We are so excited to have our school year start and have our Buckalew Bears in our building very soon. Our teachers have been on-campus, off and on this summer, getting their classrooms ready and attending professional development over the summer to make it the best school year yet! By the time school starts on August 11th, we hope you will all join us in our theme this year of "GEARED-UP FOR SUCCESS"! We have spent a lot of time "gearing up", we are now "GEARED-UP"! Let's get this school year underway!

With the ever-changing pandemic, our hope is to remain open and operate as normal as possible. With that said, it will take our entire Buckalew community to work together, taking personal responsibility to keep everyone working for the success of our little bears. In efforts to ease into the school year, we have altered the Meet the Teacher schedule on August 9th, to minimize crowds, provide a smaller setting for your child to visit with their teacher, and to assist with parking. Please see below for the Meet the Teacher times by student last names below. We thank you in advance for understanding the request to attend during the times listed below.

The staff at Buckalew want to assure you that our goal is to stay in-school, in-person. We are so very proud of our success last year with 93% of our students attending in-person by the end of the year, and we want that success to continue with 100% of our students attending the entire school year. While wearing a mask is optional and a personal choice for everyone, Buckalew will be a safe place whether you choose for your child to wear, or not wear, a mask. We want everyone to feel comfortable given that choice.

Attached with this newsletter is our student addendum. It should help all families become familiar with procedures at Buckalew. I encourage you to read through it, as it is designed to help answer most questions prior to the start of school.

On Monday, August 9th by noon, please look for an email from your child’s teacher. If you do not receive an email by Monday, class placement information will be available at our Meet the Teacher information table later that day. Computer servers have been known to deliver emails at various times even when they are sent from school at the same time. Also, please be sure to stop by the gym/cafeteria at Meet the Teacher to join our PTO, pick up your pre-ordered spirit shirts, or to find ways to get involved at Buckalew.

As I begin my 25th year in education, my 12th year at Buckalew, and my 6th year as Buckalew's Proud Principal, I want to welcome all of you to our Buckalew Family. Buckalew is the BEST place to be and I feel very blessed to serve this community.

Sincerely,

Jill Price

Below are the dates and times to receive important teacher insight into each grade level. We are often asked if it is appropriate for children to attend the orientations. A lot of information about the school, curriculum, homework, grading, and a variety of other topics geared toward parents will be discussed. Most parents find it a little easier to attend the orientations by themselves, but we certainly understand if that is not a possibility for your family. We do want all parents to be able to attend if at all possible. Times are staggered to enable parents with multiple students to attend each grade level orientation, and to minimize crowds.

· Kindergarten - August 9 (see kinder orientation information above) before school begins

· First Grade – Thursday, September 9 1:45-2:15 p.m. and 5:30- 6:00 p.m.

· Second Grade – Thursday, September 9 10:30-11:00 a.m. 6:00 – 6:30 p.m.

· Third Grade – Thursday, September 9 9:30-10:00 a.m. and 6:30- 7:00 p.m.

· Fourth Grade –Thursday, September 9 8:30-9:00 a.m. and 7:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Children are encouraged to bring water bottles each day. Please clearly write your child's name on the bottle with permanent marker.

During the recent legislative session, Senate Bill 1697 established new Texas Education Code (TEC), section code 28.02124, Parental Option for Student Retention, which allows parents or guardians to opt to have their child:

• repeat prekindergarten;
• enroll in prekindergarten if the child was eligible to enroll in prekindergarten in the previous school year, under TEC, section code 29.153(b), and has not yet enrolled in kindergarten;
• repeat kindergarten;
• enroll in kindergarten if the child would have enrolled in kindergarten in the previous school year and has not yet enrolled in first grade;
• for grades one through three, repeat the grade the student was enrolled in the previous school year;
• for grades four through eight, repeat the grade the student was enrolled in during the 2020-2021 school year; and
• for courses taken for high school credit, repeat any course in which the student was enrolled during the 2020-2021 school year.

To learn more, please visit TEA’s Restart Kindergarten or Repeat a Grade or Course webpages. Please note: UIL eligibility may be impacted by repeating a course or grade. Check UIL’s website regularly for updates.