April 18, 2019
LIKE & FOLLOW: Check out the new BSD2 Facebook page!

We’ve rebuilt the District's Facebook page due to "technical difficulties” we’ve experienced over the past year with our previous page. 

Now we must rebuild our list of Facebook followers. 

If social media is your thing, we’d love it if you’d visit the new page, click the “like” button, and follow our postings to keep up with the latest BSD2 News. 


Or just search for “Bensenville School District 2” in Facebook. 

You’ll know you’re where you belong when you're on a page with the “You Belong @BSD2”  profile photo shown above.

There will also be a gray check mark next to its name to indicate it is our new, verified Bensenville School District 2 Facebook page. 
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: BSD2 Board approves official 2019-20 school calendar
The District 2 Board of Education approved the official 2019-20 school calendar during its March 20 meeting.

Key dates are as follows:

  • Beginning of the School Year: Classes will begin on Wednesday, August 14. District and Teacher Institute Days are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, August 12 and 13.
  • Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday, November 28. There will be no school that week, but Teacher Institute Days are scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, November 25 and 26.
  • Winter Break: There will be no school from Monday, December 23, through Friday, January 3, with classes reconvening Monday, January 6. 
  • Spring Break: There will be no school Monday, March 30, through Friday, April 3, with schools reopening Monday, April 6.
  • End of the School Year: The last day of school will be Friday, May 22, unless emergency days are needed.

GET REGISTERED:  Go online and register your child for the 2019-20 school year
The online registration window for returning BSD2 students closes on Friday, April 19.

Login information and detailed instructions for registering your child for the 2019-20 school year was sent home Friday, April 5. You can also get this information by contacting your child’s school.
 
The online registration portal can be found on the District 2 website, www.bsd2.org , along with resources to assist you and answer any questions you may have. 


Computers at the Bensenville Community Public Library offer free Internet access.

Students’ take-home Chromebooks (Grades 6-8) can access the online registration portal wherever you find wireless Internet (Wi-Fi).
SMART SUMMER FUN: District 2’s STEM Camps will offer exciting learning opportunities for students this summer.
Registration forms must be submitted along with a $25 non-refundable registration fee by Friday, April 26.

Space in each program is limited, and seats will go fast!

For more information, contact Valerie DiFresco, Summer School Administrator, at 630-766-5940, ext. 1123 or   vdifresco@bsd2.org  .
 
STEM Camps
Explore! Build! Create! Students in Grades 2-7 can develop their creative problem-solving skills through a variety of different one-week camps filled with fun, hands-on activities designed to spark students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.


2019 STEM Camp 1
  • Dates: June 10-14 
  • Hours: 8-10:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. 
  • Costs: $25
  • Grades: 2-4
  • Location: Blackhawk Middle School, 250 S. Church Road, Bensenville 

2019 STEM Camp 2
  • Dates: June 17-21 
  • Hours: 8-10:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. 
  • Costs: $25
  • Grades: 5-7
  • Location: Blackhawk Middle School, 250 S. Church Road, Bensenville 

DISTRICT 2 WANTS YOU: Help grow our community schools model, increase parent engagement, and enhance our communication systems.
Bensenville School District 2 is continuing to build on the successful launch of its community schools program.

One of the next steps in that effort is identifying caring, committed, community-minded individuals -- parents, students, teachers, and staff from all three of our schools, as well as civic and business leaders from the greater BSD2 community -- to serve on two new executive committees.

These committees will meet three to four times a year throughout the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, and will advise the District on matters relating to community engagement, parent education, and the future of the District’s community schools program.

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS COMMITTEE

This group will review and assess the current initiatives implemented to support the District’s new community schools model. It will identify gaps between the model’s current state and recommended best practices for community schools, and it will create specific recommendations to close those gaps and improve the community schools model in District 2.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

This group will help develop a creative new approach to maximize parent engagement in BSD2 schools, focusing in particular on ways to provide continuous parent education opportunities. It will also explore ways to enhance the District’s school-community communication systems, including the District’s revamped website, its newsletter format and content, its social media presence, and other forms of proactive external communication.

INTERESTED?

Sound like exciting opportunities to positively impact District 2’s direction related to these important strategic initiatives? Contact Tim Waldorf, Community Relations Coordinator, at 630-766-5940 ext. 1122 or twaldorf@bsd2.org  to express your interest in serving on these committees, and/or plan on attending an introductory meeting on Wednesday, May 22 , at 6 p.m. at the Educational Administration Center located at 210 S. Church Road in Bensenville.
EARTH DAY:  Join the BMS Eighth-Grade Hawks for Bensenville’s community-wide celebration on April 27
To celebrate Earth Day, the Village of Bensenville, Bensenville Community Public Library, Bensenville Park District, Bensenville School District 2, and Fenton High School are partnering to sponsor a variety of events around the community on Saturday, April 27.

