BES News

Mon - Day 2

• K & 1st - Math MAP Testing

Tues - Day 3

• 2nd-5th - Math MAP Testing

Wed - Day 4

• Picture Day!!!

Thur - Day 1

• Future Ready Thursday
• 2nd-5th - Reading MAP Testing

Fri - Day 2

• Spirit Day

On Monday, we will have our first lockdown drill of the school year. This drill is designed to practice procedures for students to follow in the event that an unauthorized person has accessed the campus. Teachers will be talking to their classes about what to do during the drill. We ensure that the talks are age appropriate for the kids in order to not scare them. Please feel free to discuss these drills with your kids and process through it with them in the manner that you feel most appropriate for your child.

As stated in last week's newsletter, we are really digging into data to inform our lesson planning and teaching. We were able to start looking at some data in each grade level this week. A common thread in 3rd-5th grades seemed to be that students were proficient in learning the material, but often struggled when the content was put into some types of STAAR formatted questions.

As an example, 3rd grade math teachers were able to assess their students on their knowledge of Place Value. When done on a paper and pencil assessment, the results were very good. However, they also had students try to answer similar questions in STAAR formatted questions and found the results to be very different. Through our analysis of the data, we discovered that it was a few types of questions that students across the grade level struggled with: Inline Choices (multiple dropdowns are located in a sentence and students must select the correct one for each to make the math statement correct), Drag & Drop (students must select multiple options to correctly place them in the proper places, and Multiselect (students must pick ALL correct answers from a list).

Having this awareness of how the testing format is impeding successful demonstration of our students' knowledge is very powerful. We have started having talks with each grade level as to how we can get our students more "at bats" with these question types throughout the year, and the teachers are already making plans to address this need.

Below is a document from TEA that shows the new question types that are now used on STAAR testing so that you have a better understanding on how your child is being assessed by state testing. This information may also be accessed on the TEA website.

The enrollment deadline for insurance has been extended. The new deadline is September 30, 2024. Click here to purchase - https://gpo.worthavegroup.com/blancoisd

Parents,

The PTO is excited to announce that this year, we will be hosting a Mother-Son Kickball Tournament on September 29th at Yett Park! (This will replace the Game Night we have held in past years.)

To help us plan this fun-filled event, we ask that you please fill out the short pre-registration form below. Your input is crucial for making this event a success, whether you and your child plan to participate or are interested in volunteering.

Mother-Son Kickball Pre-Registration Form

We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you on the field!

Best regards,
Blanco PTO

For the past couple of years, our staff members have recognized other staff members who are doing great things. This year, we are going to expand this opportunity to parents as well. Parents will be able to use the button below to access the Google Form and submit a staff member for recognition. Thank you for sharing your recognitions of our hardworking, decidated professionals.

• Mrs. Tarjan, I thought you created a great lesson on textures. Instead of just bringing a limited number of items into the regular classroom, you allowed students to explore outdoors, apply the content to the world around them and practice ownership in their learning. In addition, the content was solidified further as the students had the opportunity to take their collected items home and share about them with their family. Love it! (Habit 4 - Think Win-Win)
• Mrs. Keeton, Mrs. Nichols, and Mrs. Penaloza: These three women have grit and perseverance starting this school year! I am thankful for each one, and all of your contributions that make every day the best it can be in our grade level! (Habit 6 - Synergize)
  
• Tracey Baillio, thanks so much for your hard work, positive attitude and energy- not only in our classroom, but all over the campus! You are a true vibe and I think I speak for all of us when I say we're so blessed to have you at BES! (Habit 6 - Synergize)
  
• Nurse Johnson, you will be missed and we are so grateful for our time here with you and wish you the BEST in retirement!!!! Thank YOU for all of your hard work and most of all thank you for your LOVE to our students! (Habit 6 - Synergize)
  
• Mr. Pops, sw just want to give a huge shoutout to Mr. Pops for all his hard work around campus and specifically, in our classroom. He’s always super responsive and tackles every request and problem- big, (and I mean, we have had some BIG problems) or small- with amazing efficiency and CARE. Seriously, we don’t know how he does it all! Your effort and dedication mean the world to us, Mr. Pops. Thanks for being awesome! (Habit 6 - Synergize)
  
• Cafeteria Staff, thank you for always taking such good care of all of our students. Thank you for your patience with each and every individual student as they go through the lines and learn their numbers. You guys never fail to greet each student with a smile and its truly appreciated! And special thank you from Winston and Theo for the extra veggies! They truly appreciate it. (Habit 6 - Synergize)
  
• Lauren Slubar is always offering help wherever she can, and always offering out resources for me to use with our students. Thank you for helping me grow as an educator, and us as a classroom. (Habit 7 - Sharpen the Saw)
  
• Mrs. Binz, thank you for welcoming us in your classroom, encouraging inclusiveness, and offering a positive environment, we love going to Social Studies! (Habit 4 - Think Win-Win)
  

Office #: (830)833-4338

Hours M-F: 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Greg Wright - Principal

greg.wright@blancoisd.org

Rachel Guzman - Assistant Principal

rachel.guzman@blancoisd.org

Robin Eubanks - Counselor

robin.eubanks@blancoisd.org

Allison Dowdy - Secretary

allison.dowdy@blancoisd.org

Suzanne Jester - Registrar/PEIMS Secretary

suzanne.jester@blancoisd.org