Our First Week by, Mrs. Mazyck

A Message from Mrs. Mazyck

We have made it through our first full week of school - that makes a total of 8 school days that we've put in for the 2014-15 school year and only 172 more to go!  It's funny how time flies when you're having fun!

As I visit classrooms I am impressed with the teaching and learning that is  taking place, the level of rigor and the high expectations that our teachers are setting daily.  Please ask your child(ren) to share with you daily, something new, exciting or interesting that they have learned or how they may have extended their learning on a particular concept.  Truly, we learn something new everyday.

Finally, I want to thank the entire faculty/staff of BMS, our students, parents and the best ever PTO for helping to ensure a smooth school opening.

Happy Labor Day!  Enjoy your long weekend and we'll see you back on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 as we kickoff another exciting week of teaching and learning!

Sincerely,

Karis Mazyck 

Principal

Important Chromebook Information

Attention parents and students:

On Wednesday September 3rd we will be issuing Chromebooks to students.  In order to make this day as smooth as possible for all involved please make sure the following items are addressed prior to Wednesday:

1)  Locate your child's Chromebook Carrying case.  If your child was a 6th, 7th, or 8th grade student in the district last year they should have taken their case home.  New 6th grade or new students to the district will get a brand new case when they get their device.  Please be aware that students are to keep this case through 12th grade in Richland School District Two.  Students will have to purchase a new case if the one issued is lost or damaged.  Students please remember that in order to get a Chromebook you must have your case with you or you will be unable to get your device.  

2)  Data Management Plan - (Take-Home) (In-School) If you plan for your child to take their device home please make sure you have completed the necessary paperwork and payment with Mrs. Powell, our school bookkeeper.  803 691-6850 ext. 85404

3)  RUP (Responsible Use Policy) - Completion of this allows students to log-on to district technology.  You may have completed this already by doing student registration on InfoSnap.  However, if you have registered your child you will need to complete a paper copy of the RUP before your child will be able to log-on to District technology or be issued a Chromebook. 

 (RUP form if needed)

Thank you for your cooperation in these matters.  We can't wait for your child to have this wonderful tool for learning.  Lets continuing with having a Blockbuster Year!

Are you wanting to become more involved?

Here is a way you can get involved in your Child's School and help make a difference:

School Improvement Council

The School Improvement Council is a group of parents, teachers and administrators who meet monthly to advise the principal and discuss ways to improve the school.  The group is seeking volunteers to serve beginning with the 2014 – 2015 school year.  Elections for SIC will be held at Open House on September 11.

Please submit your nominations and a brief bio to Rachel Corvi or by e-mail (rcorvi@richland2.org).  All nominations and bio's must be received by noon on Friday, September 5,  2014.  The SIC meets the last Monday of every month at 6:00 p.m.

For more information contact Karis Mazyck at 691-6850, ext. 85403.

Calender Alert!

Important dates to add to your calender:

There will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, September 1, 2014 in observance of Labor Day!  We hope you enjoy some family time and get to relax and sharpen the saw before the new week starts!

Open House is Thursday, September 11, 2014

from 6:00 - 7:00pm

Don't miss forget!

Picture Day!      

Smile! 

Mark your calendars!

School picture day is Friday,

September 19.  Your child will receive picture forms the week of September 9.  Bring your envelope with money Friday, September 19.  All picture orders are prepaid.  To pay on-line visit:

www.strawbridge.net.  Use the following code:  (1067)

*After you have paid online, Strawbridge will give you an ONLINE PAYMENT CODE.  Your child MUST HAVE THE ONLINE PAYMENT CODE with form on picture day to order pictures. 

Book Fair:

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the BMS Media Center September 8th through September 11th from 7am-2:30pm and September 12th from 7am-12pm.   The Book Fair will be open during BMS PTO Open House night on September 11th from 6pm-8pm.   

Students will visit the book fair with their Language Arts classes and individually with a pass from their teacher.  Stop by and support reading at BMS!

Career Day is Thursday, September 25, 2014

College Color Days

Show off your Pride and wear your favorite college color this Friday!

Which team will you be wearing?

Charged and ready to go...

Look who's Charged and ready to go...

It's Assistant Superintendent, Keith Price!

He stopped by Blythewood Middle and is now an Honorary BMS Charger!

Fantastic Friday!

