Bloomingdale Elementary School
September 2020
Mr. Bruce VanWeelden, Principal
Office Phone: 518-891-3198
Office Fax: 518-891-4675
School Website:http://bloomingdale.slcs.org/
School Menu: http://www.slcs.org/students/k-8menu
Welcome Back Bloomingdale Families!
Welcome BACK!!
Mr. VanWeelden, Bloomingdale Elementary Principal
Mr. Stripes, Bloomingdale Dean of Students
September 2020
We hope you all are enjoying your summer and that you are excited to return to school! On behalf of the entire faculty and staff at Bloomingdale, we want to welcome our students and families, new and returning, for the upcoming year. Students return to school on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
What a summer we have all had! Things may look, sound, and feel different, but one thing remains the same, Bloomingdale Elementary is a wonderful place to learn and grow. The Bloomingdale faculty and staff with the assistance of the District Reopening Committee, has worked tirelessly in order to be able to follow the NYS guidelines for reopening schools, while keeping in mind what is best for our students, families, and staff during these times. Each classroom has been designed with social distancing and safety in mind. Each group of students will have a cohort for their day to alleviate large groups of students mingling, and safety is our number one priority from the minute our students arrive at school, until they leave at the end of their day. We encourage you to stay flexible and patient as we venture into our new school year. Bloomingdale Pride continues to be a cornerstone of our school family, and we can't wait to see and learn with our students whether they are in person or remote students.
As with any plan, it will be fluid and changes will be made periodically in order to meet safety needs and requirements. What won't change is a strong curriculum delivered by staff who are excited and ready to see their students!
Please continue to reach out if you have any questions or concerns as we start our year together. We appreciate your support, understanding, and assistance with all of our new procedures as we welcome everyone to the 2020-21 academic year!
Mr. Bruce VanWeelden, Bloomingdale Principal
Welcome to Bloomingdale/Staff Changes
Katlyn Dominy - 4th Grade Teacher
September Dates
Monday, September 7th--NO SCHOOL/Labor Day
Tuesday, September 8th--First Day of School!!!
Monday, October 12th--NO SCHOOL for Students
Attendance
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-usz4r3a5_YJcPZXWeEZ4k40eh8x38hn/view?usp=sharing
Attendance will be taken daily at school. If your student will not be attending that day, please continue to call the Bloomingdale office at 518-891-3198 and speak to Mrs. Clark.
Attendance will also be taken on Wednesday's remote instruction day. Wednesday will either have a Google Classroom assignment, or some other work that students must complete by Thursday in order to receive credit for being present on Wednesday.
Custody & Emergency Contacts
Arrival and Dismissal Times--VERY IMPORTANT
In person instruction will happen on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. "Remote" instruction will take place on Wednesdays for every grade level. Your child's teacher will give you more direction/information on what Wednesday will look like for your child.
Grades K-3---School will start at 7:45 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m.
Busses will drop students off in the bus circle at 7:30 a.m. Students can start being dropped off at school no earlier than 7:45 a.m. Students can be dropped off at the curb in front of the main entrance, Door #1. You need to wait for a staff member to check your child's health screening form before they are released, so make sure to bring that with you. Please be prepared as you pull up to the curb, as there will be a large number of students being dropped off this year and it needs to be as fluid as possible. Please do not enter the bus circle until after all busses have left the front of the building. Students are NOT able to be dropped off any earlier than 7:45 a.m. and will directly go into school as they arrive.
DISMISSAL--Grades K-3---Dismissal will begin at 2:15 p.m. for parent pick ups. Kindergarteners will exit and be picked up at DOOR 1 (front of school). Students in Grades1, 2, & 3 should be picked up at DOOR 4 (middle of school, library entrance). We are asking that family members wear a mask on school grounds and socially distance from other parents. As soon as you pick up your child, please quickly leave school grounds to help with traffic and social distancing. Students who ride a bus will depart around 2:10 p.m. Again, please do not enter the bus circle if there are busses still in front of the building.
Grades 4-5---School will start at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:15 p.m.
Busses will arrive and drop off students at 8:50 a.m. Students can start being dropped at school no earlier than 9:00 a.m. Students can be dropped off at the curb in front of the main entrance, door #1. You need to wait for a staff member to check your child's health screening form before they are released, so please make sure to bring that with you. . Please be prepared as you pull up to the curb, as there will be a large number of students being dropped off this year and it needs to be as fluid as possible. Please do not enter the bus circle until after all busses have left the front of the building. Students are NOT able to be dropped off any earlier than 9:00 a.m. and will directly go into school as they arrive.