Neighborhood Beautification:  9-11:30 a.m.; free T-shirt and lunch

Join us to celebrate Mother Earth at our second annual village-wide cleanup! Give back to your community while helping beautify our local parks and spaces.

You can represent Bensenville School District 2 by joining the BMS Eighth Grade Hawks in participating in a “trash scavenger hunt” and clothes drive at Blackhawk Middle School.

Or you can participate in a variety of other events around the community. 

The morning will end with a tree planting ceremony and free lunch for all volunteers at Fischer Farm.

Registrations for all locations are being taken at the Deer Grove Leisure Center through April 26. At registration, please supply size(s) for your complimentary volunteer T-shirt.
DOLLARS & SENSE: Inland Home Mortgage offering May 2 financial workshop for BSD2 families
RSVPs are coming in fast! Please reserve your spot now!

District 2 is partnering with Inland Home Mortgage to present a financial workshop for BSD2 families on Thursday, May 2. 

  • Inland's "Financial Baby Steps for Any Age" presentation will offer informative discussions on such topics as:
  • Learning how to build, repair, and freeze your credit.
  • Learning how to save for your children's college tuition.
  • Finding out simple steps to save for retirement.
  • Learning how to purchase a home with no money down.
  • Learning what a competitive interest rate is.

Inland will present "Financial Baby Steps for Any Age" twice on May 2 -- first in Spanish from 5:30-6:15 p.m., then in English from 6:45-7:30 p.m. Both presentation will be held in the auditorium at Blackhawk Middle School, located 250 S. Church Road in Bensenville.

Babysitting will be provided. 

Please RSVP to Lara Schwarz, District 2 Community Liaison, at 630-766-2605 ext. 3202 or  lschwarz@bsd2.org .

AUTHOR VISIT:  Award-winning author
Matt de la Peña is coming to Bensenville
On Wednesday, May 8, award-winning author Matt de la Peña will discuss his books and his career as an author when he visits Bensenville Community Public Library and Tioga and W.A. Johnson Schools.

Mr. de la Peña is the author of such popular young adult novels as  Ball Don't Lie ,  Mexican Whiteboy ,  We Were Here , and the  Infinity Ring series. He has also written several popular picture books, including  Last Stop on Market Street ,  Miguel and the Grand Harmony , and his latest offering,  Carmella Full of Wishes .  

Mr. de la Peña will visit students at Tioga and W.A. Johnson Schools during the school day on May 8.

Then, that evening, he will make a free public appearance at 6:30 p.m. at Bensenville Community Public Library. 

The first 15 children in line for his library visit will receive a free, autographed copy of  Carmela Full of Wishes . A limited number of copies will also be available for purchase.

Book autographs will end at precisely 8 p.m. Free copies and author autographs are available on a first-come, first-served basis the evening of the event.

Mr. de la Peña's visit is sponsored by the Bensenville Arts Council, Bensenville Community Public Library, and Bensenville School District 2.

FUN FOR ALL AGES:  Bensenville Spring Carnival to offer carnival rides, midway games, food vendors, live music, and more!
The Bensenville Spring Carnival will be held May 16-19 at the Deer Grove Leisure Center, 1000 W. Wood Street.

In addition to the carnival rides and midway games this event has offered since 2012, the Bensenville Spring Carnival will offer an assortment of food vendors, a beverage tent, and a variety of live music and entertainment offerings.
This year, the carnival’s hours of operation will be …

  • Thursday, May 16: 3:30-10 p.m.
  • Friday, May 17: 3:30-11 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 18: noon-11 p.m.
  • Sunday, May 19: 12:30-8 p.m. (10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. -- free, exclusive time for children and adults with disabilities and their families)

Unlimited ride wristbands will cost $30 a day and can be purchased along with individual tickets at the carnival.
SAVE BIG WITH A MEGA PASS!

Mega Pass wristbands cost $50 if purchased by Thursday, May 9, or $60 at the gate, and provide unlimited rides for all four days of the carnival.

Or purchase your Mega Pass wristband at any of the following locations:

  • Bensenville Park District, 1000 W. Wood Street
  • Bensenville Community Public Library, 200 S. Church Road
  • Village of Bensenville, 12 S. Center Street
  • Bensenville School District 2, 210 S. Church Street
  • Fenton High School, 1000 W. Green Street

For more information, contact Cindy Snyder at 630-766-5940 ext. 1108 or  csnyder@bsd2.org .
WORKING: Don't miss Fenton's spring musical
Fenton High School will perform Working , a musical based on the book by Studs Terkel, on April 25-27.

Working tells the stories of various workers through interviews that paint a vivid portrait of the men and women that the world so often takes for granted: the school teacher, the phone operator, the waitress, the mill worker, the mason and the housewife, just to name a few.

Nominated for six Tony Awards, this classic has been updated for a modern age, featuring new songs by Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as favorites by Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia and James Taylor.

Bensenville School District 2
210 S. Church Street
Bensenville, IL 60106
 630-766-5940