Baylor Brainwaves Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan Middle School Principal’s Message Dear BCMA Parents, Our Bulldogs have settled into their new classrooms and are on their way to a great year of learning! I always get excited each school year about all of the possibilities a new school year contains. We had such a wonderful turn-­‐‑out at our Open House nights and I hope what you heard made you also excited about what your children will be learning this year. Our staff continues to work hard to learn and implement rigorous strategies and lessons that complement the Pre AP College Board curriculum and new STAAR standards so that our students will be better prepared as they move to high school, college and the world of work. Students will learn to probe more deeply into subject matter, engage in high-­‐‑level reasoning and apply their knowledge to real-­‐‑world situations and problem solving. Science Fair is just one example of the same. We have also sent flyers home regarding the free and reduced lunch application. Please apply for the same even if you do not qualify as this helps us Volume 3, Issue 2 10/12/2015 tremendously in monitoring eligibility. Also Saturday tutorials have started; please encourage your child to attend. These tutorials are for all students who need enrichment or acceleration. If you did not receive these flyers, please ask your child to stop by the office. I know our calendars get very busy, so I want to give some important dates to you. Nov. 18 is Parent Involvement Day from 1:30 to 4:30. Teachers will be available in classrooms to discuss your child’s progress. Also our High School Magnet Expo is on Nov 2 at 5:30 pm. Parents of 7th and 8th grade students are invited to learn about high school magnet options in our district. I will also be available to speak to parents and provide a brief monthly report on every second Thursday morning at 8:45 am before the PTO meeting. Speaking of being informed, we are always trying to improve our communication, so that you will be aware of all of the activities and opportunities offered here at BCMA, home of the Bulldogs! I’m sure most of you already know about our twitter page Upcoming Events
• • • October 7 8th Grade Parent Information (6-­‐‑8pm) 8 Magnet Tours begin, every Thurs @ 1pm 8 PTO mtg (8:40-­‐‑9:40am) 14 8th graders take PSAT 19 Baylor goes Pink 21 No afterschool 22 23 26 28 30 activities Coffee w/ the Principal (8:40-­‐‑9:40am) Texas Grade Chess (10/23-­‐‑10/25) Spirit Week (10/26-­‐‑30) Early Dismissal (1pm) Staff Appreciation Lunch November 2 Magnet Expo Night -­‐‑ 11 12 18 18 8th graders and their parents (5:30-­‐‑6:30pm) No afterschool activities PTO mtg (8:40-­‐‑9:40am) Early Dismissal (1pm) Parent Involvement Day (1:30-­‐‑4:30pm) 20 6th Grade Mixer 21 BCMA Magnet Open House (prospective students) 25 Thanksgiving Holidays (11/25 -­‐‑ 11/27) Please continue to check the BCMA website, BCMA Parents Shutterfly site, and ask your student about announcements for additional dates and potential changes. and our school web site http://www.houstonisd.org/acad
emyatryan. If you haven’t already explored it, I urge you to do so as we are always adding to and tweaking it. Some things like soft copies of flyers sent home, weekly instructional agendas, upcoming events, teacher emails etc. are easily found there (see box on page 5 for info on accessing). Parent Teacher Organization takes on even more importance. Our goals for this year are: • Strengthen community • Support our faculty • Fund projects/materials that continue academic rigor and campus safety • Streamline communications • Foster fun for our kids, families, faculty and staff I would like give a shout out to our parent Kim Reider for helping out with our after school traffic every day, our wait time and flow is so much better! To do this, we have an incredible team of parents assembled in different capacities on the PTO Board: We also wish to be very intentional in supporting our 8th grade students as they prepare to take it to the next level and are applying to high school. Please assist and guide them in making the best choice for high school, reach out to Ms. Garcia, Mr. Duesterbeck, Dean Jackson and me for any and all help. We want nothing but the best for them. • Vice President – Lisa Yifrach, 6th grade parent • Secretary -­‐‑ Kimberly Reider, 6th grade parent • Treasurer – Nellie Naidoo, 7th grade parent • Parliamentarian -­‐‑ Gabrielle McBride, 6th grade parent • Volunteer Coordinator – Ziba Mehra, 7th grade parent • Communication -­‐‑ Cara Davis, 8th grade parent Please stay connected and involved as together we can be the best advocates for our kids! Educationally Yours, Jyoti Malhan, Principal . From