SCHOOL NEWS

Monday, December 17 - A day
Tuesday, December 18 - B day
Wednesday, December 19 - A day
Thursday, December 20 - B day
Friday, December 21 - A day

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Monday, December 24 through Friday, January 4 - NO SCHOOL
Saturday, February 2 - PTO Mix and Mingle Fundraiser (see PTO News)

RESOURCES FOR BHMS FAMILIES

A/B DAY, EVENTS CALENDAR: Includes the A & B day schedule, half-days or no school days, evening concerts and other after school-related events, PTO and Music Boosters meetings and more. Scroll down on the right side of the main BHMS webpage.

BHMS DAILY BELL SCHEDULE: Indicates class period AND lunch hours by grade. Scroll down on the right side of the main BHMS webpage.

MAIN OFFICE HOURS AND 1/2 DAY OR FULL DAY SCHOOL HOURS: Scroll down on the right side of the main BHMS webpage. 

BHMS CLUB MEETING CALENDAR: Meeting dates and start/end times for all BHMS before and after school clubs. Scroll down on the right side of the main BHMS webpage. A reminder about dropping off and picking up your students for clubs. Out of safety for your student and consideration to club sponsors, students may enter the building no earlier than five minutes before a morning club meeting time, and must be picked up immediately at the end of an afternoon meeting. If your schedule does not accommodate this, we recommend signing your student up for the District's Kidz Zone before and after school care program. The program runs from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. Pre-registration for Kidz Zone is required, and fees apply.

BHMS TEAM SPORTS  SCHEDULE: Click HERE to find out where and when the current season BHMS team sports competitions are scheduled.

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY: Last week here at BHMS, 31 eighth graders attended an informational meeting about the International Academy (IA). Two former BHMS students did a great job of sharing information about their experiences at the IA and answered lots of questions. The International Academy has one more Parent Information Night scheduled  for Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at the Okma Campus from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.  The IA is located at 1020 E Square Lake Rd. in Bloomfield Hills.  For more information about the IA and how students can apply to this school, please go to their website at iatoday.org. Then, go to 'About Us' and scroll down to 'Prospective Students'. Click on Okma Campus. The deadline for applications is January 22. The lottery will be February 5 at the Doyle Center.

BH HIGH SCHOOL IB DIPLOMA PROGRAMME: BHMS hopes to set up a similar meeting with a representative from BH High School (BHHS) about the Diploma Programme (DP), to help 8th graders learn about this opportunity as well. For more information about this option, go to the BHHS website and type International Baccalaureate into the search window. The BHHS counselors would like to know in advance of 9th grade course selection which students are considering this opportunity. This will help them guide students in their course selection. There is an application/interest form on the BHHS website that should be completed and turned in to Mrs. Jaster by March 1.

BH HIGH SCHOOL COURSE SELECTIONS: The BHHS counselors will make two visits to BHMS to meet with 8th graders. The first date is March 7th when information will be shared about a typical 9th grade schedule, life at the high school, extra-curricular activities and more. students will come home with a course handbook, a course selection sheet and directions for how to get online to enter the courses they want for 9th grade. The second visit will be on March 14, when the BHHS counselors will meet individually with 8th graders and a parent by appointment. At that time the course selection sheet will be turned in and all questions answered. Watch for more details about setting up an appointment with your student's BHHS counselor in January. Please know that the schedule will only allow for a ten minute meeting per student/parent.

BAKERS AND SELLERS NEEDED: Music Boosters needs volunteers for the weekly Wednesday fundraising bake sales, which take place immediately after school in the Gateway Space. Volunteers are needed to donate baked goods and/or run sales. PLEASE REMEMBER that products must not contain or be cooked with nuts or nut products. Baked items can be dropped off in the main office anytime before 2:45 p.m. Sign up to donate baked goods and/or work at a sale by clicking HERE. Thank you for supporting the BHMS Music Boosters!

NEXT MUSIC BOOSTERS MEETING: The next boosters meeting will be on Tuesday, January 14th at 6:30 pm in the Orchestra Room. (Please note that there will not be a meeting on December 11). Come learn how you can support our music programs.

