BSE Bear Bulletin
August 26, 2022
December 2, 2022
BSE Families,
We hope everyone had a restful and enjoyable break last week. This week has kicked off the final stretch of our first semester. There is still a lot of learning and important things occurring through these next few weeks. The NWEA testing window is December 5-December 16th. All kindergarten-fourth graders will take the Math and Reading NWEA tests. The purpose of the NWEA assessment is to have formative data in both of these subject areas. This data is used to guide instruction as the year continues.
The final weeks leading to winter break can be filled with lots of different feelings as students know they will be away for a few weeks. Intentional and purposeful instruction and learning will continue to take place every day until December 16th, when the semester ends. Please make sure to send your child to school rested and ready to be engaged each day. We continue to see an influx of students arriving late or past the 7:40 bell. It is important for students to arrive to school on time ready to learn. Arriving late and missing morning routines and instruction impacts the rest of the student's day.
In addition, we wanted to remind everyone of the HSE attendance policy:
Our HSE Student Handbook states, A maximum of eight (8) days per semester and a maximum of sixteen (16) days per school year will be excused. Further undocumented absences will be unexcused. Students must have a written explanation from their doctor for every absence above and beyond the maximum of 8 days per semester or 16 days per year.
Thank you for your continued support,
Mrs. Kussy and Mr. Hoog
A Note from the Nurse
If your student has any of the following, they must stay home:
- Fever ≥ 100.4°
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
This means your student must be fever, vomit and diarrhea free for 24hrs without the use of medication before returning to school.
The following information sheet is from the Indiana Department of Education and should be used as a guideline when deciding to send or keep your student home.
Student Holiday Meal
Please see below for this year's menu.
RECESS
Recess supervision is provided by responsible school personnel. For every child’s safety and the school’s liability, parents may not accompany students to recess. Recess will be held outdoors whenever possible. Precipitation, sunshine, cloud cover, wind chill, temperature, etc. are all considered when a decision is made for indoor recess. In general, recess will be held indoors when it is raining, or the temperature/wind chill falls below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Conversely, if 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher heat index (relative humidity and temperature) is reached, the school will take special precautions for any outdoor activity and teachers will use extreme caution while monitoring students at recess. In addition, students will be provided ample amounts of water before and during recess; Recesses will be shortened or may be moved indoors at the discretion of the principal or designee; Children will be watched/monitored carefully for necessary action. These temperatures are based on recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ***Includes chart and explanation of chart.
With the weather changing and the snow blanketing us in a winter wonderland, it’s time to start pulling out the winter clothes! Some things to consider:
- Jackets, hats, gloves, and weather appropriate shoes are crucial for recess. Please keep this in mind when the kids are getting dressed for the day.
- Packing an extra outfit for school can be super helpful for snowy days. The kids LOVE playing in the snow, so their clothes getting wet is inevitable.
- Have extra winter clothes you were going to get rid of? The clinic could potentially use them! Here are some items we could use:
- Socks
- Boys pants: sizes 5-8 only
- Boys long sleeve shirts: sizes 8-12 or Medium/Larges only
- Girls long sleeve shirts: small-XL
Helping BSE Families Over The Holidays
A HUGE thank you to those who have already submitted donations to help our BSE families. If you are still planning on donating, I am happy to accept those in any form that works for you!! Cash, gift cards or Venmo @Andrea-Thorne-4
Thank you all for your generosity. I am proud to be a Bear!
Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found is overflowing! Please encourage your child to stop by the lost and found to look for any items that may be theirs.
Parents/Guardians, if you would like to look through the lost and found we will have times available the week of December 12th-16th. During that week the lost and found will be located by the main office for you to come and look through during school hours.
Items not claimed by the beginning of the Winter Break (December 16th) will be donated to a local charity.
A Message from Mrs. Hileman
Hello Families!
We will be exploring coding in Discovery for the next two weeks. We will be using Scratch Jr to create their own stories and games with coding. We will also be using Kodable, a problem-solving coding game in the coming weeks. Please install Scratch Jr and Kodable onto your student's iPads.
Thank you!
Mrs. Hileman
Library Volunteers!
I am very excited to welcome volunteers to our BSE library this year!
This year there are two time slots for volunteering. These times frames are always flexible. Any amount of time you have to offer during these slots I am grateful for. The AM slot is anytime from 8:00am-10:30am. The PM slot is anytime between 11:30am – 2:00pm.
Library volunteering involves various activities, such as:
- checking in books
- shelving books
- assisting students during checkout
- reading with children
- general library organizational tasks
If you are interested, please sign up using this “Sign Up Genius” link. You can also email me for more information at sgaudreau@hse.k12.in.us.
Arrival, Tardies, Attendance and Dismissal
Arrival and Tardies:
- Please use caution while entering and exiting the lot to drop off students. Do not go around vehicles unless directed by the BSE staff. Student, parent, and staff safety are our number one priority at arrival.
- The school day starts promptly at 7:40am. Please make sure that your child is in the building by 7:35am to ensure they can get to their classroom in time. If your child is a car rider and you arrive after 7:40am you will need to walk your child in to the building and sign them in. Please make every effort to have your child to school on time!
- If your child will be tardy due to an appointment, please call them in to the attendance line before the start of the day. This allows us to notify teachers and make the approiate adjustments.
- If your child will be absent for the day please call the absence in to the Attendance line before the start of the school day.
