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Inside Billings
September 4, 2025
| | 🎒 What's Happening at Billings? 📚 | | |
We hope you had a restful and joyful summer. As we step into a fresh school year, we’re excited to welcome our new families and give a warm welcome back to our returning community.
The iNews is your weekly source for everything happening at Billings — from important dates and announcements to student learning in action and community highlights. Be sure to check in each week so you don’t miss a thing!
Here’s to a fantastic year of learning, growth, and connection!
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Mike on the Mic 🎤
We had an excellent first day of school yesterday, full of joy and enthusiasm! We look forward to seeing you at the All School Potluck Picnic tonight from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at Hamlin Park in Shoreline.
It was wonderful to connect with so many families during orientation on Tuesday. Whether you are new or returning to Billings, we know that there are lots of new procedures to learn for both students and families. We encourage all families to revisit the information we presented in the Orientation Presentation.
We have made a number of important updates to the Billings Student-Family Handbook this year and we will be reviewing the handbook with students in the first week of school. We also strongly encourage all families to review the handbook to be familiar with important policies and expectations, especially the policies in the first few pages of every student’s planner.
Please join us each week for Billings Spirit Fridays, where students, staff, and families can show their Billings pride by wearing blue and green and/or Billings apparel. We’re excited to share our online Billings Apparel Store where you can order all kinds of spirit wear/gear. You can also find a link to our Billings store on our website under the Student Life header. For families, we have coffee outside every Friday morning starting at 8:00 am to build on-going connection and answer any questions on your mind.
Finally, a reminder that we have our first Billings Family Association meeting this Friday (tomorrow) at 8:30 am.
Thank you for your support,
Mike
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🍎 Lovely Lunches 🥪
We are excited to partner with Lovely Lunches as an option to make the school day a little easier for you. If you are interested, families can make an account to order lunches directly from Lovely Lunches using an online system called Boonli. You can find information about our lunch program here or on the Billings website under the Student Life header.
Meals are prepared in a nut-free facility using as many local and organic products as possible. All lunches are served with a main entrée with a side including a grain, bread, crackers or pasta, along with fresh fruit and a vegetable side. An extra entrée may be ordered if you would like. The typical lunch price is approximately $7.50, and a sample menu can be previewed here.
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We were so pleased to welcome students back to school on Tuesday and to see and hear about the changes and experiences they’ve had since we last saw them! While teachers have been in the building for the past two weeks and preparing their classrooms and lesson plans, they’ve been particularly excited about collaborating across departments to create experiences that offer students multiple ways to learn and apply their knowledge.
Next week we will be holding a Club Fair for students to get a sense of what we will be offering this fall! Students can stop by booths to learn about clubs like Yearbook, Band, Children’s Hospital Research Project, and several more!
April
Dean of Academics
8th Grade Parent
High School Information Session
Rob, our Dean of Student Life, will be holding a parent information session for 8th grade families about the high school application process at Billings on 9/9 from 5:30-6:30pm. This will be a virtual event, so please save this Zoom link. We will discuss different high school options and talk through the steps that Billings takes to support 8th graders as they prepare for this transition.
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Dear Billings Families,
Welcome back to school! I hope you had a wonderful summer break filled with quality time together. As always, our Billings faculty and staff are thrilled to have your students back on campus—our hallways are once again filled with happy chatter.
I’d like to share a few important admissions updates and upcoming event dates. Our Community and Sibling Application is now live in Ravenna, and applications are due by December 8, 2025. If you have any questions about the application process, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly via email. As a reminder, Billings offers rolling admissions and we are still accepting applications for the current school year.
Admissions Events:
This fall, Billings will be hosting two Open Houses. We encourage you to invite friends and family to come visit—your referrals help us reach more prospective families! If you're interested in volunteering at one of the events, I would love to hear from you.
· Wednesday, October 15, 2025 | 5:30–7:30 PM
· Saturday, November 15, 2025 | 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
We have invited Lisa Merrill (portfolio) to be on campus again this year and she will be taking candid photos throughout the morning of September 10.
Billings Middle School uses mission-appropriate images of students, parents, and faculty members to celebrate our community and the wonderful learning experiences we offer your children. Images are used for our website, print, and digital engagement including our social media channels. BMS does not publish the names of individual students on any marketing platforms. Please complete the media release form before September 10th.
We look forward to seeing you on campus and appreciate your continued support of the Billings community.
