NOVEMBER

11/4- Picture Retakes (details below)

11/5- General Election Day (NO SCHOOL)

11/7- Culvers PTO Fundraiser

11/8- End of 1st Trimester

11/16- Duck Donuts PTO Fundraiser

11/20 - Elementary Early Release Day 2:35 Dismissal

11/20 - T1 Report Cards Available on HAC

11/21- PTO Meeting at BG 6:30PM in student cafeteria

11/25 -11/29 - Thanksgiving Break (NO SCHOOL)

DECEMBER
12/2-12/6 Holiday Market
12/11- Portillo's PTO Fundraiser
12/23-12/31 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)

JANUARY
1/1-1/3 Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)

1/6 Teacher Work Day (NO SCHOOL)

1/7 - School Resumes

1/10- PTO Epic Air Fundraiser

1/20-MLK Jr Holiday (NO SCHOOL)

1/23- PTO Volunteer Appreciation Party

1/29- Beef Shack PTO Fundraiser

Our lost & found is conveniently located in the lunch room where every student has a daily opportunity to look for lost items. Please encourage your child to check for misplaced items. Don't forget to label as much as possible. We regularly donate unclaimed items at the end of each month

Be sure to send your child with appropriate outdoor clothing for recess. Students have outdoor recess daily unless the outside temperature is below 0. Don't forget to label your child's jacket, gloves, hat, etc. whenever possible.

Need to add your child's name to the picture retake list?

The retake form is now closed. If you need add your child's name to retake list for 11/4, please email Mrs. Cloy.

Questions?

Retake Picture Day is 11/04/2024! If you're satisfied with your child's picture, no further action is required.

If you purchased and were unhappy with your Picture Package, please send your Picture Package to school with your student on Retake Day. Your Retake Picture Package will be produced and shipped to the school four weeks after Retake Day. Please note, if your child is photographed on the original and Retake Picture Days, the Retake picture will replace the original picture in certain products, like the yearbook.

Students who were absent for Picture Day should come to school prepared to have their picture taken. If you have not preordered, please use the Retake Order Code 87183GF to place your order at https://inter-state.com/Order. To see your Order History, check your Inter-State Account.

• Find answers to Retake Day questions here.
• Click here to contact our photo company Inter-State Studio.

We invite all veterans and adult companions of veterans to join us for a coffee and light breakfast at 8:30 a.m on November 11th. No students of BG will be able to attend the breakfast, instead our fifth grade cub scouts will be hosting our veterans. So we can honor our veteran-guests, please fill out this form; this will enable us both to announce the veterans' names and know how many of you will attend the breakfast.

BG is collecting NEW and UNWRAPPED items for Big Hearts of Fox Valley this holiday season. The gingerbread donation box outside the main office. This year we are sponsoring 6 children that attend District 303 schools. Please click here to look through their wish list. Let's come together as a community and help provide gifts for these kids this holiday season. All unwrapped gifts are due by Thursday, November 14th. Thank you so much for your generosity!

Wish List for 6 D303 students that BG is sponsoring

Top Requests from Young Children
• Nerf toys
• Legos and building kits
• Squishmallows & new stuffies
• Baby dolls & accessories
• Dinosaurs
• Action figures, superheroes & Marvel
• Art & craft kits
• Roblox, Pokémon, Minecraft items
• Disney & Nick Jr. characters
• Soccer balls with pump
• Wired headphones
• Outdoor fun

Top Requests from Teens:
• Bluetooth speakers
• Wireless earbuds
• Jewelry -necklace/bracelets
• Make-up & hair accessories
• Spa sets (nails, masks)
• Soft blankets
• Perfume, cologne
• Drawing kits
• Teen games & puzzles
• Footballs & basketballs
• Gift cards to Amazon & Target
• Gift cards to Starbucks

You can email your child's teacher directly from HAC. After logging in, click on the "classes" image on the top menu. You will be able to view your child's schedule. Each of your child's teachers are listed under "teacher." If you right click on a name, you are given a "copy email address" option.

Bell Graham is committed to supporting all students in showing their BG Best: Being respectful, responsible, and safe. In the past years we have focused on extrinsic rewards with having students purchase items from our BG Shop with their earned BG coins and Bucks. This year we are moving away from this system and looking to reward students with staff, parent, and community connections. In order to do this we are seeking your help. We are looking for parents to volunteer before school or during school to play a game or build legos with students, make a craft, teach students a new skill, such as sewing or crocheting, or anything else you would like to share with our Bobcats. Please sign up today and Dr. Dieckman will be reaching out to you to schedule a date and time for you to share your talents and time with our students.

Thank you for your continued support. We could not do this without you.

BG Monthly Parent Support Raffle

*Remember that you must have a liability waiver form on file before you volunteer. You are welcome to email completed forms to Mrs. Cloy kristin.cloy@d303.org.

If you are visiting the school, for any reason, you MUST have your ID with you. Your ID needs to be scanned before you are permitted to enter the building.

If you intend on volunteering at any point this school year, the office MUST have a liability waiver form on file for you. Please do not sign up for any volunteer opportunities unless you already have a form on file for this year. This is an annual form that needs to be completed every school year. You are welcome to email completed forms to Mrs. Cloy kristin.cloy@d303.org. Field Trip volunteers will have to follow additional steps to volunteer.

• Absences should be called in by 7:45 AM
• You can leave a message 24 hours a day
• State your child’s name, their teacher's name and the reason why your child is out.
• If they are ill, please list their symptoms.

You are also welcome to email Mrs. Cloy in the main office. kristin.cloy@d303.org

Please call the office when you are 5 minutes away and we will have your child ready and waiting for you at the office. You will have to press the buzzer to come inside the vestibule to sign them out on our iPad. 331-228-2100.

