When I take some time to step away and reflect on the 2018-19 school year, I think about the way our community always comes together in the best interest of our kiddos. This year in particular was difficult as we surrounded one of our families in their battle with cancer, as we lost 4th grader Cameron Gooch this fall. The Gooch family will forever be in our hearts.

I think about the parent volunteers and how we can't thank you enough for our beautiful entrances, our beautiful landscaping, our beautiful program-sets, our amazing book-fairs, our fun-filled field day, our Buckalew Bash Carnival, our gardening club, our Friday readers, and the list goes on and on!

I am over the moon that we have been able to replace not 1, but 2 playgrounds in the last year, and our "Pavers for Playgrounds" pathway is complete outside of our biker walker door! We continue to be so blessed with support that pours out from our community and our teachers are excited that our classrooms will be stocked this summer with custom bookshelves installed as a standard for all of our classrooms! These bookshelves are built to support the amount of books we utilize every single day, and have been donated by you, purchased with PTO funds, campus instructional funds, district textbooks funds, as well as our teacher's personal funds. Books, books and more books and we can't wait!

I think about our teachers and staff and how lucky we are to have our staff that continue to push themselves and grow as life-long learners. While they are making summer plans and I am hoping they are able to get some relaxation and personal time for their own families, most of them will be continuing to attend workshops and institutes off and on this summer. Many of them arrive well before 7am in the morning and stay well beyond 5-7pm during the year. Our teachers and staff are always striving to give your children the absolute best elementary experience they all deserve, and live everyday toward our motto: Be Kind, WORK HARD, and Do Your Best! In over 20 years in education, I've never worked with such a hard-working staff that is here for our students.

I think about how blessed we are to have amazing families and that we get to spend over 7 hours a day during the school year with your amazing children. I hope each and every one of you get to spend some quality family time together and have some sweet memories this summer!

Please see information in this BUZZ pertinent to a successful start for the 19-20 school year. Please refer any new families to our webpage and to register online as soon as possible.

School will begin on August 14th this year. Grades K-4 will receive an e-mail from your child’s teacher to welcome them to their classroom. Please check Parent Access to be sure your e-mail is updated. E-mails will be sent out just prior to Meet the Teacher, on August 12th. If you do not receive an e-mail, you can find out your child’s teacher at Meet the Teacher.

Have an amazing summer,

Mrs. Price

June

25th- 3/4th grade STAAR Results will be available (see email sent out how to access)

16th- School Supplies online order due

July

15th- Deadline to order Buckalew Spiritwear to arrive by Meet the Teacher

August

2nd- Kindergarten Assessments (click on link to sign up for ALL incoming kinder)

12th- 4-5 pm "Meet the Teacher" Kindergarten Orientation starting promptly @ 4pm.

12th 5-6 pm "Meet the Teacher" Stop and Drop 1st-4th Grade come and go 5-6pm.

14th- Student First Day of School

23rd- First PTO Meeting

September

5th- Grade 1-4 Orientations (see schedule below)

We appreciate your support of public education and the value of attendance. Because of YOU and our amazing staff, Buckalew continues to rank among the best in the state and we are very proud of that and want it to continue!

Online registration for new 2019-2020 Kindergarten students is now active. If you have an incoming kindergartener or NEW student, please go to http://www.conroeisd.net,

Parents/Students tab, Enrollment and Transfers, then select the 'New Student Registration' tab.

Once you create your account, you can begin the enrollment process. When your application is complete and has been submitted, call our front office (281-465-3400) to make your registration appointment.

The following documents are required to complete your child’s enrollment.

Make sure you bring them to your registration appointment:

-Your child’s birth certificate

-Your child’s social security card

-Your child’s complete immunization record (4 yr. boosters are required for enrollment)

-Your proof of residency document (a current gas, water, or electric bill showing name and service address)

-Photo ID of registering parent

-Completed white Emergency Information Card and blue Health Information Form

Kindergarten students and parents are invited to an Orientation on Monday, August 12th beginning at 4pm. As a parent you will meet the teacher and attend an orientation given by your child's teacher. The teachers will collect school supplies and gather valuable information from you at this time that will be very helpful the first day of school. They will also supply you with all the information you will need for a successful beginning of your child’s educational experience. Your child will attend a separate activity in the library. You will be re-connected with your child after the orientation and show them around their new school!