- If your child has an appointment during the day and will need to leave early please call this in to the school. Please do not mark this in School Dismissal Manager. School Dismissal Manager is only to be used for end of day transportation, not early dismissal.
- If your child will be participating in a club or after school activity please make sure you are changing this in School Dismissal Manager for the approiate days. If a childs dismissal is not updated we will send them home according to their setting for that day.
Cafe News
A reminder to all families. Breakfast and lunch is served each day for students. Unlike last year, breakfast and lunch are NOT free this year, unless you qualify for free/reduced lunches.
To check your student's account balance login in to Skyward and click on the Food Services tab. You have the option to set up notifications for balances below a certain amount as well.
Breakfast is $1.40 and lunch is $2.80. To make a payment to your student's lunch account please either send in a check or cash in a marked envelope with your student's name and Student ID number or make a payment online via the E-Funds website.
To access E-funds click here and follow the steps below.
- Creat an account by choosing a user name and password.
- Add a Student or students using their student ID (Other ID in Skyward).
- Add a payment methhod. Either checking account or credit card.
- Enter the amount you would like to pay and add to cart.
Below is the district Elementary Breakfast and Lunch menu. Make sure to look at the calendar and pick the corresponding week.
Book Fees
Book fees for the 2022-2023 school year are now past due. If fees are not paid immediately a late fee will be assessed.
To pay your book fees, log into your Skyward account and select "Fee Management" on the left-hand side to see your balance.
You will see the amount due under the Unpaid Balance header.
Please make note of your total amount due then log into eFunds
(https://payments.efundsforschools.com/v3/districts/55481)
to make your payment. You will need to manually enter the amount you are paying.
Thank you!
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Lessons
Please see below for the focus for each grade level's lessons. If you have questions regarding Second Step or SEL in general, please reach out to Mrs. Thorne.
Week 14- week of 11/28
Holiday Light Recycling Program
Dear HSE Staff, Students, and Families,
This Holiday Season, HSE is asking you to give a gift to the Earth by making the choice to be more sustainable. HSE Schools will be hosting a district wide Holiday Light Recycling Program. Starting December 5th and going until January 13th each school will be collecting old, broken, tangled, or unwanted holiday lights. Technology Recyclers will take these unwanted/unusable lights and break them down into useable components that will be used to make new products.
- This will be the third year for the holiday light recycling program!
- During the 2020/2021 season you helped collected and recycle 3,519 pounds of holiday lights!
- During the 2021/2022 season you helped collect and recycle 4,711 pounds of holiday lights.
- In two years of recycling holiday lights, you have helped recycle the equivalent weight of a Ford F250.
- Your small choices have helped prevent a total of 8,230 pounds of plastic, metal, and glass from ending up in a landfill.
- You helped make a HUGE impact.
- What can we collect in the 2022/2023 season?
I am asking that each school set up a collection center (large box, crate, trash can) and collect unwanted/unusable holiday lights in a central location in your building (front office, media center, science classroom, environment/eco club). You can help prevent e-waste from ending up in the dumpster this year. Please share this information with your families and help promote the event.
Why Should People Recycle Old Holiday Lights?
- Holiday Lights are not bio-degradable and will spend hundreds of years in a landfill if thrown away.
- Holiday lights are known to get into waterways and oceans. This can lead to animals becoming entangled and dying.
- New ENERGY STAR LED holiday lights are up to 75% more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs.
- LED holiday lights are not as fragile as the thin glass of incandescent bulbs.
- According to the National Fire Protection Association switching to LED holiday lights reduces the chance of Christmas tree fires.
- LED bulbs offer more colors and features while reducing the energy consumed.
- LED holiday lights have a longer lifespan than incandescent bulbs offering on average 25% longer life.
- Holiday lights are made from copper, glass, and plastic—valuable materials that can be recycled, reclaimed, and turned into new products helping preserve our environment!
Why should you recycle unwanted or unusable Holiday lights? Because you care about the environment! If you want to keep your lights from going to a landfill and do your part to look after the Earth, recycling your lights is a great way to do it!
No matter what the reason, resist the urge to throw old holiday lights in the trash. Please participate in HSE district wide Holiday Light Recycling Program this year!
PLEASE DO NOT:
- Please do not include any packing material.
- Please do not include any apparatus used to wind up or store the lights.
- Please do not include lights wrapped in garland.
PLEASE DO:
- Please place your lights in the recycling box (many will be stored in the front office, media centers, or science classrooms).
- Ask your friends, neighbors, social groups, and family members if they also have lights that need to be recycled.
- Do your part to be more sustainable this year.
Additional Information & Resources for Teachers.
- Duke Energy Holiday light calculator: https://www.duke-energy.com/energy-education/energy-savings-and-efficiency/holiday-lighting-calculator
- Energ.Gov – LED lighting Information: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/led-lighting#349182-tab-1
- Energy Star Decorative Light String: https://www.energystar.gov/products/lighting_fans/decorative_light_strings
HSE is Hiring!!!
HSE Report It!
HSE Report It! is a school safety mobile reporting app that allows students, staff, and community members to provide anonymous information about concerns for their own safety or the safety of others. HSE Report it!, can be downloaded via Google Play or the Apple App Store. It’s anonymous and reports are made exclusively through the mobile app. HSE Report it! has no length limitations or the need to remember a short code. Reporters can attach photos, screenshots, videos, documents and/or audio recordings to their concerns and they can engage in a two-way dialogue with a real person. For more information and links to download the app click the photo below.