Babcock Neighborhood School
Trailblazers
September...Irma, need I say more...
I hope this newsletter finds you doing well. It has been a month full of emotion with the impact of Irma and all the stress associated with a storm. This was my first experience with a hurricane and I underestimated the amount of stress and adjustments that had to be accommodated as a result. The past week has been a challenge. Our staff has worked hard to maintain our momentum in the midst of heartache and struggle for many of our families. This week made us stronger at BNS and made me proud to be a part of a special place that is able to implore grit and empathy as we build the school of our dreams. The encouragement from our families helped our staff stay strong!
This week the students have been very engaged. There has been pie and applesauce making with Chef Rashty to celebrate the Birthday of Johnny Appleseed. Bode the Beach Dog came to visit our 3-6 grade students yesterday and they learned about appropriate ways to interact with animals and people. It was exciting to watch the students learn in a meaningful real world environment.
Here is a plea for some help (see below for other areas of need in our spreadsheet)! I have four utility carts for lunch that need to be assembled if anyone has time. This will allow us to deliver lunches with more efficiently. Give us a call at the front office if you are willing to help in this area.
I hope each of you have a wonderful rest of the week!
Very Respectfully,
Mrs. Shannon Treece, Principal
My School Bucks
Success! All invoices have been uploaded. This includes: supply kits, before/after care breakfast, and lunch. If you find issues or have questions, please log them on the link below and BNS will contact you. https://goo.gl/forms/gB8wQkQijw8Nkacg2
Next week I will upload the September invoices. This will hopefully get us on track for October.
Thank you for your patience while I learned how to navigate My School Bucks and be trained in how their invoicing system works. They have been super helpful in the process. This should get easier each time.
Thanks so much for your patience.
Lunch
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT SENDING PEANUT BUTTER OF ANY KIND TO BNS. We have students who are highly allergic and it is imperative that we honor the safety of everyone.
Old Information
Please visit the Parent Information page for the September Breakfast and Lunch Menus.Here is the link: http://babcockneighborhoodschool.org/parent-information
Chef David Rashty has been having to adjust our lunches this past week, but we should be back on track this week.
Please make sure that you are communicating with your child about whether or not they should be eating lunch or breakfast as school.
The free/reduced lunch forms are being reviewed this week. If you have not already submitted this form and are interested in submitting, please complete the form and submit by Tuesday. If you need another form, let us know and will send you a form. If you have any questions, give us a call, we are happy to assist.
Uniforms
Hang in there with me, we are close to getting this piece rounded out. Many thanks to the parents who were willing to jump in and help.
Beginning next week you are welcome to utilize My School Bucks for follow up orders as will be caught up and have all our previous orders fulfilled. We also plan to begin loading some fall uniform options for purchase (jackets, long sleeve t-shirts, and some other purchasing options for Spirit shirts). Again, your patience in this adventure has been appreciated.
Drop Off and Pick Up Updates
This is really going great, but there are a few areas I would like to continue to address around drop off and pick up. Here are a few areas where we need your continued help:
- If you are the first to arrive in the morning or afternoon, please stop at the corner of the curve, do not pull up to the cones or pull forward until you are instructed to do so by the adult directing traffic.
- Please remain in your car during pickup and have your child exit and enter your vehicle from the sidewalk side only. This is a safety procedure for students.
- Reminder: If you arrive after 8:45, you will need to bring your child into the front office and sign them in on our record and provide a note stating why the student is tardy. This is an official protocol required by our attendance accountability. Please make sure that your student is on time.
- If the car line is finished upon your arrival you will need to come in get your student from after care. A charge will be applied to your My School Bucks account for late pick-ups.
- The use of cell phones or distracted driving continue to occur in our car line. Please refrain from using your cell phone during car line for the safety of our staff, students, and families. Please also make sure you are focusing on your surroundings. My staff and I had three incidents in a four day week where we had a driver not paying attention. This area is full of people and children and we want to ensure the safety of everyone.
- Our normal route will hopefully be back in use in the next few weeks.
Mother Nature Moments
- Mother Nature is well, she has a mind of her own. Our staff cannot control the weather. Our goal is always the safety of our students and staff. This requires processes and procedures to be in place to avoid accidents. While we have had to adjust our approach as we are learning as well better ways as we go, there is no possible way to accommodate the request of every family. Our processes and procedures are rooted in what is safest and honors everyone in the best way possible. We know everyone wants to get out fast, trust me...we don't want to have complications any more than you do, but we have 155 students and families to accommodate. The plan for inclement weather moving forward is going to take some adjusting I am certain.
- For now, if Thor Guard (lightning detection) sounds, we will hold the line and take a look at the possibility of resuming within a reasonable time frame for clearance (10-15 minutes). If it does not look like it will clear in that amount of time, we will proceed by having the car line proceed four cars at a time to the awning (you will all have to monitor this as I cannot ask staff to put themselves in an unsafe situation).
- Placard names will be called as you arrive by the sidewalk.
- You will need to exit your vehicle and pick up your waiting child from the lobby. Hopefully, in our permanent building, we can have a much larger awning area.
- If you are not comfortable loading on the open sidewalk, please feel free when it is your turn to pull up to the awning and pick up your child there, I 100% understand the fear of lightning strikes and do not want anyone uncomfortable. You are always welcome to park and return to the line when the weather improves.
- Friendly blanket request: I do respectfully ask each of you to respond to our staff in a respectful manner in all situations. I expect the same of myself and our staff. I know it is human nature to be frustrated and trust me, I too get frustrated. Please keep in mind though that during these uncontrollable scenarios, we are working to best accommodate everyone. It is difficult when individuals are demanding and circumvent the system designed to accommodate everyone as fairly as possible under the current circumstances. Our team is working hard to always focus on what is safest and best for our students. We are still learning.
Social Media and Volunteer Opportunities
In an effort to be proactive in addressing social media activity, I would like to ask if you have a concern or a question, please contact the school at 239.567.3043. I have a team who is more than happy to help address any concerns. The work being poured into starting our school is nonstop and I am trying to make sure all aspects of the work are addressed, but there are times where I have to prioritize and some things may have to wait until there is more time to address.
If you are truly concerned, give me a call and I can provide you insight into my rational in most cases...I am also learning as starting a school from the ground level is new to my experience. I have certainly learned a great deal in the last couple months and anticipate many more months as we continue to build the best school in America!
Switching gears, I am getting organized and caught up enough to know where we are in need of some help. Here are some areas where we could use some help (this link is also on our website, please click on the second tab in the spreadsheet):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nFHL7src2CVaeOEvwMIFlb2E24Y6Ip5EQAgHWc6gSjw/edit?usp=sharing
If there is anything we can do for you, please let us know. If it is urgent, please call our direct line, 239.567.3043. Also, unfortunately as much as I try to stay ahead on email, it is just not possible at this juncture. There are still many components to school in motion and I am rarely able to check all email during the day...it is a hopping place at BNS, which I love!
Kind regards,
Mrs. Treece