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July 21, 2022
Blue Valley’s Board of Education hosted its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Monday, July 18. Check out the video below to see all the amazing staff members and students that were recognized. Also, stay up to date with highlights from the meeting in this month’s edition of Board Briefs.
Want to watch a replay of the full live streamed meeting? Visit Blue Valley’s Board of Education YouTube page for a full recording of the meeting. For more information, visit the Board of Education page on our district website.
The Blue Valley Board of Education has established the 2022-23 schedule for regular Board of Education meetings and approved changes to the start time and open forum for the upcoming year.
The 2022-23 Board of Education meeting schedule is available on the district website.
Board meetings will now start at 5:30 p.m. with open forum. The livestream begins when the meeting is called to order, after open forum has concluded.
Open forum will occur prior to every regularly scheduled monthly board meeting. Thirty minutes will be allotted (approx. 10 participants; 3 minutes each) for individuals to address the board. Additional opportunities for community engagement with the board will be discussed as part of the work of the Communications Board Advisory Committee.
Additional information about the Board of Education is available on the district website.
Join us in the classroom, in the lunchroom and in our schools to help us provide the best learning experience for our students. Blue Valley is seeking applications for the following support roles within our district:
Paraeducators
Custodians
Food Service workers
These positions offer flexible schedules, full benefits and retirement plans. If you are looking to make a positive impact in your community and in the lives of our children, we encourage you to apply for one of these support opportunities in the district, or share this information with someone you think would be a good fit to join our team. For more information and to apply for school-level openings, visit the Blue Valley employment website.
Summer is a time for kids to relax, gather with friends, go on trips, explore the world and spend time tapping into what interests them. It can also be a time for kids to work on skills they learned during the school year so that when August returns, they are prepared for school and ready to take on the year.
Learning and working on essential skills for reading can be achieved by simple at-home activities such as working in the garden or preparing a grocery list. Visiting the zoo or a museum are great places for kids to develop more of the skills needed for reading success, vocabulary, background knowledge and practice listening and speaking.
Kids can focus on various reading elements such as phonological awareness by playing rhyming games, counting the words heard in a sentence or naming words that begin with a particular sound.
Whether it’s planning a trip to a baseball game and researching the opposing team or writing a thank-you note after a playdate, families can support their young readers and writers by tapping into their kids’ interests and supplying an authentic context for their learning.
Read more about how families can support their young readers during the summer in this Learning Connection story.
The Blue Valley Parents as Teachers program is a universal, free home visiting program for families residing in the Blue Valley School District with children prenatal through three years of age. Through Parents as Teachers, families receive monthly home visits, annual screenings, weekly group connections and community resource connections. It is a great way to connect with other families in the Blue Valley community.
Did you know that 80% of brain development occurs before age three? These early years provide critical windows of opportunity that will help build the foundation for your child’s life. Let Blue Valley Parents as Teachers help you maximize your efforts by providing information that will help you ensure your child is on track developmentally and share ways to enrich their learning. Parents as Teachers will help you understand the meaning behind your child’s behaviors, learn the importance of your parent-child connection and walk with you through parenting challenges along the way.
Parents as Teachers is now enrolling families for the 2022-23 program year. Enroll today at www.bluevalleyk12.org/parentsasteachers or call 913-624-2815 with questions.
Over a three-week period each summer, Blue Valley students spend time in classrooms at Harmony Middle School. But they aren’t there to focus on the same school work and activities they would during the school year.
The kids that fill the classrooms talk excitedly as they spend a few hours each day learning about a topic of interest. Some students file into the Carpenter’s Corner class where they build a birdhouse. Another group of students arrives at Harmony Middle ready to step into the Wizarding World of “Harry Potter” class. A group of sixth to eighth graders prepare to get their hands dirty as they paint while fourth to sixth graders ready themselves to practice their ping pong skills.
Read more about what Blue Valley students experienced during this year’s Summer Explorations in this Learning Connection story.
Reminder: Political signs prohibited on District property
With the Kansas primary and general election approaching, a reminder to patrons that political signs are not allowed on district property and will be removed.
The Johnson County Elections office website is a great resource for families to learn more about the primary and general elections.