Our PTO It is my sincere honor and privilege to serve you all this year as President of the BCMA PTO. This is a historic year for our school in that we are graduating our first class of 8th graders and the school has reached full enrollment. With a student body of 790 and 60 plus faculty and staff, our role as a • Web Content Manager -­‐‑ Kelly Coleson, 7th & 8th grd parent • Translator -­‐‑ Laura Godinez • Spirit & Hospitality -­‐‑ Christina Rodriguez/Estes Obardo, 7th • Faculty Appreciation -­‐‑ Thu Hang Dao-­‐‑Jeanjean, 6th grd. • Student Events -­‐‑ Donitta Williams, 8th grade parent • Watch Dogs -­‐‑ Vincent Sanders/Michael Rodriguez • Community Liaison -­‐‑ Tiko Hausman/Shannon B. Harrison • Membership -­‐‑ Daniella Guzman, 8th grade parent •
8th grade Parent Representative – Meredith Bryant • BCMA Teacher Representative – Matthew Martinez We have committees for which we are soliciting leadership: • Health & Wellness • Traffic & Safety • Budget & Finance • Family Events We will host monthly meetings to keep everyone abreast of what is new and happening at school. ALL parents are invited to attend. We welcome your ideas, input, and energy to make this year EPIC. We are in the process of migrating to a new PTO website which we will roll out in the coming weeks. Stay tuned! Hard copies of the PTO membership form are in the front office and will come home with your weekly agenda. Please consider joining as your dues support the initiatives listed above. Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Takeisha Bill and Ms. LaKeisha Cecil for their leadership of the PTO since the origination of the school. They built the foundation for our organization with considerable time and much sacrifice. We are grateful to all who assisted them as it “took a village” to get our school started. We have much to be proud of here at BCMA, and still much work to do. We are all in this together. Please reach out to me or any other members above via bcmapto@gmail.com Ellecia Knolle 2015/16 PTO President 6th & 8th grade parent PTO Membership: Become a PTO member! All funds go directly to the PTO in order to support the needs of our school and benefit the student body. Let'ʹs make BCMA the best it can be. Please join today! There is a PTO Membership form on the last page of this newsletter. Please fill it out and attach your payment. You can drop it off in the front office in the new PTO drop box. You will receive an email to confirm your donation wasreceived. Email daniella.guz
man@gmail.com with any questions. Thank you! Staff Appreciation: If anyone would like to help with the Staff Appreciation Luncheon or Events through monetary donation, serving or bringing foods, please contact Thu Hang Dao-­‐‑Jeanjean @ thdj2000@gmail.com. We have our first lunch scheduled for Friday, October 30. The teachers love this so much! Student Events: We are in the process of planning a fun 6th grade mixer (scheduled for November 20) and dance for the 7th & 8th graders (scheduled for December 11). If you would like to serve on either planning committee, please contact Donitta Williams, at donittawilliams@yahoo.com. 1st Responders: We are working out the details of a new program called “1st Responders”! This program will create exciting opportunities for students and teachers who consistently arrive very early on campus each day and will promote an atmosphere of citizenship and community at BCMAR. HOW IT WILL WORK: Students volunteers will be paired up and matched to individual teachers who ask to participate. They will provide assistance in classrooms before school. Special teams such as a Copy Team and Tech Team will also be formed and trained. We believe that this program will empower a small army of our kids to be engaged, helpful, and responsive to the needs of their school! This is a student/faculty led initiative so parent volunteers will not be necessary. However, be on the look out for more detailed information and permission slips to come home with your student in the coming weeks. From our Student Council Our student council representatives have been busy this year working on a number of exciting initiatives for BCMA. Plans include library restoration, anti-­‐‑bullying campaigning, breast cancer awareness, and random acts of kindness. A few of these are described below. Stay tuned for an exciting year! Food Service Appreciation: We are taking this entire week (Oct. 12-­‐‑16) to observe Food STAY CONNECTED and KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON: The BCMA HISD webpage www.houstonisd.org/academyatr
