CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2013!

[Click image to enlarge]

Students of the Month - May
From Mr. Herkert

	Students of the week
	6th Grade	7th Grade
	TAYLOR MUNDT RILEE SMITH	SESAR PACHECO TAMYA VAULTONBURG
	Click to View the 2012-2013 Principal Choice Art Work [posted 5-21]

Illinois Principal's Student Leadership
From Mr. Herkert

Click image

Peyton Keller and Bailey Burrows, both 8th graders, were recognized on Friday for exhibiting leadership ability and fine character. Both were nominated by their teachers to attend the Illinois Principal’s Association Student Leadership Brunch, held at the Maxon Manor. This event, hosted annually by the Northwest Region of the IPA, is an opportunity for area schools to shine a spotlight on some outstanding students. Bailey and Peyton were two of the 73 students recognized, representing 35 schools, in front of an audience of 240 parents, administrators, and peers.

In addition to the brunch, the honored students received a certificate and a plaque, and were able to listen to legendary area coach John Elder give a talk about leadership. It is an uplifting event, seeing so many talented kids being recognized for the great things they do for our schools every day, and BMS is proud of the way Bailey and Peyton represented us.

BMS Winter Sports Teams
From Mr. Herkert

[Click on image to enlarge]

Congratulations to the BMS Winter sports teams for their recently completed seasons – all 3 conference teams went undefeated! The 8th grade girls basketball team finished with a final record of 28-0, marking the 2nd consecutive undefeated campaign for this bunch. In addition to winning the conference tournament, they also took top honors at the Byron and Oregon Tournaments. The 7th grade girls were equally impressive, finishing with a victory in the conference title game and a final record of 21-0, also taking home the top prize at the Oregon and Byron Tournaments. The wrestlers also won the conference tournament, crowning 9 individual champions in the process. The team ended with a record of 14-0. Combined, the 3 squads posted an amazing 63-0 record, and claimed all 3 Rt. 72 Conference titles! Congratulations to the coaches and team members – we are very proud of you!

Nolan Places 2nd in IKWF State Meet
From Mr. Herkert

Wrestler Nolan Baker recently completed an impressive career of wrestling for the BMS Tigers. He competed for 3 years at the middle school, and never lost a single match! Outside of his school accomplishments, Nolan also competed successfully in a variety of wrestling tournaments, often travelling the country to pursue opportunities. During the past couple of years, he was a Freestyle State Champion, a Greco-Roman State Champion, and an IKWF Folkstyle Runner-up. He is also a two-time All-American in Freestyle, a two-time All-American in Greco-Roman, and he wrestled for Illinois’ Schoolboy team that won national titles last summer in both Freestyle and Greco. Closer to home, Nolan placed 2nd last week at the IKWF State Meet, held in Rockford.

Nolan has represented BMS well – we are very proud of his accomplishments (so far!). Nolan’s father, 6th grade teacher Bob Baker (also pictured), is Nolan’s coach for the BMS team and his club teams.

Spelling Bee 2013
From Mr. Herkert

Tracie Raine 2013 Champion

Byron Middle School held its annual Spelling Bee in the theater, with 29 students competing in front of the student body for the chance to represent BMS at the regional spelling bee in Dixon. After 12 grueling rounds and over 175 words, 8th grade student Tracie Raine was crowned the champion. 2nd place went to 8th grader Jacob Bradford, who was last year’s school champion. Tracie will be making a return appearance to the Regional Bee, having competed as a 6th grader after winning the BMS competition. The words Tracie spelled correctly on her way to the title included: itself, slight, enact, renewal, monumental, flirtatious, prominent, integral, planetarium, derisible, cerebellum, and herbaceous. Congratulations to Tracie and Jacob, and to the other 27 students who competed admirably and made for a great competition.  [Click on images to enlarge]

Tracie competed at the regional spelling bee at Dixon on Feb. 21. She was one of 29 students competing, all champions from their respective schools. After 7 rounds, there were only 6 contestants left – Tracie was one of them. 14 rounds later, there were still 6 remaining! It was an amazing display of nerves and knowledge. Unfortunately, in round 21, Tracie ran into “mozzarella” and left the stage, leaving 4 still standing. It lasted until the 33rd round, when the winner correctly spelled “schadenfreude” for the victory. Congratulations to Tracie for representing Byron Middle School so well!

BMS Competes at MathCounts
From Dr. DeVries
Congratulations to Byron Middle School’s MathCounts team. They competed at Sauk Valley Community College on Saturday, February 9.

