Bobcat Bulletin
Back to School 2023-2024
Principal's Message
Dear BCES Families,
Last Wednesday we opened our doors to over 700 students at Ballenger Creek Elementary. The focus for our staff these first few weeks it to build and foster relationships and ensure all of our students are seen, heard, valued and supported. Each and every child brings value to our school. We look forward to the future opportunities of connection, joy and growth this school year will provide.
Yours in Education,
Megan Stein
Principal
September Dates
- No School, Labor Day: September 4th
- 3.5 Hour Early Dismissal, Fair Day: Friday September 22nd
- Schools Closed; Yom Kippur; September 25th
Attendance Matters!
- Chronic attendance is measured at missing 10% or more of school days. It is vital we support student attendance at BCES as 28.8% of our student population was identified as chronically absent for the 2022-2023 school year.
- When a child is absent or late you will receive an automated phone call as confirmation from One Call Now. Furthermore, if a student misses 2 or 3 consecutive days the classroom teacher will reach out to families using a preferred method of communication. This will ensure students are able to access their academic and social-emotional growth!
- To further support and celebrate student attendance we have partnered with Orchard Grove Elementary and Tuscarora Elementary for the Battle of Ballenger Creek! Each month the winning school with the highest attendance percentage will get to hoist and proudly display the attendance trophy! We know Ballenger Creek Elementary can bring home this trophy on a monthly basis!
Dismissal/Arrival Reminders & Information for Families
A few reminders to ensure dismissal can operate safely and smoothly within our community:
- The first few weeks our dismissal operations may be slightly delayed as we ensure students learn routines and procedures for safe departure of our 700 students. We appreciate your patience!
- Dismissal changes cannot be accepted after 3:00 PM from the front office in order to support clear communication and timely dismissal.
- Students will not be dismissed from the office after 3:00 PM, unless in an emergency.
- Students will always be dismissed based on their assigned dismissal routine (walker, car rider, bus rider) unless a note, email or phone call has been communicated each time a change is made before 3:00 PM.
- Walkers (Pre-K-5) are released from school property between 3:30 and 3:40 each day regardless if a parent is present (similar to a bus stop). Be sure if your child is a walker, they understand their route and routine or you may choose to plan and meet them at the edge of school property at 3:30 PM.
- Field side walkers may not be picked up by a car adjacent to school property due to the disruption of traffic slow and safety. Those students will need be to be changed to car riders and run through our front car rider loop as designed.
- If your child is delayed coming home by bus please check the FCPS Bus Status Information prior to calling the school to support keeping the office phone lines open for essential communication.
- Students who walk to school during arrival should use a sidewalk on each side of our bordering property. Students will not be permitted to cross the parking lot and car rider drop off area.
- Students should NOT arrive on school property prior to 8:30 AM as there is no available to supervise until the start of our school day.
PTA News
2023-2024 BCES PTA would like to announce the new board members for the 2023-2024 school year:
- President: Laura McNay
- Vice President: Spot Open
- Secretary: Amanda Marshall
- Treasurer: Tatiana Segura
Some save the dates to add as well as the reminder to register for the Boosterthon Fun Run!
Please go to MyBooster.com and register your student(s)!
- 9/12/2023-Our Fun Run event Launches for a week filled with fun and prizes
- 9/13/2023-Our first PTA meeting in the Library at BCES
- 9/14/2023-Our first Restaurant Fundraiser at Mod Pizza (all day)
- 9/20/2023-THE FUN RUN!
Healthy Eating Challenge
Greetings from the BCES PE Team. We are excited for our first healthy habits challenge of the year. In your child's Bobcat folder this week you will find a flyer for the Summers Farm Eat Healthy Challenge.
Summers Farm and Frederick County Schools invite you to participate in the Eat Healthy Challenge again! This year's challenge is September 4th-September 8th (please ignore the date on the flyer). Eating Healthy is one of the most important steps that people of all ages can take to improve their health. FCPS and Summers Farm feel strongly that improving the health of our children begins at home. The Eat Healthy Challenge provides your family with an opportunity to participate in healthy eating together. The goal is to work as a family to complete the challenge.
Once you complete the challenge and fill out the flyer, that is your child's ticket to the farm. Students DO NOT need to return the form to school. You can bring it directly to the farm and use that as your child's admission ticket into the farm.
Please reach out to our PE team if you have any questions.
Mrs. Cangemi elizabeth.cangemi@fcps.org
Mr. Hoffman jacob.hoffman@fcps.org
Mr. Swope joshua.swope@fcps.org
FCPS Update Covid 19
Frederick County Public Schools continues to follow guidance from the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) regarding COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Our strategies align with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We have also collaborated with the Frederick County Health Department (FCHD) in developing our mitigation strategy for the 2023-24 school year. Our routine prevention strategy is as follows and is being implemented to decrease the risk of COVID-19 and other respiratory illness transmission:
Face coverings
- Welcomed for all who chose to wear one.
Isolation
- Encouraged if individuals are sick and suspect they are positive for COVID-19 even if they do not have test results.
