BLUE RIDGE ELEMENTARY

Greetings, Blue Ridge Families:

We are officially off to a great start to the 24-25 school year! Students and teachers have worked hard to get back into the routine of school and learn the expectations around the school to make them successful learners.

Teachers have begun diving into their first math, ELA, and science units. Students in grades 1st through 5th have begun taking our district NWEA assessments for reading and math as well. Teachers will use this information to support small group instruction and next-step skills necessary for students to continue making progress on grade-level essential standards. Parents will receive more information regarding their child's NWEA scores during parent-teacher conferences in October.

Please read the information below carefully regarding arrival and dismissal tips, upcoming information regarding Back to School Night, and behavior and attendance incentives for students.

Respectfully,

Krista Phillips

Principal

Here at Blue Ridge we have four core value words: Believe, Grow, Lead, Inspire that we focus on each quarter. This quarter we are focusing on the word Believe. We model and teach for students what it means to have self control, work as a team, and to BELIEVE in the power of "yet." Whatever I can't do..."yet."

Students in each classroom who exhibit this core value will receive recognition over the intercom and a certificate.

Next quarter we will move to our next core value, Grow. We model and teach for students what it means to be a risk taker, produce effort, and persevere in our everyday lives.

Attendance Matters!

At Blue Ridge we love to celebrate students academically, socially, behaviorally, and for their ATTENDANCE at school! Below is a rundown of our different attendance incentives in which we celebrate our students as individuals and collectively as a class.

We celebrate students who are at school on random days, weekly, monthly, and by the quarter. We understand that many different things impede a student from being at school such as doctors appointments, illness, etc. These types of absences DO affect a student's attendance, however, this is why we celebrate students frequently and in different manners to have the opportunity to celebrate all students and start over the next week, month, or even quarter. Being at school all day every day is an ACHIEVEMENT TO CELEBRATE!

Monthly Incentives

Snacks with Principals- Students with perfect attendance for the month will be able to join the principals to enjoy a fun snack! This starts over at the beginning of each month.

Quarterly Incentive

Quarterly Celebrations- Students with perfect attendance for each quarter will have the opportunity to join us for a fun celebration. Some of these will be on campus and others off campus. If there are remaining seats/spots available for the incentive we will draw names from students with 96% attendance or higher.

Our first quarter attendance celebration will take place at Graceway in their game room. Each quarter students will start over.

Daily Random Incentives

Glad You're Here Today- We will randomly draw names on random days throughout the school year to celebrate students at school that day during the time of the announcement. These will not be announced ahead of time and will be spiritic throughout the year.

Monthly Behavior Incentives!

Students and staff alike work hard to stay consistent, clear, and kind when it comes to our building wide behavior expectations. These expectations exist so that students can remain in class to learn and teachers can teach throughout the day without interruptions from student behaviors.

Students who exhibit our school-wide expectations and remain in the classroom without an ODR, ISS, OSS, or bus referral will have the opportunity to earn our monthly incentives. If a student receives one of the above behavior consequences during the month will have the opportunity to start over the next month. We continue to coach and support all kids with the ultimate goal of keeping all of our students in class.

Students who remain in class and not receive OSS, ISS, or a bus referral for the month of September will be able to participate in the Incentive at the end of the month. We hope to see all of our wonderful Bluejays participating in this event!

Please refer to our School Wide Behavior Matrix below.

ARRIVAL

• Ensure students are at school ON TIME, before 8:31. This helps students stay on a schedule and get into their routine easier.
• Students should not be dropped off at the front door. Please use the car rider line. Walkers shouldn't be at the front doors waiting before 8:15.
• CAR RIDERS: It is helpful if all students are in the backseat and getting out on the driver's side. This helps keep the car rider line moving quickly and more importantly, safely.
• If you drop your student off after 8:15, YOU MUST walk your child(ren) into the building and sign them in.

DISMISSAL

• Please call before 2:30 to make any changes to your child's transportation. Any later than that and it is difficult to get this information to the teachers promptly.
• School ends at 3:30, please make appropriate arrangements to have your child(ren) picked up on time.
• Students will go home as stated in their FOCUS portal, the usual way to go home. You must notify the school regarding any changes to your child's typical form of transportation. You may use the following email address to make those changes instead of calling the building: brtransportationchanges@raytownschools.org.

ARRIVAL

Our school day begins at 8:30. Doors will open at 8:15. If your child arrives to school at 8:31 or later, you will need to walk your child(ren) to the main entrance and sign them in.

If you know your child(ren) will not be at school that day please call the office, 816-268-7200, by 9:00 AM.

DISMISSAL

Our school day ends at 3:30 on MTTHF and 2:05 on Wednesdays. If you need to pick your child(ren) up early, please come to the front office, provide your photo ID, and do so by 3:10 PM on MTTHF and 1:20 on Wednesday's. After those given times, we will ask you to join the car rider line to pick your child(ren) up. This helps with allowing our office staff to conduct a safe and orderly dismissal for ALL students.

DISMISSAL CHANGES

Please use the following email, brtransportationchanges@raytownschools.org, to make any transportation changes for your child(ren) by 3:00 on MTTHF and 1:10 on Wednesday's.

Every week, you will notice that Wednesday's are an Early Release day. School will start on time like normal at 8:30, but will be released at 2:05 each day. Early Release Wednesday's, allow teachers the time to gain professional development to support student achievement.

Dismissal procedures will look identical to regular school days.

Join us on Thursday, September 12 for our Back to School Night/Title 1 Meeting! Our teachers are excited to share important information about your child’s school year. During this event, teachers will host 25-minute sessions for families. These sessions will give you an overview of your child’s grade level including important learning topics. This is a great way to preview what your child may learn about this year. Each session will be the same, so join the one that works best for you!

• Session 1 will run from 6:00 - 6:25

• Session 2 will run from 6:30 - 6:55

• Session 3 will run from 7:00 - 7:25

Below you will find the location of each presentation based on grade level or specific teachers. We look forward to “seeing” all our Bluejay families this evening!

Kindergarten-Combined in Rm 118 (McCully)

1st Grade-Combined in Rm 101 (Carpenter)

2nd Grade-Combined in Rm 119 (Loman)

3rd Grade-Combined in Rm 211 (Dutton)

4th Grade-Combined in Rm 209 (Thomas)

5th Grade-Combined in Rm 218 (Bouska)

Functional Skills-In Individual Classrooms

SEPTEMBER

• September 5th- RED THURSDAY; Wear Chiefs or Red to Celebrate the Chief's Home Opener
• September 9th- Monthly PTO Meeting in the Library @ 6:00
• September 12th- Back to School Night @ 6:00-7:3

OCTOBER

• October 3rd- STEM in the Gym @ 5:00-7:00 pm @ Raytown High School
• October 7th- PTO Board Meeting @ 6:00 in the Blue Ridge Library
• October 11th- First Quarter Ends Today
• October 11th- Fall Picture Day
• October 14th- 2nd Quarter Starts
• October 24th- Trail of Treat @ 6:00-7:00 pm
• October 25th- No School Students-Teacher Workday
• October 28th- Progress Reports Go Home Today
• October 30th- Fall Classroom Parties
• October 30th- Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00 pm-8:00 pm
• October 31st- Parent Teacher Conferences 8:00 am- 4:00 pm

Website: https://www.raytownschools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=9
Location: 6410 Blue Ridge Boulevard, Raytown, MO, USA
Phone: 8162687200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rqsblueridge