BECEP Buzz September 2024

BECEP Mission:

BECEP partners with families and community to promote the overall development of children to reach their full learning potential.

BECEP Vision:

We encourage our school family to become lifelong learners by providing opportunities in parent and child education within a safe, healthy, enriching environment that promotes a positive self-concept. Meeting the developmental needs of our children is accomplished through various pathways to ensure individual success. We advocate for our parents and children at school, home, and in the community.

This is a first of a monthly parent newsletter that you will receive during the school year. We hope to communicate and keep you informed of program and relevant community events that will be helpful to you while you and your children are a part of the BECEP family.

In the event of an emergency or your child becomes sick at school, we need to be able to reach you right away. Please contact the BECEP office if your phone number, email, or emergency contact numbers change.

If your child rides the bus, you also need to call Transportation at 323-4500.

BPS does NOT allow pets on school property unless prior approval and immunization checks have been completed with the BECEP school nurse. Please be mindful that we have many students that may have allergies to your pets. Every child's safety is of utmost importance here at BECEP. Please reach out if you have any questions. Call the main office and you will be connected to the right personnel. 323-4400.

BECEP Policy Council Meeting

• Tuesday September 17th from 5:30 pm-7:00 pm BECEP @ Richholt

No School

• Monday September 2nd (Labor Day)
• Monday September 16th (Picture Day @ Richholt)
• Wednesday September 18th (ECSE Professional Development Day/Head Start Home Visits)
• Thursday September 19th (No school for Head Start students ONLY; Head Start Home Visits)
• Monday September 23rd (BPS Staff Development Day)

SAVE THE DATE

All School Family Night

Thursday September 19th BECEP @ Richholt

• 4:30pm-6:30pm

"The Power of Play in a High-Tech World"

Sunday September 22nd BECEP @ Richholt

• 6:00pm-8:00pm
• This is a parent/guardian only presentation.
• There will be NO childcare available. No registration is required.

You and anyone you have authorized BECEP to release your child to must always have identification (ID) available to present to BECEP staff. A paper copy or a photo of the ID card is acceptable.

BECEP staff must ensure the identity of anyone we are releasing a child to and this is done by checking ID. The practice is the same regardless of whether we’re releasing from one of our buildings (Richholt, Grimsrud, Murphy, or Myhre) or a child is dropped off by the bus. To be able to pick up a child from our programs or receive them off of the bus, the person authorized MUST be at least 18 years old.

If BECEP staff are unable to verify the identity of the person picking up your child, we cannot release them. If they are at one of our buildings, your child will be kept safe with staff until an authorized person we can identify comes to pick them up. If we are unable to release a child from the bus, the child will be brought to our Richholt building and will only be released to an authorized person, whose identity we can verify. Please make sure you keep your child’s Child Authorization Form current and up to date. This can be done in person, via your child’s teacher or family advocate. Thank you so much for your help in keeping your child safe while they are with us!

BECEP strives to provide the safest environment possible & needs your help to do this. If you are dropping off/picking up your child from BECEP, please consider the following safety precautions:

*DO NOT let your child cross the street alone and always have them holding an adult/responsible person’s hand when doing so.

*Unload and load children on the side away from traffic. Never leave any children unattended in the vehicle.

*DO NOT park in the bus loop at any time on school days. This loop is exclusively for busses. All parking spaces in the loop are for BECEP/BPS Staff only. Parents/guests may park along the street.

*Parents and guardians picking up at 2:30pm, please do not walk through our playground. Our ECSE classes are still in session and our main priority is student safety. Playground gates will remain shut and locked until after hours. Please find an alternate route to come to our main door for pick up.

*Cross at corners, using the crosswalks. Stop and look both ways. Please DO NOT park on/over the crosswalks.

At 8:05am, our front doors will open for parents/guardians to walk their children down to their assigned classrooms. At 8:15am, our doors lock, and anyone coming to BECEP after that time will be asked to sign your child in on the entry computer and wait for classroom staff to escort your child to their assigned classroom.

