Heritage Elementary Badger Tracks
January 8, 2021
School Wide Badger Behavior Update
Happy New Year and Welcome Back Heritage Families!!
We hope you all had a wonderful and restful winter break! We have had such a great first week back to school and are energized and excited to tackle the second semester. The staff spent a great deal of time 1st semester updating and refining our school wide management plan, Badger Behavior. Monday, January 4, we took time to finalize specific steps to promote the 4 B's - Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Kind in all settings in our building. These areas include All Settings, Hallway, Restroom, Lunchroom and Playground. Teachers will teach and practice the 4B's with students in each setting. To support our students' efforts, we have new ways to positively reinforce students who are demonstrating the 4B's in these areas.
Skill of the Week: Beginning Monday, January 11, all students, K-5 will focus on a specific setting and one of the 4B's. Students may earn 'golden' tickets or gold colored Badger Bucks when they are demonstrating these skills. We will keep track of the number of students who have earned golden tickets and announce these numbers during our daily morning announcements. Every Friday, 5 primary tickets (K-2) and 5 intermediate tickets (3-5) will be randomly pulled and those students will be recognized and called to the office for a prize. The color of the Skill of the Week Badger Bucks may change throughout the year.
Weekly Badger Buck Drawings: Blue/White Badger Bucks will continue to be handed out to any student, K-5, who demonstrates any of the 4B's in any setting. One student is selected by their classroom teacher to be recognized and called to the office during the Friday morning announcements for a prize.
Badger Buck Tower: We have added a 4 foot Badger Buck Tower in the office area. This will be used for our school wide incentive. All Badger Bucks given to all students, K-5, will be placed in the tower. When the tower is filled, our entire school will earn a special activity or treat.
Please ask your students about how they can earn Badger Bucks, the Badger Buck Tower and the new signs that promote the 4B's!!
The Classroom Safe Seat
Every classroom in Heritage Elementary will have at least one safe seat, including the gym, cafeteria, specialists’ rooms, and the recess area. These designated seats/areas are in the classroom, but slightly away from peers and are used when a child is unable to respond to teacher requests or is being hurtful or disruptive.
Children are not in trouble when they move to a safe seat. Safe seats are a place for children to take a break, and after visiting with the teacher (we call this processing) about the problem that occurred and the solution, the child returns to their regular seat.
How can you respond at home if your child states that they have been in the safe seat?
Were you able to get back on track and make good choices? (Give positive praise if your child says yes.)
Thank you for sharing that with me.
Were you able to get the problem taken care of?
I know you’ll remember to make the best choices you can tomorrow.
Is there anything that I can help you with to make good choices at school?
We do not expect you to reprimand your child for being in the safe seat and it is not necessary to implement a reward system to keep your child out of the safe seat. Many children will visit the safe seat throughout the year and we use this as another learning opportunity. This process is part of learning and managing one’s own actions. If there is a serious problem or concern, please know your child’s teacher will be in contact with you for insight and input.
Our ultimate goal is to help your child learn the skills needed to be confident and successful. If you have questions about the safe seat, please contact your child’s teacher or the front office.
Upcoming Events!
Jan. 11 Badger Behavior, Skill of the Week: All Settings - Be Safe
Jan. 11 PTO Meeting, 6:00 pm, via Zoom
Jan. 11 School Board Meeting, 7:00 pm
Jan. 13 Early Dismissal, 11:40 am
Jan. 14 Student Health Screenings, Grades 1-4 and new 5th grade students
Jan. 14 Ditch the Dishes - Bennington Runza Night, 4:00-8:00 pm
Jan. 15 Student Health Screenings Grades 1-4 and new 5th grade students
Jan. 18 No School, Martin Luther King, Jr Day
Jan. 19 Badger Behavior, Skill of the Week: All Settings - Be Respectful
Jan. 25 Badger Behavior, Skill of the Week: All Settings - Be Responsible
Jan. 27 Early Dismissal, 11:40 am
Jan. 27 HAT DAY! Bring $1 to wear a hat to school. All proceeds go to the 5th grade DC trip
Feb. 1 Badger Behavior, Skill of the Week: All Settings - Be Kind
Feb. 1 Black History Month Begins
District Calendar Updated
Spelling Bee Participants and Winners!
