Buckalew Buzz
August 15, 2018- First Day of School
Buckalew Elementary School
Buckalew Bears Motto:
"Today I choose to Be Kind, Work Hard, and DO MY BEST!"
Email: donotreply@conroeisd.net
Website: www.buckalew.conroeisd.net
Location: 4909 Alden Bridge Drive, The Woodlands, TX, United States
Phone: 281-465-3400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuckalewCISD/#
Twitter: @buckalewbears
From the Principal...
Welcome Buckalew Families!
Thank you for celebrating the 20th Birthday of Buckalew with us this year. We have had an incredible Meet the Teacher event on Monday and a wonderful first day of school today!
This is our school's main form of communication and is a great resource to reference as it goes out twice a month. Please see information in this BUZZ pertinent to a successful start for the 18-19 school year. Information from our dedicated and amazing PTO and ways to get involved are also always included. Specific communication in regards to your child's classroom or grade level will come directly from your child's teacher.
A few updates to keep you in the loop:
- Building doors open at 7:30am. Starting tomorrow, any visitors will be checked in through our front doors. This means we ask that you drop your child off in the morning following their regular route in the morning. We assure you we have plenty of help positioned throughout the school to assist your child to their classroom in the morning.
- 5 minutes were added to our school day with our official start time of 8am.
- 3rd and 4th grade playgrounds were demolished last week and we are awaiting our new playground to be installed any day now!!!
- Lunch visits- we ask that you wait at least 2 weeks to visit your child during lunch. We want your child to meet friends and enjoy the routines before parents visit. We are fortunate to continue to have the Bistro for your enjoyment of eating lunch with your child after Labor Day.
- Please feel free to follow Buckalew on Facebook and Twitter. We post a "Picture Perfect Friday" video weekly that highlights our day-to-day activities.
- Please read through (if you haven't already) the attached pdf's of the opening letter and student addendum to help you navigate through Buckalew.
- Indoor Recess-For your child's safety, we follow the "feels like" temperature (the combination of heat and humidity). When it reaches 100 or above "feels like" temperature, we must call indoor recess. Please know it is always our goal to have our kids play outside, but when they can't due to weather, our teachers have alternate social activities planned for each grade level.
- Starting next Monday, we will have "ACTIVE START". Active Start simply means that from 7:30-7:45am, our k-2 playground is open for all students to go play before going into their classroom if they arrive before 7:45.
We are so excited for a great school year and hope you find this BUZZ helpful as Buckalew kicks off its 20th Year in CISD!!! We have an amazing community and in fact Buckalew was just highlighted in a local article. Visit the link by clicking here stating: "Those who have little ones ready to start elementary school will be excited to know that Conroe ISD is home to Buckalew Elementary, rated the best elementary school in Houston and seventh best in Texas."
Buckalew is so blessed by 20 years of incredible students, parents, and staff. We look forward to this school year and starting this year off #20yearsstrong! Our staff want to specifically give some shout outs to our PTO for their positive energy, amazing decorations, countless hours involved in hard work with school supplies and t-shirts deliveries, and all the behind the scenes effort for such a smooth and spirited start!
Thank you for your incredible support!
Mrs. Price
Buckalew Visitors and Volunteers
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.
Buckalew Student Addendum & Opening Day Letter (also emailed 8/6 & 8/14)
Important School-Wide Dates:
Please see your teacher's communication for grade-level and class-specific events.
August
15th- Student First Day of School
21st- Crust Pizza Spirit Night- ALL DAY LONG!
23rd- Library Volunteer Meeting, noon
24th- First PTO Meeting 9:30am
31st- Last day to order Spirit Shirts & Big Bear/Little Bear Program & FALL Auction closes
September
3rd- School Holiday- Labor Day
6th- Grade 1-4 Orientations (see schedule below)
7th- LAST DAY TO PURCHASE A BRICK
21st- Fall Student Pictures
28th-TWHS Homecoming Game/Wear Red & Green
From Our Counselor Mrs. Points:
SPIRIT NIGHT AT CRUST PIZZA
Join us for our FIRST Buckalew Spirit Night on Tuesday, August 21st at Crust Pizza Alden Bridge.