At 11:15am ECSE dismissal, staff will bring ECSE students out to their parents/guardians. Please have your ID ready to show our staff.

At 12:05pm, BECEP staff will escort ECSE students arriving for the afternoon session to their assigned classrooms. At 12:15pm, our doors lock, and anyone coming to BECEP after that time will be asked to sign your child in on the entry computer and wait for classroom staff to escort your child to their assigned classroom.

At the 2:30pm Head Start dismissal, staff will bring Head Start students out to their parents/guardians. Please have your ID ready to show our staff.

At 3:15pm ECSE dismissal, we will open our main doors and allow families to pick up their children from their respective classrooms. Again, please have your ID

ready to show our staff.

GRIMSRUD

At 7:50am, our back classroom doors will open for parents/guardians to walk their children into their assigned classrooms. At 8:00am, our doors lock, and anyone coming to GRIMSRUD after that time will be asked to sign your child in on the entry computer and wait for classroom staff to escort your child to their assigned classroom. to sign your child in on the entry computer and wait for classroom staff to escort your child to their assigned classroom. At 11:00am ECSE dismissal, staff will bring ECSE students out to their parents/guardians and to the proper bus. Please have your ID ready to show our staff.

At 11:50am, Grimsrud staff will escort ECSE students arriving from the bus for the afternoon session to their assigned classrooms. At 12:00 pm, our doors lock, and anyone coming to Grimsrud after that time will be asked to sign your child in on the entry computer and wait for classroom staff to escort your child to their assigned classroom. At 3:00pm ECSE dismissal, staff will bring ECSE students out to their parents/guardians and to the proper bus. Please have your ID ready to show our staff.

MYHRE

Students will use Door #3 on the North side of Myhre for arrivals and dismissals.

The morning session runs from 8:00am-11:00am. Staff will only be at Door #3 from 7:50am to 8:00am, and then 11:00am-11:10am. If you arrive after this time, parents/guardians MUST use the Main door (Door #5) to pick up or drop off your child.

Our afternoon session runs from 12:00pm-3:00 pm. Myhre staff will be at Door # 3 from 11:50am-12:00pm, as well as 3:00pm-3:10pm. If you arrive after this time, parents/guardians MUST use the Main door (Door #5) to drop off or pick up your child.

MURPHY

Drop off and pick up is at the front door. We will meet parents there. For our morning session the drop off window of time is from 7:50 to 8:00 a.m. and the pick-up time is 11:00 a.m. For our afternoon session the drop off window is from 11:50 to 12:00 p.m. and the pick-up time is 3:00 pm. We appreciate you bringing and picking up your child within these times to allow staff to get ready for the next session.

Remember to call the school when your child will be absent for any reason. The office number is 323-4400. If your child rides the bus, you also need to call transportation at 323-4500.

If your child rides the bus, please be waiting to receive them. This will help reduce the time children are having to ride on the route they are assigned. Have any questions? Please refer to the BECEP Transportation Handbook.

The Parent Policy Council is BECEP’s decision –making, policy setting, parent group mandated by the Head Start Program. The Policy Council is made up of parents from the Head Start classrooms and BECEP’s other programs- Early Childhood Special Education, Early Intervention, Right Track, and other community members. The Council meets monthly during the school year. The first Parent Policy Council Meeting for the 2024-2025 school year is Tuesday, September 17th. If you are interested in serving as a member and would like additional information, contact your child’s teacher, home visitor, or Darnell Eckert, Parent/Family Engagement Coordinator, at 319-6880 or e-mail darnell_eckert@bismarckschools.org.