- Return to work/school when symptoms have improved AND it has been at least 24 hours since last fever.
- Isolate at least five full days after exposure. Face covering encouraged for five days after returning to work/school.
Ventilation
- School buildings continue being provided ventilation by introducing outside air through the HVAC systems. Upgraded filter media (i.e., MERV-13) have been installed to the greatest extent possible in air-handling equipment.
Hand Hygiene
- Staff and students are encouraged to continue using proper hand washing practices. Hand sanitizer remains available in all classrooms.
- High-touch surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected routinely.
Communication
- COVID-19 communication will align with how we communicate other respiratory illnesses.
- Communication sent to parent/guardians of student(s) if three or more cases of COVID-19 or another respiratory illness are reported in a classroom.
- Administrators will work with health specialists to determine when communication beyond an impacted classroom(s) is warranted.
BCES Handbook Highlight: Recess Equipment
Linq Connect for Student Lunch Accounts
Food and Nutrition Services is happy to share the new parent portal at http://linqconnect.com/ where you can:
- Apply for meal benefits (FARM)
- View menus, meal prices
- Add money to student accounts (NO FEES SY'24!)
- Transfer funds between students
- View student meal transactions
- Set low-balance notifications
***FCPS is no longer using MySchoolBucks. Meal account balances from last school year are now on LINQ Connect. REGISTER for a LINQ Connect account to see your student(s) balance.
Volunteer at BCES
Volunteers play a vital role in our school community! We are excited this year to offer increased opportunities for families to engage within our school. Visitors will be permitted to VOLUNTEER in our lunch room and within the school beginning September 18th.
The FCPS volunteer process and training is conducted on an annual basis. Families and community members are encouraged to apply if you are interested in being a volunteer at BCES. We look forward to partnering with you in the coming school year!
FCPS Code of Conduct
Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) strives to create safe, positive, healthy, and inviting school climates that foster respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. The FCPS Code of Conduct provides a framework to foster positive behavior in alignment with the school system’s core mission of demonstrating excellence in each of FCPS strategic goal areas.
Parents are asked to review this electronic document with their child(ren) and sign the acknowledgement form when completing the student Information Forms electronically.
Crestwood Redistricting Study
As we prepare for the 2023-24 school year, we wanted to provide an update regarding the Crestwood Area Redistricting Study. It is important to note that no redistricting changes will take place until the 2024-25 school year. FCPS will remain committed to sharing updates on the study and the superintendent's recommendation. FCPS understands the significant impact redistricting has on multiple school communities, families, and students. We have heard the request for consideration of additional options and the need for additional community meetings to comment on any new options. Staff worked with the Board of Education to revise the redistricting study schedule.
FCPS is the fastest growing school district in the state by school population, including in, and near, the City of Frederick. FCPS is currently constructing an addition at Crestwood Middle School that will add 319 seats to the school's capacity. In addition, there are approximately 860 other available middle school seats unevenly distributed across the study area. The goal of this study is to balance enrollments at the middle school level and consider changes at the elementary and high school level to accommodate feeder patterns.
Schools in the Study Area Elementary Schools
Ballenger Creek, Butterfly Ridge, Carroll Manor, Hillcrest, Lewistown (Monocacy Middle school feeder portion), Lincoln, Monocacy, North Frederick, Orchard Grove, Parkway, Spring Ridge (west of the Monocacy River), Tuscarora, Waverley, Whittier, and Yellow Springs
Middle Schools
Ballenger Creek, Crestwood, Monocacy, Gov. Thomas Johnson (west of the Monocacy River), and West Frederick
High Schools
Frederick, Gov. Thomas Johnson, and Tuscarora
New community meeting dates are scheduled for this fall, where staff will present updates and additional options. All three presentations will be the same, and the community is invited to attend the presentation that is most convenient for them.
Wednesday, September 6
When: 6-8 p.m.
Where: Tuscarora High auditorium, 5312 Ballenger Creek Pike, Frederick
Thursday, September 7
When: 6-8 p.m.
Where: Frederick High auditorium, 650 Carroll Parkway, Frederick
Monday, September 11
When: 6-8 p.m.
Where: Gov. Thomas Johnson High auditorium, 1501 N. Market St., Frederick
Additional Timeline Updates
Wednesday, November 8
Time and Location: TBD
Board of Education Public Hearing about the Redistricting Study
Wednesday, December 6
Time and Location: TBD
Board's Decision/Action on Redistricting Study
Web resource for families: We encourage the community to access our web page devoted to the Crestwood area Redistricting Study. We have posted future meeting dates, the full Board presentation, and study maps. The page also shares how families can do a web-based search to see if their community would be affected by the recommendations.
We will continue updating the web page this summer with more information.
All comments and questions about the redistricting study should be sent to CrestwoodRedistricting@fcps.org.
Megan Stein, Principal
Email: megan.stein@fcps.org
Website: https://education.fcps.org/bces/home
Location: 5250 Kingsbrook Drive, Frederick, MD, USA
Phone: 240-236-2500
Twitter: @FCPS_Stein