BHMS PTO MIX AND MINGLE ON FEBRUARY 2, 2019:  BHMS parents/guardians and staff, save the date for the second annual gathering for an evening of bombowling, food, silent and live bidding, and fun! The event is Saturday, February 2, at the HUB Stadium in Auburn Hills. Tickets can be purchased at the PTO's e-store here: http://www.bhmspto.my-pta.org/content.asp?PageID=6

UPCOMING PTO MEETING AGENDAS: At the January 16 meeting, which will be at 7:00 p.m. at BHMS, Bloomfield Hills High School Principal Charlie Hollerith will share key insights, course tracks and other topics as time allows. Find minutes from the December 5 PTO meeting here. They will instruct you on how to access the presentation on assessment data delivered by Principal English and Superintendent Rob Glass at that meeting.

Students who will be missing school for three or more consecutive, preplanned days must complete an EXTENDED LEAVE FORM. The form must be filled out and signed by a parent/guardian, then the students should have all A and B day teachers, including elective teachers, sign the form. The completed, signed form should be turned in to Mrs. Foronato in the BHMS office two weeks prior to the planned absence. Click HERE to download the required form.

This extended leave policy, as well as reference guide of other attendance policies - including what to do if you are going out of town and leaving your student in someone else's care - can be found by clicking HERE.

As in past years, BHMS yearbooks must be purchased in advance and online directly through Josten's. Currently they are $35 plus tax. Price will increase at a later date. Click HERE to place your order with Josten's.

SEE DISTRICT NEWS BELOW

Bloomfield Hills Schools had 45 FIRST Robotics teams with over 300 students in grades K-8 participating this fall! With students in all levels from grades K-12 and teams in every building district wide, the district continues to participate in the full progression of FIRST Robotics programs.

Nine FIRST LEGO LEAGUE (FLL) teams from Conant, Way, BHMS, EHMS and WHMS competed in "Into Orbit" district competition throughout southeast Michigan. The combined EHMS / WHMS team, The Astro LLamas were awarded the Gracious Professionalism Trophy while the BHMS Lego Legends took home the Project Presentation Trophy. Four district teams advanced to 2018 MI FLL State Championship. Congratulations to BHMS Teams Galactic Elements, Robo Racers, Bloomfield Builders and EHMS Team G.E.K.O.T. A special shout out to BHMS Galactic Elements and EHMS Team G.E.K.O.T. who won their district events bringing home the Champion's Trophy! Good Luck to all teams as they represent Bloomfield Schools in state level competition!

The FIRST Tech Challenge community has grown to eleven teams district wide competing in the "Rover Ruckus" game season. Three new rookie teams launched this year - including the EHMS Galactic Gears and the WHMS Tech Titans and WHMS Coding Cobras. All three rookie teams built competitive robots and competed in district competition. In addition, eight veteran FTC teams returned this fall. Congratulations to the BHMS Space Unicorns and WHMS Omega Warriors for winning district level Motivate Award Trophies. Bloomfield Schools advanced SIX FTC teams to the MI State FTC Championship! Congratulations to the BHMS Golden Gears, Mechanical Monkeys, Purple Protons and No Limits as well as the EHMS Robo Rangers and IntergalacTECH. All of these teams won or were INSPIRE Award Finalists. The INSPIRE Award represents the highest award in FIRST. These teams are considered role models for all other teams in FIRST robotics. Good Luck to all teams as they represent Bloomfield schools in state level competition!

Thank you to the family volunteers for guiding the teams, these volunteers are amazing parents and guardians who donate hours of their time for coaching, meeting, and competitions. Congratulations to all students who have participated in robotics this season! 

Good luck to all teams as they compete and represent our schools in the Michigan FIRST LEGO LEAGUE State Championship and the Michigan FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship on Saturday, December 15, 2018.

View a list of awards and photos here.

Do you ever wonder what opportunities and pathways are available for students entering high school? View the High School Opportunities Packet.

Families are automatically signed up to receive communication from their child's school, teachers, and Bloomfield Hills Schools (Wednesday Web News & Important Notices - including school cancellations). In order to receive emails, telephone calls, and even text messages, all you have to do is maintain your contact information and manage your personal preferences. If you wish not to receive these newsletters, simply "opt-out" when you receive the first newsletter (an option at the bottom of every email we send).

Instructions for updating this information are now available at www.bloomfield.org/notifications. Here you can manage your contact preferences as they pertains to emergency and district notifications. 

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