Bureau Valley Junior High/Elementary

BVJH Baseball/Softball Announcement: Practices will begin on Wednesday 8/5 in Manlius. You will receive an email later today with more specific details. IMPORTANT- you MUST have your sports physical turned in before attending any practices!

7/31/20 Bureau Valley Junior High Students and Families, Late this afternoon BVJH was notified that the IESA Board reversed its 7/24/20 decision to cancel the 2020 fall sports seasons. With the newly released guidance from the Governor’s Office categorizing baseball, softball, golf and cross country in the lower risk category, the IESA Board of Directors has approved a plan for the return of 2020 fall regular season contests in these activities and a limited state series. This reversal obviously generates many questions about the prerequisite steps involved in reinstating our BVJH baseball and softball practices and seasons. The situation is extremely fluid and we ask that you please be patient while we await further guidance on the required safety measures to ensure that appropriate protocols are in place for the health and safety for all players, coaches, umpires and fans. We thank you in advance for your patience as we work with the IESA, IDPH, our coaching staff, and athletic directors from surrounding schools to investigate and plan how to move forward with fall sports in the safest manner possible. Sincerely, Julie Platz Principal, Bureau Valley Junior High

Watch the Bureau Valley Junior High 2020 Promotion Ceremony at 7:00 tonight here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DY-cSwkyB8

Congratulations to the following 5th grade students for receiving the 2020 Presidential Award: Garrett Gross and Stone Sabin. They excelled in academics, attendance, behavior and tested in the 90th percentile or higher on our benchmarking testing. Keep up the great work next year in junior high!

Congratulations to our May BE’s of the month at Bureau Valley Elementary. We know how hard our students have worked on remote learning and at staying engaged with their teachers. So for this month each 3-5 classroom teacher selected a student to honor from their classes: 3B-Jayce Kassel-Sampson and 3W-Chase Stier, 4B-Lydia Gross and 4D-Madison Price, 5K-Colton Maubach-Williams and 5S-Aiden Litherland ⚡️⚡️Great job BVE! ⚡️⚡️

Please see the attached document for information regarding return of student materials at the end of the year. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TJ_tsCKygtFuCZvlIqugFVIpmufRoz1fabfCa1VVo2I/edit?ts=5eb9aece

May 11th, 2020 The Bureau Valley administrative team has been closely monitoring recommendations from the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health about end of year events like the BVJH Awards Assembly and 8th Grade Promotion. Bureau Valley CUSD #340 must follow the guidelines set by state agencies in the following months to ensure the safety and health of all community members, at the same time the district understands the importance of holding these events for our students and their families. As of May 2nd, state agencies stated that “virtual events are strongly encouraged, although we recognize this may not be possible in all situations.” When considering all options, following the safety guidelines and erring on the side of safety for all involved is the responsible path to follow. Therefore the Bureau Valley administrative team is announcing the following adjustments to the BVJH Awards Assembly and 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony. BVJH Awards Assembly The BVJH 2020 Awards Assembly was originally scheduled for the morning of May 20th in the Bureau Valley auditorium. The purpose of the Awards Assembly is to recognize and celebrate our BVJH 6th-8th Grade students’ success and participation in extracurricular clubs and athletics and to announce the recipients of the 8th Grade Promotion Awards. In order to safely celebrate the accomplishments of all Bureau Valley Junior High students, the assembly will now be transformed into a Digital Awards Presentation that will be posted on the BV340 website and the Bureau Valley Junior High/Elementary facebook page on May 20th at 7:00PM. The Awards Presentation link will then be emailed to all BVJH families immediately after it has been presented at 7:00PM for the first time. BVJH Promotion Ceremony The BVJH 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony will be released as a virtual Promotion Ceremony on June 19th at 7:00PM. The ceremony will feature the BVJH 8th grade students promoted to high school, speeches will be presented, and award recipients recognized. The links for this ceremony will be made available in the same manner as the Awards Assembly. On behalf of the Bureau Valley Junior High Staff, I invite you to join us in watching the Awards Presentation online on May 20th at 7:00PM to help us celebrate our amazing first year together in Manlius. Then please join us again on June 19th at 7:00PM for the 8th grade Virtual Promotion Ceremony to celebrate the 8th graders promoted to high school. Celebrating all our students’ hard work and achievements together, despite the distance between us, will honor and pay tribute to their accomplishments in the 2019/2020 school year. Sincerely, Julie Platz Principal, Bureau Valley Junior High/Elementary