Happy Friday

I don't know about you, but I am exhausted!  I am a parent as well, and just getting up and back into the routine of things is hard!  No more staying in your pajamas until mid morning or drinking coffee in bed!  We have gone from slow mode to survival mode!  I kindly reminded my children last night that they needed to get it together!!!!  We don't come home from school, throw our book bags on the floor and leave our shoes on the middle of the kitchen!  We have a place for them and the kitchen floor is not it!  If you come home and put it away, you will have it all ready and in spot in the morning!  This way nothing is left at home and you avoid being late to school because you know where your shoes are to put on!

As a reminder to all new middle school parents and those that need a new year reminder, that the students must be in their seat in homeroom at 7:30am.  After 7:30am they will receive a tardy slip.  We understand that doctors appointments and family emergencies do arise, but as we enter into a new year please remember that attendance and consistency is important for your child and their education!  We want the 2014-2015 school year to be a "Block Buster" of a year! 

ALS Ice Bucket Challege at Blythewood Middle

Blythewood Middle ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

BETA Club Information

Invitations to join BMS National Junior BETA club were mailed home last week. BMS Beta Club is an invitation-only club for 7th and 8th graders.  Students with high academic averages at the end of last year were sent an invitation to participate.  The BETA motto is “Let us lead by serving others.”

Students who join must put in 24 hours of community service each year. Students who joined as 7th graders do not need to "join again" for their 8th grade year.

Sponsors are Kristin Mixson & Christy Myllykangas.

If you are becoming a new member, please bring completed forms and $20 to Mrs. Mixson in room 108.

If you are a 7th or 8th grader and did not receive an invitation but think you may qualify academically, please email Mrs. Mixson kmixson@richland2.org to request a review for potential membership. (Many new students to BMS may not have had their records accessible this summer. We do not intend to leave any out who meet the standards!)

School Starts Tomorrow!

Say Goodbye to Summer...

With school starting tomorrow it's a good time to share some reminders so that we can start the school year CHARGING ahead on the right foot!

DATES TO REMEMBER

 August 16            Charger Kick-Off for 6^th Grade                         9:30 – 11:00 a.m.          

 August 18            Charger Kick-Off for 7^th & 8^th Grade      5:00 – 6:30 p.m

August 19         First Day of School for 6^th Grade         

 9:00 – 12:00 noon

 August 20             First Day of School                             7:30 a.m. – 2:25 p.m.                 

September 1        Labor Day – Holiday                   

September 11       PTO/Open House                               6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

September 19        Fall Picture Day

September 25        Career Day/Early dismissal                   10:45 a.m.

September 5 – 12  Book Fair, Media Center                         7:45 a.m. – 2:25 p.m.

September 12       Muffins for Mom                                 7:00 – 8:00 a.m.

October 13           Make-Up Picture Day

After School Pick-up

As you know, all of us in Richland School District Two care very much about your child and his/her safety.  As such, we have numerous procedures in place to safeguard the wellbeing of your student.  Our school day is from 7:30 a.m. until 2:25 p.m.  We dismiss at 2:25 p.m.  Parents are expected to pick up their children in a timely manner in the afternoon.

Please be mindful that staff members are not available to provide after-school care for unsupervised students.  Our teachers and staff members are involved in tutoring, professional development, after-school meetings, clubs and activities for students in addition to having their own family responsibilities following the full school day.

As a result, students who are not picked up in a timely manner (after 3:00 p.m.) will be taken into our after-school program by a staff member.  Parents will be charged $15.00 per day for this service.  Please understand that this is for the well-being and safety of your student and to guarantee supervision and a positive environment.  If you would like information about our afterschool program, Charger Pride, please contact Mr. Akeem Evans or Ms. Sierra Haywood at 691-6850, ext. 406

Thank you for your continued support.  Please know that the safety and wellbeing of your child is of the utmost importance to all of us.

Class Interruptions

In the course of our daily lives, we all invariably forget things from time to time. Unfortunately, in an educational setting, this is a problem larger than just the forgotten item. Interruption of a class to call a student not only interrupts that student’s instruction, but the instruction of 25 others as well.

As educators, we must comply with state as well as district and school requirements for content covered. We can not afford to lose any instructional time in the course of a day. Please know we want to help your child in every way, but we must strictly enforce our policy on class interruptions. If your son/daughter has an item delivered to the office, he/she will be notified five minutes prior to the grade level lunch period to come pick it up. If it is after the lunch period when the item is delivered, the child will be notified just prior to dismissal. It will be the student’s responsibility to come to the main office to retrieve his/her article.

