Bulldog Bulletin for

Rising 6th Graders

Meet Our Administrative Team!

Tim Sanders

Principal

Allyson Goyette

Assistant Principal

Students Last Names A - L

Robin Tuck

Assistant Principal

Students Last Names M - Z

Samantha Cancro

6th Grade

Senior Teacher

Scott Rowe

7th Grade

Senior Teacher

Tracy Graves

8th Grade

Senior Teacher

April Satterwhite

Special Education

Senior Teacher

Welcome from Your Principal, Mr. Sanders

Dear BCMS Rising Sixth Graders:

Welcome, Bulldogs, to Bell Creek Middle School! It is with great pleasure that I welcome you into the halls of BCMS where there is never a shortage of learning and fun. Our goal each and every day is to provide you with the necessary tools to make sure that you have a successful middle school experience.

Our administration, teachers, and staff have been working extremely hard this summer to get the school ready for students to return in August. At BCMS, we empower young adults to Believe in themselves and value others in an effort to Create positive communities. Every student will Maximize their potential and Succeed in every area of their education. Our wonderful sixth grade team, which includes Mrs. Cancro (Senior Teacher/Administrator), Ms. Gathright (6th Grade School Counselor), and Mrs. Cox (Athletic Director) are great resources for you and your family. We invite and encourage you to use these resources to identify support services available to you at Bell Creek and to learn more information about getting involved in one or more of our athletic programs. Note: If you’re interested in participating in a fall sport, a physical dated after May 1, 2024, must be on file in order to try out. Tryouts for all fall sports (football, cheerleading, girls’ basketball, girls’ tennis, boys’ soccer) start the second week of school, August 26, 2024, Getting involved in extracurricular activities not only affords you the opportunity to showcase your talents and gifts, but it is also a great way to meet new people.

Finally, a commitment to academic excellence, which includes all areas of education, is a tradition at Bell Creek that we hold in high regard. We strive to empower our students to succeed both in the classroom and outside of it. Our amazing team of teachers, front office staff, custodians, and other staff members are ready to show you how great Bell Creek can be, and we are excited to spend the 24-25 school year with you.

Below, you will find a host of important dates, events, and information to help ensure you have a smooth start to the school year. I am looking forward to meeting you and your parents or guardians in the very near future. Welcome to Bell Creek Middle School and enjoy the remainder of your summer break.

Tim Sanders

Principal

Welcome from Your Senior Teacher, Mrs. Cancro

Dear Rising 6th Grade Students and Families,

We are excited to welcome you to Bell Creek! My name is Mrs. Cancro, and I will be your Senior Teacher when you get to BCMS this fall. As the grade level administrator, I look forward to spending my time working with 6th grade students, families, and your teachers to ensure a successful year for each one of you. I have an office right in the middle of your team classrooms around the corner from your counselor, Ms. Gathright, so you will see us out in the halls each and every day. Ms. Gathright and I will be assisting and following you throughout your middle school career as you progress through 7th & 8th grade.

You will quickly find that you have greater freedom in middle school than you had in elementary school; however, with greater freedom comes more responsibility! You will be placed on one of three wonderful sixth grade teams not only with new teachers but also with many new students. Remember, we have four elementary schools that come to us, so be prepared to meet new friends too!

I am here to answer questions and address any and all concerns you or your family may have regarding our middle school program. Be sure to read the information under First Day Bulldog Camp Is Just for YOU! You will definitely want to know about this first-day orientation to middle school. You can email or call me at sacancro@hcps.us or 723-2260. It is important to us that each and every student and their families feel excited and prepared to begin a great 3 years at Bell Creek. To our newest Bulldogs, I say WELCOME to the family!

See you in just a few short weeks!

Mrs. Samantha Cancro

First Day Bulldog Camp Is Just for YOU!

On the first day of school, Monday, August 19th, you will meet your team of teachers who will walk you through everything our newest Bulldogs need to know about our schedule, classes, lunch, buses, and middle school life! You will also have a chance to literally learn about our building by taking a thorough tour with one of your teachers.

As a reminder, only our 6th graders will be here on August 19th. ALL 7th & 8th graders will begin school on Tuesday, August 20th, and that will be an A-day.