yan includes links to weekly instructional agendas, important news and information, the school calendar, and Principal Malhan’s twitter feed. You can also sign up here for BCMA listserve and Remind 101 to get quick information/reminders/updates via text or email. The BCMA PTO webpage (www.bcmapto.org) provides information about PTO activities, positions and provides a secure link for donations. Please use the email address bcmapto@gmail.com for any PTO-­‐‑related questions or suggestions. The BCMA Parents Shutterfly Share site: BCMA parents have a secure Shutterfly website where we share information, ask questions, post pictures, etc. If you have not yet joined, email caradavis11@gmail.com. There is also a Shutterfly Sharesite App for your mobile device, but not all pages are accessible. From BCMA website or BCMA parents Shutterfly site, you can also connect/read feed from Principal Malhan’s Twitter account. And don’t forget to sign up for and use HISD’s Parent-­‐‑Student Connect (aka GradeSpeed) for secure information about your student’s assignments and grades. Services Appreciation Week here at BCMA. Each day a member of the Food Services staff will be highlighted on the announcements and we are making a personal poster for each that will hang in our school’s lobby. We are also providing personalized gift bags for each member of our food services staff based on interviews the students conducted with them. Anti-­‐‑Bullying at Blackshear: We will be teaching an Anti-­‐‑
Bullying lesson at Blackshear Elementary on Oct. 21 and following that lesson up on campus here the next week with our 6th graders. “Baylor Goes Pink”! Next Monday, October 19, Baylor Goes Pink in support of Breast cancer awareness! #RAOKS Spotlight our Amazing Teachers: This year, the 8th Grade Student Council has decided to kick the school year off with a bang and a tribute to the faculty, staff, and adult support here in the building! The students have jump-­‐‑started a new initiative: #8thGradeStudentCouncilRAOK
S (or Random Acts of Kindness). Each week, the students elect an adult here on campus (from Dean, to Teacher, Support and Hospitality Staff) to honor and perform a random, kind act for! Our inaugural honoree was non other than Mrs. Maria Garrett Jackson, who has served B.C.M.A. for now three years, and continues to impact the campus with her strength in leadership, heartfelt dedication to her "ʺBabies"ʺ (as she affectionately refers to the 8th graders), and her support for all staff, students, and community members! The students were excited to surprise staff, and want all adults on campus to be 8th grade student council #RAOKS
on the look out-­‐‑-­‐‑you could be next! And our third #RAOKS honoree for this week was Ms. Misty Goldberg-­‐‑Kirkland! Ms. Goldberg, originally from Corpus Christi, joins us this year as an 8th grade Biotechnology teacher with a passion for teaching and technology. You can also find #ROAKS highlights on the parent’s shutterfly site, under “Spotlights” tab. Latin Word of the Month:
miles, pl. milites
“ soldier” Thus, the English word military. From Nurse Hainsworth: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Mamograms often discover abnormalities of breast tissue. A Mamogram is a low dose x-­‐‑ray of Our second spotlight goes out to breast tissue that looks for Mr. Steven Duesterbeck, who is abnomalities in that tissue. They Above: Student Council members Noor Alhamadani, Asal Hamidi , Clara Chapman,
Madison Williams, Aspen Davis, Kinnereth Serrano , Priyanka Adhikary ,Lauren
loved by all. Mr. Duesterbeck has are a vital component of early Kester,
and Sydney Scott presenting Mr.Duesterbeck with a few thank you gifts!
Photo courtesy of Mr. Barnes
been teaching at the Baylor detection and treatment of breast College of Medicine Academy The
8th grade student council has created an activity where
cancer. Students are urged to every week they choose a staff member to be in the spotlight
since the school started. He was remind female loved ones to and award that person with some of their favorite things,
to
sayborn and raised in Wisconsin as thank you for all their hard work in making BCMA a fun
have their yearly mamograms. learning environment. They call this Random Acts of Kindness
orwell as he attended #RAOKS! This week the spotlight is on history teacher
Mr.Duesterbeck who is loved by all.
undergraduate college in Las REMINDER there are still quite a Vegas. Mr. Duesterbeck has a few students who have not Spotlight On MR. Duesterbeck
Mr.love of history and a great Duesterbeck has been teaching at the Baylor College of Medicine
turned in documentation of their Academy since the school started. He was born and raised in Wisconsin
as passion for teaching! -­‐‑
well as he attended undergraduate college
in Las Vegas. Mr.
Noor needed Tdap and meningitis Duesterbeck has a love of history and a great passion for teaching!