Please help us make every moment count and take a little time at home to pack bookbags, lunches and assemble needed materials for the following day. Make sure if there is a deviation in the regular routine because of an appointment, the student knows exactly what the change is and the resulting effect, i.e. different ride home, early dismissal, etc.

Thank you for your help, support and understanding as we strive to provide the appropriate learning atmosphere for your student.

7th & 8th Grade Charger Kick-off is TONIGHT!

7th & 8th Grade Charger Kick-Off 
is Tonight from 5:00-6:30pm

Please do not forget to come to BMS tonight to get your schedule, pay school fees, buy t-shirts, and find out other important information!

Looking forward to seeing you tonight!

Thank you to all of the 8th Graders who performed at our 6th Grade Charger Kick-Off on Saturday!  They did a fabulous job!

Charger Kick-off Don't forget!

It's Friday:
To some Friday might mean the end of the work week, but at BMS, it means that we better be ready for the 6th Grade Charger Kick-off tomorrow morning!
Guess What?  
We are!
Don't forget that it starts at 9:30am!

Charger Kick-Off 2014 Information:

The Kick-Off is an opportunity for you to come to school early to pay your child’s fees, pick-up his/her schedule, as well as, complete other pertinent paperwork. The schedule for Charger Kick-Off is as follows:

      6^th Grade             Saturday, August 16    9:30 - 11:00 a.m.  Gym

  

Things You Should Do While You Are at the Charger Kick-Off… 

          Pay Student Fees (Cash, Credit, Check)      
          Place Money on Child’s Cafeteria Account

         Join PTO and learn about PTO fundraiser and volunteer opportunities.

         Complete medication forms ask questions regarding immunizations or other medical            services.

         Register for Charger Pride After-School Program
         Complete Bus Rider Information Packet 

      Additional parking available in the back bus loading area and the faculty parking area (3^rd gate)

7th & 8th Grade, we didn't forget about you!  

We will see you Monday, August 18th from 

5:00 - 6:30 p.m. in the Gym

Office Hours this Week

Blythewood Middle School’s 

Office hours this week are:

Wednesday, August 13^th   9-3:30pm

Thursday, August 14^th       10-3:30pm

Friday, August 15^th        10-3:30pm

Thanks for being flexible while our Faculty & Staff meets for Professional Development and gets ready to CHARGE into a new school year!

Happy Monday!

Good Morning Chargers,

Does your child play a sport at Blythewood Middle?  If so, you might be interested in Athletic Insurance!  

Did you know that they also offer Voluntary Student Accident Insurance,  for that 

just in case ....

The District will be using Bollinger for Athletic Insurance as well as for voluntary Student Accident Insurance this year.   

Below is the link to purchase coverage online:

www.bollingerschools.com (under "Parent", choose "Purchase Coverage").  

   

We are CHARGING ahead......... (even if it is Saturday)

What our 6th Grade Chargers and parents should know:

The transition from elementary to middle school can be an exciting and overwhelming time for students. To help our newest middle schoolers get off on the right foot, we will be holding a “Step-Up to Sixth” on Tuesday, August 19, from 9 a.m. to noon. “Step-Up to Sixth” allows time for rising sixth-graders to acclimate to the middle school environment, meet the staff, find their lockers, tour the campus, and learn about clubs and programs offered here. We hope this opportunity to become familiar with their new school before other students return will ease this transition.

If your child will ride the bus, he or she will have the opportunity to ride their new middle school bus to and from school on this day. Please click on the link below to the Bus Registration form, which is required for your child to ride the bus. To find out bus route times and bus numbers please click on the "Bus Routes" picture on the front page of this blog.  If your child will be a car rider, please plan to drop off at the school on that Tuesday at 9:00 AM and pick up at 12:00 PM.  Hope to see you there!

What EVERYONE should KNOW:

What do I need to do before the first day of school?

Þ Review the Student Handbook that’s located on our website and discuss the rules with your child, to include the Richland Two Dress Policy.  You and your child need to sign indicating that you have read and understand the rules/procedures of Blythewood Middle School. 

Þ Buy school supplies and put your child’s name on them.

