December Letter
Dear Parents,
December is a busy time at Basalt Elementary School! This newsletter has very important information to keep you informed of all of the happenings in our school community this month.
Please mark your calendars for our annual BES Holiday Assembly on Thursday, December 19th at 8:30am in the gym. This is a wonderful all-school celebration of the season that will warm your heart. We hope you will be able to join us for this very special BES event!
You are also invited to attend your child’s classroom holiday party at the end of the day on Thursday, December 19th. Some grade level parties will begin at 1:30pm and others at 2:30pm. Please look for important information from your child’s teacher or one of our PEG room reps in the upcoming weeks.
Students will be participating in our middle of the year assessments, in both math and literacy. Your child’s assessment information will be sent home with them in January. All students will also participate in our annual student survey. This survey focuses on what students think about our school community and their teachers. We take this survey data seriously and use it to set important learning and instructional goals as a staff. In our January and February newsletters, you will receive a summary of how we are doing on our academic and social emotional goals so far this school year.
Our next PEG meeting has been changed from Wednesday, December 4th to Tuesday, December 10th. The meeting will be at the same time from 8:30-9:30am in the BES Library. Our agenda will be focused on a presentation about our Dual Language program by Courtney Rangel, our new Dual Language coordinator. The second half of the agenda will be focused on upcoming PEG events. Please mark your calendars!
Morning Routine Changes that began on Monday, December 2nd--We understand that it is getting cold outside and many of our students would like to be inside in the morning. We are now offering students three choices when they arrive between 7:45-8:00am. They can choose to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, the playground to play or to the Library to read or check out books.
If they choose to go to the Library in the morning. The following are the expectations--
Students going to the library must enter through the link door, and through the courtyard.
Please continue using library etiquette:
Quiet voices
Walking only
Respect the books - return them to the correct place, and treat the books well.
Use the furniture responsibly
When the bell rings, students should go directly to their classrooms.
Students playing or not following the rules in the library will be asked to go to the playground.
If they choose to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, please note the updated cafeteria expectations:
Students can be in the cafeteria in the morning only if they are eating breakfast.
Breakfast will stay in the cafeteria only. No more taking breakfast back to class.
Students have until 8:10am* to eat breakfast in the cafeteria.
Students who leave the cafeteria after 8:05 will get a yellow “Breakfast Slip” to take with them to class, letting their teacher know they were eating breakfast. They will not be marked tardy.
Students should join their Crew Circle as soon as they can once they get to class.
For students who arrive after 8:10am, teachers will use their discretion regarding whether or not to students to allow students to get breakfast in the cafeteria.
Please know that prior to the break, all teachers were sharing these changes with their students. We know that when changes happen in the routines of our school community, we will most likely experience a few “bumps” along the way. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions or concerns about this new routine so that we can make any needed adjustments for our students and families.
All of our students will be learning about composting during a Crew assembly this month. As a school community, we will begin composting in our cafeteria during lunch time once all of our students and staff have been trained in this important and new practice. As we implement this practice, we will share more details with you as parents.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns or a good idea, please email, call or stop by the office. We want to hear from you about how we are doing to ensure your child succeeds as a learner this year.
BESt,
Suzanne Wheeler-Del Piccolo, Principal
December is a busy time at Basalt Elementary School! This newsletter has very important information to keep you informed of all of the happenings in our school community this month.
Please mark your calendars for our annual BES Holiday Assembly on Thursday, December 19th at 8:30am in the gym. This is a wonderful all-school celebration of the season that will warm your heart. We hope you will be able to join us for this very special BES event!
You are also invited to attend your child’s classroom holiday party at the end of the day on Thursday, December 19th. Some grade level parties will begin at 1:30pm and others at 2:30pm. Please look for important information from your child’s teacher or one of our PEG room reps in the upcoming weeks.
Students will be participating in our middle of the year assessments, in both math and literacy. Your child’s assessment information will be sent home with them in January. All students will also participate in our annual student survey. This survey focuses on what students think about our school community and their teachers. We take this survey data seriously and use it to set important learning and instructional goals as a staff. In our January and February newsletters, you will receive a summary of how we are doing on our academic and social emotional goals so far this school year.
Our next PEG meeting has been changed from Wednesday, December 4th to Tuesday, December 10th. The meeting will be at the same time from 8:30-9:30am in the BES Library. Our agenda will be focused on a presentation about our Dual Language program by Courtney Rangel, our new Dual Language coordinator. The second half of the agenda will be focused on upcoming PEG events. Please mark your calendars!
Morning Routine Changes that began on Monday, December 2nd--We understand that it is getting cold outside and many of our students would like to be inside in the morning. We are now offering students three choices when they arrive between 7:45-8:00am. They can choose to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, the playground to play or to the Library to read or check out books.
If they choose to go to the Library in the morning. The following are the expectations--
Students going to the library must enter through the link door, and through the courtyard.
Please continue using library etiquette:
Quiet voices
Walking only
Respect the books - return them to the correct place, and treat the books well.
Use the furniture responsibly
When the bell rings, students should go directly to their classrooms.
Students playing or not following the rules in the library will be asked to go to the playground.
If they choose to go to the cafeteria for breakfast, please note the updated cafeteria expectations:
Students can be in the cafeteria in the morning only if they are eating breakfast.
Breakfast will stay in the cafeteria only. No more taking breakfast back to class.
Students have until 8:10am* to eat breakfast in the cafeteria.
Students who leave the cafeteria after 8:05 will get a yellow “Breakfast Slip” to take with them to class, letting their teacher know they were eating breakfast. They will not be marked tardy.
Students should join their Crew Circle as soon as they can once they get to class.
For students who arrive after 8:10am, teachers will use their discretion regarding whether or not to students to allow students to get breakfast in the cafeteria.
Please know that prior to the break, all teachers were sharing these changes with their students. We know that when changes happen in the routines of our school community, we will most likely experience a few “bumps” along the way. Feel free to let us know if you have any questions or concerns about this new routine so that we can make any needed adjustments for our students and families.
All of our students will be learning about composting during a Crew assembly this month. As a school community, we will begin composting in our cafeteria during lunch time once all of our students and staff have been trained in this important and new practice. As we implement this practice, we will share more details with you as parents.
As always, if you have any questions, concerns or a good idea, please email, call or stop by the office. We want to hear from you about how we are doing to ensure your child succeeds as a learner this year.
BESt,
Suzanne Wheeler-Del Piccolo, Principal