Berkley Beat: December 22, 2022

Berkley Beat: December 22, 2022

What’s inside:

• Happy Holidays, Berkley Schools!
• Norup Students Create in LEGO Club
• Angell Students Learn to Fuel Up Their Future
• Burton LEGO Teams Showcase Work
• Norup Students Celebrate Winter Solstice
• Tickets on Sale for Middle School Musical, “High School Musical, Jr.”
• Parent Learning Opportunity: U-M Digital Wellness Youth and Parent Symposium
• Message from Superintendent Francis about Pandemic Funding
• Kindergarten Information for All: Information Nights, Registration and Schools of Choice
• Berkley and Royal Oak Partner to Honor Dr. King on MLK Day - Save the Date
• Tickets on Sale for Off to the Races 2023
• Join the Berkley Schools Family - Now Hiring!
• Sign Up for Text Alerts

Happy Holidays, Berkley Schools!

Wishing our entire Berkley Schools community a safe and restful break. Enjoy this Holiday video below from Superintendent Francis and all our principals.

We’ll see you on Monday, January 9, 2023.

Norup Students Create in LEGO Club

Over the last semester, 1st through 3rd grade students at Norup International School had the opportunity to join an after-school enrichment program, LEGO Club, funded by the Berkley Education Foundation. Led by Kristi Metz, Norup’s Instructional Support Specialist, students gathered after school once a week to build unique creations using LEGO bricks. 

The Berkley Education Foundation funds enrichment courses free of charge to bring unique experiences to students and to enhance their learning. To learn more about the BEF, visit their website. To support the BEF and the Enrichment Program, visit the BEF’s donation site.

Angell Students Learn to Fuel Up Their Future

This Fall, Angell parent Sara Piatt, MSA, RDN and her business partner Leah Oldham, RDN brought science-based nutrition education to Angell students through their business, Fueling Up Our Future, LLC. The two, who are registered dietitians, established an after school program called Fuelling Up with Friends that was funded by the Berkley Education Foundation as part of their Enrichment Program. In the fall, Angell students in grade 3-5 had the opportunity to join the program.

During the four sessions, students enjoyed apple tasting, learned about eating all colors of the rainbow, discussed different types of protein foods and why they are good for health and learned about whole grains. Throughout, students had the opportunity to try new foods like jicama, peppers, cucumbers, mango, dragon fruit, rambutan, kiwi, whole wheat crackers with hummus, cheese, dried chickpeas and edamame. 

The kids favorite part of this session was a smoothie bike. Students got some exercise on a stationary bike while blending apple cider and pumpkin pie smoothies. Students also took a trip to Woodward Corners Market in Royal Oak for a grocery safari, looking for the rainbow of colors and calcium rich foods while learning to read nutrition labels. The store manager also took the kids on a “behind the scenes” tour of the grocery store.

The Berkley Education Foundation funds enrichment courses free of charge to bring unique experiences to students and to enhance their learning. To learn more about the BEF, visit their website. To support the BEF and the Enrichment Program, visit the BEF’s donation site.

Burton LEGO Teams Showcase Work

On Thursday, December 15, Burton LEGO Teams held a showcase for family and friends to see what they had made this year. The eight teams, comprised of 50 students in grades 1-3, worked on building and programming LEGO robots through the Michigan First Robotics program. The teams worked in groups of six, meeting weekly, to explore and learn concepts of physics and engineering while designing and programming their robot to move. The groups met for 10 weeks and were led by parent volunteers. In addition, Berkley High School robotics team members, DaBears, stopped by LEGO learning sessions to share their knowledge with the younger students. At the showcase, teams also made video presentations to share about their projects.

Principal Beth Krehbiel said, “A big thank you to the parent volunteers who met weekly with their teams to create the robots and learn about engineering and physics.”

The Burton LEGO clubs are a part of, and fully funded by, the Berkley Education Foundation Enrichment Program. The Berkley Education Foundation funds enrichment courses free of charge to bring unique experiences to students and to enhance their learning. To learn more about the BEF, visit their website. To support the BEF and the Enrichment Program, visit the BEF’s donation site.

Norup Students Celebrate Winter Solstice

Students in Dr. Megan Throm’s 8th grade class at Norup International School spent time learning about the winter solstice on December 22, 2022. Dr. Throm shared that the winter solstice is the official beginning of astronomical winter and when the Earth is tilted as far away from the Sun as possible. 

