BAYVILLE SCHOOL NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2016
Principal’s Message
Welcome back to a new school year!
Everyone has been working hard to get us off to a great start in September!
Our school day hours are 8:40 a.m. - 3:05 p.m.
A special welcome is extended to our new students and families. We are happy to have you join the Bayville School Community.
We strive to maintain open communication between home and school. Feel free to call to speak to your child’s teacher or to make an appointment to meet. I am readily available to parents through telephone conferences and appointments.
IMPORTANT - DISMISSAL PROCEDURE
All student sign-outs will take place in the lobby, not in the main office. If you are coming to pick up your child early or to sign your child out at dismissal, please enter the lobby and provide your child’s name to the secretary or teacher on duty. If you are picking your child up at dismissal, you can then wait outside of the main building entrance for the children to dismiss at 3:05 p.m.
As always, maintaining a safe environment for our students is our top priority and we appreciate your cooperation with this procedure.
VISITORS TO SCHOOL
Any individual not enrolled as a student or staff member at Bayville School must check into the Main Office before going anywhere in the school building. All visitors to the school must obtain a visitor’s pass from the secretaries in the Main Office. The visitor’s pass must remain visible during the entire visit to the school. Any visitor who is not wearing a visitor’s pass will be directed to report back to the Main Office.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
ARRIVAL TIME
We ask that every effort is made to have children get to school by 8:40 am. Children entering the class after 8:50 am are considered tardy. These late arrivals miss homeroom announcements and important instruction. They also distract the rest of the class and the teacher, causing loss of instructional time for all. Children have a much better school day when they can participate in their normal classroom routine from the start of their day.
Thank you for helping with this important aspect of your child’s education.
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH PROGRAM
The breakfast and lunch programs will begin on the first day of school. Breakfast will be offered at a cost of $1.75 and lunch will be $2.75. Your child’s cafeteria balance and purchasing information can be accessed through the “Parent Portal” on the district website.
Any child who received free milk/lunch or reduced lunch last year will continue to do so this year until the new lunch forms are reviewed.
All applications are checked for qualifications. Eligibility notifications will occur late in September or early in October. All students must return the Free/Reduced Lunch form application regardless of family income. If not applying, fill in students name only and write “NOT APPLYING”. Please remember that if your family circumstances change, you may re-apply at any time during the school year.
Student Absences and Tardiness
As a reminder, parents are requested to call (732 )269-1300 x 4005 whenever your child is absent from school. You may also leave a message on the nurse’s voicemail the night before indicating your child’s name, teacher and reason for absence. According to our attendance policy, all absences (even those phoned in) MUST be documented in a note from a parent or doctor brought to school by the student when he/she returns.
The first bell rings at 8:35 a.m. for kindergarten and 8:40 for first-fourth grade. Homeroom begins promptly at 8:50 a.m. Children arriving at 8:50 or later are tardy. Please make every effort to have your child to school on time. When students arrive late they are missing important instructional time and are also a disruption to the classroom. Your cooperation with timely attendance for your child is greatly appreciated. Also, school is in session until 3:05. Any students leaving early will be missing valuable classroom instruction.
SCHOOL FORMS TO BE COMPLETED
All school forms are now located on our website: www.btboe.org. This includes Emergency Cards, Press Releases, KI Fact Sheets, Bus Contracts and all other forms that were previously sent home, completed by parents and then returned to school. Please go to the Berkeley Township School district home page www.btboe.org. You will find the “Parent Portal” listed under “Links”. Fill out all the information needed for your student(s) as soon as possible. Also at the end of every marking period, you will find Progress Reports and Report Cards through the Parent Portal. A letter was sent home to all parents of new students in August. All other families will use their log-in information from last year.
GLOBAL CONNECT SYSTEM
The Berkeley Township School District has instituted an automated calling system for absences. A phone call will automatically be placed to the home of any student who is absent from school whether the child’s absence was called out or not.
We do ask that you continue to follow our school’s procedure for calling in an absence and continue to send in absence notes and/or doctor notes to assure that the absence is recorded correctly. A 24-hour voice mail absence reporting line may be reached at 732-269-1300.
ATTENDANCE
We encourage parents to have students maintain a good attendance record. Parents are asked, however, to follow the standing orders from our school doctor and keep students home for a full 24 hours fever free following a temperature. This is in the best interest of your child and the rest of the class.
A written note from the parent or a doctor’s note is a requirement of the district’s attendance policy. Without this note, a child is considered truant according to district policy. These notes will be sent by the homeroom teacher to the nurse’s office where they will be recorded and filed.
BICYCLE RIDERS
If a student wishes to ride a bike to school, a helmet must be worn and a bike lock must be used to secure the bicycle to the bike rack. Students are not allowed to ride their bikes on days that they stay after school for any activity.
The school assumes no responsibility for the bicycles or helmets.
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
Back to School Night for grades preschool through fourth is scheduled for MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
A more detailed schedule will be distributed to parents shortly. Each grade level teacher will give a 25 minute presentation. Grade levels are scheduled at different times. Principal’s meetings are scheduled throughout the evening. During these meetings, administrators will be available to help parents connect to the online Parent Portal and answer any questions.
MEDICATIONS IN SCHOOL
Please remember that no medications are to be brought to school by students.
All medications, prescribed or over-the-counter, must be brought to the school by a parent in the original labeled bottle or container. All medications need written and signed orders from a legal prescriber. If you have any questions regarding medication in school, please call our school nurse at 732-269-1300 ext. 4006.
TRANSPORTATION REQUESTS
There are times during a home emergency when parents request for their child to be placed on a different bus. Unfortunately, children cannot automatically take a different number bus home. Parents need to call the Transportation Office with the request.
The capacity of the vehicle determines if an emergency change can occur.
Permanent bus changes require filling out a form that allows forty-eight hours notification to the Transportation Office prior to the change.
WALKERS
If your child walks to and from school each day, it is highly recommended that they do not arrive before 8:40 a.m.
Children who arrive too early will not be supervised while waiting for school to begin. Unsupervised times cause problems which may require parent contact.
Y- KIDS PROGRAM
The Berkeley Township School District and the YMCA are pleased to provide an affordable, safe environment for families in need of before and/or after school childcare starting in the Fall 2016-2017 school year. The Y-Kids Before and After School Program will be supervised by YMCA personnel and is available at all four elementary schools.
If interested, please call the YMCA at 732-341-9622
SCHOOL CALENDAR
Parents, please check our district webpage (www.btboe.org) and our school webpage for important information including newsletters, calendars, lunch menus, transportation paperwork and the parent portal.