Berkley Beat: April 6, 2023

Berkley Beat: April 6, 2023

What’s inside:

• BEF Awards 23 Spring Innovation-Grants
• BHS Students Present ‘Podcasting in the Classroom’ at State Conference
• Norup International School Raises $7,000 During March Miracles
• BHS Criminal Justice Student Headed to the Nation’s Capital
• Berkley Building Blocks Celebrate the Week of the Young Child
• Berkley Students Travel the World During Spring Break
• Angell Community Celebrates Reading Month
• Berkley High School Hosts Reading Apprenticeship Teacher Leaders
• Pattengill Community Welcomes New Lunch Aide
• Rogers Students Learn Story Steps Visiting Author
• BHS Celebrates Inclusion Week
• Berkley High School to Start Unified Bocce Ball Team
• City of Oak Park Presents Juneteenth Student Expression Contest
• Family Code Night for Elementary Students
• Join the Berkley Schools Family - Now Hiring!
• Sign Up for Text Alerts

BEF Awards 23 Spring Innovation-Grants

Congratulations to the following Berkley Schools staff members for receiving a Spring 2023 Berkley Education Foundation Innovation-Grant. The BEF funds innovative project requests, special materials to enhance lessons and educational technology. Innovation-Grants are for more than basic classroom supplies. They are an opportunity for staff members to be creative, push the envelope and expand learning for students. The BEF has an annual $15,000 allocation to support Innovation-Grants.

Adult Transition

• Sarah Panfalone, Break/Sensory Room Supplies

Angell Elementary School

• Julie McKeeman, Hallways Sensory Path
• Ashley Phillips, Total Tonality
• Lauren Wexler, Managing Emotions in 1st Grade
• Kellie Zimcosky, Tonies for our Classroom

Berkley High School

• Amy Sarris, Flexible Seating in the Learning Resource Center

Burton Elementary School

• Stacey Reynolds, Sensory Light Box

Norup International School

• Anne Canvasser, Math - Whiteboard Flip Chart & Scale
• Carole Hoste, Quality Audio and Video Recording for Norup Band and Music
• Jaclyn Georgiou, Wonderful Wobbles
• Kristen Gustafson, School Learning Garden
• Liz Reynolds and Kristina Scholl, Marvelous Mud and The Great Outdoors!
• Yasmin Ruple, School Learning Garden
• Lisa Werber, Student Driven Classroom Library Refresh

Pattengill Elementary School

• Sarah Bruce-Damore, TK Discovery Ramps
• Rogers Elementary School
• Maryann Maiuri, Glockenspiels for Tots
• Rebecca Smith, Social/Emotional Library Expansion

If you’d like to donate to the BEF to support the Grant program, you can do so online.

BHS Students Present ‘Podcasting in the Classroom’ at State Conference

Students from Berkley High School’s Student Podcast Production class presented at the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning Conference (MACUL) on March 17, 2023. The MACUL conference is an opportunity for educators to experience leading educational technology tools, strategies and content. When Student Podcast Productions teacher, Natalie Ford was first starting the class, she was frustrated by the lack of resources on podcasting in the classroom. Her experience inspired her to apply for her students to present and share what they have learned. 

Ms. Ford shared, “My students have learned a tremendous amount about what works and what doesn't…I thought it would be most helpful for teachers to hear from actual students, so I applied to have my students present and we were accepted!”

The students prepared slides on the podcasting process including what goes into creating an episode and the technical side of the production. The presentation concluded with students answering questions from the audience.

You can hear the BHS student podcast, the BearPod, on Spotify  https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bearpod

Norup International School Raises $7,000 During March Miracles

Norup International School hosted its annual March Miracles 3-on-3 basketball tournament finals on March 24, 2023. March Miracles is a building-wide fundraising initiative in support of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Jack’s Place for Autism. Students can enter the tournament with their team of three and compete in a March Madness bracket style competition.

This year’s event raised $7,000, bringing the 21 year total to $248,000. The money was raised through a tournament entry fee and sponsorships from former Oak Park Mayor Jerry Naftaly, Bruce Trout from the Detroit Pistons, Danny Samson from The Sterling Group and Todd Luczak of Doggie in the Window.