I want to say thank you to all of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students that have been creating wonderful artwork during this time! Since I can't hang them in the hallway, and they are too good to keep to myself, here is a slideshow of the public artwork on Artsonia. These photographs are all from our distance learning projects. I am so proud of each and every one of you! https://www.artsonia.com/schools/media.asp?id=19739 Mrs. Amy Knapp Art Educator Bureau Valley Elementary & Junior High

Show us those Super Hero outfits today! There are so many hero’s out there right now let’s celebrate them all! Send photos to bvphotos@bureauvalley.net

BVE teachers and staff sending a message to our students!

4/21/20 Dear Bureau Valley Families, Due to the extension of Illinois school closures through the rest of the academic year we are adjusting our remote learning packet return procedures. We do however strongly encourage those of you already taking pictures of completed items and sending them to your teachers via email or texts to continue doing so instead of returning the packets. This is the preferred and safest way to communicate with teachers and receive feedback from them. If you are unable to communicate this way, you may now begin returning your packets when picking up your new packets each Wednesday. Please know that materials collected will be disinfected and sit for several days before they are given to your teacher to review and provide feedback. We are working on a plan for returning your child’s materials from school to you at the conclusion of remote learning and will communicate that plan soon. Please know that we will continue to provide engaging learning activities and opportunities each week which will continue to be posted on the district website or can be picked up on the following dates: Packet Distribution - Remote Learning Days covered Wednesday, April 22 - 4 days: April 22, 23, 24, 28 (April 27-no remote learning) Wednesday, April 29 - 5 days: April 29, 30 May 1, 4, 5 Wednesday, May 6 - 4 days: May 6, 7, 8, 12 (May 11-no remote learning) Wednesday, May 13 - 7 days: May 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21 (May 22-no remote learning) The last day of remote learning will be May 21st with the 22nd being a professional development day for staff. We hope you and your family are staying healthy during this time and remember our staff is here to help in any way that we can. Sincerely, Julie Platz Principal, Bureau Valley Junior High/Elementary

April 17, 2020 Dear Storm Families and Staff, Today, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the end of in-person learning for the 2019-20 school year. This news is disheartening since we had held hope that we could reunite students and teachers in our schools; however, we value and respect the highest priority of keeping all members of the Bureau Valley family safe and healthy as we band together to stop the spread of this virus. As we move forward with the governor’s decision, Bureau Valley schools will continue to use Remote Learning policies and procedures that have been developed and implemented since April 1st. This learning plan will continue through May 21st, though there will be no Remote Learning on the following weekdays: April 27th, May 11th, and May 22nd. In addition to measures for Remote Learning, food services will continue to be offered on Mondays and Wednesdays through May 20th, including on non-Remote Learning days. These meals can be collected from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the same locations in our communities that we’ve been using. The Bureau Valley administrative team knows you likely have many questions and concerns at this time, many of which we also have now. We will continue working hard to determine and communicate solutions that focus on our top priorities: maintaining safety for all, supplying meals for students, and providing meaningful learning opportunities. The decisions may take some time as we await further guidance from the government, health agencies, and the Illinois State Board of Education. Therefore, we appreciate your patience and understanding while we strive to provide a successful path that focuses on the best interests of the students, families, and staff members. Sincerely, The Bureau Valley CUSD #340 Administrative Team

