Blue Mountain Elementary

Dear Parents,

We are excited to welcome everyone to the 2024-2025 school year! We can't wait to reconnect with all of our returning families, and to embrace the families new to the Blue Mountain community. While there will be a few new faces on our staff this year, our school will continue to be the student focused, relationship dependent, rigorous learning space that it has always been.

Beyond welcoming folks back to school, the purpose of this update is to share important events and dates with you all regarding the first few weeks of school. The most important thing we do in August and early September is build relationships with students and families. With students, that looks like creating inviting learning spaces, getting student's voices into their classrooms early and often, learning about each other's dreams and fears, and making as many connections as possible. Teachers have been thinking about and preparing for that work all summer. The goals are, honestly, similar for parents. We want to get to know you and understand what your dreams are for your students so that we can work together to help them get there. These August and September events are really about facilitating that work. Anything families can do to fit them into their busy schedules will pay off 10-fold in the long run.

Our office staff is back in the building and ready to support you all as the big day approaches. If, after looking through this update, you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call and get the information you need. You can also email our registrar/attendance clerk, Lori Myers (myers_lori@svvsd.org), or our school secretary, AK Butterworth (butterworth_anne@svvsd.org), with any questions.

As I said, we are excited to see everyone and to kick off what is sure to be an amazing school year.

Take care,

Stephen

• August 9th, Friday - 4:00pm sharp! - Class lists posted in the front doors at school
  
• August 12th, Monday - 4:30-5:30pm - Back to School Open House - Meet your teacher(s), get to see your classroom, bring all school supplies, PTO information in main hallway
  
• August 13th, Tuesday - First Day of School for 1st-5th grades! School starts at 9:00am. School ends at 3:35pm.
• August 12th & 13th - Kindergarten Assessments - please bring Kindergarten school supplies to the assessment time assigned to you
  

• August 15th, Thursday - First Day of School for Kindergarten!
• August 19th, Monday - First Day for Preschool!
• August 29th, Thursday - 5:00-6:00pm - Curriculum Night

• September 2nd, Monday - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
• September 4th, Wednesday - First Late Start Day - school starts at 11:30
  

We are excited to welcome new staff members to our top-notch Blue Mountain Team!

3rd grade - Lauren Cranny

Occupational Therapist - Carli Jimenez

You can see all of our new and returning staff members on our website at any time - bmes.svvsd.org

Please CLICK HERE to learn about transportation eligibility requirements. You can always reference the District Transportation Website HERE. You must sign up EACH YEAR for your student to ride a bus!

Click here to apply for transportation services for the 24-25 year.

St. Vrain Valley Schools' Transportation Department looks forward to another successful year serving our students, teachers, and staff. Please contact us at 303-702-7530 if you have additional questions.

• Please email our Registrar/Attendance Clerk, Lori Myers - myers_lori@svvsd.org - with any address changes so she can update Infinite Campus
  
• If your student rides a bus, this information is necessary for correct pick up/drop off locations
  

School lunches are free for all students in Colorado. To see lunch menus, go to bmes.svvsd.org and click on Lunch Menus in the upper right corner. The menu will also be linked in all future newsletters.

You can add funds to your student's lunch account for incidentals/extras through RevTrak - https://stvrain.revtrak.net/. Log in, then click on Nutrition Services. You can set up notifications for low balances and check your balance any time.

Please fill out the Free and Reduced Lunch application as that applies to more than just lunches! The online link for the application is HERE.

SVVSD will be doing a district wide iPad refresh when school resumes in August. If your student brought their district iPad home for the summer, please be sure they bring it back to school when they return so that it can be exchanged for a new device.

A few quick points to consider:

• You may want to back up data from your student's device this summer. Information on backing up iPad data can be found here.

• The new iPads will charge using USB-C instead of lightning connections. When returning your student’s current iPad, please include the charging block and cable that was issued with the iPad. New charging cables will be issued with the new iPads.

• The new iPads will not have headphone jacks. Teachers will be given dongle adapters to use in the classroom. If your student is in need of new headphones, please consider purchasing headphones with a USB-C connector instead of a typical headphone jack. Bluetooth headphones would be a great option for at home use, but charging headphones at school is not feasible.