Alhamadani vaccines. Both are REQUIRED for 7th graders! Please ask your 7th grader if they received a letter from Nurse Hainsworth and if they did make sure they have brought to school documentation of the needed vaccines. Letters were given out and signed for on 9/28th and 9/29th . We may begin excluding students any time after 10/9/15. Please call Nurse Hainsworth at the school if you have any questions! Comments, Corrections, Input? If you would have ideas or input for the next newsletter, please contact Cara Davis (caradavis11@gmail.com) Happening at BCMA Magnet Applications: For any 8th grade parent who was not able to come to the parent night October 7, information about HISD School Choice can be found on their website at: http://www.houstonisd.org/Page
/133703. Students have begun their Naviance tasks and Mr. Duesterbeck will be meeting with students (and parents) to research schools and answer any questions starting this week. Magnet applications are due December 18. On November 2 there will be a Magnet Open House at BCMA from 5:30-­‐‑
6:30pm. In addition, schools are open for tours Thursdays 1-­‐‑2pm (until 12/3) and all magnet programs are represented at four HISD magnet open houses (check calendars for details). Independent Research (Science Fair): The science fair is coming along through the Health Science curriculum and excitement is building for the event. Due dates were finalized with the Health Science team and will be going out this week to monitor progress on the projects selected by the students. Copies of the science fair packet that went home and additional information can be found on the BCMA website or parent’s Shutterfly site. Science fair mentoring by VIPS approved professionals will start soon. If you would like to volunteer please contact Dr. Sweeney (perezswe@bcm.edu). STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology and Math): We have a new S.T.E.M. space called “STEM Station” that we have just begun using. It is still under renovation and is currently equipped with 3D printers, 3D virtual worlds and microscopes. Scholastic Stewards and Service Learning: We have started a scholastic stewards program where students offer peer tutoring and information sessions. Our students will be pear tutoring Blackshear elementary students to this end. In addition our students will be helping fellow BCMA at Ryan students. The tutoring is primarily being organized through Student Council under support from Dr. Sweeney. UIL: The first UIL Middle School Tournament is coming up October 17. This is an academic competition put on by HISD UIL with events in the areas of Art, Spelling, Dictionary, Writing, Speaking, Acting, Maps, Math, Calculator, Science, Social Studies and more (http://www.houstonisd.org/Pag
e/59379). BCMA students who have participated in these events gain valuable experience and build our school’s reputation. If you are interested in participating, please contact Mr. Duesterbeck. Harvest Lab: A special thank you to Angela Tellez for arranging to get free seeds for our garden and going clear across town to pick up those seeds from a fantastic program called the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Education in Harris County. The seeds are as follows: Radish, Kale, lettuce, Bush Bean (which we have in our garden now), Kholrabi, Spinach, Carrot, Beet, Swiss Chard, Turnip. We have had bountiful harvests of Basil in summer and now in the fall from the garden. Garden club and other science students participated in a Basil information share out and sale for Kid Share at Nu Water'ʹs Coop on Dowling and Elgin on October 9th. We plan to do this again soon and will advertise far in advance. Mrs. Scott led the event and had the students make wonderful information and recipe cards to go with the Basil. A warm thank you to science teacher Ms. Tipple and PTO president Ms. Knolle who were instrumental in making it happen. Ms. Knolle also generously made Pesto from the Bulldog Basil for 8th grade parent night. The Basil has yielded so much joy for our faculty, staff, students and parents that we named it Bulldog Basil (thank you Dean Garrett-­‐‑
Jackson for the great name). Tutorials: Remember to take advantage of afterschool and Saturday tutorials. This is a great way to get extra help or enrich your learning. You can soon find schedules on the BCMA website and on BCMA Parents Shutterfly Share Site. Also make sure to check out the afterschool club schedule that will be posted in same locations. Check website for updates and remind your students to listen to daily announcements for reminders and potential changes to tutorial or club schedules. A very big thanks to our teachers for volunteering their time to lead these activities! Co-­‐‑Biotics Club: Congratulations to Mr. Paneitz, who was awarded a $2500 grant for the coding club. All the best to the Paneitz/Kirkland'ʹs Co-­‐‑
Botics club, who will be entering the All Earth Ecobot Challenge Competition and Hour of Code this semester! Chess Club: Congratulations to our Chess team who took first place at Saturday’s Tournament at Chavez High School! The Baylor Academy Chess Club would like to welcome its newest members: Jessica Ibrahim, Colin McBride, Yafet Taewolde, Anthony Barone, Anthony Ramirez, Clay Heard, Jasmine Cecil and Mark Pichon. We held our first in-­‐‑ house tournament last Thursday, October 1. The event was open to registered Chess Club Members and Tournament rules were followed. The event was not rated. Shahaab Mehra (7th grade) scored three points, winning each round that he played. Teammates Charles Bowyer, Arial Baker, and Jayden Bryant, Carlos Lopez, and Matthew Kulkarni had two wins each... Players with one win were: Yafet Taewolde, Clay Heard, Anthony Barone, Anthony Ramirez, and Mark Pichon. Jessica Ibrahim and Colin McBride each had a draw game. The chess club is very excited to participate at the Texas State Tournament on October 23rd-­‐‑
25th. If you are interested in competing at this event, please email nellie.naidoo@gmail.com immediately. We would love for you to join us! Please help us represent our school while learning and making new friends. Go BCMA!! Box Tops for Education Don’t forget to clip boxtops to earn money for our school. There are forms for collection in the office and online. There is a collection box in the cafeteria. Contact Lakeisha (questionnare24@gmail.com) for more information. Please note this corrected email as it was incorrect in previous newsletter.