Bruin Bite — September 14

September 11th Reverence:  Each year we pause for a moment of silence in honor of those who lost their lives during the 9-11 terrorist attacks.  It is a somber moment reflecting on the tragedies of that day and our country’s resilience.  We at Butler are grateful for all the men and women who fight to keep our country safe today.

Parent Teacher Conferences:  PTC will be on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.  BMS Parent Teacher Conferences Fall 2020.docx  The building will not be open to the public during this time.  While teachers will be at the school, all conferencing will be through phone or video.  Please read through the attached pages for more information on this process.  

The GREAT Store:  In the past, we have had PTSA run a store once or twice a month for students to “purchase” items with their Bruin Bucks.  I am not sure if your student has shared, but we have moved to a digital program for our Bruins Bucks.  So far it is a hit!!!  Students love to collect points and check their balances.  Students earn Bruins Bucks for a variety of good behaviors from teachers, administrators, aides, etc.  The PTSA and the SCC have donated money to purchase the items in the GREAT store.  Parents can also donate if you wish. 

 You could donate items or money.  Money donations go through the Main Office, Ms. LaDena Saxey or contact Mr. Dan Ashbridge for more information about popular items.  

Emergency Substitutes:   If you have the ability and the time, we are in need of emergency substitutes.  You can sign up with the district to be a substitute and specify you only want BMS or a specific set of schools.  You can also contact Ms. LaDena Saxey to sign up to be an emergency sub or to find out more. You will need to complete a background check.  ladena.saxey@canyonsdistict.org  or call 801-826-6800 between 8-2.  

BMS PTSA:  We need your help and support!

• PTSA Membership Drive:  Please join us and help support our students at BMS docs.google.com/document/d/16rvFgTKmmfswFWPSgwNCwMntI08ZZ6aOf-Zryq-SgX0/edit?usp=sharing

• PTSA Board of Directors:  If you can help one day or a few hours every few weeks, please let us know.  It takes a village to educate our children.   We need your help!  The Mission of the PTA is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.  We are looking for parents to sit on our Board of Directors this year!  We are so excited for our kids to be back in school and want to ensure that we are able to obtain our mission. If you are interested please reach out to us butlerptsa@gmail.com

• Spirit Wear:  TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER!  Are you looking for  a BRUIN shirt? Or hoodie?  The PTSA will be distributing the orders we have received for Spirit Wear on 9/8/2020.  We are still taking orders online https://butlermiddle.new.memberhub.store/store or in person in the office until September 15th.  AfterSeptember 15th, we will be selling what we have in stock on a first come first serve basis.

The Bruins’ Den:  We are happy to see students taking advantage of this after school program.  The Bruins’ Den is available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the GREAT Room.  This is a time for students to complete homework and/or get help from teachers.  Each afternoon, two teachers are available in the GREAT Room to assist with student homework.  Students can work on their own or get assistance from a teacher.

Math Help:  Grade level math help started this week.  We had a great turnout.  Teachers are at the end of each grade level hallway to assist students Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Robotics Team:  Also known as Lego League, met Wednesday afternoon.  Students are excited to start using coding, presentation skills, research, Legos, and teamwork to solve problems across the world.  The Robotics Team meets every Wednesday from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Mrs. McNamer’s room, E204.

Build-A-Bruin:  We started our Build-A-Bruin this week.  We’re excited to see who earns their first Bear.  This has been very popular in past years.  Below is how it runs:

• 10-piece Bear puzzle for every day classes OR a 5-piece Bear puzzle for every other day classes.  A puzzle piece is added each time a 1st period class has 85% completion on their individual class goal.
• When a bear is complete, the class receives a certificate, a small treat for the class, and an announcement will be made.  The class will spin the Build-A-Bruin wheel for prizes (mechanical pencils, chips, 5 Bruin Bucks, and many others).  The puzzle will then be reused to earn additional certificates and rewards.  This will continue through the remainder of the year.

We Need Your Help! 