Did you know that as a 6th grader this year, you are part of the

Class of 2031?

August 14th is our Back-to-School Open House!

We welcome ALL students, grades 6-8, anytime between 4:30 - 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 14th to Bell Creek!

You will be able to access your schedule online through PowerSchool prior to Open House, but we will also have paper schedules available.
Parents/Guardians may pay their child's fees online or in person.
Parents/Guardians will learn how to get your Schoology and PowerSchool accounts up and running so you can keep up with your student! We will also help you sign up for Parent Square to stay in the know.
You may approve your demographic information online. (We are offering help with this in our library.)
You may turn in athletic physicals and any medications/paperwork to Nurse Jen in our clinic.
You may drop off any school-wide supplies: tissues, disinfecting wipes, paper towels, and hand sanitizer. Keep all other supplies at home until you come on your first day of school! (See the 24-25 School Supply List below.)
Walk your schedule & meet your teachers!

Our School Hours

Our school day is quite different from what you are used to at your elementary school.

Student Arrival: 8:15 - 8:45 a.m. (1st Block begins promptly at 8:45!)

Student Dismissal: 3:45 p.m.
- Bus riders exit out the front doors under the awning.
- Car riders exit out the side doors (labeled B1) that face the high school.

HOORAY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL!

Welcome from Your Counselor, Ms. Gathright

Welcome Rising 6th Graders and Families!

It is with great excitement that I welcome you to the BCMS pack! While the transition to middle school may seem daunting, everyone at BCMS is looking forward to meeting you and helping you make a smooth transition to Bulldog life. As your counselor, I will be with you throughout your entire middle school journey. I love this aspect of my job as it allows me to form relationships with my students and their families over the course of three years. In order to have the most successful sixth-grade year possible, remember to keep an open mind, ask lots of questions, and embrace the opportunity to meet new people and learn new things! You’ve got this!

See you soon, sixth grade!

Sincerely,

Ms. Sarah Gathright

6th Grade Counselor

Meet Nurse Jen in our Clinic

Greetings and Welcome to Bell Creek Middle School!

*Please note the following information could change at any time depending on current health mitigations dictated by the CDC and the Hanover Health Department.

Medications: All medications must be brought to the clinic by a parent/guardian or other adult designated by the parent/guardian during regular school hours. All over-the-counter medications need to be in the original, unopened container with a current expiration date on the bottle. Please limit the size of the bottle to 100 tablets or less. A medication authorization form must be filled out, signed by the parent/guardian, and accompany each medication for each student you may have at our school who will be taking that medication. All prescription medications MUST have a physician-signed document. We accept physician-signed medication authorization forms or signed prescription orders. We cannot use the prescription bottle in place of this document. You can pick up the authorization form in the office over the summer or online under “Forms”.

Illnesses: Please contact the clinic if you believe your child may have or has been diagnosed with any contagious illness. Remember students with a fever of 100.0 degrees or higher may not return until they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of antipyretic medications such as Tylenol, Advil, Aleve, or their generics. Please remind your student that if they become sick during the school day, they need to be evaluated in the clinic prior to contacting a parent to pick them up. If the clinic staff believes your student needs to be sent home, we will call you directly. Only a parent/guardian can pick up a student. If they are not available to come to get the student, they may give permission for another adult to pick up the child. We DO NOT call emergency contacts for pick-ups unless it is a true emergency and reasonable attempts have been made to reach the parent/guardian first.

Attendance: Please call the attendance secretary, Ms. Tompkins, at 804-723-2267 each day your child will be absent. Absentee information does not go through the clinic.

Clinic needs: Hand sanitizer, Tissues, Clorox Wipes, 3-5 ounce cups (Dixie style), paper towels, and small water bottles.

Clinic contact information: Ms. Jennifer Neidlinger, RN -School Nurse can be reached at 804-723-2278 or at jneidlinger@hcps.us between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on school days. Please feel free to leave a message or send an email with any questions or concerns and the nurse will contact you as soon as possible.

Meet Our Front Office Staff!