Þ Bus routes for the 2014-2015 school year are being continually updated and may be accessed https://www.richland2.org/Departments/transportation/Pages/BlythewoodMiddleSchoolRoute.aspx
Þ  Richland 2 will be sending out a message on Monday with important information and a link on how to fill out your Health forms online.  In an effect to cut back on paper use and help the environment we ask that you please fill out the one on line and do not send in a paper copy to us.  

Student Handbook: 

Please note that our school handbook is available on our website through the student link

or by clicking this link—Student Handbook.  Please take time to review this important

information as a family.  The handbook explains school policies, procedures, and

expectations.  There will also be a link for e-mail addresses and voice mail extensions for

teachers and staff to simplify communication between the school and home or you can

click here—Staff Directory.   If you need a hard copy of either of these items, please let

your child’s homeroom teacher know and we will provide one for you. 

Please continue to check this blog, which is available on our school’s website or you

can subscribe with your email address in our blog and you will receive the

information right to your INBOX!  This blog will contain important school news and

information. Check the District’s Channel 12 as well as our website for additional

information on events and programs. In addition, the school will communicate with you on

a regular basis through Connect-Ed, our phone message system.

Our New After School Program:

     

Important Information! Charger Kick-Off

Happy Friday Chargers!

For those of you who are just like me, who like to be proactive and think with the end in mind, here are some important dates to add to your calender!

DATES TO REMEMBER

 August 16            Charger Kick-Off for 6^th Grade                         9:30 – 11:00 a.m.          

 August 18            Charger Kick-Off for 7^th & 8^th Grade      5:00 – 6:30 p.m

August 19         First Day of School for 6^th Grade         

 9:00 – 12:00 noon

 August 20             First Day of School                             7:30 a.m. – 2:25 p.m.                 

September 1        Labor Day – Holiday                   

September 11       PTO/Open House                               6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

September 19        Fall Picture Day

September 25        Career Day/Early dismissal                   10:45 a.m.

September 5 – 12  Book Fair, Media Center                         7:45 a.m. – 2:25 p.m.

September 12       Muffins for Mom                                 7:00 – 8:00 a.m.

October 13           Make-Up Picture Day

Charger Kick-Off 2014 Information:

The Kick-Off is an opportunity for you to come to school early to pay your child’s fees, pick-up his/her schedule, as well as, complete other pertinent paperwork. The schedule for Charger Kick-Off is as follows:

      6^th Grade                Saturday, August 16    9:30 - 11:00 a.m.  Gym

      7^th & 8^th Grades      Monday, August 18      5:00 - 6:30 p.m.    Gym

Things You Should Do While You Are at the Charger Kick-Off… 

P        Pay Student Fees (Cash, Credit, Check)

P        Place Money on Child’s Cafeteria Account

         Join PTO and learn about PTO fundraiser and volunteer opportunities.

         Complete medication forms ask questions regarding immunizations or other medical            services.

         Register for Charger Pride After-School Program

C       Complete Bus Rider Information Packet

Additional parking available in the back bus loading area and the faculty parking area (3^rd gate)

We hope you are as excited as we are to start off another great year at BMS!  Mark your calenders and set the reminders on your phone!  

   We look forward to seeing you at the Kick-Off!

Welcome Back to School!

Dear Charger Family,

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year.
It is my esteemed honor to serve as your new principal and I look forward to fostering positive, meaningful relationships that will promote success at every level.
The mission of Blythewood Middle School is to maximize student learning by providing engaging and meaningful opportunities in a rigorous environment where relationships are built, successes are celebrated, and students are competitive in the 21st Century.

I look forward to working with the faculty/staff, students, parents, and the entire Blythewood community to continue in the tradition of excellence that has been established, while further seeking out innovative programs, initiatives and partnerships that will continue to move Blythewood Middle School to new heights.

I am passionate about education, "charged" about teaching and learning, and excited about the vast array of program offerings available to our students.  Through our 1:TWO:1 computing, students will continue to receive rigorous, relevant standards-based instruction while developing 21st Century Literacy Skills that will prepare them to compete globally.  We will continue to focus on the academic growth of every student and we solicit the continued support of our parents and all stakeholders as we use a village approach to achieve this endeavor.  With a dedicated staff, committed students, and actively involved parents and community stakeholders we can continue along the path of excellence.

Join us as we "charge" forward with a continued commitment to excellence, dedication and success - "The Blythewood Way."

Go Chargers!

Sincerely,

Karis M. Mazyck
Principal