NOVEMBER

11/20-11/24 - Non Attendance Days & Thanksgiving Break

11/21 - T1 Report Cards available on HAC at 8:00 AM

11/29 - 2:10 PM Early Dismissal

11/30- BG Shopping Day for Grades K, 2, 4

DECEMBER/JANUARY

12/4-12/8 - Holiday Market

12/25-1/5 Winter Break

1/8 - Teacher Work Day (No Students)

1/9 - School Resumes

1/15 - Martin Luther King Jr Holiday (No Students)

1/24 - 2:10 PM Early Dismissal

As teachers are finishing up report cards this weekend, we want to take this opportunity to remind our community that many of the skills students have been working on during this first trimester will reappear in upcoming trimesters, especially in reading. We have a new reading resource this year that mirrors how our math resource is presented. Skills are revisited and assessed for different levels of mastery throughout the school year. Therefore, receiving a "beginning" or a "progressing" in a skill is OK because expectation is that we "meet" or "exceed" by the end of the year. What we really want to see is growth from all students as the school year progresses.

Thank you to all the Bell Graham families for donating and supporting the five children from Big Hearts who we sponsored this year! All the gifts were so generous and dropped off this week to Big Hearts.

Thank you for treating staff to a delicious chili and baked potato lunch this week!

2023-24 Elementary School Handbook

Electronic Devices in School

Phones/Smart Watches
Students are extended the privilege of possessing phones/smartwatches on school grounds; however, their use is limited to after-school dismissal and non-school days. These devices must be in the off position, or not used once the student arrives on campus until the end of the school day

• Absences should be called in by 7:45 AM
• You can leave a message 24 hours a day
• State your child’s name, their teacher's name and the reason why your child is out.
• If they are ill, please list their symptoms.

You are also welcome to email absence information to Kristin Cloy in the main office.

Prearranged Absence Form:

Prearranged absence forms are to be used for absences known in advance such as a planned vacation.

Jim Wheeler’s Toys for Kids campaign distributes toys to less fortunate children. New, unwrapped toys, books, art supplies and games can be dropped off now- December 6, 2023. Look for the red box outside the office.

Learn more

Please consider donating to the BG Shop using this link or purchasing items on your own. With Black Friday and Holiday sales in full gear please consider purchasing for BG students. Our students appreciate all of your support.

We appreciate our volunteers and value your time. When you are in the building for any reason, please be respectful of classroom instruction and do not make unexpected visits to your child's classroom. Thank you for helping us minimize classroom disruptions.

Please be sure to send your child with appropriate outdoor clothing for recess. Students have outdoor recess unless the outside temperature is below 0.

Please label your child's jacket, gloves, hat, etc. whenever possible. It helps us return items to their owner when they end up in lost & found.

There has been an increase in RSV in the community. According to the CDC, the respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States. People infected with RSV usually show symptoms within 4 to 6 days after getting infected. Symptoms of RSV infection usually include

• Runny nose
• Decrease in appetite
• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Fever
• Wheezing
  

These symptoms usually appear in stages and not all at once. In very young infants with RSV, the only symptoms may be irritability, decreased activity, and breathing difficulties.

According to CUSD 303 absence guidelines, students must be 24 hours fever free prior to returning back to school. A fever is a temperature of 100 degrees F or greater. Students with a persistent, productive cough must remain home as well. Masking remains optional for all students.

There are steps you can take to help prevent the spread of RSV. Specifically, if you have cold-like symptoms you should:

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your upper shirt sleeve, not your hands
• ·Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid close contact, such as kissing, shaking hands, and sharing cups and eating utensils, with others
• Clean frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs and mobile devices

ALL MEDICATION, including any and all over the counter medications, vitamins and cough drops

need a doctor’s authorization/order to be administered here at school. You can find the form(s) on the district website.

Thank you for teaming with us to keep our students healthy and in school!

REMINDER!

Please turn in your required health forms to the Health Office!

• Kindergarten- Physical, Vision, Dental, Health survey
• 2nd Grade- Dental
• 3rd Grade- Updated Health Survey

All of the forms are linked here for your convenience or you can go to the District Website and find them in the parent section under Forms.

Thank you,

LeeAnna Anzaldi, RN, BSN, PEL-CSN

Kerisa Martini Espinosa, RN

HEALTH OFFICE EMAIL ADDRESS

Parents, please send any communication or test results to
bel-nurses@d303.org to ensure that all of our Bell Graham nurses receive this important information pertaining to your student(s)

This week, we spotlight ALLISON RUBACK, who is responsible for starting and running the new Art Club at Bell Graham this year. Allison is also the room mom for 1HE. Allison is a former first grade and kindergarten teacher of Bell Graham but is a newbie to BG from the parenting perspective. As a parent, she has only been at BG for one year with her oldest being in first grade. She enthusiastically got involved with the PTO, and we are so thankful she did. Bell Graham would not be the place it is without this awesome mom! Thank you Allison for all you have done and will do in the future for BG!!!

HOLIDAY MARKET - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

The Holiday Market is coming, and we need your help making this season even more special for our kids. We need lots of help during this event, so please consider joining us. It’s truly heartwarming and one of nicest holiday experiences helping our kids choose special gifts and watching them enjoy this season of giving. SIGNUP HERE

A volunteer form will need to be on file with BG prior to the event. Please email this completed form to Kristin Volunteer Form

SHOUT OUTS

Did your kiddo make an awesome play at their baseball game? Did they win an event in gymnastics? Is it their birthday? Do you just want to make a random day special for them? Send them a SHOUT OUT!! For $10 you can have 5 pictures along with a message displayed on the TV screen outside of the LRC for an entire day. After making your purchase in the Square Store, please send an email to Alicia Flint at aliciafulgencioflint@yahoo.com with your pictures, message and date to be displayed. Pictures MUST be sent 7 days prior to the desired display date or we cannot guarantee your message will be loaded in time.

https://bell-graham-pto.square.site

WEBSITE

For additional information on the PTO please visit our website or our Bell Graham Elementary PTO Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Any questions or comments? Please email the PTO at bgeblast@gmail.com. All comments or questions will be discussed at our monthly Board meetings and responded to accordingly.

• 1 lunch with a loved one per student each year
• Only bring food for child and/or yourself
• Stay for lunch ONLY, recess is not included
• Bring your ID for check in

Please call the office when you are 5 minutes away and we will have your child ready and waiting for you at the office. You will have to press the buzzer to come inside the vestibule to sign them out on our iPad. 331-228-2100

For car riders, we use a Visor Tag System. Each family should have received a car tag that has the family last name and the class codes of students in the family. The use of this visor tag expedites our car rider line tremendously as staff members are able to get students ready for their cars as the cars pull up! Please display the tag on your passenger side visor, or passenger side window, so that it is visible to the BG staff as you pull through the pick-up line.

If you need additional visor tags, please email Mrs. Kirincich.

Please reach out to Dr. Dieckman or Julianna Harmon if you have any questions.

Mrs. Amy Klueppel - Principal

Website: bellgraham.d303.org
Location: 4N505 Fox Mill Blvd St. Charles, IL 60175
Phone: 331-228-2100
Facebook: facebook.com/BellGrahamElementary
Twitter: @BellGrahamD303