Bay Lane Middle School
September, 2015
Bobcat News 2015-2016
Special points of interest:



The school day hours are
8:05 a.m. to 3:05 p.m.
Student Attendance,
please call (262) 9711810 press 2 and leave a
message on the attendance line.
Parent Pick-up and Drop
Off is in the back of the
building. Students can
enter the building at 7:55
a.m.
Mark your
Calendar
Friday, September 11
Grade 5 Field Trip
Indian Summer Festival
Tuesday, September 15
Picture Make-up Day
Friday, September 18
Teen Center Grades 5-7
Bay Lane 7:00-9:00PM
Monday, September 21
PTO Meeting
6:30 PM BLMS Library
Principal’s Corner
Dear BL Parents and Guardians,
The 2015-16 School Year is off to a great start and we have six days under our belt here at school, the
busses have been arriving and leaving on time, and we only had one indoor recess thus far! These are
definitely milestones at the middle school.
The teachers have been working with the students to welcome them back to school, build rapport, and
establish strong relationships with them for this year of learning. Teachers have used the Bay Lane
Behavior Matrix, page 6 of this newsletter, to help students understand the expectations of how to be
respectful, be responsible, and be a community within all settings of our school. I must share that in
my three years here at Bay Lane this has been the smoothest and seamless we have had due to the consistency of these expectations. Kudos to all of the teachers for making a difference for all students at
school.
This week and next week students will be assessed using an online system called STAR. You received
a letter explaining this in greater detail. The teachers, school and district will use this information to
monitor student learning throughout the year. This universal tool allows us to meet the needs of all
students by understanding their current level and how we can assure they all experience at least one
year of growth.
On Monday, September 21, 6:30-7:30 pm the first PTO Meeting of the year will be held in the BL library. I hope you will plan to join us. The PTO is looking to expand participation. At this meeting, I
will be asking parents for ideas of topics that could be presented at future meetings. We want to make
the PTO meeting informative for all who attend. Just an FYI, these meetings always end on time!!!
Ms. Rydzewski, Associate Principal, and I will be reaching out to all of you during a variety of parent
events to learn more about how we can help you to know who we are and how we can help you with
your students' experience here at Bay Lane. We want you to approach us and let us know if there is
anything that will help you to feel a welcome part of Bay Lane School.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, your family and child during their middle level years at
Bay Lane School!
Sincerely,
Monday, September 28
NO SCHOOL
Professional Development
Day
Parent Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, October 21 &
Thursday October 22
More Information Coming
Soon!
Mrs. Dawn Zandt
Bobcat News 2015-2016
District News
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Bobcat News 2015-2016
Welcome Ms. Rydzewski
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Pupil Services News
Hello from your Pupil Services Staff!
Welcome to the 2015-16 Bay Lane Bobcat school year!! It is great to see all of the familiar faces and some new faces as well. We
would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to you.
School Psychologist– Stacey Malek
262-971-1810 x 6217 [email protected]
Stacey Malek is the school psychologist at Bay Lane Middle School and Country Meadows Elementary School. Prior to joining the
Muskego-Norway School District, she was a school psychologist in the School District of New Berlin for 8 years, where she advised
Ecology Club and helped to create/co-chair their Outdoor Classroom. Prior to becoming a school psych, Stacey worked for UWHospital & Clinics as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Neurology Department, where she worked with patients diagnosed with
ALS and chronic pain. During that time, she also worked as a line therapist through Integrated Development Services, where she
enjoyed her time working with children on the Autism Spectrum. She earned her Education Specialist degree from UW-Whitewater
and her Bachelor's from UW-Madison where she majored in Psychology.
School Counselor– Janine Hake
262-971-1810 x 6218 [email protected]
.Janine Hake is the school counselor at Bay Lane Middle School. She is returning staff member at Bay Lane after fourteen years
during which she was a counselor at Lake Denoon Middle School and a Social Studies teacher at Muskego High School. Prior to
that Janine worked for the Janesville School District, Milwaukee Public Schools, and the Springfield School District in Springfield,
Colorado. Janine earned her Bachelors degree and Masters degree at UW-Whitewater. Her Bachelors degree was in Secondary Education in Broad Field Social Studies with a Psychology Emphasis and a Sociology minor. She earned her Masters degree in K-12
School Counseling. Recently Janine received her administrative and curriculum licenses. Janine is excited to be back in counseling
and working with students, staff, and families at the middle school level. Personally, Janine has four children, ages 22-14, a golden
retriever, and a goldfish that likes to jump out of his tank.