Students also learned about how the winter solstice is celebrated all over the world. One example is the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia. This festival happens around the time of the winter solstice and celebrates the end of the planting season. Another celebration is Dong Zhi, the “arrival of winter,” an important festival in China. Students spent the rest of the class coloring a variety of winter solstice patterns, crafting paper suns and enjoying some flavors of summer including lemon drop cookies and clementines. 

Tickets on Sale for Middle School Musical, “High School Musical, Jr.”

The Berkley Drama Department invites the community to attend this year’s Middle School musical, "High School Musical, Jr." The show will feature students from both Norup and Anderson middle schools. The cast and crew will hold their performances on January 13 and 14 at 7 pm on the Berkley High School stage, 2325 Catalpa, Berkley. "High School Musical, Jr." is perfect for any age.

Show Summary, from MTI Shows: 

Troy, Gabriella and the students of East High must deal with issues of love, friends and family while balancing their classes and extracurricular activities. The show’s infectious, danceable songs are sure to engage performers and audiences alike.

It’s the first day after winter break at East High. The Jocks, Brainiacs, Thespians and Skater Dudes all find their cliques. Basketball team captain and resident jock, Troy, discovers that the brainy Gabriella, a girl he met singing karaoke on his ski trip, has just enrolled at East High. The couple cause an upheaval when they decide to audition for the high school musical. Although many students resent the threat posed to the "status quo," Troy and Gabriella’s alliance might just open the door for others to shine as well.

Tickets

• Adults: $10.00
• Students: $5.00
• Seniors (60 years awesome and beyond): $5.00
• BSD Staff: $5.00

Tickets are on sale online on the BeDrama website.

Disney’s High School Musical JR. is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized materials are supplied by Music Theatre International, New York, NY. (212) 541-4684 mtishows.com

Parent Learning Opportunity: U-M Digital Wellness Youth and Parent Symposium

The University of Michigan is offering a virtual learning opportunity for parents/guardians of middle school students to learn more about navigating the digital world with their children. Details of the symposium from the University of Michigan are below.

Calling 6th, 7th and 8th Graders and Their Parents/Caregivers!

Middle school can be a time when kids are getting their first phones, texting, signing up for social media, and exploring the web on their own. Sometimes, online life is fun and rewarding, connecting us to our interests and the people we care about. At other times, it can feel overwhelming, addictive, or manipulative. 

The past two years have reminded us of how much we rely on our devices. We want kids to thrive when they are online, and we want parents and caregivers to have confidence and tools for supporting that journey.

• Saturday, January 21st, from 9 am - 12 pm
• Two-person teams (middle schooler plus parent/caregiver)
• Zoom symposium: morning of learning, conversation, and activities about healthy online behaviors, tween/teen-only activities with U-M students, Q&A with the featured speaker, breaks to get up and move around and at-home conversation prompts or challenge activities to complete together.
• The Keynote speaker will be an expert on digital wellness and health from CommonSense Media.

Register online https://www.eventbrite.com/e/u-m-digital-wellness-youth-and-parent-symposium-tickets-458694115447

Message from Superintendent Francis about Pandemic Funding

Dear Berkley Schools Community,

Since the 2020-21 school year, the Berkley School District has received significant funds through state categorical funding and Federal grants to help support our students and staff during the height of the pandemic through pandemic recovery. Since the early dollars arrived to help us mitigate the COVID-19 virus in our schools, we have also received funding for technology, student learning, addressing learning recovery, mental health, safety and security, and more. We are grateful for the Federal, State and local funding that has allowed us to expand our programming and support students in ways that weren’t possible prior to these extra dollars. This message will share details of the funding, so our school community can have a better understanding of how the dollars were or are planned on being spent.

Since 2020, the District has received just over $19.3 million in Federal and State dollars related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While that is a significant amount of money, each funding source (20 in total) came with spending requirements, meaning we could not simply add the money to our annual budget and spend it as we wished. In addition, most grants also have deadlines for when the funds must be spent. Early on, the funding was directed at online learning tools, technology and COVID-19 mitigation. Since then, while we continue to have a need for disinfecting supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), the funding has shifted to support what is called post-pandemic “learning loss,” mental health support, and technology. 

