Bureau Valley Junior High/Elementary

Happy Thanksgiving!!!🦃 🍁 🍽️ 3rd-5th grade students completed STEM challenges related to Thanksgiving. 3rd graders were tasked with using their engineering skills to create either a cage to keep their turkey from escaping or a platter for their turkey to sit on. Students were limited to using only marshmallows and toothpicks. 4th graders were tasked with using their engineering skills to create a shock absorbing turkey nest so that when the turkeys laid their eggs they would not break. 5th graders were tasked with using their engineering skills to create either Mini Mayflowers or Mini Mishoons that would hold the most weight without sinking.

Ms. Bitting's 3rd graders drew these amazing roasted turkeys and wrote acrostic Thanksgiving poems to go along with them.

Mrs. Bell's and Miss Yepsen's 4th graders read Balloons Over Broadway and learned about how the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade balloons were invented. Each student designed and created a balloon for their own mini-parade!

Students in Ms. Crabtree's class figured out how much it would cost to make a Thanksgiving dinner $$$. They had to search ads to find the best deals on a turkey and all the ingredients to make the traditional side dishes and desserts.

Our Lost & Found is overflowing with jackets, water bottles, lunch boxes, and other items that have been left behind. To help families identify missing belongings, we’ve created a short video showcasing all items currently in the Lost & Found that was emailed out to families this morning.

Please take a moment to watch the video and check for anything that may belong to your child.

All unclaimed items will be donated over Thanksgiving break, so we kindly ask that you review the video and retrieve any belongings before then.

Thank you for your help in keeping our Lost & Found organized and ensuring items make their way back home!

⚡️ BVJH November Student of the Month ⚡️ These students have a positive influence on the BVJH student body through extraordinary qualities of character, citizenship, service and leadership. Congratulations and keep leading with Storm pride!! 🌩️

🎉 November i-Ready Winners! 🎉
We’re excited to celebrate our outstanding students who went above and beyond on their i-Ready lessons this month! Their hard work, consistency, and growth truly shine. 🌟

👏 Congratulations to our November i-Ready superstars:
Abe Endress, Jameison Wright, Eli McCoy, Bailey Wiggim, Morgan Dowacter, and Marcus Brummel.
Keep up the amazing effort—your dedication is paying off! 📚💪

🌟 Elementary Student of the Month! 🌟 We are excited to celebrate our November Students of the Month for showing outstanding character, leadership, and dedication to learning These students demonstrate kindness, responsibility, and a positive attitude every single day. We are so proud of their hard work and the example they set for others! Congratulations! Keep shining and leading with Storm pride! ⚡️

Sixth grade Earth Science students modeled the formation of igneous rocks by pouring caramelized sugar into cold water. Depending on the cooling rate and technique used, a crystal resembling either obsidian or pumice was produced.

The cell membrane is semipermeable, meaning that it allows the passage of some substances but restricts the movement of others. In this 7th grade Life Science activity, the balloon is a model for the membrane; students tried to determine the contents by observing the substances that were able to pass through it.

4th grade classes have been reading about different dances around the world, and they have been discussing their similarities and differences. Today, a few members of the high school dance team came to talk about the styles of dance they do. They even showed us a few of their favorite moves!

Mrs. Hartz's 7th graders practiced percent problems by playing "Buckets" today! The last picture has a sample problem for you to try (you can round your answer to the nearest percent).

✨ 8th Grade Night Success! ✨ Post 2 of 2
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate our amazing 8th graders last night! The event was a huge success, and we loved recognizing this special group for their hard work, leadership, and dedication.

We’re so proud of our players and all they’ve accomplished so far. Best of luck to the team as they continue the remainder of their season — keep working hard and representing our school with pride! 🏀💙

✨ 8th Grade Night Success! ✨ Post 1 of 2
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate our amazing 8th graders last night! The event was a huge success, and we loved recognizing this special group for their hard work, leadership, and dedication.

We’re so proud of our players and all they’ve accomplished so far. Best of luck to the team as they continue the remainder of their season — keep working hard and representing our school with pride! 🏀💙

Congratulations to Myleigh Benavidez on winning the 2025-2026 BVJH Art Club T-shirt Design Contest! Follow the link if you would like to purchase your own t-shirt, sweatshirt, or hoodie with the design. https://stores.inksoft.com/bvjh_art_club/shop/home Orders are due by Thursday, November 20, 2025.

Our junior high boys basketball teams opened their season last night against Streator. Although all three levels came up short, it was great to see our athletes back on the court competing hard and representing Storm Pride! 💪⚡️

Tonight, we switch gears to celebrate our 8th Grade Girls Basketball Night! Come out and cheer on our girls as they play their final home game and honor our 8th graders for their dedication and leadership. 7th Grade tips off at 4:30 with 8th grade night being in between games.

In October, Bureau Valley PreK-8 staff members and BVJH Interact Club collected $1,090 in donations for The Believe Foundation to support their incredible efforts to raise awareness and support local families fighting breast cancer. Thanks to all who donated and to everyone at The Believe Foundation for making sure nobody fights alone! 💗

A huge thank you to the BV Foundation for generously providing a camera to help us capture great moments and improve the quality of our junior high and elementary yearbooks!

Eighth graders spent the day learning about our 16th president, the Civil War, and our state government. It was a beautiful day in Springfield.

🏀 Conference Championship Bound! 🏀
Our 7th grade girls basketball team hits the court TONIGHT as they take on Princeton at Peru at 6:30 in the conference championship!

Come out, wear your Storm blue, and help cheer on our girls as they compete for the title. 💙⚡️
Let’s pack the stands and show them our support — Go Storm!