Stop and Drop for grades 1-4 will be held on Monday, August 12th from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. This is a come and go event. This is a very important time for everyone to bring in school supplies, meet your child's teacher, and find your way to your new classroom. The teachers will gather valuable information from you at that time that will be very helpful the first day of school. It also helps children become more comfortable that first day. This is a come and go event.

School Supplies and T-shirts and PTO Involvement:

Our amazing PTO will be in our gymnasium from 4-6pm. After the kinder orientation, or during stop and drop, swing by the gym! At this time, you can pick up the spirit shirts you have pre-ordered, gain knowledge about our PTO, and take advantage of volunteer opportunities. If you have ordered school supplies from PTO, the supplies will be delivered to your child's classroom before August 12.

Save the Date Now:

Grade 1-4 Orientations will be held in two sessions on Thursday, September 5th. During this time, you will learn more about your child's teacher and grade level expectations and routines. We offer both a daytime and evening session.

The Orientation schedule is as follows:

4th Grade 8:30- 9:00 AM or 7:00- 7:30 PM

3rd Grade 9:30-10:00 AM or 6:30-7:00PM

2nd Grade 10:30- 11:00 AM or 6:00-6:30 PM

1st Grade 1:45-2:15 PM or 5:30- 6:00PM

You may order your school supplies for the 2019-2020 school year now through June 16th.

Please go to https://www.educationalproducts.com/shoppacks/ and enter school ID, BUC015.

Online ordering only.

Buckalew branded binder and pencil bag are included in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade packs. This will be the only way to receive these two items as they will not be sold separately.

For questions, please contact Dana Basconi at danabasconi@yahoo.com

2019-20 Buckalew spirit shirts are now available! Deadline is July 5. T-shirts will be available for pick up on Monday August 12th at Meet the Teacher!

Click HERE to order.

• Girls Basketball
• Girls and Boys Tennis and Speed
• Girls Softball
• Volleyball Camp
• Cheer Camp
• Dance/Drill Camp
• Girls Soccer Camp
• Baseball Camp
• Boys Basketball Camp
• Football Camp
• Girls Soccer Camp

A $500 scholarship is then awarded to 1 student selected by the Linda Crews Buckalew Bear Scholarship Committee, and paid by Buckalew's PTO directly to the recipient's college.

Congratulations to Amber Krizan, the 18-19 recipient of the Linda Crews Scholarship. Below is just a small portion of her essay:

...I was taught the joy of selfless service at a young age. I am grateful that Buckalew Elementary modeled "Think Win Win" by showing me what it meant to help others. I remember Mrs. Wean's class coming together to help those affected by Hurricane Ike in 2008. I also remember Mr. Ed reading to our class. I knew when I grew up I wanted to help others and make a difference. Throughout my childhood I volunteered in many capacities. As I grew older, service to others became my passion. I had a vision but I knew I needed to set a goal and implement a plan. I put that plan into action and created an organization called "Blessings in a Backpack". I babysit kids during the week and use the money I earn to purchase backpacks and fill them with items to bring joy to someone's life...

.....Blessings in a Backpack continues to serve our community. With the rapid growth, I have used what I learned from "Synergize" and "Seek First to Understand and Then Be Understood." These keys have helped me realize the importance of communication. Seeking first to understand has also helped me to listen and understand others, to work together, and share ideas with those who have joined the organization. We have helped the homeless, our veterans, nursing home residents, children fighting cancer at Texas Children's Hospital, The Women's Center, and people affected by Hurricane Harvey....

Did you know you can scroll to the bottom of this newsletter and a bar will appear at the bottom. You will be able to translate your newsletter to your desired language. Check it out!

Safety is our top concern, and surveillance cameras are placed at all doors and in the hallways of our school. Each camera records all activity. All outside doors are locked including the front doors. Please be sure to have your driver’s license with you during every visit to the campus.

Upon arrival, please see the receptionist for a visitor’s tag. The receptionist will ask for your driver’s license. It will be scanned using a system that is connected to the database that provides an alert of any person who may jeopardize the safety of our campus. If no such alert is discovered, the receptionist will then electronically permit entrance into the building.