The tournament kicked off with performances by the Norup Choir, Band and Berkley High School Dance Team. Students in the audience enjoyed cheering on their peers in skill competitions and in the basketball championships.

Congratulations to the winning teams from each grade: 

• WNIT Division Winning Team “Better Dunkin’ Donuts”: Claire Bradley, Morgan Jarvis, Ceila Rubin
• NCAA Division Winning Team “Hot Shots”:  Nada Abdella, Adeline Dereniewski, Emma Sumnicht, Naomi Watt
• WNBA Division Winning Team “Dunkin Donuts”: Max Rubio, Avery Sters, Lexi Rosenbaum, Nora Anantharam, Lyla Anantharam
• 7th Grade Boys Winning Team: Jordan Marx, Gavin Moore, Aiden Rouse, Ries Tuttle
• 8th Grade Girls Winning Team: Max Rubio, Avery Sters, Lexi Rosenbaum, Nora Anantharam, Lyla Anantharam
• 8th Grade Boys Winning Team: Sam Sermo, Drew Sermo, Emerson Somers, Ethan Trompeter
• Slam Dunk Obstacle Course & 3 Point Shootout Winner: Drew Sermo 

BHS Criminal Justice Student Headed to the Nation’s Capital

Congratulations to BHS student Mia Hines for earning a scholarship to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF) in the Law and CSI program this summer in Washington DC. While at the NYLF, participants will choose to participate in either a legal or CSI track during the program, allowing students to explore the world of law and crime scene investigation in a way that goes far beyond the classroom. Content at NYLF will cover the entire judicial process in-depth; from the discovery of a crime, through collecting and analyzing all of the evidence, to preparing for the courtroom process, and taking part in the criminal trial. In addition, students will visit George Mason University for a behind-the-scenes college experience, including an admissions workshop and a campus tour.

Mia is in the Criminal Justice program at Oakland Schools Technical Campus. Through that program, she studies the three components of the criminal justice system (law enforcement, judiciary, and corrections system). 

Mia’s criminal justice teacher Crystal Nowka nominated Mia for the NYLF scholarship. She said, “From the start of the school year, Mia has been clear and passionate about her goals of going into forensics. Mia has been a positive role model in the criminal justice program from the start of the school year. She engages in class daily, completes thorough and meaningful work and is passionate about crime scene investigation and forensic work.”

You can read a little more about Mia’s scholarship win in this Oakland Schools article.

Berkley Building Blocks Celebrate the Week of the Young Child 

Students from Berkley Building Blocks paraded around the Berkley Administrative Offices on April 3, 2023. The students played a variety of instruments and said hello to the staff members that lined the halls to greet them. The parade marked the “Week of the Young Child,” a nationally recognized week that celebrates early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities.

Supervisor of Early Childhood Education, Kathleen Fotiu shared, “We were excited to parade around the Berkley Schools Administrative Offices to play music and celebrate our special week with all of the people who help support our program.”

Berkley Students Travel the World During Spring Break

Over Spring Break 2023, students traveled to Ireland, Scotland and Greece for a week of exploration, historical lessons and learning about different cultures.

Ireland and Scotland 

Norup teacher Elizabeth Reynolds led 16 students on a ten day guided tour of Ireland and Scotland. The trip included stops in Edinburgh, Stirling, the Highlands, Belfast, and Dublin. They saw a variety of castles and cathedrals and spent time at the Titanic Museum in Belfast and The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin. 

They hiked through the Scottish and Irish hills and national parks and tried local cuisine such as Scottish haggis and Irish stew. Elizabeth Reynolds shared, “We learned a ton, walked miles and miles, and forged new friendships. It truly was a fabulous adventure!”

Greece

Over Spring Break 2023, 94 travelers consisting of 11 staff members, 19 adult family members, and 64 students from Berkley High School, Anderson Middle School and Norup International School traveled to Greece.

