Newsletter Announcements and Events

Final Exam/Test Schedule

Monday, May 18:

• 8th grade: 7th period test in the afternoon
• 7th grade: Spanish 7A students ONLY will take their test this day

Tuesday, May 19:

• 8th grade: 1st period test in the morning; 5th period test in the afternoon
• 7th grade: 1st period test in the afternoon
• 6th grade: 1st period test in the afternoon

Wednesday, May 20

• 8th grade: 2nd period and 6th period tests in the morning; Promotion practice in the afternoon *ALL 8th graders need to attend*
• 7th grade: 2nd period test in the morning; 4/5th academic period test in the afternoon
• 6th grade: 2nd period test in the morning; 4th period test in the afternoon

Thursday, May 21

• 8th grade: Promotion for ALL 8th graders starts at 9:00 AM
• 7th grade: 7th period test
• 6th grade: 6th/7th academic period test

Medication Pick Up

If your student(s) have medication(s) on file in the clinic for this school year. Medications are only good for one school year and should be picked up prior to the last day of school. All medications must be picked up by an adult per TN state guidelines. For parents picking up prescription medications, please have an ID on hand. If your student had an over-the-counter medication that you do not need at home, would you consider donating the remainder to the faculty/staff medicine cabinet? If so, please Sandra Duncan, the school nurse, know! 

Any medication not picked up by the end of the day, Wednesday, 5/20 will be either donated or discarded per the WCS medication protocol. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions or concerns.

Chromebook Return

ALL 8th Grade Students

On Wednesday, May 20, all 8th grade students will return both their school-issued Chromebook and Chromebook charger after completing their final exam.  Please help ensure your child brings both items to school on this day so they can be returned on schedule.

6th Grade AND 7th Grade Students NOT RETURNING to BMS
Any 6th or 7th grade students who will not be returning to Brentwood Middle School next school year must return their school‑issued Chromebook and charger after their final exam on Thursday, May 21. All devices should be returned to the BMS library.

Summer Dates for Your Calendars

Rising 6th grade BMS Families!

Camp Viking is an opportunity for all rising 6th graders to come and learn about BMS! There are three sessions to choose from with approximately 100 students per session. Your student only needs to attend ONE three-hour session. During Camp Viking, students are placed in smaller groups and rotate through stations learning about lockers, exploring Schoology and technology, understanding the vision and values of BMS, and receiving a tour of our new building! They will get to meet BMS teachers and connect with peers from the other feeder schools while participating in activities and learning about middle school. Students do not need to bring anything extra with them. Sign up for a session. The dates and times are as follows:  Friday, July 17 AM Session; Friday, July 17 PM Session; and Monday, July 20  AM Session.

BMS Kickoff is Thursday, July 30

• 6th Grade from 4:00- 5:00 PM
• 7th and 8th Grade from 5:00-6:30 PM

Late Arrivals

We have seen an increase in tardies to school. It is a disruption to the learning of all students when a student is late. Please make every effort to arrive in enough time for your students to go to their lockers and get to class before 7:50 AM. Doors open at 7:25 AM for students to begin entering the building.

• 3 tardies = After school detention
• 3 more tardies = After school detention
• Every time 3 more tardies occur = Saturday school detention

Students receive a detention after three tardies without an excuse. After two tardy detentions, students will need to attend Saturday School for each subsequent tardy detention earned.

Dress Code Reminder

The warm weather is bringing out loads of infractions. Please visit the link for slides below for a quick reminder.  Dress Code at BMS.   

Proof of Residency for Rising 6th and 9th Grades

The school district verifies residency when students move up to a new building. You can log in to Skyward on a computer, not mobile device, and find a message in your Family Access about uploading proofs of residency. There will be the place to upload required documents. Alternatively, you can turn in a paper copy to the new school's front office. Please submit by the last day of this school year, May 21st. To verify residency, the following forms are needed:

• One (1) of the following types of current utility bills (Gas, Water, or Electric) AND
• One (1) of the following: Mortgage Statement, Property Tax Statement, Warranty Deed, Closing

Statement or Signed Current Lease Agreement. If all utilities are included in the lease or if you have any special circumstances that are not included in the specifications above, please reach out to the school for additional assistance. If there is legal guardianship documentation, there is an option to upload that at the same time instead of proving a paper copy to the school.

Cafeteria Accounts

As we are getting closer to the end of the year, please check your students breakfast/lunch cafeteria account and pay all outstanding charges. 

Personal Electronic Devices-A Note From Dr. Harlin

At the beginning of this year, the state of Tennessee passed a new law and the school board passed an updated policy regarding the use of personal electronic devices in schools. Students are not supposed to have cell phones or smart watches (any item that is a personal electronic device) in their classes. Students are permitted to bring them and put them away in the backpacks and lockers. Our practice is to take electronic devices up when we see them in hallways or classrooms and call parents to pick them up. This has been our practice for the last four years. I will say as a matter of practice that we have needed to do a bit of a reminder and reset with students and staff about this policy and practice because there has been some confusion about smart watches, but they fit the definition of personal devices. In addition, BMS is part of a pilot about storage of personal electronic devices. We are not changing our practice, but we are tracking data to see how many personal devices are out in classrooms or hallways during the course of a day verses being stored in backpacks and lockers. Other schools are piloting different methods of storage and procedures to determine the most effective means of storage and minimizing distractions in classrooms with personal devices.

New Visitor Sign In System

WCS is transitioning to a new computerized Visitor sign-in system at all schools in the district. The new BMS machine is only for Visitors that have a meeting or are volunteering.

What visitors need to know:

• You will still need to show an ID at the front door.
• The new check in kiosk is located inside the BMS front office.
• You must have a valid state issued driver's license the first time you check in.
• The new system will print a photo id visitor sticker on your 1st visit.
• You will need to check out at the kiosk when leaving BMS.

**If you are a PTO member/parent/guardian that volunteers at the school frequently, please be sure to select the option to create a QR code when checking in. The code will be sent to your phone via text. You will use the QR code to check in and out at any Williamson County School. It will streamline the check in process.

Lost and Found

We have so many things in the Lost & Found in the cafeteria. Please remind your student to check the Lost & Found if they are missing something. We will donate items every 2 weeks to the local Good Will. Lost & Found will be taken on May 15th.

Join the Viking Fine Arts Club

Are you passionate about the arts in our school community? Consider getting involved with our new student/parent organization! The purpose of this newly formed group is to support fundraising for all arts endeavors, including theater, choir, band, orchestra, and visual art; to encourage student participation, community engagement, and a commitment to Brentwood Middle School arts. There will be multiple opportunities, throughout the year, to advocate for the fine arts and volunteer for events. 

The committee of parents leading this charge (Viking Fine Arts Committee) is currently looking for someone to act as our treasurer and we need parent representation for visual art, band and orchestra. Please email Aimee Milhizer if you have interest in becoming part of our leadership team.

Viking Athletic Club

Viking Athletic Club serves to support athletic programs at Brentwood Middle School through volunteer or financial support. Each year Viking Athletic Club sells Family Passes which are good for all regular season BMS home games. This does not include post season tournament games. Please drop by the BMS Kick-Off Table to learn how you can be involved or purchase your BMS Family Pass. Viking Athletic Club also provides an apparel store for families to make purchases for their students.

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.