The following information is being provided as a reminder of District 303's attendance procedures and how information may be recorded and shared with a student's family throughout the school year.

Cold and flu season is upon us! Recently, the nurses at Bell Graham Elementary School have been caring for a number of students experiencing fevers and other cold-like symptoms. We are also aware that some students are absent from school because they have been diagnosed with the flu and other influenza-like symptoms. During the months of October through April, each school in District 303 tracks influenza activity in cooperation with the Kane County Health Department. We consult with their staff to determine whether influenza activity in a school warrants additional follow up, and at this time, there are no additional interventions needed. Preventative measures remain the most effective way to reduce the spread of influenza.

Students who present to the Health Office with a fever or are feeling poorly are sent home. To prevent widespread flu in the school, we recommend that your child stay home from school if experiencing flu or cold symptoms. To decide whether or not to send your child to school, please consider the following guidelines:

Consider keeping your child at home for an extra day of rest and observation if he or she has any of the following symptoms:

● Very stuffy or runny nose and/or cough

● Mild sore throat (no fever, no known exposure to strep)

● Headache

● Mild stomach ache

Definitely keep your child at home for treatment and observation if he or she has any of these symptoms:

● Fever (greater than 100 degrees)

● Vomiting (even once)

● Diarrhea

● Chills

● General malaise or feelings of fatigue

● Frequent congested or croupy (barky) cough

● Lots of nasal congestion with frequent blowing of nose

To help prevent the flu and other colds, teach your children good hygiene habits:

● Wash hands frequently

● Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth

● Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands

● Avoid close contact with people who are ill

Colds are the most contagious during the first 48 hours. A child who has a fever should remain at home until "fever free" for a minimum of 24 hours without medication. A child who has started antibiotics needs to be on medication for 24 hours before being considered non-contagious and able to return to school. Keeping your ill child at home will minimize the spread of infections and viruses in the classroom.

ALL MEDICATION, including any and all over the counter medications, vitamins and cough drops need a doctor’s authorization/order to be administered here at school. You can find the form(s) on the district website.

Thank you in advance for helping make this year at school as healthy as possible.

Nurse Kerisa (kerisa.espinosa@d303.org, 331-228-2104)

LeeAnna Anzaldi,MSN, RN, PEL-ILSN

This week, we spotlight RUCHI SHAH who runs our Chess Club in both the fall and spring! There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to make this program run seamlessly, and we couldn’t be more grateful to Ruchi for taking it on. Bell Graham would not be the fun place it is without this awesome mom! Thank you Ruchi for all you do for BG!!!

RESTAURANT FUNDRAISER - 11/7 - CULVER’S

Let’s get together at Culver’s at 111 S. Randall Road on Thursday, November 7th for our next restaurant fundraiser! The fundraiser is from 10a-10p, but make sure you join us between 5-8p for a SPECIAL TREAT! Our very own Bell Graham teachers and staff will be joining us and the Culver’s crew to help make your dining experience EXTRA special. Come and join us to see what they’ll be up to!

SHOUT OUTS

Did your kiddo make an awesome play at their baseball game? Did they win an event in gymnastics? Is it their birthday? Do you just want to make a random day special for them? Send them a SHOUT OUT!! For $10 you can have 5 pictures along with a message displayed on the TV screen outside of the LRC for an entire day. After making your purchase in the Square Store, please send an email to Alicia Flint at aliciafulgencioflint@yahoo.com with your pictures, message and date to be displayed. Pictures MUST be sent 7 days prior to the desired display date or we cannot guarantee your message will be loaded in time. SHOUT OUTS PAYMENT

STAY CONNECTED

Check out these great ways to stay connected and find out more information on the PTO!

Bell Graham PTO Webpage

Bell Graham PTO Facebook page

Bell Graham Monthly Calendar

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Any questions or comments? Please email the PTO at bgeblast@gmail.com. All comments or questions will be discussed at our monthly Board meetings and responded to accordingly.

• 1 lunch with a loved one per student per school year for bday (1 TOTAL, not 1 with grandma, 1 with aunt, 1 with mom )
• ONLY bring food for your child and/or yourself. No sharing food/treats with friends at the lunch table.
• Stay for lunch ONLY, recess is not included
• Bring your ID for check in. No ID, no entry
• You do not need to give advance notice, but are welcome to email the office the day of to speed along the check in process.

Click here to see what time your child eats lunch.

We are happy to report that we will have a therapy dogs visiting us again this year. Please reach out to Dr. Dieckman or Julianna Harmon if you have any questions.

We use a Visor Tag System. Each family has received a car tag that has the family last name and the class codes of students in the family. The use of this visor tag expedites our car rider line tremendously as staff members are able to get students ready for their cars as the cars pull up! Please display the tag on your passenger side visor, or passenger side window, so that it is visible to the BG staff as you pull through the pick-up line.

If you need additional visor tags, please email Mrs. Kirincich.

Mrs. Amy Klueppel - Principal

Website: bellgraham.d303.org
Location: 4N505 Fox Mill Blvd St. Charles, IL 60175
Phone: 331-228-2100
Facebook: facebook.com/BellGrahamElementary
Twitter: @BellGrahamD303

All students, families, D303 staff members, and community members are invited to join us for the Compass Academy Open House and Student Showcase on Thursday, November 7th, from 4 to 7 PM. Enjoy delicious offerings from two fantastic food trucks: Sweet Sensations, serving delectable edible cookie dough and ice cream, and Tacomotora, featuring mouthwatering tacos, burrito bowls, and other Mexican street food favorites. The event will showcase students' work, and attendees can participate in a scavenger hunt and a raffle with some amazing prizes—entry to the raffle is free! This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone interested in discovering what Compass Academy has to offer.