools and organizations.

Register to attend the event.

Food Service Alerts & Adding Funds to Your Child’s Account

Now that meals are no longer free, many of the regular Food Service systems are back and running. 

Through the MISTAR Parent Portal parents/guardians are able to add funds to their child’s food service account to pay for meals and apply for the Free/Reduced Meal Program. In addition, Berkley Schools started sending out negative balance and low balance notifications for food service accounts that are low.

Add Funds to Your Child’s Food Service Account

To add funds to your child’s Food Service Account, follow these steps.

• Login to the MISTAR Parent Portal
• Choose any of your children
• Open the Cafeteria link from the left navigation bar
• In the Cafeteria window, click the “Click Here to Access Online Food Service Payments” link
• Enter any amount in the Payment Amount column for one or all of your children, then click the Continue button
• Confirm the amount you added to your child’s account and then click Check Out
• You will be redirected to PayPal to complete the payment

To fill out the Free/Reduced Meal Application, follow these steps.

• Login to the MISTAR Parent Portal
• Choose any of your children
• In the School Links section, click ‘Click to Apply for Free or Reduced Meal Benefits’
• In the top section, choose from the top application options and follow the instructions to complete the application

Food Service Alerts

The District’s communications system is set up to send courtesy reminders for families whose balances have dipped under $5 per child as well as those who have dipped into the negative. Currently, a phone call and email for children who have a negative balance is sent out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 pm. Unfortunately, there is not a way to streamline the calls to one per family because each child has their own food service account.

Low balance alert emails are sent on Monday, Wednesday and Friday if a child’s balance is less than $5.

If a child’s balance dips into the negative, each child will still receive a full meal, however the account will be charged for each meal provided.

As a reminder for secondary students, each student's pin number can be used to purchase food. 

If you have trouble paying your balance, please reach out to the Food Service Department at 248-837-8122. If payments are a hardship for your family, you may qualify for free or reduced lunch. The application is online, through the MISTAR Parent Portal and available through the Food Service Department.

Join the Berkley Schools Family- Now Hiring!

The Berkley School District is hiring! We are looking for talented individuals to fill a variety of positions. Visit our website to apply and share our postings with your networks!

Now Hiring:

• Business/Marketing Teacher
• 2nd Grade Teacher
• School Psychologist
• School Social Worker
• Special Education Paraeducator
• Berkley Building Blocks Assistant Teachers
• GSRP/Head Start Associate Teacher 
• Kids’ Zone Latchkey Assistant Teachers
• JV Boys Tennis Coach
• Custodians
• Lunch Aides
• Long Term Substitute

 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!