With these dollars, we were able to fund many supplies, programs and positions to keep our students safe and enrich our programming. Here is a top-level summary of what has been funded thus far:

• Schoology, an online learning management system used since 2020
• Subscriptions for many online learning programs, including: Dreambox, Lexia, Zoom, WebEx, Raz Kids, VLAC, Accelerate Ed, Nearpod, Clear to Go
• Personal Protective Equipment, including: Face masks for adults and children, face shields, desk shields, gloves, hand sanitizer
• Cleaning equipment, including: Sanitizing wipes, sanitizing spray and the equipment for the spray, additional hours for custodial staff
• Additional science kits for elementary students, to reduce the amount of shared supplies among students
• Chromebooks, iPads and extra chargers to become a 1:1 District (one device for each student District-wide)
• Hotspot internet devices for families during virtual learning, to ensure every family had the ability to connect with school
• All-staff one-time ‘Thank You’ pay ($1.8 million total)
• Second Step, a social-emotional learning and wellness program to empower students
• Literacy materials
• Summer school staff stipends and programming
• Professional learning to address learning recovery
• School nurses
• Elementary counselors and social workers
• Behavior experts to support students and staff
• Mental health supports for staff
• Safety and security items, including: Vape sensors in secondary buildings, Nightlock devices in all buildings, reunification plans and supplies in case of an emergency, Go Buckets, first aid kits 

Berkley Building Blocks early childhood equipment and upgrades, including: staff bonuses and salary grid increases, new classroom furniture, new playground equipment, no increase to tuition, family credits to offset existing tuition fees

Increased meal distribution for all families and provided free meals March 2020-July 2022

The funds we have not allocated yet, do have a budget. The upcoming spending plans include:

• Enrichment programs for during and after school, such as Playworks
• Therapy dogs
• Curriculum/instructional materials, including early literacy initiatives such as decodable books and a new phonics program
• Berkley Summer Difference (summer school) programs
• Tutoring for students
• Additional security cameras
• Visitor and emergency management system
• Berkley Building Blocks playground upgrades

It’s also important to note the categories and types of projects we could not use the pandemic funding on. Those restrictions included construction, furniture, maintenance (with the exception of upgrading air quality systems, which we did in 2015) and upgrading curriculum and classroom materials for all students (the requirements were specific to targeted groups who were most affected by the pandemic and learning loss).

In the Berkley School District we believe in fiscal responsibility. We work diligently every year to balance our budget, stay conservative with our spending and estimations, and add to our fund balance (savings account for emergencies) while keeping students at the center of all decisions. The budget plans for the pandemic funding are no different. All of the funds must be spent by September 2024, at the latest. We will spend the pandemic funding with fidelity, while being cautious of adding long-term costs to a budget that will have to carry those extra costs once the pandemic funding has ended. Our goal is to make the biggest impact we can on student outcomes, safety and belonging while this funding is available to us.

Finally, I would like to thank those in elected positions who recognized a need and made this funding available to public schools. We are grateful for the improvements and systems this funding has been able to provide.

As always, I am grateful for our school community and to be a part of the community. 

Sincerely,

Scott Francis
Superintendent
Berkley Schools

Kindergarten Information for All: Information Nights, Registration and Schools of Choice

While it might be hard to believe, it’s time to start thinking about Kindergarten for Fall 2023. In the Berkley School District, Kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten information nights, enrollment and the Schools of Choice application windows happen in January and February each year. Starting early allows the District to plan staffing, class sizes and support for students before the year ends. If you have an incoming Kindergarten student this is important information to save. If you know someone who has a child who will be five years old by September 1, please share this information with them!

Kindergarten Information Nights

If you have an incoming Kindergarten or Transitional Kindergarten student, mark your calendar for an upcoming Kindergarten Information Night to learn about the kindergarten curriculum, how to prepare for the big first day, enrollment options, and Kindergarten/Transitional Kindergarten readiness. All TK and Kindergarten students need to be five years old by September 1, 2023.

During the evening, families will be able to ask the Principal questions, learn more about each school and hear about the #BerkleyDifference. You do not have to be a resident to attend the Kindergarten Information Nights, they are open to all who are interested in the Berkley School District. Learn more about Kindergarten enrollment and readiness by visiting our Enrollment webpage.

• Angell Elementary School: Wednesday, January 18, 2023 | 6:30 pm
• Burton Elementary School: Thursday, January 19, 2023 | 6:30 pm
• Norup International School: Wednesday, January 25, 2023 | 6:30 pm
• Pattengill Elementary School: Tuesday, January 17, 2023 | 6:30 pm
• Rogers Elementary School: Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | 6:30 pm

Kindergarten Registration for Berkley School District Residents

Berkley School District resident registration for both Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten begins February 6 and runs through February 17, 2023. Registration takes place entirely online, including the required document uploads. Visit the enrollment webpage to begin your registration, verify your residency through our District boundaries document and see what paperwork you need to upload to complete your registration. We can’t wait to meet our new students!