Top individuals for the day included Lane Watson, Taylor Conley, Natalie Carlson, Eric Hoshaw, Peyton Keller, Emma Bakken, Morgan Jackson, and Megan Carlson.

Read more....

Sixth Grade Holiday Tea
From Mr. Herkert

On December 19, the sixth grade class hosted a Holiday Tea for family, friends, and the Byron Community. The event, an annual tradition at Byron Middle School, was held in the theater. Students and teachers spent part of the day Tuesday transforming the stage into a festive space, and those in attendance were treated to good snacks, good service, and good performances by the 6th grade students. Prior to the Holiday Tea, students were involved in several special activities to prepare for the day. They were taught how to make proper introductions and how to properly host and serve their guests. They also participated in community service

activities, intended to foster good citizenship as well as to nurture the idea of giving to others through your resources, time, or talents. The students created holiday ornaments that were sold at the Holiday Tea, with proceeds from the sale being used to help needy families in our community. They also sponsored a successful food drive for our local food pantry People Helping People. All 6th grade students participated in the Holiday Tea in three ways at three different times during the day: they acted as hosts, serving the guests coffee, cider, and cookies; they performed for the guests by playing a solo on their band instrument, singing a holiday song, or performing a reading or a skit; and they also were able to attend as a guest. Students in the other grade levels were also allowed to visit the Tea, provided they were dressed properly for the occasion. The large majority of students took advantage of this, so most of the school was able to participate in this fun event. Many thanks to the 6th grade teachers for the organization of the Tea, and to the Fine Arts staff for preparing the students for the performances. And also, thanks to all the parents, family members, and friends who took the time to attend and helped make the day special for our 6th grade students. [Click here for photos!]

2nd PBIS Celebration
From Mr. Herkert

The 2nd PBIS celebration, postponed by weather on December 20th, was held on January 4th. It doubled as an end-of-the-quarter celebration of good effort and behavior and a welcome-back party. As usual, the BMS staff did an outstanding job of organizing activities, and the students had a great time. It was a four-part celebration; the students began by rotating through 3 activity areas: a movie in the pod, a trivia contest in the cafeteria, and a full-blown “Minute-To-Win-It” contest in the gym. At the end, all the students were brought together in the gym for some class competitions and the prize drawings. Congratulations to prize winners Jonah Pearson, Savanna Harper, Madalyn Palmer, Ryan Keller, Bryce Scheffler, and Joie Payton. [Click here for photos]

Woodworking Volunteers
From Mr. Herkert

[Click to enlarge]

Byron Middle School would like to thank the woodworking volunteers at the Byron Forest Preserve for constructing 11 large pieces of furniture for use in our building. As we started the 1:1 laptop initiative this year, we discovered several problems we had not anticipated, such as where the computers would be stored when they went to lunch. Also, in classrooms such as band, chorus, humanities, and PE, where the computers are not used every day, we had a need to safely store large numbers of computers. After an extensive search, we discovered there are no products available

that would meet our specific needs. The volunteers at the Forest Preserve were contacted, and they worked with us through the design of the furniture before starting the arduous (and time consuming) task of construction. Within a month, the pieces were finished. They were then transported to the middle school, where Mr. Herkert applied the stain and varnish and got them moved into place. The cabinets, made of beautiful birch plywood and hardwood trim, are finely made and provide a nice accent to our hallways and classrooms. We are very appreciative of the work of the volunteers, under the direction of George Fram and Bill Hogan, and we thank them for their craftsmanship and ability to solve a serious problem for us.

Middle School Veteran's Day Ceremony
From Mr. Herkert

Byron Middle School held a ceremony Thursday morning to recognize and honor Veteran’s Day. This is the 2nd year the ceremony has been held, and it was a heart-warming event. For the first time, students were encouraged to invite a veteran to participate, and we were fortunate to have 23 veterans in attendance. The ceremony began with the presentation of colors by Mr. Ben Busser and Mr. Jerry Oleson. Student Council members Adriana Costa and Nick Peterson led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the 7th & 8th grade choral groups,

