Buckalew Buzz

Buckalew Bears Motto:

"Today I choose to BE Kind, Work Hard, and Do My BEst!"

Our school hours are officially 8:00-3:10. Students may arrive as early as 7:30.

Email: contactbuckalew@conroeisd.net
Website: https://buckalew.conroeisd.net/
Location: 4909 Alden Bridge Dr, The Woodlands, TX, USA
Phone: 2814653400
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BuckalewCISD/
Twitter: @buckalewbears

Hi Buckalew Family,

We had an AMAZING first 4 days with your children! Thank you for all you do in preparing your child(ren) not only for a successful first week, but a successful year ahead!! It is so fun to have conversations with your children about how much they are excited to be back in school!!

You will find the Buckalew BUZZ full of information and updates. This newsletter will go out twice a month with school-wide information from CISD, Buckalew, and our amazing PTO. Information toward the bottom of the newsletter will stay in for ongoing reference, so you will be able to familiarize yourselves with what is in the newsletter, and what will be in there for reference later.

If you are a returning Buckalew family, I wanted to let you know, we are no longer able to offer the Buckalew Bistro for lunch visitation or for a PTO/parent meeting space. Our enrollment continues to climb, and our Bistro was converted into a classroom for this school year. Due to our enrollment, we will be hosting parent visitors in our cafeteria for the first time in over 11 years. This will be a work in progress due to limited tables, space, and safety regulations, so we appreciate your patience while we are adjusting to new table arrangements with our growth, and helping students feel most comfortable in the cafeteria, learning routines and making friends.

Starting WEDNESDAY August 24th, we will begin allowing lunch visitors. While we encourage making lunch visitation a special treat, we do ask that you please limit the number of people and frequency of your lunch visits due to our limited space in the gym as well as limited table space. At this time, we will be requiring LUNCH reservations through a sign-up genius so we can make sure we can accommodate our visitors while keeping in mind our cafeteria space is also our gymnasium where PE classes take place immediately before and after our lunches. Our ultimate goal will be to alleviate the process of reservations, but our space in the cafeteria and table space for visitors is extremely limited and we want to make sure we can accommodate our visitors.

Thank you for your amazing support,

Jill Price

We are so very blessed to have an AMAZING staff that have worked endless hours to set up their classrooms or attended professional development so they can be their very best for your children and your family!

We are proud to introduce our 22-23 faculty:

from left to right:

Mrs. Mader, Mrs. Garza, Mrs. Harsh, Mrs. Haney, Mrs. Warren, Mrs. Smejkal

from left to right:

Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Moschitto, Mrs. Ramirez, Mrs. Burk, Mrs. Fuller, Mrs. Snyder

from left to right:

Mrs. Cardone, Mrs. Hargett, Mrs. Dillow, Ms. Felton, Mrs. Senger, Mrs. Amador, Mrs. Segel

from left to right, back to front:

Mrs. Fuller, Mrs. Garrett, Mrs. Krizan, Mrs. Wixson, Ms. Holland, Mrs. Canlas, Mrs. Depoy

from left to right:

Ms. Tyner, Mrs. Saheb, Ms. Hanna, Mrs. Hveem, Mrs. Lunsford, Ms. Dawson, Mrs. Triem

from left to right:

Mrs. Ramirez (music), Ms. Bryan (technology), Mrs. West (librarian), Coach Russel (PE), Mrs. Doak (Art), Mrs. Traylor (PE Aide)

from left to right:

Mrs. Bryant, Ms. Karr, Mrs. Konczak, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Cestero, Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Little, Mrs. Laurence, Mrs. Fullmer, Mrs. Provost, Mrs. Eaton, Mrs. B, Mr. Yuncker, Mrs. Pederson, Mrs. Garon, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. La Bone, Mrs. Bishop

from left to right- back to front:

Mrs. Points, Counselor; Mrs. George, Registrar; Mrs. Taylor, Secretary; Mrs. Guthrie, Receptionist; Mrs. Boland, Instructional Coach; Ms. LaCarter, Clinic Aide; Mrs. Thomas, Instructional Aide; Nurse Alison, Campus Nurse; Mrs. Welch, Technology Aide; Mrs. Smith, Assistant Principal; Mrs. Price, Principal

