PEANUT FREE - We are NO LONGER a peanut free school. Students can bring peanut items. Please let them know that we DO still have students and staff with peanut allergies (and other nut allergies) that require caution. We'd ask you to talk to them about not sharing their snacks and when they see the "Peanut Free Table" in the lunchroom, they do not sit there if they have anything with peanuts in it (granola bars, PB&J sandwich, Reese's anything, etc).
MORNING ROUTINE - All students will enter through the front doors this year. We will welcome students in at the door at 7:50am to either eat breakfast or sit in the gym and visit until 8:10am. Students will be dismissed from the gym to head to class at 8:10am.
BREAKFAST will start when we welcome students in at 7:50am and last until 8:10am. After that time, students will receive a grab-n-go breakfast (a bar of some sort and milk; graham crackers, cheese stick & milk; or something equivalent to get to class on time). We have classes that start gym at 8:35am. Students that were eating or just waiting will be sent out of the gym at 8:10 (if done eating). At 8:15, ALL students will be sent to class so we have 20 minutes to sweep and mop before PE classes.
COSTS - breakfast will cost $1.50; reduced price is 30 cents. Lunch cost is $2.90; reduced price is 40 cents. If students order just a milk - it is 60 cents. If you want to join your child for breakfast, adults cost $2.00 while lunch will cost you $4.00. Students do receive paper notices when their account gets below five dollars. Once they run out of funds, they are no longer allowed the usual lunch, they will receive a sandwich and milk (with no other options).
PAYING for FOOD - If you are looking to pay for lunches by adding funds to your child's account, please click HERE. If you need a free and reduced lunch application, you can complete that online by clicking HERE. Paper applications will be available at the front office.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS - Research is pretty clear that students that miss more than 10% of school start having serious difficulties; and the habits/pattern starts as early as kindergarten. Please be sure to get students to school ON TIME. School starts at 8:25am each day. Our students in grades K-3 dismiss at 2:28 (1:28 Wednesdays); grades 4-5 dismiss at 3:10pm (2:10 on Wednesdays).
CHECKING IN @ OFFICE - Everybody that enters the building is required to check in at the front office, fill out carbon copy sticker badge and wear it in the building at all times. We do adapt this practice during performances; however, you are not allowed to be past the office without a visitor's badge. Thank you for understanding and complying.
PARKING - We only have a very limited number of spots in our school lot. Our side lot is for teachers only, please do not park there. All parking is to be found on the street; we know this is not ideal or pleasant. We also ask that if you do park on the opposite side of the street, please teach your children to use the crosswalk on the corner by the alleyway.
DROP OFF - You may use the entire curbed area to pull up, stop, let your child out, wish them well, and drive to work or back home between 7:45am and 8:30am. Parking along the curbing is not permitted. We do have 2 busses, sometimes 3 that need to be able to swing in, drop off their riders, and move along. Additionally, there are 100-150 other cars trying to get into the u-drive to drop of their kids so it must keep moving. Please do NOT double park and let your child out the car in the middle of the drive because it's full or you can't find a parking spot. Drive through the loop again and just be patient, please.
PICK UP - There are two colors on the curbing through our U-Drive. YELLOW is for BUSSES only; BLUE is for HANDICAP and LICENSED DAYCARE ONLY. To park in the very limited blue curb area, you need to be a licensed daycare - picking up grandkids, others' kids, watching friends' kids, etc. does not mean you are a daycare. Principal Niemeyer watches/supervises 360-370 kids per day, and he is not a licensed daycare - he is not allowed to park in that area. Please abide by these rules, be patient and be kind. Especially these first days when everyone is picking up their children. It will get better (less traffic) after the first week.
INFORMATION UPDATE on POWERSCHOOL - You should get into your PowerSchool account and update current information on the demographics/contact page: (1) address, (2) phone numbers, (3) emergency contact persons and numbers, and (4) health information.
PACKETS to RETURN - The following forms are online through PowerSchool, but many neglect to fill them out and these are vital. They will come home the first days of school (or you'll get them at open house). Please go over them with your child, have conversations, and get them back to us as soon as possible. These include the Weapons Contract and Bullying Contract. One other that we prefer to be on paper is the Media Release. As you can tell, we do a lot online: we email, use Seesaw, post to social media via our Facebook page (@BeartoothElem) and Instagram & Twitter (@niemeyermr406). These are used for professional purposes to keep our families informed and allow a glimpse into the daily happenings of our school. Grandparents enjoy looking at our page as well. We ask you to not use any names or grade levels to identify students in the comments. If a parent uses their child name, and I can verify the person is who they say they are, I will usually leave the comment. If someone else uses a child's name or grade level on social media - that comment will be deleted as soon as we catch it. We never post what grade level kids are in, their teacher's name, or use a student's name. Please consider this and return the Media Release as soon as you can; we like to start posting immediately.
Thank you so much!