under the direction of Mrs. Harn, singing the National Anthem. Mr. Herkert spoke about the origin and meaning of Veteran’s Day, and read a portion of the President’s official Veteran’s Day Proclamation. This was followed by a poem read by Builder’s Club member Hannah Hines, and a patriotic song by the 6th grade choir. The 8th grade band was next, playing a medley of patriotic hymns in honor of the various military branches. A patriotic powerpoint show, prepared by Mr. Konstans, was displayed while the band was playing. The highlight of the ceremony came next, when the veterans in attendance were announced, along with their connection to the middle school, and they were brought onto the stage. All 4 branches of the military were represented, with participants from World War II through the conflict in Afghanistan. The audience provided a lengthy, well-deserved standing ovation for the brave soldiers. The students, all dressed in red, white, or blue, and displaying ribbons with the name of a veteran written on them, were very respectful and appreciative throughout the ceremony. Many thanks to the numerous staff members involved in putting the celebration together, with a special mention to Mrs. Fletcher for coordinating the event And, of course, our thanks and appreciation to the veterans who committed a part of their morning to help us put meaning behind the celebration of Veteran’s Day. [Click here for photos!]

Camp Winnebago 2012
From Mr. Herkert
During the week of October 9-12, the 8th grade students participated in team building and personal challenge activities at Camp Winnebago in Rockford. In September, the students were randomly placed into small groups and assigned two faculty advisors. These groups determined their own identity, including group name, group colors and/or costumes, and group chants. The groups met with their advisors several times before attending the Camp, preparing for the challenges and getting to know the other members of the group. The groups will remain intact throughout the school year, with occasional meetings and refreshers on the value of teamwork and trust. While at the Camp, the students worked with their team through a variety of challenges including trust-building and problem solving. The highlight of the activities was a half-day spent on the high ropes course or on the 40' climbing wall. Each group attended the Camp for 2 days, providing plenty of opportunity to make positive connections with classmates and participate in both the high-ropes and the climbing wall. As expected, the students did a fantastic job in challenging their fears and testing their limits, while learning to work as a team to effectively solve problems. It was a great experience for all involved. Pictures from each of the 4 days can be viewed by clicking the links below:.

Annual End-Of-The-First-Week Celebration
From Mr. Herkert

Byron Middle School held its annual end-of-the-first-week celebration on Friday, with the students getting to participate in a carnival on the front lawn of the school. The celebration is held to thank the students for getting off to such a great start to the school year, and for being so patient as we crammed a tremendous amount of information into the past 2 days. During the week, the students learned and reviewed expectations for every part of their day, from using the drinking fountain to entering and exiting the building. Each time they showed understanding of our expectations, the students received a stamp on

their “passport”. At the celebration, the completed passports were collected and grand prize drawings were held. To participate in the carnival games, or to purchase popcorn and cotton candy, the students had to “spend” tickets they earned throughout the week. In the previous 2 days, the teachers and staff handed out over 8,000 tickets to students who were caught doing things right – holding doors, being polite, walking on the correct side of the hallway, etc. It was a great, positive way to start the new school year! Many thanks to the teachers and staff who put together and worked at the carnival. Special thanks to the 8th grade teachers who started planning the carnival at the end of the last school year, and to Mr. Ettelbrick and Mr. Stoyas for drawing a huge crowd to the dunk tank.   Click here for 1st Week of 2012 Photo Album

BMS 1:1 Initiative
From Mr. Herkert

This year all BMS students will be loaned a laptop to improve and personalize his/her education. It is essential that the Byron Community Schools Laptop Use Guidelines be followed to ensure the safe, efficient and ethical operation of the district’s laptop. Computer and Network Procedures   Responsibilities and Terms   Laptop Care and Use Have a question? Goto the Frequently Asked Question Page

Pinnacle Internet Viewer

Important Announcement for Parents/Guardians
From Your School Nurses
Beginning with the 2012/2013 school year, ALL students entering 6th through 12th grade will be required to show proof of having received a Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis).

This new immunization requirement (IL administrative code section 665.250(b)) has been instituted due to recent local outbreaks of pertussis or "whooping cough," a serious bacterial infection of the airway. Immunity to pertussis tends to decrease as our children reach their teen years, and this booster vaccine is necessary to protect not only our children, but our whole community.

You will receive a notice from your school nurse in the coming weeks if your child's records indicate that they may not yet have received this vaccine.

Please make appointments with your physician or the local health department early! Ogle County Health Department clinic schedules are included in the following links. [pdf]

New rules for the Health Department clinics! You MUST have your child's current immunization records faxed to the Health Department BEFORE they can schedule you for a clinic appointment. Vaccines at the health department cost $16.00.

Please contact your school nurse if you have any further questions regarding this notice, or if you need copies of your child's immunizations.