**Please pay close attention to homeroom teacher newsletters for class-specific events.**

August

22 - 2nd Grade Orientation 10:30am/6pm

22 - 4th Grade Orientation 08:15am/ 7pm

22 - KG Orientation 1pm/5pm

23 - 1st Grade Orientation 1pm/5pm

23 - 3rd Grade Orientation 9:15am/ 6pm

September

02- PTO Meeting

05 - Labor Day (no school)

16- Fall Student Pictures

*3rd Grade Community Service Food Drive*

October

04-Chalk the Walk/Walk to School Day (partners with The Woodlands Township)

06- Storybook Parade

07-Staff Development Day (no school for students)

10 - Holiday (no school)

14- PTO Meeting

24-28- Red Ribbon Week

21- Picture Retakes

*Kindergarten Community Service Coat Drive*

*2nd Grade Community Service Pajama Drive*

November

02- Boosterthon Kick-Off

08 -Staff Development Day (no school for students)

11- Boosterthon Run

14-18- Generation Texas Week

21-25 - Thanksgiving (no school)

4th Grade Community Service Project *CISD Toy Drive*

December

16 - Early Release 12:10

19- Jan 3- Winter Break

January

03 - Staff Development Day (no school for students)

04- School resumes

We are so excited about the start of a new school year! In case you missed Dr. Null’s YouTube live, please see the outline below.

YouTube Live Recap

• 02:15 - Welcome
• 06:05 - August Board Meeting Recognitions
• 08:55 - Summer Events
• 10:00 - District Renovations
• 10:50 - A Year in Review Handout
  • Highlights from 2021-2022
  • FAQS: Critical Race Theory, tax rates, and appraisals
• 21:10 - Preparing for a New School Year
  • 23:20 - PowerSchool Updates (formerly InfoSnap)
  • 24:20 - Free and Reduced Lunch
  • 25:00 - Transportation
  • 25:50 - Back-to-School Support
• 26:30 - Meet the Teacher
• 29:35 - First Day of School
• 32:45 - Our Commitment to School Safety
• 40:10 - Conroe ISD Chief of Police Matthew Blakelock
• 1:00:55 - Director of Information Systems Dr. Jarod Lambert
• 1:12:40 - Questions

Please bring your ID with you each and every time you come to Buckalew. This is a safety layer that we check in all visitors. During orientations on August 22 and 23, we will be requiring sign in for our day visitors, so please allow plenty of time to check in. For our evening visitors during orientation, we will have someone working the desk to scan your ID so you are in the system.

1. Bus rider (eligible if home is 1 mile or further from school) Bus routes are posted online on and you can check the link below in "what bus do I ride". You can also register your child for the bus by clicking the link below in the Buzz.

2. Car Rider Signs. The car rider line will be at the rear of the school and the bus line will be at the front of the school. ALL Parents should have received TWO car rider signs (orange) at Meet the Teacher night. Please display the car rider sign in your front passenger window so our staff can read your card. See below to help you navigate our car rider line if you are new.

3. Day Care. Day care vehicles drop off and pick up students in the front of the school with the buses. If your child will not be riding the day care bus due to an early pick-up or transportation change, please notify the day care so they know your child will not be riding that day.

4. Biker/Walker. Kindergarten students must have a parent/guardian/designated adult present with the car rider sign at the Biker Walker doors (under the patio) at dismissal in order to walk or bike home. All other Biker Walkers will exit the school near the bike racks. All other biker/walkers are released at dismissal to ride or walk home independently.

On severe weather dismissal days, students will not walk or bike ride home. If your child is a biker/walker as your primary mode, then you will be a car rider on severe weather days.

Buckalew takes pride in the organization and efficiency of our car rider line. We have tried various ways entering and exiting our students over 20 years. Please note the following if you are a car rider:

• DO follow these directions for morning drop off and if applicable, for afternoon pick up.

