Newsletter Announcements and Events

All Things TCAP

Tuesday, April 22: TCAP Math/EOC

Wednesday, April 23: TCAP Science

Thursday, April 24: TCAP Social Studies

The EOC or TCAP is entered into the exam category for the 2nd semester. EOC is 15% and TCAP is 10% of the final semester average. The final assessments during "Exam Week" will be end of quarter tests or projects that will be in the test category of the 4th nine weeks.

Please make sure your students have a working calculator for TCAP. Students in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade math need a TI-30 calculator (scientific). Students who are taking Algebra I or Geometry may have a TI-84 Graphing Calculator.

Calculators will be collected on April 16 by math teachers to be cleared and then will be waiting in students testing locations on April 22nd for TCAP testing.

About Chromebooks: All testing is online. Students will be using their Chromebooks each day. They MUST BE CHARGED nightly and ready to go for testing each morning. Please make sure your child is charging his/her Chromebook each day. If there is an issue with your child's Chromebook, students should speak with Ms. Wade in the Library to discuss options. Please make sure this is done BEFORE TESTING BEGINS on April 15. Questions: Shannon Meadows 

TCAP Reminders:

1. Get a good night’s sleep each night and eat a good breakfast each morning before testing.
2. Charge your Chromebook each night before testing.
3. If you need to borrow a Chromebook for testing, you must see Ms. Wade in the Library before 7:50 on testing days.
4. You will report DIRECTLY TO YOUR TESTING SITE on TCAP Testing Days. You WILL NOT go to Homeroom on testing days. Take your Chromebook and a pencil to your testing site each testing day. Scratch paper will be provided.
5. Bring a snack/drink for all testing days EXCEPT for the writing day (4/15). You will have short breaks between subparts on testing days that have multiple subparts.
6. Calculators are due to math teachers on Thursday, 4/16. They must be labelled and cleared for TCAP Math/EOC day: 4/22. There is also a calculator available on the online platform. NO CALCULATORS ARE ALLOWED ON PART 1 OF MATH/EOC TEST. Grid paper will be provided for Math/EOC tests.
7. Make sure you know where you are testing each testing day. Some students are testing in different locations depending on the test subject.
8. If you are in an extended time group, you cannot leave the testing site early. You must stay for the entire time allotted. Because of this, you may not be eating lunch with your normal lunch group on testing days.
9. NO CELLPHONES/SMART WATCHES are allowed in testing sites. You MUST turn them off (power down) and store them in your locker/backpack. The only exception is if you are diabetic and use your phone/smart watch to monitor your glucose levels.
10. No backpacks in testing sites. They must be left in the hallway outside your testing location: 8th grade/in lockers 6th/7th grade.
11. ELA WRITING TEST NOTE: You will answer some multiple-choice questions prior to writing your essay. DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE WRITTEN/ENTERED YOUR ESSAY.
12. SCIENCE TEST NOTE: If a calculator is needed, you will use the online calculator provided on the platform.
13. Do your best each day! It is not a race to see who finishes first. Take your time. If you need to use the Requested Time (extra 20%), simply raise your hand and let the proctor know when he/she asks if anyone needs extra time. This is open for everyone; don’t make someone feel bad about needing the extra time. If you finish early, check your answers and then submit. There are no rewards for finishing early. You can’t leave the testing site early or do any other activities. You can’t bring anything into the testing site to read/work on, etc. Therefore, TAKE YOUR TIME!

Career Week Speakers

We are looking for parent volunteers to speak with our 8th grade students about their career.  Our career day will be Friday, May 9th from 9:00-10:30 AM.  If you are interested, please fill out this form by April 18th.  We will contact you if you are needed to present by Monday, April 21st.  Contact Madison Zaroban with questions.

8th Grade Dance

Get ready to groove at the 8th Grade Disco Dance!  The dance will be held on Friday, April 25th. Light refreshments will be provided to keep you energized for the dance floor. Only students in the BMS eighth grade may attend the event. Dust off your disco attire and join us for a night of fun, music, and dancing!

