BHS Welcome Back 2023-24

Dear Berkley High School community,

I hope that this message finds you well as you soak up the remaining days of summer and prepare for the year ahead.  With the 2023-24 school year just a couple of weeks away, I would like to touch base upon a variety items for Berkley High School in the upcoming year:

• Attendance & Drop-off Procedures:
  • Catalpa Drop-Off: For those dropping off their students in the morning from Catalpa Drive, we’d like to ask for your help.  Please be sure to pull as far into the drop-off drive as possible in the morning to avoid backups onto the main street.  We realize that this may require your student to walk a little further, however, the backups are causing an unsafe situation for pedestrians, student drivers and normal through traffic.  Additionally, Berkley Public Safety has asked for our help in this matter.  Your support is greatly appreciated.
  • Late Arrivals: Any student arriving after the school day has started (before school or after lunch) must check in at the main office and use the main entrance.
  • Reporting Absences: All student absences should be reported electronically through MISTAR.  Please follow these steps:
    • Go to the District Website.
    • Click on the three bar dropdown menu in the upper right hand corner.
    • Go to MISTAR Parent Portal and login.
    • Once logged in you will see on the top right hand side a button that says "Report Absence".  Click this to easily save time by adding in your students' tardiness or absence.
    • Exit Passes: Parents may also request exit passes to leave school early by following the same procedure.  Please be sure to put a note with the time of requested departure.  Students receiving exit passes must check out at the main office with Mrs. Watson prior to exiting the building.

• Back-to-School Packets: Thank you for your patience as the back-to-school packets are now ready to be filled out through the MISTAR Parent Portal.  The packets should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete and are due by Friday, September 8.

• Bell Times and Class Schedule: Our bell schedule remains unchanged.  Here are those bell times:
  • Daily Class Schedule
    • 1st Hour: 8:20-9:20
    • 2nd Hour: 9:25-10:25
    • 3rd Hour: 10:30-11:30
    • 4th Hour: 11:35-12:40
    • Lunch: 12:40-1:25
    • 5th Hour: 1:25-2:25
    • 6th Hour: 2:30-3:30
  • ½ Day Schedule
    • 1st Hour: 8:20-8:48
    • 2nd Hour: 8:53-9:21
    • 3rd Hour: 9:26-9:54
    • 4th Hour: 9:59-10:29
    • 5th Hour: 10:34-11:02
    • 6th Hour: 11:07-11:35
  • CASA
    • Bell Times
      • A-Hour: 12:15-1:10
      • B-Hour: 1:15-2:10
      • C-Hour: 2:15-3:10
    • New Location: CASA has moved for the 2023-24 school year.  The new address for CASA is: Nova Academy, 22180 Parklawn St., Oak Park, MI 48237.  The phone number for CASA remains the same: 248-586-8860.
    • CASA Bus: The CASA bus leaves at 12:55 PM and picks up students on Sunnyknoll (outside of the senior doors).  Additionally, students who have a CASA B-Hour, will be released from their 4th hour BHS class at 12:30 PM so that they have a chance to eat lunch before arriving at CASA.
  • OSTC
    • AM Session: 7:50-10:20
      • Bus leaves at 7:25 AM from Catalpa.
    • PM Session: 12:00-2:30
      • Bus leaves at 11:25 AM from Catalpa.
      • PM OSTC Students will be released from their 4th hour class at 11:20 AM so that they have a chance to eat lunch before leaving for OSTC.
    • First Day: The first day for OSTC is on Tuesday, September 5.  Therefore, students enrolled in AM OSTC or PM OSTC will only report to their BHS classes this week.  Students are expected to leave campus this week during the times they do not have OSTC (i.e. AM OSTC students during periods 1-3 and PM OSTC students during period 4-6).
    • OSTC Transportation Calendar

• Freshman Orientation: Freshman orientation will begin at 10:00 AM on Monday, August 21 in the auditorium.  Prior to orientation on Monday morning, we recommend that all freshmen log into MISTAR and take a screenshot of their schedule with their phones.  Part of their orientation will be a building tour and, therefore, the screenshot will be a handy reference for them to learn the location of their classes.  At the end of orientation, freshmen will be served a light lunch and should be ready for pickup in the Courtyard around 12:30 PM.

• Lunch: BHS has an open campus for all students during the lunch period (12:40-1:25 PM). 
  • Off Campus: Students who leave campus are still expected to be responsible and to make good decisions during this time as the student code of conduct still applies.  Additionally, students are expected to manage their time properly so that they return on time for their 5th hour class.
  • On Campus: Students remaining on campus for lunch may only eat in designated areas unless they have permission from a BHS staff member.  Those areas include the cafeteria, the collaborative center and the courtyard.
  • Food Deliveries: Students are not permitted to have food delivered to BHS at any time (e.g. DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, etc.).  This is a safety and security concern and, therefore, all deliveries will be held in the office by an administrator until after the school day has completed.
  • Free Lunch: Thanks to the passing of the state’s school aid budget, all lunches and breakfast will be free to all students throughout the school year.