Mention Buckalew at the register or on the phone for carryout and 15% will be given back to Buckalew. Our Spirit Night will last the entire day!
Crust Pizza Co. Alden Bridge
8000 Research Forest Dr., Ste 340
Library News
There will be a meeting for New Library Volunteers on Thursday, August 23rd at noon in the Buckalew Library. If you have not volunteered in the library before, please plan on attending.
If you have any questions please feel free to email Rhonda Villasenor libraryvolunteer.buckalew@gmail.com
Book Fair is coming soon!
We need your help!
Volunteer at our Fall Enchanted Forest
Book Fair!
Flexible Volunteer Opportunities Available: Sept. 14th – Oct. 5th
Our Scholastic Book Fair is an exciting celebration of reading with hundreds of fun, engaging, and affordable books for kids to discover.
Join our volunteer team to:
• Bring creative flair to decorations
• Offer a helping hand – set up or pack up
• Help shoppers of all ages find their perfect book
To join our team of volunteers, or for more information please contact:
We are so grateful for your support!
Grade 1-4 Orientations
Kindergarten students and parents were invited to an Orientation on Monday, August 13th from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. If for some reason you missed this orientation for your kindergarten student, please contact your child's teacher.
Grade 1-4 Orientations will be held in two sessions on Thursday, September 6th. We will continue to offer the daytime orientations.
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
Buckalew SPIRITWEAR 2018-2019
Buckalew tees are a great way to show your school spirit and support your school! Here is all the information you need to order yours for the upcoming school year!
Step One: Visit our website at Buckalewspiritstore.com and click on the spirit wear icon. Here you will be able to select the tees or package that best fits your needs.
Step Two: Once tees are selected make sure to add your child’s name and grade for 2018-2019 school year.
Step Three: Order by August 31, 2018
It is the 20th anniversary of Buckalew Elementary School! We are throwing it back a few years and put together some fun designs for our bear family! The above designs will be offered for the 2018-2019 school year. We will have the ever popular 3-pack shirt package for $40 where you will get your choice of a long or short sleeve Buckalew tee, a funky tie-dye “Work Hard Wednesday” tee, and the active tee! Remember, your active tee is also your field day tee! Log onto the above website to view the graphics and sizing. We also have a-la-carte tees! Spirit tees are for the whole family! Let’s make the 20th anniversary of Buckalew Elementary the best one yet!
Calling All Bears!!
We are excited to start our new program for the 2018 - 19 school year called Big Bear/Little Bear. This program is for new families entering Buckalew to be placed with a veteran Buckalew family. If you are new to the area or new to Buckalew, please contact Mrs. Lozinak and she will connect you with a "Big Bear" family who will help you navigate for an easy family-friendly Buckalew start.
Heather Lozinak: havillano@yahoo.com or 402-661-0547.
PTO DOES THAT!
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/
It is time for the Buckalew Fall Auction!!
Find all the details and bid at www.32auctions.com/BuckalewAuction2018
The auction is open now and
will close at noon on Friday, August 31
There is something for everyone in the fall auction!
-First & Second in Afternoon Car Line
-Reserved Parking at Buckalew for the Whole Year
-Reserved Parking at Open House
-4th Grade Graduation Reserved Parking and Seats
-4th Grade Play Reserved Parking and Seats
-3rd Grade Play Reserved Parking and Seats
-2nd Grade Play Reserved Parking and Seats
-1st Grade Art Night Reserved Parking
-Kindergarten Graduation Reserved Parking and Seats
Leave A Legacy Commemorating Buckalew's 20th Anniversary!
Leave a legacy commemorating Buckalew's 20th anniversary! Adopt a customized brick in Buckalew's schoolyard, and show your Buckalew Bear spirit! Your legacy brick will bring smiles to children for many years by funding new playground equipment and essential enrichment programs. The permanent installment will be outside the biker/walker door, replacing gravel with a safer and cleaner school path. Visit your brick anytime for years to come! Whether you have a current Buckalew Bear or a Buckalew graduate, this would make a perfect gift. You will always be a part of our Buckalew family!
