Dear Beagle Middle School Parents,
Here are some reminders and updates that we wanted to share at this time:
Schedule Pick Up, School Pictures, and Chromebook Distribution Next Week:
- 7th-grade schedule pick up and school picture day will be on Wednesday, August 23rd from 4-7 pm at Beagle Middle School.
- 8th-grade schedule pick up and school picture day will be on Thursday, August 24th from 4-7 pm at Beagle Middle School.
Students are not required to pick up their printed schedule; we simply offer this as an option to our students and families. Schedule pick-up is a great opportunity, however, to become familiar with the building, work locker combinations, etc.
Student schedules will be available in PowerSchool beginning August 23rd to parents and students.
For those interested in pre-ordering school pictures in advance, which is strongly recommended if you are interested in receiving school pictures this year, then please click AA9002 Beagle MS 23-24 ENGLISH (1).pdf for pre-order information. Our school's keyword code is located in the upper right-hand corner of the attached document. Picture retakes will also take place during the school year in early October for those that are not able to attend the initial school photo opportunity. If ordering school pictures, please enter the McMillan when asked to provide a teacher’s name.
Students will also be provided a school-issued Chromebook during this time. Students are expected to bring the Chromebook to school on a daily basis. Here is a copy of our district's device agreement: GL Chromebook Handbook.pdf
Also, our medical assistant, Mrs. Lacey Rumzek, will be available for medication drop-off on both evenings. The necessary forms that need to be filled out and signed by a physician can be found on our website, and they are linked here: https://www.glcomets.net/parentcommunityresources/medical-forms/medical--other-forms/all-other-medication--medical-treatment-at-school/. Please note that medication drop-off will also be available during our office hours after the schedule distribution.
Schedule Changes and Lunches: Our district policy is that schedule changes cannot be made based on teacher preference or due to not obtaining desired elective courses. We do not have the logistics to accommodate these requests. Schedule adjustments and corrections are made for two reasons: missing or duplicate classes within the schedule. Also, lunches are based on students’ assigned 4th-hour teacher, which allows for balanced lunch periods in regards to overall numbers. In addition, this allows to balance the number of 7th and 8th grade students in both lunches–to the greatest extent possible. Therefore, we cannot change a student’s lunch for the aforementioned reasons. We appreciate parent understanding and support regarding schedules and lunches.
Office Hours: Office hours prior to the beginning of the school year are Monday-Friday, 8 am-3 pm. Please note that our office hours on August 23rd and 24th will be 12-7 pm to account for the later evening hours.
Website: Our website is updated weekly by Mrs. Jennie Hernandez, Student Support Services Secretary, with a variety of resources and supports that are community and athletic-based in addition to school-based resources. Our weekly newsletters are also archived on our website. Here is the link: https://www.glcomets.net/ourschools/beagle-middle-school/
Open House: will be on Tuesday, August 30th from 4:30-6 pm. This is an opportunity for students and parents to meet teachers and walk through the building before the first day of school.
School Supplies: At the middle level, we encourage parents to wait until after the first day of school to purchase detailed, specific school supplies. The good news is that despite the fact that our middle schoolers will be working with six different teachers, the necessary supplies will be very minimal. For those interested in purchasing school supplies before the year begins, we suggest purchasing the following items: three-ring binder with six tab dividers or six two-pocket folders, #2 pencils, pens, basic highlighters, and a spiral-bound notebook. Please note that all students will receive a planner and a Chromebook this year to support their learning and organization.
School Start/End Times: This year, the school day will begin at 7:52 am, and students will be released at 2:32 pm. Our updated bell schedule will be posted on our website early next week. We will have more information about our bell schedule and drop–off procedures in next week’s newsletter.
First Day of School: August 30th, half-day, 7:52 am-10:52 am. Students will attend hours 1-6 only; students will not be attending their Check and Connect (CNC) class on the first day as students do not go to CNC class on half-days.
Cell Phone Policy: Students are allowed to bring their cell phones to school. Once students enter the school building, students are expected to keep their cell phones off and out of sight the duration of the school day. Cell phones are not to be used in the hallways, classrooms, cafeteria, playground, restrooms, or locker rooms. Students may access their cell phones at the end of the school day once they exit the building. Students that violate the cell phone policy will be expected to turn their cell phone in at the main office for the day, and the device will be returned to the student at the end of the day. Parents that need to get ahold of their student during school are expected to call the main office at (517) 925-5680.
Locker Use: We strongly encourage students to use their lockers throughout the school day; however, we do not force students to use their lockers. We encourage students to use their lockers throughout the day as this helps to free up more space for interactive classroom activities; essentially, this prevents students and staff from tripping over backpacks, etc.
Girls’ Volleyball: Girls' volleyball tryouts will be hosted here at Beagle Middle on August 28th, 29th, and 30th.
- 8th grade tryouts will be from 3-5pm each night.
- 7th grade tryouts will be from 5-7pm each night.
Tryouts will be in our new gymnasium. Students should enter through the cafeteria doors from the parking lot, walk straight through the cafeteria (West), through the first gym, and enter the new gymnasium where student athletes will sign in for tryouts and drop of updated physicals (if necessary).
In order to participate in tryouts, students must have a current sports physical on file dated on or after April 15, 2023. Please bring updated physicals directly to practice the first night if your student does not have a current physical on file. It is not necessary to make a special trip to our main office to drop off a sports physical, especially at the beginning of the year. Sports physicals dropped off at the first night of tryouts will be filed in our main office for the year. Here is a copy of the MHSSA Physical Form: MHSSA Physcial Form.pdf. Most clinics that offer sports physicals have these available as well.
We will have more information in the near future regarding practice logistics; the girls’ volleyball season will end on October 18th. More information to come once we have finalized logistics. Questions pertaining to any middle school affiliated sport should be directed to Mr. Jim Price, MS AD. Mr. Price can be reached at pricej@glcomets.net.
Cross Country: Please click here MS CC 2023.docx for more information regarding cross country at Beagle Middle. Optional, drop-in conditioning will begin on Monday, August 21 from 7-8 pm at Beagle. Questions pertaining to cross country should be directed to either Mr. Jim Price, MS AD, or Cross Country Coach, Mr. Matt Szydlowski; contact information is located within the link. Please see the note above regarding sports physicals within the volleyball section.
Grand Ledge Archery Team: Middle school students interested in participating in archery are encouraged to attend the sign-up meeting on September 11th at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be hosted at the Grand Ledge High School Archery range, which is located at the far West end of the high school, accessing the back parking lot where Kent Street ends.
Future Newsletters: As we stated last week, newsletters are emailed to parents from our desks on Friday mornings. In next week’s newsletter, we will address drop-off/pick-up procedures to ensure student safety, bell schedule, basic school expectations, Check and Connect class, and when we will be meeting with the entire student body on multiple occasions during the month of September to discuss school expectations along with introducing Student Support staff members.
These are all of the updates that we have at this time. We are looking forward to connecting with our students and parents next week. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Take care,
Dave Kushman, Principal
Kelly Shumway, Assistant Principal