Mrs. Miller (tsmiller@hcps.us) - Office Manager

Ms. Tompkins (ktompkins@hcps.us) - Attendance Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Seifert (sseifert@hcps.us) - Finance Secretary

Mrs. Douglas (edouglas@hcps.us) - Registrar

Our office staff is happy to help our students and families. Just call 723-2260 to get in touch with one of them or stop by in person.

Greetings from the Registrar, Mrs. Douglas

Please contact our registrar, Mrs. Douglas, if you have a change in your address and/or phone number over the summer.

Phone numbers can be updated by emailing Mrs. Douglas at edouglas@hcps.us.

Address changes will need a scheduled appointment, which can be made for the month of August by calling Mrs. Miller at 804-723-2284. Your new proofs of residency are required for all address changes in PowerSchool. Please see the School Board Approved list below. These items must be original and mailed to your residency.

- You must provide a lease agreement, deed, mortgage statement, or closing documents.
- You must also provide 2 additional items from the list below within 30 days of moving:
  - Current Utility Bill: Land-line telephone, cable, internet, satellite, water, gas/ oil, or electric.
  - Voter Registration Card
  - Current Auto Registration
  - W-2 Tax documentation from the most recent year.
  - Combined bill & receipt for personal property taxes (paid within the current year)
  - Bank statement, medical bill, or official government correspondence dated within the last two months.

Meet our ITC, Mrs. Coyner

Welcome to BCMS, Bulldogs! I am so excited to greet you in the fall! I am Bell Creek’s ITC or Instructional Technology Coach, so you will see me a lot around the building. Unlike elementary school, as a middle school student, you will be issued a Chromebook and charger that you can take home each day to help you with your school work. Access to this device allows teachers to create amazing learning experiences and gives you many opportunities to communicate, collaborate, and create.

Here are some important details related to your assigned Chromebook:

Chromebooks are the property of Hanover County Public Schools. Since you will be borrowing it, you need to make sure you are a safe, respectful, and responsible user.
Chromebooks go home and come back to school every day. Just like a student’s binder or homework, a charged Chromebook is a part of coming to school prepared. Tip: Charge your device next to any personal devices (like cell phones) so you won’t forget to bring it to school.
Make sure you have either a padded case or a safe place in your book bag to store your Chromebook when traveling between home and school.
Chargers that will be sent home with you stay at home. Chromebooks have an excellent battery life, but please make sure the Chromebook gets charged each night. If you lose your charger, the approximate replacement cost is $35.
Please do not put permanent markings, stickers, or labels on the Chromebook. You can put them on the cover that will be provided, but not the Chromebook itself. The device will be reused next year with different students.
Definitely make sure to have a set of headphones/earbuds that PLUG IN for school each day as your teachers may assign videos to watch or projects to create that include sound.

If you have any kind of "issue" with your Chromebook, come visit me in room 123 or Mr. Hostler, our SysOp, in the Technology Support Center in room 156! Otherwise, you can always reach out to me at ccoyner@hcps.us.

See you soon!

Mrs. Coyner

School Supply List

Get Yourself Moving

GYM is more intense in middle school. You will learn and participate in a variety of activities—some you know and some you may not. The emphasis in physical education is team sports, personal fitness, and lifetime activity. We also have health throughout the year where we do projects and create videos! We have real letter grades in Health & PE, not just an S or U. We go outside in all sorts of weather so be sure to be prepared with athletic clothes and good shoes for movement!

Best of all we have GYM every other day!

Gifted Program News

Mrs. Cox

Welcome to middle school! I'm really excited to meet all of you as you join the Bell Creek community. As the middle school GT resource teacher, I will be working with you in a number of capacities. First, I want to dispel one rumor about the gifted program in middle school: whether you take the GT Seminar elective or not, you are still a part of the gifted program—that does not go away! Often students think if they do not take the elective class, they are no longer a part of the gifted program. Once identified, students retain the identification. However, the delivery of services in middle school does change in some ways. Students will still be clustered with other gifted students in their core academic classes. I will collaborate with teachers in the planning process but will not be in all classrooms on a regular basis. This is due to the larger school enrollment and the number of gifted classes. Despite not being in every classroom every day, I'm here to help and support you in any way I can.

