January 14, 2020
Hello BTM Families and Happy New Year/Decade! I have a couple notes I’d like to share with you as we kick off the new year. Remember, I am always available if you have questions at 425.431.7837, or morrisons@edmonds.wednet.edu.
NEW CLASSES AND STAFF!
(THERE MAY BE OTHER DEVELOPMENTS, BUT THIS IS OUR PLAN AS OF TODAY)
In an effort to reduce overcrowded staff, the district has provided extra funding for 2 new 7th grade Social Studies classes and an 8th grade Science class. We are lucky enough to have highly qualified teachers with great experience to start teaching the new classes we are creating. Let me introduce them:
One of our new Social Studies Teachers, Leanna Ramos, is actually not new to BTMS. Leanna is our current Foods Teacher, and had been teaching Social Studies for over 10 years in a private K-8 before coming to BTM. She has built great relationships with students in her Foods classes; she is highly qualified to teach Social Studies and many other subjects; and she is eager to start teaching Social Studies again here at BTMS.
Lindsay Parker is our other new Social Studies Teacher. Lindsay is a highly effective teacher coming to us from a family leave from Meadowdale Middle School. Lindsay had been working to renew her National Board Certification with Ms. Franklin’s class when this teaching opportunity arose. Lindsay knows our curriculum and already has connections with our staff and coaches at the district level.
John Fink may be a familiar face to many of you. John student taught with Mr. Presho last year and has been supporting teachers with larger class sizes since November. John has excellent rapport with many of our students (and certainly with our Science Department) already and has been co-teaching in our Science classrooms since last year, so he is very prepared to start teaching his own class here at BTM.
We consider ourselves very lucky to have these highly qualified teachers joining us next semester.
What does this mean for students? We are trying to keep the addition of these new classes from disrupting schedules as much as possible. That being said, some students’ schedules will change. Even though this will be a minor disruption, the positive part of this is that class sizes are being reduced so teachers will have more opportunities to interact and support students. We feel this is worth the disruption. Please contact counselors or me if you have further questions.
REGISTRATION FOR NEXT YEAR
Believe it or not, we are already thinking about registration for next year. Counselors from the High Schools (8th grade) and our counselors will be working with students in late February to start the process for next year. We will be hosting an Electives Fair from MTHS in the gym on February 6th for 8th graders. There will be more information coming in email and on the website, so keep an eye out for that!
REBEKAH ALLEN, OUR NEW ATTENDANCE/ASB/ATHLETICS SECRETARY
Rebekah is learning VERY quickly the ins and outs of all that Amy McVay used to do here in the main office. We are slowly updating the website to provide current and important information, especially around Athletics. We appreciate your patience as we work to make this current.
FEEDBACK!
Please email me to let me know what information you need on a regular basis so that I can work to get you what you need. morrisons@edmonds.wednet.edu.
BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
We are still working as a staff to explore ways to improve our already great work around building positive student relationships. I continue to be impressed with your students and the BTMS staff in how supportive they are of each other and the school community. We are continuing our book study and we continue to model different ways we can be intentional about ensuring our learning community is a place where every student feels safe and feels they belong. We know this work will never end and we need to continue to be vigilant as the needs of our students and families evolve. This is hard and very rewarding work.
A NOTE FROM OUR STUDENT SUPPORT ADVOCATE, ROSA
Hello! My name is Rosa Rosario and I am the Student Support Advocate (SSA) at Brier Terrace Middle. My role is very much like a Social Worker. As a SSA, I work with families to ensure that students/families basic and ongoing needs are met. I provide a wide spectrum of services to offer support to students/families experiencing any challenge or crisis. Here are some areas where I can assist families: connecting families experiencing housing insecurities to a Housing Navigator, helping families to get access to healthcare, mental health services, as well as getting access to medical insurance, connecting families to various community resources. In addition, I collaborate with teachers, counselors and administrators to support student's ability to meet their academic goals successfully.
Please feel free to call me at 425-431-4182 or email me at rosarior@edmonds.wednet.edu. I will be happy to schedule a time to meet with you in my office or any convenient place and time for you.
PTSA INFO
Meeting January 29th
https://www.facebook.com/btmsptsa