Runner Up: Jackson Nilus
Runner Up: Ayden Turner
YOUTH BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL REGISTRATION NOW OPEN - Bennington Athletic League
Early Registration Open through January 31
Late Registration Period February 1 – March 15
Programs include: T-Ball, Coach Pitch softball and baseball, Rec Softball for ages 8-14
and Rec Baseball for ages 8-14.
Registration Fees include uniform hat and jersey
To register go to www.balonline.org and then click on registration.
USDA Nationwide School Meals Extended
The USDA nationwide waiver of school meals has been extended. These waivers allow Bennington Public Schools to provide free meals to all students for the duration of the 2020-21 school year.
Below are some important facts to remember:
All a la carte purchases will be charged to the student account at regular pricing.
This includes:
○ Extra servings of an entrée, milk, fruit, vegetable or bread
○ Milk for cold lunch brought from home
○ Second meals
○ Any single item that is not a meal
● This program does not apply to adult meals
○ Adult lunch $3.85
○ Adult breakfast $2.35
Contact Tracy Watsabaugh, Coordinator of Nutrition Services, if you have any questions
about this program. twatsabaugh@bennps.org
Team Mates Thanks YOU!
January is National Mentoring Month! We want to thank our Mentors for Being There! We couldn't have TeamMates, if we didn't have YOU! For more information regarding TeamMates Mentoring, please reach out to Megan Detjens mdetjens@bennps.org
Student Health Screenings: January 14-15
December Spirit Day Winners!
Student Health/COVID19 Information
We will continue to follow the Directed Health Measures guidance with sending home any staff or students that experience one or more of the following symptoms: loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, or onset of new cough.
The most recent DHM also added back the language that you need to stay home if you experience two or more of the following symptoms: fever of 100.4 or higher, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, and/or fatigue. Your continued support in following recommendations from our local health department while both inside and outside of the school environment is a necessity for all. For us to continue with in-person learning, we continue to emphasize to our stakeholders the importance of staying home versus going to social events, social distancing when it is not an option to stay home, wearing your face masks whenever in public or near non-household members, and continuing to make sanitization a priority.
We will continue to send students home who have diarrhea and vomiting per our previous school health policies, as well as students who show signs of influenza. Temperatures of 100 degrees or above, diarrhea, and/or vomiting are signals warranting immediate dismissal conditions. Children who have vomited, had diarrhea, or a fever of 100 degrees or above during the night or prior to school need to remain at home, fever free for 24 hours. Students who are sent home from school with these symptoms may not return to school until they are symptom/fever free without fever reducing medication for 24 hours. Most viruses are highly contagious for 24 hours after the vomiting/diarrhea has occurred.
As we enter Flu season, please keep your child home if they are experiencing the following symptoms: Fever of 100 degrees or more, muscle aches, congestion, headaches and /or fatigue, as we know these are common signs of the influenza virus. Following the guidelines we have had in place in the years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, students with diarrhea and vomiting should not return to school until 24 hours after last episode and are able to tolerate food. Students with fever need to be fever free for 24 hours without use of fever reducing medication.
Inclement Weather
In cases of inclement weather or mechanical breakdown the decision to close school, delay starting time, or dismiss early will be announced over radio station KFAB (1110 AM), television stations KETV, KMTV, WOWT and KPTM. Reports in the morning will be around 6:30 a.m. If we have to use more than the number of days we have scheduled, time will be made up at the end of the school year.
If the decision to delay the start time of school is made, all beginning of the day procedures will be adjusted to reflect two hours. Staff supervision would begin at 10:00 a.m. and a student would be considered tardy at 10:20 a.m. All transportation services will run two hours behind schedule.
Please check your student verification information to verify that all emails and phone numbers are correct and up to date.
Title I Parent Support and Engagement Information
Transportation Information
Bus Riders - BPS has a new app for parents to download called Ride360 for all bus riders. This is a fabulous tool to let you know bus stop location/times and it lets you know the exact time your child gets on/off the bus.
Bus Fees - The transportation department will be sending out invoices through My School Bucks in September. You will pay for transportation fees through the website.
Bus Passes - Lost bus passes cost $25 to replace. Please email or call the office to order a replacement bus pass if needed.
Heritage Elementary
Email: kbighia@bennps.org
Website: www.benningtonschools.org
Location: 9950 Rosewater Parkway, Bennington, NE, USA
Phone: 402-238-2095