I’m looking forward to having many of you join me in the GT Seminar class! This class is all about fostering individual responsibility and teamwork through collaboration, communication, leadership, and developing strong work ethics. Throughout our themed explorations on Discovery & Change, students will engage in simulations and lessons designed to challenge their critical thinking skills. Our class is specifically tailored for gifted learners, integrating knowledge and skills from their core classes and beyond. GT Seminar offers plenty of opportunities for students to make choices and tackle challenging tasks, to enrich their learning experience.

As you have heard in transition events so far, there are many programs for students to participate in as middle school students. Among them are the Saturday programs at the University of Virginia, Saturday programs at the College of William & Mary, and others. At BCMS, we have Reading Olympians, musical and theater productions, sports, clubs, and many contests throughout the year. I encourage you to get involved and be an active part of our school community!

I look forward to meeting you this fall! Watch for dates for Hanover’s High School Expo concerning high school options, including IB/AP, and Maggie Walker Governor’s School. This is for all students and parents of 6-8th graders. It is never too early to find out about high school options.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about gifted programs or middle school in general at mackenziecox@hcps.us.

Mrs. Cox

GT Resource Teacher

Fall Sports Tryouts

Fall sports tryouts begin on Monday, August 26th. You may bring a sports bag with a change of clothes and any equipment you need and leave it in the locker room.

The Fall sports are football, girls' tennis, girls' basketball, cheering, and boys' soccer. Students MUST have an athletic physical on file with the Athletic Department BEFORE they are allowed to tryout. Athletic physicals MUST be dated AND signed by a doctor AFTER May 1, 2024, AND must show proof of insurance. NO student is permitted to tryout until this form is completed. Athletic physicals can be accessed by going to our school athletics page by using the following join code on Schoology: JZ4M-896Q-V66DN

It is recommended that you turn your physical in to the front office BEFORE the first week of school. If you have any questions please contact Mackenzie Cox at mackenziecox@hcps.us.

Beginning String Orchestra

Are you ready to learn how to play a new instrument? Are you ready to have fun and make new friends? If you answered yes, then the Beginning String Orchestra is the place to be! We begin the year by learning how to read music and play our instruments. We continue to develop these skills throughout the year and demonstrate them during our many concerts. We perform at least 4 concerts and enjoy a spring performance trip.

If you have any questions about Beginning Strings, contact me at mhawley@hcps.us.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Mrs. Maureen Hawley

Welcome 6th Grade Beginning Band Members

The BCMS Band is so excited to welcome the new members for the 2024-2025 school year! If you have ever wanted to play an instrument, this is the class for you. No experience is required! We will start from scratch and learn the basics of reading music, and then later, we will apply it to our instruments. By the end of your first year here, you will not only shock your family but also shock yourself with the amount of progress you will make! If you have any band questions, please email me at cjmartin@hcps.us.

Participating in either band, chorus, or strings will benefit you in so MANY ways.

HAVE A GREAT REST OF YOUR SUMMER! SEE YOU SOON!

Mr. Martin

Love to Sing?

If you love to sing, build friendships with your classmates, travel, and have fun new experiences, you’ve come to the right place – we would love to welcome you to the BCMS Chorus team! Students of all levels are welcome in the Chorus Room, whether you’ve loved to sing your whole life or you are wanting to try singing in a group for the very first time. In your first year of choir, you’ll learn how to sing with healthy technique, develop foundations of music theory and history, and you’ll build your confidence as a learner, leader, and musician. Lastly, you’ll have lots of fun! Our choral department presents Winter and Spring Concerts every year and participates in a festival competition in the springtime.

We would absolutely love to see you in Chorus this year! If you have any questions or want to know more, contact Ms. Carter at aicarter@hcps.us. Have a wonderful rest of your summer– we’ll see you very soon!

Ms. Carter

Auditions will be held on Tuesday, August 27, 2024,

3:45 – 5:30 for 6th Graders

and

6:15 – 8:30 for 7th & 8th graders

in the Drama Room.

Callbacks will be held on Wednesday, August 28, 2024,

3:30 – 6:30, in the Drama Room.