The trip started in Athens where the group spent four days sightseeing and saw ancient historical sites such as the Olympic Stadium, Syntagma Square, Acropolis, the Temple of Poseidon and Apollo and much more. The group then boarded a ship to island hop but high winds kept them from docking in Mykonos and Santorini. They were able to visit Rhodes, the largest of Greece’s islands. While in Rhodes, they toured the medieval walled city and castle and took a bus ride to Lindos to tour the ruins and shop in the quaint town. Next the group headed to the port town of Cesme where from there they traveled to the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. 

Anderson Middle School teacher and group leader, Athena Troher shared, ”For ten days I had the pleasure and thrill of watching my student travelers experience many "firsts," whether it was the first Trans-Atlantic flight, being away from home with their friends, or the cruise experience. For all, seeing the sights were awe inspiring!”

Angell Community Celebrates Reading Month 

On March 23, 2023, Angell families were invited to Family Reading Night. During Family Reading Night, families brought their favorite book from home and materials to create a pillow and blanket fort. Forts decorated the halls of Angell and the lights were turned off as families enjoyed a quiet moment of reading in an engaging way. 

Angell Principal Vince Gigliotti shared, “It was a wonderful event that was fun for everyone. It was nice to have our families in the building to enjoy a great family bonding experience while celebrating reading. Thank you to our reading committee Christina Schindler, Michelle Hoerner, Julie McKeeman, and Brenda Needham. They did an outstanding job of creating a fun engaging event for our community.”

Berkley High School Hosts Reading Apprenticeship Teacher Leaders

Berkley High School hosted Reading Apprenticeship teacher leaders from Clarkston, Belleville, Crestwood, Detroit, Dearborn and Westland for a day of learning on April 4, 2023. Reading Apprenticeship engages students through four interacting dimensions of learning: social, personal, cognitive and knowledge-building. It was first developed in the 1990s when secondary teachers and researchers in San Francisco began working together to find new ways to deepen student learning.

The day at BHS consisted of opportunities to share progress teachers were making with the implementation of Reading Apprenticeship in their classrooms and to think deeper about their role as teacher leaders. There was time to share classroom artifacts that represented Reading Apprenticeship routines and consider plans for sustaining Reading Apprenticeship beyond this year. 

The group was able to observe Berkley High School teachers in action. Saundra Rathburn opened up her Advanced Earth and Space class and Susie Sims welcomed visitors to her US History course. Angie Church, secondary instructional coach, shared, “The observers were quick to notice the high levels of engagement, many opportunities for students to read, write, think and talk, as well as the importance of building communities of learners.” 

The Berkley High School Reading Apprenticeship cohort is made up of teachers Lynn Lotter, Saundra Rathburn, Susie Sims and teacher leader, Brittney Vaughn. 

Pattengill Community Welcomes New Lunch Aide

Last month, Pattengill Principal Shamika Womble partnered with New Horizons Rehabilitation Services to welcome a new lunch and recess aide to the building, Dan. Dan expressed an interest in working in education and shortly after determining his interest, a position at Pattengill Elementary opened up. Dan, with the assistance of New Horizons Customized Employment staff member Larry Thouin, met with Mrs. Womble and he was offered a job as a lunch and recess aide.

Dan works at Pattengill three days a week and assists in setting up the lunchroom and lunch stations, opening food and drink items, supervising outside recess and cleaning the lunchroom after lunch. 

Principal Womble shared, “It has been a pleasure to have Dan join our lunch team. Dan enjoys working with our students and brings his positive energy and enthusiasm with him every day he is in our building.”

New Horizons’ mission is to invest in communities by providing employment opportunities for individuals facing barriers to employment.

Rogers Students Learn Story Steps Visiting Author

Local author and illustrator Amy Nielander spent time with Rogers students on April 4, 2023. During her visit, Amy used her “story steps” to break down the story-making process of her  book, My Name Is Not Ed Tug. 

Each story step represents an element needed to create a fictional story including inspiration, problem, characters, research and revisions. Students were invited to participate throughout the presentation which concluded with a question and answer session.

BHS Celebrates Inclusion Week 

Berkley High School celebrated Inclusion Week sponsored by the BHS LINK Program from March 20-24, 2023. The goal of Inclusion Week was to celebrate the neurodiverse community at BHS and to highlight how powerful inclusion can be. The week consisted of activities such as open gym, decorating flower pots, cookie decorating, sensory activities, face painting and more. 