Each time you enter the school, please remember to bring your license. The nametag given to you on each visit will show the date and the purpose of your visit. Please know that every visitor must have a name tag, and anyone without it will be stopped. Even though this is time consuming, it is essential to our children’s safety. For your child’s protection, parents and visitors are not allowed to go to their child’s classroom to pick him or her up during or at the end of the day. All check out is through the front office. Please allow students to walk to classrooms independently in the mornings and to go to the designated areas for dismissal in the afternoons.

If you need to pick up your student, you will be asked for your driver’s license. Students will only be released to parents with ID, unless we have written correspondence or an email to brobinson@conroeisd.net with identifying information on who will be picking up the student.

If you plan to be in the building during the school day at any time during the school year, please fill out the volunteer application on the CISD website: https://apps.conroeisd.net/volunteer/. This must be done yearly and will be necessary in order to volunteer in any position on campus.

In the event your child will be absent from school, please call the attendance line at 281-465-3410. To insure the accuracy of your child’s ‘excused’ and ‘unexcused’ absences, please call the attendance line EACH DAY your child is absent.

Following an absence, please send a note explaining the reason for your child’s absence. If your child will be out for an extended period of time, please let his/her teacher know, as well as our attendance clerk.

School hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. The tardy bell rings at 8:00 and students will be counted tardy if they are not in their classroom at that time. Attendance is taken at 9:00 a.m. each day. If your child is absent at 9:00 a.m. due to a doctor’s appointment, he/she will be counted present if you bring your child back to school on the same day with a doctors statement that verifies the appointment.

When students are absent, they are expected to make up all worked missed. Students will have the same number of days to complete assignments, as they were absent. The student handbook states that make up work cannot be given in advance of absences.

Please avoid scheduling vacations while school is in session. State law requires that children miss no more than 10% (18 days) of the school year. If a child misses more than 10%, they do not have the required attendance to be promoted to the next grade.

Additionally, Attendance is a major component of our state’s accountability system. Our attendance percentage is factored into every measure of our accountability, which impacts our school ranking.

Regular attendance is very important. Every day is packed with valuable instruction that cannot be reproduced at home. Attending school regularly has a huge effect on your child’s academic success, and success later in life. Parents play a key role in setting an example as to the importance of regular attendance and arriving to school on time.

Please feel free to direct all questions or concerns to Jayne Bull at 281-465-3410 or jbull@conroeisd.net.

Car Rider LINE Do's and Don'ts:

Buckalew takes pride in the organization and efficiency of our car rider line. We have tried various ways entering and exiting our students over 20 years. Please note the following if you are a car rider:

• DO follow these directions for morning drop off and if applicable, for afternoon pick up.

• DO pull all the way up to the letter "A" labeled on the pillars along the back patio. If a car is already at A, please create a steady stream behind "A", "B", "C", "D" and "E". We can safely load and unload 5-7 cars at a time by following this method.

• Do NOT pull up and stop by the doors. This slows every car down behind you and we have this designed for safety to pull all the way up to A. If you are concerned about your child not getting into the building, please know that is why we have safety kids and staff outside at morning duty.

• DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR. If your child requires extra kisses, assistance getting out of his or her car seat, a note written, a walk up to the door, then we ask that you park and walk your child from Lakeside Park.

• DO move quickly through the car-rider line.

• DO NOT confuse quickly with fast. If you are in an extreme rush, the car-rider line may not be your best option. Park and escort your child from Lakeside Park.

• DO NOT pass other cars in the car rider line. This is extremely dangerous. If there is a car who is regularly not following the rules and safety is a concern, please call the front office and let us know.

• DO put safety first. Make your kids wear their seat belts in the car-rider line. Don’t be on cell phones in the car-rider line. Put your car in park before your children get out of the car in the car-rider line. Watch for others crossing the parking lot in the car-rider line.

• DO NOT expect others to be safe. Every parent uses the car-rider line for the first time at some point. This may include families who just moved into the area, relatives, nannies, and older siblings.

• DO have all of your child’s school items prepared and placed carefully inside of their sturdy backpack before entering the car-rider line. This includes water bottles.