School Social Worker– Jennifer Gigl
262-971-1810 x 6216 [email protected]
Jennifer Gigl is the school social worker at Bay Lane Middle School. Jen also works at Muskego High School, Muskego Elementary
School, and Country Meadows Elementary School. Jen earned her Bachelor in Social Work degree at UW-Eau Claire and her Master
in Science and Social Work degree at UW-Madison. Jen started out her career working in the Boston Public Schools for four years,
she then moved back to Milwaukee and worked in another district for 7 years, and has been with the Muskego Norway School District for 4 years.
What We Do:
Our mission is to promote academic, personal, and social/emotional development. We empower all students to become responsible
citizens and life-long learners so that they may all have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
We promote a healthy self-concept, decision-making skills, career exploration, and academic achievement for all students. We encourage personal, academic, and social/emotional growth by helping students build strong relationships with teachers, administrators, and other school personnel, as well as bridge communication and student support between home and school.
We are also an integral part in the development and implementation of academic and behavioral programming so that all students
learn, grow, and succeed.
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Cross Country
Health Room
ATTENTION PARENTS OF 6TH GRADE STUDENTS:
Changes in the Wisconsin Student Immunization Law now require a dose of Tdap vaccine in all students entering
6th grade. Parents are required to have their children vaccinated or claim a waiver. If your child has
been immunized and you have not turned the date of the Tdap immunization into the Bay Lane Office, please do
so at this time. If your child has not been immunized, please contact the Bay Lane Health Office at 262-9711810 EX. 6225 informing them of the date that your child is scheduled to receive the Tdap immunization.
Thank you for your cooperation.
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Respectful, Responsible & Community
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Featured Class: 5th Grade
Bay Lane welcomed close to 200 new fifth grade Bobcats to their hallways this September. An eager group of fifth
graders are greeted in the morning by their fifth grade teachers: Mrs. Warr, Mrs. Wesling, Mrs. Schmidt, Mrs.
Staniszewski, Mrs. Reedy, Mrs. Kloc and Mrs. Demolas. Fifth graders have been busy adjusting to life at the middle
school and have been enjoying their lockers, lunches and meeting new friends. Their first unit of study for Social Studies is Native Americans and all fifth graders will experience Native American culture first hand at Indian Summer on
Friday, Sept.11th. Students have also been actively learning about how to pick “just right” books and are beginning to
develop ideas for a personal narrative story. Parents can encourage daily reading and support the writing process at
school by talking about “remember when you….” In math and science, fifth graders are busy changing variables in science and learning how to work as teams. For Math, students are looking at reading and writing big numbers. They
have all been busy using their chromebooks, too.
Welcome to all of the returning families and new families to Bay Lane. Please make sure to contact your child’s fifth
grade teacher with any questions or concerns you may have. We are here to make the transition to middle school as
smooth as possible. We look forward to every student learning, growing, and succeeding.!
Raptor Check In System at Bay Lane
Muskego-Norway Schools, in the interest of keeping our children safe, is implementing the V-Soft Raptor visitor management system (commonly called Raptor). Raptor enables schools to produce visitor badges, monitor volunteer
hours, and electronically check all visitors against registered sexual offender databases. The overall goal of this system
is to increase the safety of our schools. Parent involvement is a key component to student success in school. We value
your participation in your child’s education and seek to accommodate all visitors safely into our facilities. If you have
any questions or concerns, please contact the Bay Lane office or one of the principal’s at (262)971-1810.
Bus Information
Bus Notes: Students will not be permitted to call home to get permission to ride an alternate bus route. It is mandatory that the student bring in a signed note from home with permission from parent/guardian. This note should be
dropped off at the beginning of the day in the "Bus Note" basket at the Bay Lane front doors. They will pick up an
approved bus pass from the same basket during lunch or at the end of the day. Bus notes will not be accepted after
2:30pm. Students will be approved depending on seat availability.
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