Stephanie
Director of Admissions
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🖥️Business Office💼
We are excited to announce that we’ve transitioned from the SSS platform to Clarity for our Tuition Assistance applications. Please visit the website for detailed instructions on how to set up your Clarity account HERE.
We will also be using the Clarity system for Enrollment Contracts and Billing. Clarity offers a more streamlined, mobile-friendly platform for families. Please note, the tuition assistance application deadline for both new and returning families is February 1, 2026.
All 2026-2027 Enrollment Contracts and Billing will be digitally received from the Clarity system whether or not you have applied for tuition assistance. For any questions, please contact our Business Manager, Brian Kutzera.
| | Billings Family Association | | |
Every week, check out this section for the latest news on upcoming events and announcements from the Billings Family Association!
Got BFA Questions? Ask Them at Tonight’s All-School Picnic!
BFA Chair Laurie Alexander will be roaming around, wearing a lei at tonight’s picnic. Come say hi, and ask her all your burning questions about the BFA!
BFA Meeting This Friday 8:30-9:00am
This year, we are tagging our monthly BFA meetings onto Friday morning coffee. Come for the camaraderie and tasty coffee (Thank you, 7th-grade parent Mike Jenness!). Stay to hear about upcoming school and BFA events!
Family Camping Trip on October 3-5
Please join us for a family camping trip at nearby Dash Point State Park from October 3–5, 2025. Plan to stay for the whole weekend or stop by for daytime activities or an evening potluck. This is a parent-organized event, and all Billings families are welcome. Check out this link for details, including how to reserve your campsite.
Neurodiversity Affinity Group Signup
If you’d like to join Billings’ Neurodiversity Affinity Group for parents and caregivers of neurodiverse children, please sign up here. The group meets online in October, January, and April. In between meetings, members exchange questions and share resources via an online message board.
Learn about Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
If you haven’t yet completed the Volunteer Interest Form, please check it out to learn about ways to get involved with the school this year.
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Upcoming Events: 📅
- All School Picnic: September 4, 5:30-7:00 pm at Hamlin Park
- BFA All Families Meeting - September 5, 8:30-9:30am
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8th Grade Parent High School Information Session: September 9, 5:30-6:30pm
- Convocation: September 12, 10:00 am-12:00 pm
- Curriculum Night: September 17, 6:00-8:00 pm
- 8th Grade FLO Trip: September 24-26
- 6th Grade Deception Pass Overnight - September 25-26
| | We'll see you later today at Hamlin Park for the All School Picnic! If you have the capability, you can still snag a slot for bringing food or drinks via our Sign Up Genius. | | In this section, we will share events that are happening locally and within our community. If you are affiliated with or know of an event that you'd like to inform our community about such as a craft fair, a kids night event, a performance, or anything else mission-appropriate, please let the Front Desk know so we can share it in this section! | | |
8th Grade Test Prep
Hello 8th grade families,
If your student will be considering private high school applications, we wanted to let you know that Greg Smith, Director of the Learning Center, will be sending out an email today to all 8th grade families about standardized test prep offerings at Billings for the ISEE, SSAT, and HSPT exams that are utilized by some private high schools in the area.
Prep classes can begin as early as next week (Tuesday, 9/9).
Stay tuned!
Greg Smith
Director of The Learning Center
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Executive Function Workout!
Join me (Greg: Director of The Learning Center at Billings) for a regular morning EF workout from 8:30am to 9:30am on Mondays. Developing EF, or Executive Function, requires the exercise of the brain in specific ways. Drop in on any Monday morning to share stories and explore strategies for strengthening our EF muscles and by extension, that of our students.
Think of EF (Executive Function) as the CEO of the brain, helping us improve our self-regulation and aid our ability to make both short and long-term plans that enhance our performance in many aspects of our life. At a middle school pragmatic level this includes things like: doing your nightly HW, working on long term projects, or doing chores around the house. This is not a class. This is an opportunity to share collective wisdom. While 30 plus years as a middle school educator has certainly allowed me to garner some wisdom, I am really a facilitator on Monday mornings. Regular attendance is not a prerequisite. I don't need advanced notice. Drop in as you are able.
We will be meeting in person in Mercury during advisory and the beginning of first period. If you do not want to attend in person and prefer Zoom, let me know and I will send you a recurring Zoom link. Masks are not required but can be worn upon request.
And if Monday mornings are not a viable option for you but you want to learn more, don't hesitate to e-mail me, and let's find time to chat 1-1.
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