DISMISSAL--Grades 4/5---Dismissal will begin at 3:20 p.m. for parent pick ups. Students in Grades 4/5 should be picked up at DOOR 1 (front of school). We are asking that family members wear a mask on school grounds and socially distance from other parents. As soon as you pick up your child, please quickly leave school grounds to help with traffic and social distancing. Busses should depart the bus circle by 3:20 p.m., and again, please do not enter the bus circle until all busses have left.
Students are NOT able to come to school earlier than their designated arrival time, nor can they be dropped off any earlier due to social distancing and supervision. Please keep to your child's arrival and dismissal time only. This year, students will not be able to play or stay outside before they go inside to their classroom. They will arrive and be directed to their classroom immediately.
REMOTE INSTRUCTION
Students/Families who are participating in Remote Instruction may need to come to Bloomingdale on Fridays for classroom drop off and pick up for the next week. The office hours will be 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. you will need to buzz the door at the main entrance (door #1) and notify office staff who you are. You will drop off the packet of the previous week's work and pick up the next week. Your classroom teacher will be providing more information to you about this process.
Appointments
Daily Health Screening
Masks
BREAKFAST/LUNCH
School meals will continue to be available to all students, including those attending school in-person and those learning remotely. Meals for remote learning days and those choosing to be fully remote will be delivered on Wednesdays and will include meals for the week.
We encourage every family to fill out the reduced and free lunch form that was provided in your mailing. For the first three days of school, every student is able to get a FREE breakfast delivered to their classroom. After the three days, students will need to go to the cafeteria before going to class, pick up their breakfast, and bring it back to their room (if they need/want a breakfast from school).
Lunch will also be eaten in the classroom supervised by a staff member. The school lunch order will be taken in the AM by the classroom teacher and will be delivered to the classroom at their designated time. Students may continue to bring their lunch from home as another option. We need your help! Our younger students especially need support opening food packaging during lunch. For safety purposes, please either practice opening food items at home before the first day of school, and/or choose easy packaging that your child can open independently. We appreciate your help.
Any food service questions, please call:
Food Service………….....518-897-1462
Food Service Director..…….Ruth Pino
School Supplies
Please NO:
Toys, games, electronics, unnecessary extra clothing/shoes, extra books, or supplies
Please just pack the essentials for that day--snack, lunch, sweater or jacket for the playground if applicable. We are asking that each student come to school with a water bottle. The water fountains have been temporarily turned off due to COVID, so students will want a water bottle that they can keep at their desk. Thank you!
Transportation
Transportation
Maximum Ridership: 21 students
Students will be only allowed 2 pick-up and 2 drop-off locations to help with routing and maintaining consistent bus cohorts.
All staff and students must wear masks and social distance on the bus.
For questions pertaining to transportation:
Transportation ………....518-891-2859
Transportation Director...Lenny Barker
Transportation Assistant ...Fred Finn
The Positivity Project-Social Emotional Learning
This year, Bloomingdale will continue to participate in the Positivity Project!
“I can sum up positive psychology in just three words — Other People Matter. Period. Anything that builds relationships between and among people is going to make you happy.” -Dr. Chris Peterson
The Positivity Project is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping America’s youth build stronger relationships by recognizing the character strengths in themselves and others. Their vision is to create citizens and leaders who will enhance our communities and country by internalizing the belief that “Other People Matter.” Positive psychology’s scientifically validated 24 character strengths serve as its foundation. Positive psychology teaches that people have all 24 strengths within them – and that character is not just skills or behaviors, but rather an intrinsic part of each of us.
The Positivity Project ideals evolve throughout a student’s whole school career. The 24 character strengths develop and gain more meaning for students as they grow. Once students learn the meaning of each strength and what it looks like, they can then be embedded into the curriculum in every subject area. The character strengths become a part of a common language and they will see them in everything that they do.
Each classroom will receive lesson on the weekly character trait, and it will also be infused in our daily language and expectations. We will also be talking about the trait on the daily announcements and at our virtual PBIS assemblies. This year we have also included supplemental materials on equity and equality that go very smoothly with our P2 traits. If you have any questions please let Mrs. Cassidy know!