• DO NOT allow your child to attempt to exit your vehicle with their backpack gaping open. All of their items could easily spill out onto the ground, forcing you to put your vehicle in park, run around to the other side, or worse, have your child crawl under a car without you realizing it.

• Do make sure your children exit the car on the passenger side doors. There is a RED line on the dismissal patio. Please reinforce to your children that they need to go straight across the red line to the area away from the car traffic.

• DO NOT allow your child to exit the driver's side or the back of the car. Someone behind or in front of you may not see your child and accidentally reverse or move forward. Exiting the passenger side ensures your child will not be in another vehicles path.
• DO have your CAR RIDER SIGN OUT AND DISPLAYED for the person calling names to see it vividly even if they know you during pickup. Sometimes it is hard to see into windows and anticipate who is inside the car.
• DO NOT make U Turns coming or going into the car rider back parking lot. Montgomery County police did a evaluation of our car rider line to most safely and efficiently run our arrival and dismissal. This has improved the safety of not only our car riders, but our biker walkers and bus riders. This has also improved our dismissal time from approximately 45 minutes in the past, to under 20 minutes.
• Do understand our line runs efficiently at dismissal and can be done in 15 minutes on most days. Do not assume it will run long and wait to pick up your child when there is no line. This is both embarrassing and scary for your child as we do bring them to the front office to make a phone call to make sure you are okay.

• AGAIN, If you need more time and are holding up the line during drop off or pick up, we ask you to please park at Lakeside Park and walk your child up to school.
• Thank you.

Parents just a reminder to send all transportation changes to school with your child in their backpack.

For emergencies only, e-mail brobinson@conroeisd.net PRIOR TO 2PM and make sure you get a confirmation that your change was received. Please note weather is not considered an emergency.

Classroom teachers do not always check emails throughout the day or may even be absent and that request would not be received in time. If you have sent a note with your child it is not necessary to e-mail the note to the front office. Thank you.

• Please remember to remind your children NOT to cross until the crossing guards are at their posts in the morning. The building is not open until 7:30.
• Please remember if you are in your car, to wait for the crossing guards not only to cross the children, but for the crossing guards themselves to make it back to the sidewalk.
• Please remember to stay off your cell phones when driving in school zones.
• Please remember their are NO DOGS allowed on school property. This is for your personal liability and the safety of all of our students.
• Please remember there are no U-Turns in front of the school.
• Lakeside Park- if you are dropping your kids off or picking them up from Lakeside Park please park your vehicle to do so. It becomes a safety issue to just drive up and let your kids out or have them get in without parking. Please use our car line in the back of Buckalew if you want just drop off your child.

Our PTO believes in the students, staff, and families at Buckalew. By becoming a PTO member you have the voting power to affect the enrichment and lives of our students. Also, by contributing to our fundraisers, you are making all kinds of quality programs and events available to ALL of our students! Become a PTO member for $25 and see how your PTO dollars are benefiting your child.

http://buckalewspiritstore.com/product/buckalew-elementary-pto-membership/

Be sure to label your child’s belongings that they bring to school (jackets, sweaters, water bottles, etc.). Lost and Found fills up quickly with the cold weather. Lost and Found is located outside of the school gym.

For specific questions, please contact Kalyn McQuain at kalyn@mcquainagency.com.

Calling all ExxonMobil employees, their spouses, children or retired employees.

You can help Buckalew Elementary receive a grant by doing what you love, volunteering. ExxonMobil Volunteer Involvement Program is a program that encourages its people to get involved within their community. It is as simple as doing what you are already doing, volunteering. By volunteering at our various school events (IE: Library, Carnival, workroom helper etc.) you can earn Buckalew a sizable grant. All we need is your 20 hours of individual or team (not to be combined) volunteer hours recorded. If you are interested in this program, please email Tracy Kumin at volunteers@buckalewbearspto.com

The Conroe Independent School District (District) as an equal opportunity educational provider and employer does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in educational programs or activities that it operates or in employment matters. The District is required by Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as Board policy not to discriminate in such a manner. For information about Title IX rights or Section 504/ADA rights, contact the Title IX Coordinator or the Section 504/ADA coordinator at 3205 W. Davis, Conroe, TX 77304; (936) 709-7752.