Paw Prints

"Paw Prints" has been created to provide families and staff with information regarding upcoming events, happenings, and programs at Barlow Mountain Elementary School. Please take time each week (especially this week!) to review the important information included in our newsletter.

Dear BMES Community,

Welcome to the start of a new school year! Today at Open School, it was wonderful to see so many smiling kids and parents who were ready to connect with friends and their new teachers, eager for the first day of school.

There is so much to look forward to this year, particularly our efforts in Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and behavior, which is an area of focus for all K-8 RPS Schools. With "Bobby CARES," we will establish school wide expectations with attention to COOPERATION, ADVOCACY, RESPONSIBILITY, EMPATHY, and SELF-CONTROL. These competencies are based on the SEL Standards and best practices for a safe school climate. Below you can find more information about these five competencies, and in future issues of Paw Prints, we will highlight more information about CARES, SEL, and how we proactively promote positive behavior and respond to misbehavior.

A new school year means new beginnings, new friendships, new adventures, and a fresh start. We are so excited to be working together in partnership to create a culture of joy and belonging for all, especially our kids!

Warmly,

Becky & Caitlin

Please be sure to review the K-5 Student-Parent Handbook that includes important information.

Tuesday, August 27th - A Day

• First Day of School!!
• Kindergarten Only - Shortened Day (12:10pm dismissal)

Wednesday, August 28th - B Day

• Kindergarten Only - Shortened Day (12:10pm dismissal)

Thursday, August 29th - C Day

• Kindergarten Only - Shortened Day (12:10pm dismissal)

Friday, August 30th - D Day

• Kindergarten Only - Shortened Day (12:10pm dismissal)
• Bobcat Spirit Day! Wear your BMES spirit wear to show your school pride!

Monday, September 2nd

• Labor Day – No School

Tuesday, September 3rd

• 1st full day of kindergarten
• 1st day of Preschool

Friday, September 6th

• 4:30-6:30pm Back to School Bash
  

Tuesday, September 17th

• School Picture Day

Wednesday, September 18th

• Open House (Parents Only) 6:00-8:00pm

Thursday, September 19th

• Early Dismissal
• 12:10pm dismissal for students, professional development for staff

Thursday, October 3rd

• No School - Rosh Hashanah Holiday

• Each class will have one 45 minute essential per day (art, library, music, or PE)
• We will continue to follow the six day A-F day schedule
• Please find the essentials rotation below

Please remember that children should not be dropped off at school before 8:55am as there is no supervision prior to that time.

Bus schedules are located on the Parent Portal under the transportation navigation panel.

We will follow the same drop off / pick up procedure that we did last year.

Arrival

• Drop off begins at 8:55am. Please do not drop off your child prior to 8:55am as there will be no supervision at this time.
• Pre-K drop off will happen in the same area from 8:25-8:35am. Early arrival will interfere with Pre-K drop off. Once again, please do not arrive early.

Dismissal

• Pick up will begin at 3:50pm. DO NOT arrive prior to 3:45pm.

• We will continue to follow the new traffic pattern we implemented in spring last school year.

• Once traffic for parent pick up has reached the entrance to the Barlow parking lot, overflow traffic will be directed up the second left lane into the Scotland parking lot.

• Please do not obstruct the entrances to the Barlow parking lot or entrance to the side lot leading to Cadence Academy.

• Please yield to cars exiting in the Scotland parking lot.

• Each day, please have your child(ren)’s first and last name displayed on your passenger visor, and have it remain visible until your child is in the car. This needs to be bold and large enough to be visible at a distance. This is a very important step to ensure we have your child ready when you arrive.

• For the safety of both students and staff, proceed carefully and slowly through the lot.
• Please have your child exit/enter the vehicle when your gear is in the park position and is one of the cars at the front of the line designated for drop off.
• Students must exit the vehicle on the passenger side (building side) of the vehicle. Multiple children must exit on the passenger side. It is dangerous to exit/enter on the driver's side of the vehicle!

• Students need to have all of their items ready in hand and will then exit the car immediately.
• Parents, please stay in your vehicle at all times so that the process will prevent backups on Barlow Mountain Road.
• If you miss the drop off time (after 9:10 a.m.), please park in the front lot and walk your child across the designated crosswalk to the main entrance of the building. If you arrive after the drop off window and must park in the parking lot, we ask that you kindly use the crosswalk.

• School Dismissal Manager (SDM) is an easy-to-use mobile and desktop interface that allows you to make these changes in advance or for the current day. You can also report early dismissals and even schedule recurring dismissal instructions for after-school activities such as drama, After School Enrichment (ASE), Chess Club, The Boys and Girls Club, and other after-school activities.

School lunch will be available from the first day of school. Aramark is the District-wide food service provider. The school lunch menu is available online on the RPS website; click Departments and click on Food Service. For all students, we have transitioned away from LunchTime software to MySchoolBucks for families to fund student lunches.

MySchoolBucks is available via the PowerSchool Parent Portal, and communication was sent to families in early August regarding adding funds for lunch. Any balances have been rolled over from LunchTime to MySchoolBucks. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the Free School Meals for Children grant, please do not hesitate to contact us or the District Business Office. Questions in regard to school MySchoolBucks can be directed to Andrea McCurry, RPS Food Service Director at 203-894-5550 x1127 or amccurry@ridgefieldps.net

Website to set up an account.

MySchoolBucks

Some Support Links for Troubleshooting:

Updating Your Payment Method | MySchoolBucks

Setting up Automatic Payments | MySchoolBucks

Adding a New Student | MySchoolBucks

Setting Up Low Balance Alerts | MySchoolBucks

Reset Your Password Using Your Mobile Phone Number

Reset Your Password Using Your Email Address/Username

RPS distribution flyers for outside groups via a Digital Backpack.

Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion in the digital backpack. Please help us in our effort to go green by checking students' Digital Backpacks Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion to cmelagrano@ridgefieldps.net.

Join us for a fun-filled celebration to kick off the new school year!

Music, food, treats, and plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy.

While vendors accept credit cards and Venmo,

please bring cash for food, drinks, and spiritwear!

A $10 donation per family is encouraged upon sign-up to help cover all of these fun expenses.

Join the PTA!

Joining the PTA helps you stay connected with the school community. You will receive information about family events, before & after school programs, school events, parties and much more! Get to know teachers & staff better with informational sessions throughout the year!

To join, visit the PTA website: https://bmespta.membershiptoolkit.com/

Instagram @bmes_bobcats

Email: rlaus@ridgefieldps.net
Website: https://bmes.ridgefield.org/
Location: 115 Barlow Mountain Road, Ridgefield, CT, USA
Phone: 203-894-5800