We have extended the Brick Deadline to September 7th to allow for any last purchases and new Buckalew Bears to leave their legacy! All proceeds prior to May 23 will go directly to playgrounds. Any proceeds after May 23rd will go toward the 18-19 PTO operating budget.
TO ORDER:
Go online to:
http://www.fundraisingbrick.com/buckalew
See attached 2 flyers for more
YEARBOOK NEEDS YOUR BACK TO SCHOOL PHOTOS
Submit your photos online via our private photo submission webpage
(we are no longer using the ReplayIt app)
LOG ON TO: www.images.jostens.com
Enter Login ID: 410533920
• Browse to select the photo(s) you wish to upload, click on “Select My Images.”
• Enter information about the photo (names of individual) If more than one person in the photo list additional names in the description column
• Click “Upload Chosen Images.”
It’s that easy! Submit your photos today!
Needed: Classroom photographers
- Do you just love taking pictures of your kids?
- Would you enjoy capturing special moments at school by taking pictures of your child and his classmates?
- Would you like exclusive access to some of the “students only” school events as a designated class photographer?
- Would you like to see those priceless snapshots in our school yearbook?
- If this sounds like you, please can contact Kimberly Lofgren at yearbook.buckalew@gmail.com to volunteer!
*All classroom photographers will receive a comprehensive overview of their responsibilities at a TBD training meeting.
KROGER CARD
A new school year is about to start and that means it is time to link or re-link your Kroger Plus Card with the Buckle Elementary PTO barcode.
Even if you have signed up before, you have to renew each August! Just register online at www.krogercommunityrewards.com Once you register, every dollar you spend at Kroger means money for Buckalew-even those lattes at Starbucks!
Please clip and save your Box Tops. Our first collection drive will start October 1st.
Thank you for supporting Buckalew by participating in Kroger Community Rewards and Box Tops for Education!
Kindness Rocks!!!!
Check out the school of rock fish to the front garden! Each rock fish is unique, just like us and many have words of wisdom to share with future generations on the bottom. I am so excited to see the efforts of your hard work pay off in our first school wide art collaboration!! Thank you Mrs. Tatolli and family, and Mrs. Hargett and family for all of your hard work to make this collaboration happen.
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Buckalew PTO
Click to see what's going on in Buckalew's PTO!
The purpose of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is to:
(a) promote the welfare of children at Buckalew
(b) to foster cooperation between parents and teachers in the education of children at Buckalew
(c) to unite school and community efforts in securing for all children the best education
(d) to engage in fundraising activities for the educational and recreational benefit of Buckalew, its children, teachers, and staff as determined by the PTO and in accordance with the PTO by-laws.
2018-19 School Calendar
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!
TRANSPORTATION CHANGES
Parents just a reminder to send all transportation changes to school with your child in their backpack. E-mail changes are for emergency changes only and must be made before 2:00 p.m. Please note weather is not considered an emergency. For emergencies only, e-mail brobinson@conroeisd.net and make sure you get a confirmation that your change was received. 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.
Safety Reminders from our Police Department:
- 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.
Parent Access Login
Canvas Login
Lunch Information:
A Full Price student meal is $2.85 and for a 2nd meal is $3.55. “Extras” range from $.50-$2.00.
Did you know you can put limits on your child’s account? You can limit your child to one complete lunch so your child is getting the complete lunch on the menu.
You can also limit your daily expenditures or snack choices or ala carte by calling our cafeteria at 281-465-3467.
Lost and Found
Lost and Found has been collected and will be stored for the next couple of weeks. If you are looking for a specific item that your child has lost, please contact Kalyn McQuain at kalyn@mcquainagency.com. Any unclaimed items will be donated after June 15th.
Give the Gift of a TAE "Teacher's Achieving Excellence"
Log Into "Parent Access" by clicking:
and click on the "Teachers/Staff Excellence" Tab.
Feel free to type your own message and send any staff a positive message!
Amazon Smile~ You shop. Amazon gives.
Select Buckalew Elementary School as your charity!
What is AmazonSmile?
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organizationHow do I shop at AmazonSmile?
To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.How do I select a charitable organization to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?
On your first visit to AmazonSmile smile.amazon.com, you need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. We will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation.ExxonMobil Grants
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
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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.