Our Bingham High School Sophomore SBO video uploads to Instagram got cut off at 1 minute, so we’re posting them here. Don’t forget to use the button below to vote by Thursday at 1 pm!
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BHS SBO Videos
Author: Mr. Jenson
Be sure to check out the Spring PTSA Newsletter for information on a visit to the capitol, next year’s nominations for the PTSA Board, and how PTSA funds have been used so far this year.
As always, we have the best PTSA in the world, and we can’t say thank you enough for the parents that work so hard to add so much to our school community!
We are nearly to Spring Break already, and we hope you have relaxing plans. As a reminder, we are on Spring Recess from Friday of this week all through next week. We start end-of-year testing for 9th graders right when we come back on Monday, the 25th. That takes place during students’ 1st and 2nd periods (2nd Mon, 1st Tue, 2nd Wed, 1st Thu). Eat a good breakfast and do your best!
Panoramic Pictures
9th Grade Panoramic Pictures will be Wednesday, April 13, 2022. If you are interested in ordering a Panoramic Picture, pay online at www.bellphoto.com, enter the school code 22elkridgepano and follow the prompts to complete your order.
Bingham Class Officer Elections
It’s time to vote for next year’s Bingham High School class officers. Only current 9th graders can vote in the 2022-2023 sophomore class elections. Every vote is individually verified. Please vote for up to 2 candidates for sophomore office. Voting will close on Thursday at 1:00 PM.
Click this link to vote: https://forms.gle/nzg5Drd7HhuiEmB18
9th Grade Job Interviews – Rescheduled to Thursday, May 26th
URGENT – This activity cannot take place without your help.
Adult volunteers are still needed to help with our 9th grade Job Interview experience. We need morning volunteers from 7:50am -11:15am, and afternoon volunteers from 11:00am-3:00pm. The PTSA will provide food for both sessions. Volunteers will be doing short mock job interviews for our 9th grade students. The interview questions will be emailed to volunteers and you do not need to have hiring experience to help out. For more information, please contact the counseling center. If you can help with this fun activity, please fill out this form.
211 Parent Website
This is a one-stop-shop for all things related to strengthening families and protective factors. You’ll find many 211 resources categorized by protective factors, as well as links to educational content for families such as articles, TED talks, parenting apps, etc. https://uw.org/211/family-strengthening/
Free Intro to Coding Workshop:
There will be a “Free Intro to Coding Workshop” after school next week on April 5 @ 3:15 pm – 4:15 pm in Ms. Hardy’s classroom (Room #209). All interested Elk Ridge Middle students are encouraged and invited to participate. This workshop will also be used as our MESA-STEM April activity as well. No previous experience is necessary.
Students,
Thank you so much for auditioning for the talent show! We had incredible talent, and choosing the final performances was a difficult task. If you were chosen to perform, you should have received an email to your school account this afternoon. Some of you will perform in all three shows (7th, 8th, and 9th) while others will perform for you grade only. These determinations, however, are still being made, so I will let you know how many shows you are in as soon as I have it ready. Thank you so much for auditioning!
Ms. Rees
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Music Man is Now Playing!
It’s finally time, and this year’s production of Music Man is playing this week at Elk Ridge! Come and see our students in the classic story of con-man Harold Hill Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Evening performances are at 7 pm, and there is also a matinee on Saturday at 1pm. You can purchase tickets here. The students and staff have worked tirelessly, and we can’t wait for you to see their hard work come to life.
Seriously, if you haven’t been to one of our musicals, you need to go. It’s pretty incredible.
NOTE: The shows are selling out fast. Please do NOT plan on purchasing a ticket at the door, as a seat may not be available. Cash purchases won’t be possible for anything other than concessions. If you have someone attending (e.g. grandparents) who may not be familiar with online ticketing, please help them before arriving so that they don’t arrive to find there isn’t a seat available.
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Minutes
Email correspondence due to scheduling conflicts for this meeting:
I apologize for the scheduling conflicts we’ve had with the republican and democratic caucus nights, concerts, etc. We need to review and vote on our community council plan in order to submit it to the district/state on March 25th.
I propose we do two things:
- I’ll summarize our land trust plan and TSSA plan below and we can hold a remote vote
- We find a time to meet in the next few weeks to answer any questions and cover other related issues (safe walking routes plan, etc.)
The main thing here is that I need you to vote on the plan. I’ll send out the signature form to your email through the land trust site. Watch for that and add your signature if you agree with the plan. If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to email me or call me or reply all to this email and we can answer your questions.
Summary of Land Trust & TSSA Plans
We get around $140,000 each year in our Land Trust budget. As a refresher, Land Trust funds are basically money the state makes on land it owns that gets funneled out to schools. Historically, we have allotted that entire amount to our instructional coaching program. We started this before the district adopted coaching as a district initiative and our coaching model has been largely what is being implemented throughout the district now that the success of such programs is catching on.
What does that actually look like? In our school, the land trust funds allow us to have essentially two instructional coaches available every period. This is a mix of two part-time coaches that make a full FTE (full-time equivalent, or person) and then seven teachers that coach on their prep (we buy out their prep and they prep on their own time).
Those coaches use that time to meet with teachers, observe classes, set goals, gather and analyze data, etc. They also help to implement school-wide initiatives. An example of this during the past year, coaches helped all teachers record a lesson, reflect on the lesson through various lenses, and make changes accordingly.