• Morning Drop Off–I know many of you are following the directions we have given (see below).  There are a few who are not.  I am sure you are just trying to get your students to the right spot outside.  Please follow the directions we have set up.  While you are very concerned about your child, we are trying to direct the safety of 900 students.  Your participation and assistance is necessary.
  • DO NOT use the bus lane or the south side of the building for drop off.  This puts students and busses (and your car) at risk. 
  • If you are dropping your child off in the parking lot, please park and then direct your child to walk along the edge of the parked cars to a crosswalk.  Students darting across the traffic is a dangerous situation.  We had two close calls this morning.  
  • If you are exiting or driving through and using the south side of the building, please know that we will and do need to stop traffic for the busses. The south side of the building is for busses–not for drop off!  
  • Do not stop in a traffic lane to have your child exit.  Again, the drop off is the front of the building.  We can fit several cars along the marked area.  If we were all using the space appropriately, things would go more smoothly.  
  • Please understand that if you are dropping your child off in a traffic zone, we will likely remind you and/or your student to use the correct location in the future.   
• Student check-out–please call ahead to notify that you are checking out your student.   An ID must be presented to the attendance secretary in the main office.  You may then return to your vehicle or wait in the front vestibule for your student.
• Food/Item deliveries–You may be asked to wait for your student to come to the office and then you can hand off the item.  Unfortunately, this process will be more time consuming and involve missed class time.  Thank you for your understanding.  As for food items, only individual lunches delivered by a parent will be delivered to a student and should only be when a student forgets to bring a lunch.  We cannot allow food to be shared, so no pizza or shared items will be delivered.

Upcoming Events:

• September 17                     Mid Term Progress Reports
• September 22                     Golden Bruin Reward (National Ice Cream Cone Day)
  • September 22-23                Parent-Teacher Conferences
• September 25                     Compensatory Day (No School)
• October 2 Picture Retakes
• October 5-9 Red Ribbon Week
• October 12-14 College Awareness Week
• October 15-16 Fall Recess (No School)  

If you are feeling that more than normal anxiety or stress is happening with you or your child, please let us know.  You can contact a teacher, the counselors, or the administration.   Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  We are here to help.

And remember, 

It’s always a GREAT day. . . To be a BRUIN!!!

Ms. Paula Logan

Ongoing Items:   These items have been addressed before, but you may need the information again.

• Contacting Teachers:  There are two ways to contact teachers:

                     Email—firstname.lastname@canyonsdistrict.org

Call the Main Office and leave a message, 801-826-6800

Once you have sent an email or left a message, please allow 24-48 hours for a response.  If you are coming to the building to meet with a teacher, I encourage you to set an appointment.  This helps everyone know the when and where and why, so the meeting/appointment can address the concerns productively. There are various meetings, classes, activities that involve teachers after school.  We tend to have our school faculty meetings on Mondays after school.  Beyond that, teachers are involved in various trainings, Bruins Den, Math Help, after school activities, student meetings, etc.  While these are not every evening, it is frustrating for everyone when a drop-in meeting cannot be accommodated.

• Student Pick Up/Drop Off:  The ONLY student pick up/drop off zone is on the east side of the school at the front entrance.  We need everyone to help so that everyone is safe.  Please remember that student safety is our priority. 

1. The student drop off zone is ONLY on the sidewalk in the front of the building.  DO NOT drop off students in any other lane or random places in the parking lot so students have to walk through traffic to get to the building.  Do not use the bus drop off zone on the south side of the building.  This creates unsafe situations for our students and for drivers.
2. Please use the entire sidewalk at the front of the building to drop off students.  Pull forward as far as you can to maximize the space.  Using the entire east sidewalk will help to move the line along more quickly than having all parents stop at random locations or closer to the morning line up location.  We need you to use the entire length of the walk.
3. Be prepared for a 5 second drop off.  Stop, open the door, exit, shut the door and then the car is ready to move forward.  We realize working with students there are last minute items, but longer drop offs stop the line of traffic and create back up.  If your student has papers for you to sign or isn’t ready to exit, please drive through and park in the parking lot to take care of these items.  The drop off lane is not a park and wait lane.  
4. Be patient with students and other drivers.  Again, the safety of our students is the most important item.  This necessitates that everyone uses the drop off lane correctly and quickly as well as driving through the parking lot slowly.  Once you have dropped off your student, drive carefully and slowly out of the parking lot using the lanes and not driving through the parking stalls.  We also request that you are not on your phone.
5. The busy time for drop off is 7:35-7:50 AM. Prior to 7:35 there is less traffic and the drop off runs smoother. We know that mornings can be difficult and being early doesn’t always work, but if you don’t want to have patience with the traffic, earlier is better.
6. Be Kind to those employees working to keep our students safe:  I know that drop off can be frustrating.  It may not make sense to you.  We are working to create a system that helps everyone.  That doesn’t mean it is best for you.  I know that and I am sorry.  Our priority is our students and their safety.  I would hope that you would agree and while you may be frustrated, please refrain from harsh language and speeding around corners and unkind nonverbal communication.  We are there to help the students.