• New Staff: BHS will be welcoming a few new faces to the staff in the upcoming year.
  • Administration:
    • Meredith Julius, Assistant Principal: Mrs. Julius, our former School Psychologist and Administrative Intern, will be joining the Administrative team, overseeing students with last names L-Z.
  • Teaching Staff:
    • Jennifer Bell, Speech Pathologist: Ms. Bell is joining the Special Education department.
    • Matthew Breen, Computer Science Teacher: Mr. Breen is teaching AP Computer Science Principles.
    • Emily Gates, Social Worker: Ms. Gates is joining the Special Education department.
    • Frank Guglielmetti, Science Teacher: Mr. Guglielmetti is teaching Biology, Astronomy and Environmental Science.
    • Madison Horvath, Math Teacher: Ms. Horvath is teaching Algebra 1 and Algebra Support.
    • Kaleb Klein, Health & PE Teacher: Mr. Klein is Health and PE Foundations.
    • Kristy Magy, English Teacher: Mrs. Magy is teaching English 9 and English 11.
    • Logan Nadolski, Social Studies Teacher: Mr. Nadolski is teaching US History, Government and Economics.
    • Amanda Pollak, Social Worker: Ms. Pollak is joining the Special Education department.
    • Cheyenne Serrato, Art Teacher: Ms. Serrato is teaching Drawing & Painting, Jewelry & Metals and Ceramics.
    • Nathan Thomson, ASD Teacher: Mr. Thomson is teaching Life Skills, Work Skills and Resource Room classes.
  • Support Staff:
    • Shavon Bethel, Paraeducator: Mr. Bethel is joining the hall monitor team.
    • Lindsey Murray, Paraeducator: Ms. Murray is joining the classroom paraeducator team.
    • Rondall Owens, Paraeducator: Mr. Owens is rejoining the team at BHS as a classroom paraeducator.

• Parking: 11th and 12th grade students who are interested in purchasing a parking pass for the upcoming school year must fill out the Student Parking Permit Request Form.  Once the form is filled out, administration will communicate a timeline and process for purchasing a pass.  Parking passes will be $40 and will only be issued to students with an active driver’s license.  For a full list of BHS parking rules and regulations, please visit this link.  Any questions regarding the parking permit process can reach out to the Assistant Principal, Meredith Julius (meredith.julius@berkleyschools.org).

• Picture Day: Picture day is on Tuesday, August 29, during the school day.  At that time students will receive a school ID.  You can pre-order your pictures by clicking this link and using the following Picture Day ID: EVT3XNDVD.  The makeup picture day will be on Tuesday, October 10.

• PTA: Please consider joining the Berkley High School PTA.  Your membership dues go directly back into the school and support the wonderful work that these folks do year in and year out.  Membership is made easy via the PTA membership website.  Additionally, please consider joining us for the first meeting of the year on Tuesday, August 29, at 7 PM in the Library Media Center (2nd floor).  Our other PTA meetings for the 2023-24 school year will be as follows (all at 7 PM in the LMC): October 17, January 23, March 19, April 16.  We look forward to seeing you there.

• Schedules in MISTAR: All students schedules will be viewable by logging into MISTAR on Monday, August 22.
  • Students should be checking MISTAR (not Schoology or Remind) for the most up to date and accurate schedule.
  • If students feel there is an error with their schedule, they may fill out a Schedule Change Request by clicking this link. Upon completion of the request, their counselor will update their schedule or contact them via email.  Please be sure to check your email and be patient as it will take time for counselors to work through all of the requests received.  The deadline to make any schedule changes is Thursday, August 31.
  • Please note that as in past years, teacher changes and requests will not be honored.  Only students with missing classes, incorrect classes or conflicts in their schedule may request a change.

• School Event Calendars: All of our events are posted on the District calendar (subscribable) and will also be included in the hard copy of the calendar that comes through your mail.  Additionally, we create a couple of BHS-specific calendars that are printable:
  • BHS Event Calendar
  • BHS Student Calendar

• Technology Items:
  • District Device Checkout: BSD is a 1:1 District and every BHS student is expected to have a device with them at school each day.  As in years past, students are welcome to use their own personal device.  Additionally, students are welcome to check out a District device.  If your student does not have a District device and would like to check one out, they may do so in the Library Media Center during the first couple weeks of school.  If their currently issued District device is having technical issues, you may also see our LMC Specialist during the first few weeks of school to either troubleshoot or exchange the device.
  • District Device Care and Usage:
    • Please be sure to review the District Device Care and Usage document regarding all District devices.
    • If you have a district issued device, please be sure to open it, login and run updates.  Students will be utilizing their district devices for our state-mandated standardized testing this year.  Therefore, please take a moment to run these important updates.
  • Power Cords: Since BHS students bring their devices to school each day, it is also expected that students bring their chargers with them as well.  Last year we had a number of students whose device lost power in the middle of an assignment and, unfortunately, resulted in lost work and stress.  Therefore, we’re hopeful that their chargers become one of the items they routinely bring each day.
  • Tech Issues: If you are experiencing technical difficulties with your District issued device, here are some ways in which you can get some support and troubleshoot.
    • BSD Tech Help Website
    • Power Washing: The number one fix for a student Device that was having issues last year was to perform a simple “reset” which is called a Power Wash.  It is a quick and easy way to solve most problems on a Chromebook.  Here is a short article on how to perform a quick power wash.