Those auditioning MUST bring a completed audition form with them at the time of their audition. Audition forms can be found outside of the drama room and on Schoology [Group Access Code: FDD59-9B59S]

(You WILL NOT be allowed to audition without a completed audition form)

Mrs. Hicks

Theatre Arts Teacher

jbhicks@hcps.us

@ Your Library

Mrs. Carter and Mrs. McClintock, our BCMS Librarians, welcome you to explore the wonderful world of books, ebooks, and audiobooks! You may check out up to four items at once. Books and audiobooks may be borrowed for 2 weeks, and it will be your responsibility to return library materials promptly. The back of all materials will be stamped with a due date, but you don’t have to wait for your teacher to bring you to the library to return materials. You can always drop a book off in our Book Return, located right outside the library along the front hall! If you need to renew an item, just bring it in and we will gladly renew it for you. We will share more library information with you within the first two weeks of school during your language arts class. Until then, enjoy some good books for the remainder of your summer!

Reading Olympians

Sixth graders are welcome and encouraged to join our Reading Olympian program, which is very similar to Reading Olympics in your elementary school. Students are placed on teams and each team has a total of 30 books to read from a variety of nonfiction and fiction genres. Coaches will meet with students on a weekly basis and monitor the progress of the team. In February, teams will compete in a school-wide competition with the top three teams going on to represent BCMS in a county competition. Join in the fun! Listen to the announcements in September and be sure to sign up for Reading Olympians!

Parents, if you would like to volunteer to assist with our Reading Olympian program, e-mail your name and your student’s name to Karen Carter at kcarter@hcps.us. She will contact you in the fall with more information.

Click on the picture above for a list of this year's RO books!

Hola! Bonjour! Guten tag! Salve! Oi!

The World Language Department of Bell Creek Middle School welcomes you to 6th grade!! As a student at BCMS, you will have the opportunity to learn three different languages: German, French, and Spanish! You also have the opportunity of taking World Languages Exploratory. WL Exploratory will take you on a journey around the world, learning a different language each nine weeks. Level one of a language is a high school credit class and will be more rigorous.

We learn about the people who speak these languages, and we focus on spoken communication so expect to be speaking another language! Our classes require daily study outside of class and use of the language as well as organization and responsibility. In WL Exploratory, you will get a taste of each language we offer. In level one, we focus on talking about ourselves and our families; our school day and pastimes; food at school, home, and restaurants; and clothing.

Learning a new language is lots of fun, but we would also like to remind parents that, other than WL Exploratory, World Language classes at Bell Creek count as HIGH SCHOOL credit courses. Please talk with your child and make sure he/she is prepared for the workload and time commitment that go with the responsibility of taking level one in 6th grade. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the World Language Dept. Chair, Maria Stoneman, at mstoneman@hcps.us.

Cafeteria Information

Breakfast and Lunch are available to purchase each day.

Breakfast costs $2.00

Lunch costs $3.50

Students will have the opportunity to buy breakfast between 8:30 & 8:45. We will have designated tables at which students eating breakfast will sit and eat. Students arriving on late buses may purchase breakfast and take it to their 1st block classes.

Lunch is during 3rd block every day, so students will be seated in our cafeteria for lunch by their 3rd block teachers who will show them their assigned tables. All cafeteria expectations will be thoroughly explained on our first day of school, Monday, August 19th.

Students can bring a lunch from home or buy lunch from one of our 2 cafeteria lines. Students purchasing lunch will use their student ID numbers to access their LINQ Connect account. More information on this program and instructions on setting up accounts can be found on the division website. You can add money to your student's account using this link - LINQ Connect.

Stay Connected to Us!

Parents and Guardians: Information is critical, and we want you to be in the know about what is going on at BCMS.

Please be sure you are signed up for our eConnect where we send out weekly school-wide and county messages.
You also need to be plugged in with Schoology (for your child's daily/weekly assignments, assessments, and announcements) as well as PowerSchool (for grades, missing or late work).
Finally, we love to show our community the amazing teaching & learning going on in our busy building each and every day, so be sure to connect with us on any one or more of our social media platforms!

We can't wait to meet you in just a few short weeks!

Go Bulldogs!

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