TSSA is a different animal. This fund is about the same amount each year as land trust, and is to be centered on three areas: instructional coaching (which we cover through land trust), professional development, and school needs. That last category is where most of our funds get spent each year, with the largest chunk going to purchasing enough chromebooks to keep every kid with a chromebook. Chromebooks last about five years, and we have to purchase between 300-600 chromebooks a year depending on the year to keep them running.
What Now?
That’s really the basics. I’ve attached the official plans for you to look at, and please email or call me if you have any questions. I’ll send the signature invitation out today as well, so if you approve of the plan, please follow the link and add your signature.
Also, please let me know if there are any Tuesdays at 6 pm in the next few weeks that you CAN’T make work for a meeting and we’ll see if there is one where all or most of you can make it.
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Agenda
Meeting held remotely on March 8, 2022. Agenda as follows:
I apologize for the scheduling conflicts we’ve had with the republican and democratic caucus nights, concerts, etc. We need to review and vote on our community council plan in order to submit it to the district/state on March 25th.
I propose we do two things:
- I’ll summarize our land trust plan and TSSA plan below and we can hold a remote vote
- We find a time to meet in the next few weeks to answer any questions and cover other related issues (safe walking routes plan, etc.)
The main thing here is that I need you to vote on the plan. I’ll send out the signature form to your email through the land trust site. Watch for that and add your signature if you agree with the plan. If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to email me or call me or reply all to this email and we can answer your questions.
Summary of Land Trust & TSSA Plans
We get around $140,000 each year in our Land Trust budget. As a refresher, Land Trust funds are basically money the state makes on land it owns that gets funneled out to schools. Historically, we have allotted that entire amount to our instructional coaching program. We started this before the district adopted coaching as a district initiative and our coaching model has been largely what is being implemented throughout the district now that the success of such programs is catching on.
What does that actually look like? In our school, the land trust funds allow us to have essentially two instructional coaches available every period. This is a mix of two part-time coaches that make a full FTE (full-time equivalent, or person) and then seven teachers that coach on their prep (we buy out their prep and they prep on their own time).
Those coaches use that time to meet with teachers, observe classes, set goals, gather and analyze data, etc. They also help to implement school-wide initiatives. An example of this during the past year, coaches helped all teachers record a lesson, reflect on the lesson through various lenses, and make changes accordingly.
TSSA is a different animal. This fund is about the same amount each year as land trust, and is to be centered on three areas: instructional coaching (which we cover through land trust), professional development, and school needs. That last category is where most of our funds get spent each year, with the largest chunk going to purchasing enough chromebooks to keep every kid with a chromebook. Chromebooks last about five years, and we have to purchase between 300-600 chromebooks a year depending on the year to keep them running.
What Now?That’s really the basics. I’ve attached the official plans for you to look at, and please email or call me if you have any questions. I’ll send the signature invitation out today as well, so if you approve of the plan, please follow the link and add your signature.
Also, please let me know if there are any Tuesdays at 6 pm in the next few weeks that you CAN’T make work for a meeting and we’ll see if there is one where all or most of you can make it.
Parent Conferences Wednesday (Virtual) and Thursday (In-Person)
We will once again be holding parent conferences this week. Please schedule a time in Skyward, and remember that you are always able to connect with teachers, regardless of the time of year. Wednesday will be for virtual conferences (Zoom) and Thursday will be for in-person conferences. Both nights are by appointment only. For help scheduling appointments in Skyward, check out this video.
Zoom Links for Parent Conferences
You can access the Zoom links for virtual appointments (Wednesday, and then anything else arranged with the teacher) by clicking here. If you have any trouble accessing the meeting during the conference, just email the teacher and we’ll arrange another meeting time or help you troubleshoot the issue.
Bingham High School Registration Information
On February 28th, we will be handing out registration cards for Bingham High School. We will then collect the cards on March 7th. Please watch for these cards in order to assist your 9th grade student in making the appropriate class choices. The Bingham High counselors will be here at Elk Ridge on Mar. 7 to collect the registration cards and to help our 9th graders enter their class requests into Skyward.
Bingham High School Orientation Night
Bingham High School will be holding their annual “Sophomore Orientation Night” at the high school on Thursday, March 3rd from 6 – 8 pm. We encourage all current 9th graders and their parents/guardians to attend.
9th Grade PCCR Appointments
9th grade PCCR appointments are available February 14th – March 4th. This is an opportunity to meet with your counselor and talk about high school class options and future career plans. To sign up for a PCCR, log into Skyward and click on the “Conferences” tab in the menu on the left side. Daytime and evening appointment times are available. We look forward to meeting with you and your student soon!
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Parent Conference Scheduling
Parent Conferences on 2/16 (Virtual) and 2/17 (In Person)
We will once again be holding parent conferences this coming week. Please schedule a time in Skyward, and remember that you are always able to connect with teachers, regardless of the time of year. Wednesday will be for virtual conferences (Zoom) and Thursday will be for in-person conferences. Both nights are by appointment only. For help scheduling appointments, check out this video.
On a completely unrelated note, if you need to communicate with your student, please try to do so during passing time or by calling the office and we’ll relay the message. When you call during class, they feel pressured to answer and it can be somewhat disruptive. The digital age brings new challenges every day, and we appreciate your help keeping the focus on school while at school.