Congratulations to 6th Grade Word Masters

The Brentwood Middle School 6th Grade Team achieved Highest Honors in the recent WordMasters Challenge™—a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 125,000 students annually. The sixth grade team scored an impressive 161 points out of a possible 200 in the second of three meets this year, placing eighth in the nation.

The WordMasters Challenge™ is an exercise in critical thinking that first encourages students to become familiar with a set of interesting new words (considerably harder than grade level), and then challenges them to use those words to complete analogies expressing various kinds of logical relationships. Working to solve the analogies helps students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically.

Summer Camps at BMS

Registration will be coming soon for the following camps at BMS this summer!  For exact times and more information, see our Sports Page.

• June 9-11- Co-Ed Pickleball Camp- Rising 6th-8th grade $90 BMS GoFan Website
• June 16-18-Middle School Basketball Camp- Rising 6th-8th grade Girls and Boys $110 BMS GoFan Website
• July 14-17 - Co-Ed Elementary Basketball Camp- Rising 1st-5th grade $125 BMS GoFan Website
• June 9-11-Co-Ed Soccer $90 BMS GoFan Website

SUMMER - Camp Viking - Rising 6th Grade ONLY

BMS offers a Mini-Camp for all Rising 6th Graders to have fun and learn about "How to get where?" in our building. There will be a sign-up Genius closer to the end of this school year. All 6th Graders will want to come to this special event that is organized just for them. It will be a drop-off and pick-up mini-camp. Please pick one of the below dates that works for your 6th Grader and HOLD the date on your calendar.

• Friday, May 30
• Monday, June 2
• Tuesday, June 3

No Early Dismissals After 2:05 PM

Students will be called from class once a parent or guardian arrives at school and signs them out in the Main Office. Students should turn in a parent note or parents may email for an early dismissal with someone other than parents to the Main Office prior to the beginning of school. No early dismissals will be allowed after 2:05 PM.

Clinic Reminder

If your student needs to take prescription or "over the counter" (OTC) medication while at school, please contact the school nurse. Parents can either come to school to give their child a dose needed, or they can fill out the proper forms from the nurse to keep it in the clinic for the year. Students who have prescription and non-prescription medication could be subject to suspension and even beyond if they carry medicine on their own if it is not covered under state law.

BMS PTO

Please visit BMS PTO and learn about all the ways parents can get involved! No time to volunteer? That's okay. Update your contact information (must be done every year) and connect with other students and parents! There is no cost to be a part of BMS PTO. 

WCS Attendance Policy

The WCS School Board Policy for attendance has recently been updated. The link to the policy can be found here. With the new policy, a parent note or official documentation can be used to excuse the first five days that a student is absent each semester. After five absences have been accrued, additional absences for that semester will need official documentation (ex. Doctor's note) in order to be excused.

WCS No Outside Food or Drink Policy

Taking into consideration that many of our students have severe allergies, we would like to remind all parents that WCS does not allow outside food or drink to be brought in for lunch or birthday celebrations. Our goal is for all students to be in an environment with no surprise food allergens.

Parent Communication is Integral to the Success of your Child

• Follow the communication chain of command. If a parent or family member has questions regarding their child, the first point of contact is the child's teacher. They know their students best and may be able to offer guidance. However, if a parent needs information the teacher cannot provide, reaching out to the school's principal or assistant principal is the next step. The executive director of middle schools is the next level of contact, followed by the appropriate assistant superintendent and then the WCS superintendent. The final point of contact is the family’s School Board representative.
• In order to be consistent with our communication across all buildings, school-based personnel are expected to return parent/guardian communication in all forms within 48 hours during the school week when school is in session.
• Remember to communicate important details with your child’s teacher that may impact them on a day-to-day basis in the classroom. This will allow the teacher to be best prepared to support your child daily. When your child had a sleepless night, received bad news, or something that is causing them stress or concern, sharing this with your child’s teacher allows them to provide supports to help them through the school day. This two-way communication is so important for your child’s success.