To return to school after illness your child must:

✓ Be without vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours

✓ Be without an uncontrolled or persistent cough

✓ Have an oral temperature less than 101 degrees for 24 hours without the use of medication

✓ Feel well enough to take part in the usual school day

Read Aloud Together Every Day

Did you know that reading aloud with your child for as little as fifteen minutes a day can greatly impact their language and literacy skills? When you read aloud, you provide a model of fluent reading for your child to imitate. You also expose them to various vocabulary words and sentence structures. Choose age-appropriate and exciting books for your child, and take turns reading pages. As you read, point out words that start with the same sound or words that rhyme. You can also ask your child questions about the story as you read.

Talk About The Stories You Read

After you finish reading a book, talk to your child about the story. Ask them questions such as: "What did you like best about the book?", "Who was your favorite character and why?", or "What do you think will happen in the next book?"

Encourage your child to retell the story in their own words. This will help them develop literacy skills such as sequencing and summarizing.

Join us for a gathering to kick off the school year. We will have healthy snack choices, tips and tricks for bedtime routines, reducing screen time, community personnel, and other resources. We will have tables set up to explain our RAR (Raising a Reader) program. We will open doors for this event at 4:30pm and wrap up our event at 6:30pm. Come for snacks, learn more about our reading program, play on the playground, and get to know your BECEP family! Look for a flyer in your child’s backpack.

Each month, BECEP @ Richholt staff give out Kindness Cards to our students who display Safe, Kind, and Helpful behaviors. Each classroom has identified a number of overall cards needed to have a celebration. These celebrations may look like a dance party, a pajama day, extra play time, etc.

We are so proud of our students for being SAFE, KIND, and HELPFUL!

BPS conducts drills for each of the 4 Critical Responses as outlined in Board Policy ACAB-AR. Drills help ensure students and staff are familiar and able to respond appropriately in emergencies as well as making sure the processes and procedures put in place work in a real-world situation. Large, city-wide, full-scale exercises are also completed during summer months every 5 years. The four emergency practiced are lockdown, severe weather warning, shelter in-place, and evacuation. Please click on the link to learn more.

https://www.bismarckschools.org/departments/safety/procedures-for-families

Would you like a FREE, in-home developmental screening for your infant or toddler? If so, simply call 701-328-8985 to request Right Track for your child. Right Track is a statewide program that is unique to ND. Right Track Specialists complete developmental screenings, go over the results, answer questions, and provide ideas to promote development and referrals to other community programs, all from the comfort of your own home! Right Track is FREE for all children under the age of 3 and is one of our BECEP programs.

Did you know that BECEP’s Early Head Start Program for families who are expecting a baby or have a child ages birth-3 provides programming all year round? Early Head Start is a homebased program that provides weekly home visits by a teacher and two-Family social gatherings (play dates) each month. Early Head Start serves eligible families in Burleigh, Kidder and Emmons Counties. For additional information scan the QR code.

BECEP Head Start has a Face Book page. Just scan this QR code and like our page. On this page we will share information, promote events with community partners, and offer a space for positive interaction.

If your preschool child needs extra food, BECEP will again be participating in the Backpack Program sponsored by United Way and Community Action Program. A bag of non- perishable food can be sent home with your child once a week. If your child is not receiving the Backpack food and you would like to have a bag sent home on a regular basis, please contact your family advocate, or inform your child’s teacher.

Non-profits/causes apply to receive the donations from The Mercy Box. When a non-profit/cause is chosen they will receive donations for the month that they are chosen to benefit from The Mercy Box. The Mercy Box team will take care of all advertisement as well as picking up all donations from the business drop off sites and coordinating the drop off the donations collected.

Items needing to be donated

4T and 5T pants (gender neutral in color-no jeans)

Shoes (Child Sizes 10, 11 or 12)

Snow Boots (Child Sizes 10, 11 or 12)

Individual packed healthy snacks (examples: granola bars, goldfish, crackers, fruit cups)

Individual microwavable foods (ravioli, mac and cheese, soup)

Breakfast items and dry cereal

To find out more about The Mercy Box go to www.themercybox.com