The week concluded with a special performance from BHS Junior, Brennan Szuber. BHS teachers Megan Brockman and Kim Sclafani collaborated with District Drama Coordinator John Hopkins to provide a space for Brennan to display his talent to the BHS community. Brennan loves to perform and can play a variety of instruments. He was accompanied by BHS student Ian Burmeister playing the trumpet and Paraeducator Staci Otwell playing the flute. 

Ms. Brockman shared, “Brennan’s love of music and ability to play so many diverse instruments has been his strength for as long as he’s been a student in the Berkley School District. He is the coolest!”

Berkley High School to Start Unified Bocce Ball Team

Berkley High School is starting its first Unified Bocce Ball Team this Spring. Unified Sports join people with and without disabilities on the same team. It is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experience. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.

Practices for the Unified Bocce Ball Team start mid-April with the first match scheduled at the end of the month. All students are encouraged to sign up and no prior experience is necessary. The goal is to bring BHS students together and engage in athletic and social experiences outside of the school day. 

For more information and to sign up, visit this link 

City of Oak Park Presents Juneteenth Student Expression Contest

The City of Oak Park is sponsoring a student self-expression contest to recognize the Juneteenth holiday. The contest has expanded by welcoming various forms of expression, including music, poems, paintings and more. All K-12 students who either live in Oak Park and/or attend Oak Park schools are encouraged to submit a piece that highlights what Juneteenth means to them. Prizes and scholarships will be awarded to students.

Submissions are due by May 1, 2023 and can be made at bit.ly/OP23JuneteenthExpression or brought to Oak Park City Hall (14000 Oak Park Blvd, Oak Park, MI).

If you have any questions, please contact Juneteenth Sub-Committee Chair Carla Wallace at sweetc248@gmail.com or Oak Park Communications Director Courtney Flynn at cflynn@oakparkmi.gov. 

Family Code Night for Elementary Students

Join Berkley Schools for some family fun that gives everyone an opportunity to build their awareness of computer science at Family Code Night! 

Family Code Night jumpstarts computer science learning by having TK-5th grade students and their families work together to complete coding tasks, laying a foundation for understanding computer science. Students and families will be introduced to big ideas such as “What is a program?” that are illustrated by fun, easy-to-complete puzzles from Code.org.

Foundational digital literacy and computer science skills are essential for any future path and research indicates that exposure to computer science in elementary school leads students to be more likely to pursue computer science related pathways in middle school and beyond. 

• Burton: Tuesday, April 18th (6-7:30 pm)
• Rogers: Wednesday, April 19th (6-7:30 pm)
• Angell: Monday, April 24th (6-7:30 pm)
• Norup: Wednesday, May 3rd (6-7:30 pm)
• Pattengill: Monday, May 15th (6-7:30 pm)

Register for your school’s Family Code Night here: 

This event is sponsored by the MiSTEM Network: Oakland Region and Berkley Schools

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:

• Special Education Teacher of Students with Autism - Pattengill Elementary School
• Early Intervention Teacher or Speech Pathologist - Berkley Building Blocks
• Early Childhood Education Lead Teacher (GSRP/Head Start)
• Special Education School Social Worker - Burton Elementary School
• Varsity Head Volleyball Coach - Berkley High School
• Middle School Football Coach
• 8th Grade Girls Basketball Head Coach - Norup International School
• 8th Grade Boys Basketball Head Coach - Norup International School
• Varsity Girls Swim and Dive Head Coach - Berkley High School
• Varsity Cheer Coach (Sideline and Competitive) - Berkley High School 
• Middle School Girls Tennis Coach - Anderson Middle School
• Permanent Building Substitute Teacher - Anderson Middle School
• GSRP/Head Start Associate Teacher - Berkley Building Blocks
• Assistant Teacher(s) - 6 Open Positions - Berkley Building Blocks
• Swim Instructor - Berkley High School Kids' Zone Program
• Lunch Aide(s) - Burton Elementary School

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!