• Saturdays for Success & BAAPN: The Berkley African American Parent Network is a parent run organization that works in partnership with the Berkley School District and Oakland County Schools.  Their kickoff meeting will be on Monday, September 18 at 6:30 PM at Anderson Middle School.  Their regular meetings are at 7:00 PM at Norup on the following dates: October 16, November 20, December 18, January 15, February 12, March 18, April 15 and May 20.  All families are welcome to attend.
  • Saturdays for Success: S4S is a program designed to help all Berkley students have a successful K-12 academic experience by providing educational opportunities in literacy and math, and developing study practices that will ensure long term success.  If you are interested in registering your child, please use this link.

• School Logins: Now is the perfect time for students to log into their school accounts (remember, your Gmail, Schoology & MISTAR are all the same) to make sure they remember their credentials.  If you are having trouble with your passwords, please follow the “forgot password” prompts to reset it.
  • New Students: If you are new to the Berkley School District this year, please be sure to log into your Google account first.  This will then allow you to log into MISTAR, Schoology and Remind.

As always, I realize that this welcome back email contains a lot of details and information.  Therefore, I appreciate you taking the time to read through and digest it as you prepare for the year ahead.  If I can press my luck a little further, I’m hoping that you can keep reading for just a little bit longer.

Shortly after school got out last year, the madness of my summer travel schedule began when I was fortunate enough to chaperone a school trip to Thailand.  Upon my return, I had a couple days at home before joining my administrative team in Denver, Colorado, for the National Association of Secondary Schools Principal’s (NASSP) Ignite Conference.  I then went directly to Lake Lure, North Carolina, to join my wife’s family for a week in the mountains before returning home with just a short amount of time before my own family vacation in Cheboygan, Michigan.  As I was driving back from northern Michigan last week, I couldn’t believe how quickly the time seemed to have gone.  Additionally, I started to tally up the number of nights I slept in my own bed this summer.  Shockingly, that number barely surpassed ten total days.

Last week, therefore, when I headed back into work I really wasn’t quite sure how I’d feel about it.   Typically, I’m in and out of school many times during the summer months as I conduct interviews, make hires, drop off things or simply meet with various folks.  Due to my travels this past summer, however, that simply wasn’t possible.  And while I feel incredibly fortunate to have had these opportunities, I was slightly worried that my time away would have caused me to miss out on something or feel some sense of dread in my return.  Of course, as always, I quickly realized that I had nothing to worry about.

The moment I stepped one foot into BHS, I was filled with a sense of comfort, support and reassurance.  Yes, I will admit that it was a bit of an odd feeling to have been away for so long.  That being said, certain places exude a feeling of home and togetherness and it felt more like I was catching up with an old friend or family member that I hadn’t seen in a while.  Just as it goes with old friends and family members, you quickly remember the ties that bind you and the reason you choose to share each other’s company.

Now, I know that some students may be dreading the end of their summer and the beginning of the school year.  However, I’m also hopeful that the moment they step into our hallways they will soon realize (9th graders) or remember (10th through 12th graders) that they are a part of the community that is BHS.  I hope that they, too, feel the same sense of comfort that I felt because they are part of a community that cares for one another.  They are a part of a community that accepts and includes them.  They are a part of a community that is dedicated to always pushing each other to become better.  

One piece of advice I’d like to share with everyone is in the form of a graphic from one of my favorite comedians, Demetri Martin.  I’ve gone back to this graphic many times throughout my career as it has always helped to keep me focused on long-term goals as I experience short-term setbacks.  For the BHS students going into this school year, I think that the title of this illustration could very easily read “Path to a Successful School Year at BHS.”  Please remember that you will have ups and you will have downs.  When you are facing those downs, be sure to look around you for support and guidance.  The staff of BHS is the finest group of individuals I have ever known.  They care about you as people and are here to help you become the best possible version of yourself.  I’d also like to ask that, when experiencing those ups, always be looking for ways to support those around you.  Like I mentioned earlier, we are all in this together and communities support each other through thick and thin.

As always, I’m eternally proud to lead this school and this community and am incredibly excited for the upcoming school year.  BHS is a special place and, together, we will only make it more special.  I thank you for being a part of this community and look forward to an incredible 2023-24 school year.  Go bears!

Take care,

Andy Meloche

Principal