Schools of Choice Window for TK-Grade 5

The Berkley School District Board of Education has approved limited Schools of Choice (Section 105) openings (up to 120 slots) in Kindergarten through 5th grade for Oakland County residents for the 2023-24 school year. Those who are interested in attending the Berkley School District, but who do not live within District boundaries may apply. 

Important Schools of Choice details include:

• Schools of Choice application period is February 13 - March 3, 2023
• Completed applications must be submitted online
• No applications will be accepted after the deadline of 5:00 pm, March 3, 2023
• Applicants will receive email notification of their student's Schools of Choice status mid to late April following the lottery
• On the application, families will select which school they’d prefer to attend: Angell, Burton, Norup, Pattengill or Rogers 
• For current Schools of Choice families, if you have an incoming TK or Kindergarten student, please be sure to fill out this year’s application as well. Priority is given to siblings.

Questions

• If you have any questions regarding the upcoming Kindergarten Information nights, please reach out to school secretaries and/or principals.
• If you have any questions regarding the enrollment process, please contact the Enrollment Office at 248-837-8026 or visit the Enrollment website. 
• If you have any questions regarding Schools of Choice, please contact Stephanie Helterbran, Pupil Accounting and Central Enrollment Supervisor, at 248-837-8045 or visit the Schools of Choice website.

Berkley and Royal Oak Partner to Honor Dr. King on MLK Day - Save the Date

The cities and school districts of Royal Oak and Berkley are proud to announce its joint MLK Day event for the entire community to remember, participate, and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Virtual Keynote & Presentation

On Monday, January 16, 2023, the community is invited to honor Dr. King through learning and action. The commemoration, “A Day On, Not a Day Off,” will begin with a virtual presentation hosted on the Berkley Schools and Royal Oak Schools Facebook pages at 9:30 am. The virtual event will include a keynote, student musical performances and messages from local elected officials.

Freedom Walk

At 9:30 am, the community is invited to gather at Berkley High School, for a freedom walk in the BHS neighborhood. After the walk, the community is invited to participate in service projects: blanket making and sorting donations to deliver to local nonprofits. The first 250 guests will receive a commemorative button. All ages and members of the community are invited to attend.

Donation Drive

The event committee will also be collecting the following donations prior to the freedom walk to support the following groups:

• Redford Brightmoor Initiative
• Cass Community Social Services
• Judson Center
• Gleaners Community Food Bank

Items that the committee will be collecting are listed below:

• Non-perishable food: Canned goods, pasta, peanut butter, jelly, granola bars, boxed food items
• Home items: Toilet paper, dish soap, paper towels, laundry detergent
• Toiletries: Shampoo/conditioner (including the following brands: Shea moisture, As I Am, Curls, Aunt Jackie's), deodorant, shaving cream, feminine products
• Diapers and pull-ups: All sizes, no unopened packages
• New children's books: Infant through middle school age
• Clothing: Socks (all sizes), underwear (men and children), winter hats (adult)

Items will be collected through 12 pm and then delivered that day by volunteers. 

Tickets on Sale for Off to the Races 2023

The Berkley Education Foundation is excited to announce the date and new location for the 2023 Off to the Races fundraiser. Mark your calendar for the 14th annual Off to the Races, taking place on Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 6-10 pm at The Kingsley Hotel in Bloomfield Hills. 

What is Off to the Races?

Off to the Races is an annual fundraiser for the Berkley Education Foundation. This fun social event and party is centered around simulated horse racing. Guests watch races, "bet" on the horses running in the races and win prizes. The event also includes an expansive silent auction (powered by mobile bidding), vacation give-away (the winner of the Golden Race will take home a $2,500 vacation), connecting with friends and colleagues, and most importantly, funding the #BerkleyDifference. You can even “buy” and name a horse!

Buy Tickets, Horses, Sponsorships online!

Visit the BEF’s new Off to the Races website to buy tickets, horses, OTTR Bucks, sponsorships and Golden Tickets. Tickets are $40 per person.

Buy tickets today: https://my.onecause.com/event/organizations/sf-001C000001dlvdzIAA/events/vevt:a48411c7-5789-4514-8b56-f1252505d520/home/story

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:

• Berkley Building Blocks Assistant Teachers
• Custodians
• ECSE Long-term Substitute
• Elementary Study Skills Teacher
• Facilities/Operations Project Coordinator
• GSRP/Head Start Associate Teacher 
• High School AP Govt, AP Macroeconomics, Economics Long-term Substitute Teacher
• High School Math Teacher
• Lunch Aides
• Learning Specialist
• School Social Worker
• Special Education Paraeducator 
• Speech Pathologist 
• Varsity Head Volleyball Coach

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!