April 7, 2020 Dear Bureau Valley Junior High Families, We understand that the challenges families are experiencing due to the current threat of Covid-19 and the stay at home order for Illinois are stressful to everyone involved and want to assure you that our main focus is the health and well being of our students and families. There have been many questions about what grading will look like now that remote learning has begun, and I would like to explain what you can expect going forward. Teachers have been planning and providing meaningful learning opportunities for their students. Students are expected to be engaged with their teachers. Any grades that are taken will not negatively impact your student’s grade. The first three quarters of this year have been averaged to determine your student's individual benchmark grade for each class, and all students will have opportunities to maintain and/or raise their current year long grade in their classes, no harm will be done. Working within the symbols and options currently in our Teacherease software for grading, these are the three options that teachers will input into Teacherease and what they represent: POINTS/PERCENTAGE earned for an assignment meaning that the assignment was turned in and the student earned a grade equal to, or greater than, their current grade for that class. This assignment will count towards the student’s grade to either maintain or raise their current grade in this class. HANDED IN indicating that the assignment was turned in, but the grade earned would negatively affect the student’s current grade for this class. The student will be given opportunities to redo/correct this assignment to raise the grade on this assignment and their overall grade for this class. This assignment will not count toward the student’s grade unless corrections are made, and the new score is equal to or greater than their current grade in that class to either maintain or raise their current grade in this class. MISSING indicating that the assignment was NOT turned in and should still be submitted (without a late penalty) for the benefit of your student’s academic future. BVJH Weekly Planners will now be on the BV 340 Website under remote learning. Scheduling Reminder/Changes: Friday 4/10 - No School as originally planned for Good Friday Monday 4/13 - No remote learning planned (Staff Professional Development Day) Monday 4/27 - No remote learning planned (Staff Professional Development Day) We know things can be very confusing and overwhelming at this time and hope to provide some structure and normalcy for our students in these difficult times. Please reach out with any questions or concerns at any time. Sincerely, Julie Platz Principal, Bureau Valley Junior High/Elementary

March 31, 2020 Dear Storm Families and Staff, On Tuesday, March 31st, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an extension of his “Stay-at-Home” order for the entire state, which started Saturday, March 21, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. The order has now been extended through the end of April. This order essentially commands residents to stay in their homes as the officials take measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Residents can still shop for groceries, put gas in their cars, take walks outside, and collect prescriptions from pharmacies. All local roads, including the interstate highways and tollways, will remain open to traffic, as well. Under the governor’s directive, schools will continue to be closed and use Remote Learning through Thursday, April 30th. Schools will tentatively reopen Friday, May 1st unless otherwise mandated by the governor, Illinois State Board of Education, or local health agencies. This mandated closure also extends the canceling of all school activities and events, including sports, meetings, etc. Food services will continue to be available during the school closure. For more information on Food Distribution, please read our Meal Distribution Information. Our District has worked extremely hard to prepare Remote Learning opportunities for the students in order to maintain a continuity of education. Each building is unique; therefore, you will receive or have already received directions on how to access your child’s materials either online or by paper, depending on your preferred method of delivery. Teachers have and will continue to develop learning activities that are engaging and meaningful, not work that may add additional stress for students and families. And, to ensure that these tasks can be accomplished successfully by all students, teachers will be available via email to answer questions related to all coursework. Since we understand that this time may be difficult for some families and will require all to be flexible, we will also have school counselors available to help navigate students and families through these stressful changes; if needed, please contact your school or visit the counseling resources provided on the district’s webpage. It is with the guidance and mandates of state officials that we work to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of the Bureau Valley family. We strongly encourage our population to follow the advice of officials in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. This is a new experience for all of us. We thank you in advance for your patience and support while we move through these unchartered waters together. Sincerely, The Bureau Valley CUSD #340 Administrative Team