• Due to the price increase of the new iPads, fees for damages or loss will be increased. It is HIGHLY recommended that you purchase tech insurance at the beginning of the school year. The cost of insurance will remain $25 for the 24-25 school year. Insurance price is reduced for families who qualify for free or reduced lunch. The application for free or reduced lunch can be found here.

• If you would like more information on what is covered under the optional insurance program you can find that here.

To Pay for insurance with credit card:

• Use the App or go to Infinite Campus: https://ic.svvsd.org/campus/portal/parents/stvrain.jsp
• Log In - contact the office if you need help with your log in name/password
• Click on Fees in the left column.
  
• Be sure you can see all of your students!
• Add fees to cart and check out.
  

To pay for insurance with cash or check, just bring your payment to the front office. Checks can be made out to BMES.

You can download the Infinite Campus Parent app from the App Store or Google Play.

Please reach out to Michele Soriano soriano_michele@svvsd.org with any questions! Thank you!

Now is a great time to confirm that your student’s vaccination and immunization forms are up to date.

Starting Monday, August 12th from 8 am to 3:30 pm, you can also drop off any necessary emergency/daily medications for your student in the front office. You must include the required paperwork (found HERE). If you have any questions about health related needs for your student, please contact our Health Clerk, Anjie Bolster, at bolster_anjenean@svvsd.org.

• The Hug 'n Go Lane is the lane closest to the school
• There is NO PARKING in this lane - always stay IN your car
  
• Students should exit ONLY on the passenger side of the vehicle directly onto the sidewalk
  
• If you need to walk your student to their classroom, please use the parking lot or neighborhood streets around the school to park and walk in
• Please PUT PHONES DOWN and DRIVE SLOWLY while on campus
  
• Please stop at crosswalks even if there isn't a crossing guard - Children are hard to see and unpredictable!
• Please turn your car off if you are waiting so we cut down on exhaust fumes where students are walking

• Dogs are not permitted anywhere on our campus. Please leave them at home for play time when you return.
• We have MANY bike racks. Most of them are at the front of the school between the gym door and the cafeteria, others are by the Kindergarten playground and down the hill by the back field. Please be sure to lock up bikes and scooters!
  
• Please DRIVE SLOWLY and PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN. With extra walkers, bikers, and rollers there may be children darting out when you least expect it. Keep everyone safe!
• Our Lost & Found fills up quickly each year! Please remember to label jackets, sweatshirts, and sweaters - and anything else!
  
• Start Bell rings at 9:00am - any students arriving after 9:05 must be signed in by a parent/guardian in the front office.
• End of Day Bell rings at 3:35pm.
  

Every family, parent, staff member, and student plays a vital role in our Blue Mountain community! Each year our PTO works to raise over $70,000 to fund a whole host of things that otherwise would not be possible for our school.

The PTO pays the salary for FOUR part time paraprofessionals that help in classrooms and supervise lunch and recess times in the middle of the day - a $40K+ expense. The PTO pays for every child to go on field trips through the year - around $12K+ for admissions and buses. The PTO supports our teachers and staff with additional needs for classrooms as they come up. They cover exciting programs like Square State Skate for our 3rd-5th graders AND SO MUCH MORE!

Please go to the PTO Website - bluemountainpto.com - for more information about volunteer opportunities, staff wish lists, and more!

The BMES PTO Spirit Wear Store will open AUGUST 9th!

Click HERE for design sneak peaks!

Please note! The store closes Friday, August 30th at 11:59pm AND WILL NOT REOPEN!

All items will be delivered to your student at school in mid-September. If you have any questions, please email the PTO Board - board@bluemountainpto.com

A portion of each item sold supports our BMES PTO and all of the many things they fund at our school!

Principal: Stephen Hoel

School Hours: 9:00-3:35

Office Hours: 8:00-4:00

School Website: https://bmes.svvsd.org/
Location: 1260 Mountain Drive, Longmont, CO, USA
Phone: (720) 652-8220
PTO Information: BlueMountainPTO.com, board@bluemountainpto.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057332783464&mibextid=LQQJ4d
X: @BMES_PRIN