• DO pull all the way up to the number "1" labeled on the pillars along the back patio. If a car is already at 1, please create a steady stream behind "1", "2", "3", "4" and "5". We can safely load and unload 5-7 cars at a time by following this method.

• Do NOT pull up and stop by the double doors. This slows every car down behind you and we have this designed for safety to pull all the way up to A. If you are concerned about your child not getting into the building, please know that is why we have staff outside at morning duty.

• DO NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR. If your child requires extra kisses, assistance getting out of his or her car seat, a note written, a walk up to the door, then we ask that you park and walk your child from Lakeside Park.

• DO move quickly, yet safely through the car-rider line.

• DO NOT confuse quickly with fast. If you are in an extreme rush, the car-rider line may not be your best option. Park and escort your child from Lakeside Park.

• DO NOT pass other cars in the car rider line. This is extremely dangerous. If there is a car who is regularly not following the rules and safety is a concern, please call the front office and let us know.

• DO put safety first. Please do not have your cell phones out while in the car-rider line. Put your car in park before your children get out of the car in the car-rider line. Watch for others (staff) crossing the parking lot in the car-rider line. Before you pull away, make sure your child has crossed the RED line.

• DO NOT expect others to be safe. Every parent uses the car-rider line for the first time at some point. This may include families who just moved into the area, relatives, nannies, and older siblings.

• DO have all of your child’s school items prepared and placed carefully inside of their sturdy backpack before entering the car-rider line. This includes water bottles.

• DO NOT allow your child to attempt to exit your vehicle with their backpack gaping open. All of their items could easily spill out onto the ground, forcing you to put your vehicle in park, run around to the other side, or worse, have your child crawl under a car without you realizing it.

• Do make sure your children exit the car on the passenger side doors. There is a RED line on the dismissal patio. Please reinforce to your children that they need to go straight across the red line to the area away from the car traffic.

• DO NOT allow your child to exit the driver's side or the back of the car. Someone behind or in front of you may not see your child and accidentally reverse or move forward. Exiting the passenger side ensures your child will not be in another vehicles path.
• DO have your CAR RIDER SIGN OUT AND DISPLAYED for the person calling names to see it vividly even if they know you during pickup. Sometimes it is hard to see into windows and anticipate who is inside the car.
• DO NOT make U Turns coming or going into the car rider back parking lot. Montgomery County police did a evaluation of our car rider line to most safely and efficiently run our arrival and dismissal. This has improved the safety of not only our car riders, but our biker walkers and bus riders. This has also improved our dismissal time from approximately 45 minutes in the past, to under 20 minutes.
• Do understand our line runs efficiently at dismissal and can be done in 15-20 minutes on most days. Do not assume it will run long and wait to pick up your child when there is no line. This is both embarrassing and scary for your child as we do bring them to the front office to make a phone call to make sure you are okay.

• AGAIN, If you need more time and are holding up the line during drop off or pick up, we ask you to please park at Lakeside Park and walk your child up to school.
• Thank you.

ALL Parents should have received 2 CAR RIDER/Dismissal Signs at Meet the teacher. These are used for safety precautions when we are dismissing 700 students. We thank you for keeping 1 sign in each car.

NEW THIS YEAR for KG: We are requiring Kindergarten parents only at Biker Walker to carry this sign with them to pick up their child at the biker walker doors. With our growing enrollment and various staff members on duty, it adds an extra layer to make sure we are connecting the correct kindergarten student with their care giver.

Take a photo of the sign? We have had several people ask if they can use a photo of this Dismissal Sign on their phone. The answer is YES! Feel free to take a picture to keep on your phone in case of transportation changes or loss of the sign, or emergency instances with severe weather. Please know that the original sign is IDEAL, as it is designed for those calling dismissal to be able to read. On a cell phone, that will slow down the line.

Below are the dates and times to receive important teacher insight into each grade level. We are often asked if it is appropriate for children to attend the orientations. A lot of information about the school, curriculum, homework, grading, and a variety of other topics geared toward parents will be discussed. Most parents find it a little easier to attend the orientations by themselves, but we certainly understand if that is not a possibility for your family. We do want all parents to be able to attend if at all possible. Times are staggered to enable parents with multiple students to attend each grade level orientation, and to minimize crowds. Two sessions are offered per grade level. The same information will be given during the daytime and evening time. The two offerings are to be flexible for what works best for your family.