Dear Storm Families and Staff, On Friday, March 20th, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a “Stay-at-Home” order for the entire state starting Saturday, March 21, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. This order essentially commands residents to stay in their homes as the officials take measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Residents can still shop for groceries, put gas in their cars, take walks outside, and collect prescriptions from pharmacies. All local roads, including the interstate highways and tollways, will remain open to traffic, as well. Under the governor’s directive, schools will continue to be closed through Tuesday, April 7th. Schools will tentatively reopen Wednesday, April 8th, unless otherwise mandated by the governor, Illinois State Board of Education, or local health agencies. This mandated closure also extends the canceling of all school activities and events, including sports, meetings, etc. Next week is our regularly planned spring break, and, therefore, most school functions were already scheduled to be off and district employees were to be given the time off. As a result, food services will not be available from March 21st through March 29th. Additionally, families and staff are strongly encouraged to take time for themselves as they normally would during spring break. If students or parents desire educational opportunities during their break, please check out the parent link on the district website for “Supplemental Educational Resources”. After our scheduled spring break, the district is confident that it will be able to provide meals during the extended school closure. As arrangements are made, we will communicate the hours and distribution process for meals from March 30th through April 7th. We will also communicate further opportunities for students’ learning for March 31st through April 7th after the Illinois Board of Education provides clarity and direction. It is with the guidance and mandates of state officials that we work to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of the Bureau Valley family. We strongly encourage our population to follow the advice of officials in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus to get everyone back to school as soon as possible to continue our communities’ drive for Unity, Excellence, and Pride. Thank you for your continued support, flexibility, and patience. Sincerely, The Bureau Valley CUSD #340 Administrative Team

Dear Parents/Guardians, On Friday, March 20th, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a “Stay-at-Home” order for the entire state starting Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Due to this order, we are extending chromebook pick up in Manlius an extra day and will be on hand Saturday, March 21, from 9:00-12:00, for any junior high students that have not had the opportunity to sign one out yet. If you have any questions please call the office during these hours or email me directly.

Update on BVJH extracurriculars and events: The following activities and events have been cancelled or postponed. We will update you as things change with our current situation. -All practices cancelled March 16th-March 30th -3/16 Scholastic Bowl @ Peru -3/17 Scholastic Bowl @ LaSalle -3/19 Scholastic Bowl @ Streator -Track meet for March 30th at BV -Track meet @ JFK March 31st -Track meet @ Streator April 1st -JH Play April 3rd will be postponed

Junior High Chromebooks The primary concerns right now are for the health and safety of our Bureau Valley families and following the social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC. Please stay safe and be patient while a new plan is put in place to distribute chromebooks to our junior high students. All recommendations for learning activities and educational sites are voluntary at this time and solely for your student‘s benefit. In the meantime, if you need anything from your student’s locker or want to pick a chromebook up, please call the office to arrange a pick-up time and a chromebook can be signed out at that time also. Thank you for your patience and understanding. ================================== Julie Platz, Principal BVJH/Elementary - Manlius Manlius, IL 61338 phone: 815-445-2121 email: jplatz@bureauvalley.net

Bureau Valley is canceling school on Monday, March 16th due to recent developments related to the COVID-19 Virus.  Our curbside lunch program will begin tomorrow, Monday, March 16th between 10:30 and noon at the designated sites.  If you need any supplies from your student’s locker or medications, please call your child’s school to set up a time to pick up these items.  We will continue to communicate regularly with updates as this situation remains fluid.

March 13, 2020 - 5:30 p.m. Dear Bureau Valley Parents & Community, On Monday, March 16th Bureau Valley Schools will be in session. Students will be dismissed at 1:00 p.m. and all evening activities will be canceled. In preparation for the impending closure and the E-Learning program, student attendance is beneficial and needed to ensure Chromebooks, books, papers, and other materials can be distributed. Effective Tuesday, March 17th through Monday, March 30th, schools in Bureau Valley School District #340 will be closed, as ordered by the governor due to the emergency declaration in response to COVID-19. Schools will tentatively reopen Tuesday, March 31st, unless otherwise notified. During school closures, all activities (practices, competitions, clubs/organizations) are postponed or canceled. As we come together in times like this, we appreciate the support and flexibility of the Bureau Valley communities. Go Storm! Sincerely, Mr. Stabler, Superintendent