22 August - KG Orientation 1pm/5pm

22 August - 2nd Grade Orientation 10:30am/6pm

22 August - 4th Grade Orientation 08:15am/ 7pm

23 August - 1st Grade Orientation 1pm/5pm

23 August - 3rd Grade Orientation 9:15am/ 6pm

Active Start is a before school "free play" for students arriving at school from 7:30-7:45. Weather-permitting, students go to the k-2 playground prior to the start of school. Students arriving after 7:45 will go straight to homerooms.

Breakfast is served in our cafeteria from 7:30-7:55 daily. See below for menu. See fees below for both breakfast and lunch.

August 19 at 12:15 in the library is our New Library Volunteer meeting. I'll show you how to check out books, how our library is set up and tell you a little bit about me 🙂

The library is a great place to volunteer and ours is busy. The entire school comes through the library for book check over a 3-day period! That's a lot of books coming in and going out; the students and I depend on the help of amazing parents to help things run smoothly.

If you would like to be added to the library volunteer e-mail sign up genius, please contact Jenny Bardoux, our Library Volunteer Coordinator at msbardoux@gmail.com and she will add you to our list.

Book fair will be coming to our school in September! Contact Kerri McWilliams at kerrimcwilliams@hotmail.com to get on our book fair volunteer list. We need help with setting up, running the cash register (super easy and fun) and takedown.

Do you like to sing?

Do you like to try new things?

Do you like to learn new things about music?

Then the Buckalew 4th Grade Choir is just for you!!

Choir is open to ALL 4th grade students at Buckalew no matter your musical background! You do not need to audition, just bring yourself, and you are welcome. Choir starts Tuesday, August 30th, BEFORE school from 7:10-7:55 AM and continues each Tuesday and Thursday unless otherwise noted. If you are interested in joining, please fill out the Choir Sign Up Form prior to rehearsal Tuesday 8/30. (Click on link above to fill out form or retrieve a form from outside the Music Room)

Please contact Mrs. Ramirez with any questions at sdramirez@conroeisd.net. More detailed information can be found on the second page of the Sign Up Form and will be sent after sign up as well. Hope to see you there!

I'm Mrs. Points, your school counselor. With each Buzz, I will have resources to support the social and emotional learning of our students. If your family has a specific need you would like to contact me about, please don't hesitate to email me at kpoints@conroeisd.net.

New lunch bunch groups for Grades 1-4 will begin meeting the week of August 29th. Each group meets once a week for five weeks during their lunch period. (Kinder groups meet before their lunch period starting in mid-September.) The deadline to sign up for a group is Wednesday, August 24th. If you are interested in your child participating, please fill out the link below:

CLICK HERE

Our 4th Grade Safety Kids perform a very important role in our building. They are school leaders who model the best in hallway behavior and manners. Safety Kids welcome and assist other Buckalew students to class in a timely, positive manner. They also protect the safety of all students walking down our busy morning hallways. If your child is interested in participating, please fill out the link below:

CLICK HERE

Join St. Anthony's Pack 1180 on Saturday, August 20th from 8-10AM at the Wendtwoods Park Pavilion for fun activities and to learn more about the upcoming year. Cub Scout Pack 1180 is for boys ages 5-10 (Grades K-5). Scouting is "fun with a purpose" - developing character, citizenship, leadership, fitness, and faith through activities and adventures. Annual pack events include Fall and Spring campouts and a Pinewood Derby Race. Contact pack1180@gmail.com to learn more!

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE to on how to self report

We offer parents the courtesy of a drop table to deliver forgotten items, which is located just inside the entrance foyer. There are pens, paper and tape available for you to use to clearly identify items for your child to collect. We will call the classrooms at 10am to inform all students of items on the drop table.

Student Lunches and birthday cookies will be taken to the Cafeteria, on a cart, for your child to pick up at their allotted lunch time. Please make sure ALL ITEMS are clearly labeled.

Just a friendly reminder to make any and all transportation changes, and if necessary in-person early student pick-ups prior to 2pm. Our goal is to dismiss students safely each day. After 2pm it becomes difficult to make changes in a timely and safe manner.

You will be asked to provide photographic identification when collecting your child.

To make transportation changes, please send a note in your child's backpack to the teacher OR email: buckalewtransportation@conroeisd.net prior to 2pm. Any changes submitted after 2pm will not be seen until the following day.

When your child is absent, please call the school attendance line (281-465-3410) or email Lindy George legeorge@conroeisd.net to explain the reason for their absence. To ensure the accuracy of your child's attendance records, please call, or email each day your child is absent.

Please remember that attendance is recorded at 9:00 a.m. each day. If your child is absent at 9:00 a.m. due to a doctor’s appointment, he/she will be counted present if you bring your child back to school on the same day with a doctor's statement that verifies the appointment.

If your child will be out for an extended period, please let us know.

School hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. The tardy bell rings at 8:00 a.m. and students will be counted tardy if they are not in their classroom at that time.

We are working with our students on understanding the lunch-buying process. It can be quite confusing for our elementary students. We are currently speaking with our students and explaining to them, if they bring a lunch, they should eat their lunch before going through the line and purchasing an additional lunch. As we try and navigate each student through the lunch line, every child has a different need, and we never want to deny students from going through the lunch line. We encourage you to communicate with your child your expectations in either: eating the lunch you are providing/packing; buying extra lunch only and going through the line one time; or explaining that if they go through the line a second time, their account is charged again. We also encourage you to check your child's account, by going to the link below and you can check and monitor your child's purchase history, and if necessary put a limit on the account by contacting our cafeteria directly.

Breakfast

Reimbursable Meal Prices

$2.00 Full Price Student Breakfast

$0.30 Reduced Price Student Breakfast

$3.00 Non-Student Breakfast/2nd Breakfast

Ala Carte Prices

Entrée- $1.50, Milk- $.95, Fruit/Vegetable/Grain- $1.15

Lunch

Reimbursable Meal Prices

$3.20 Full Price Student Lunch

$0.40 Reduced Price Student Lunch

$4.20 Non-Student Lunch/2nd Lunch

Ala Carte Prices

Entrée- $2.30, Milk- $.95, Fruit/Vegetable/Grain- $1.15

Kettle Corn Popcorn-$1.50,

Slush, Brownie, Rice Krispy Treat- $1.00

Chips, Cry Baby- $.75

Freshly Baked Cookie, Fruit Roll-Up- $.50

You may prepay by using My School Bucks. You will find a link to this service, lunch menus, and other helpful information by clicking on the child nutrition resource button below. If you would like to put a cap on your child's spending on your lunch account, then please notify our cafeteria manager by calling 281-465-3467.

Please consider linking your Kroger Rewards Card to Buckalew. Every time you shop at Kroger, you will be earning money for Buckalew!

Please consider joining the Buckalew Elementary PTO! Memberships and yard signs are currently available for purchase on the Buckalew Spirit store at https://buckalewspiritstore.com. The cost of your membership helps support PTO activities and includes a copy of the school-wide student directory.

The purpose of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is to:

(a) Promote the welfare of children at Buckalew

(b) To foster cooperation between parents and teachers in the education of children at Buckalew

(c) To unite school and community efforts in securing the best education for all children

(d) To engage in fundraising activities for the educational and recreational benefit of Buckalew, its children, teachers, and staff as determined by the PTO and in accordance with the PTO by-laws.

The first PTO Meeting of the 2022-2023 school year is scheduled for Friday, September 2 at 11:30 AM in the Buckalew Library. We hope to see you there!

Volunteer with PTO

If you are interested in hearing about volunteer opportunities, please email BuckalewPTOVolunteers@gmail.com and let us know that you would like to be included on our volunteer list.

We currently have PTO board positions open for a Fall Fundraiser Coordinator (Boosterthon), Yearbook Co-Chair, Garden Club, Beautification – Landscape, and photographers for 1st and 3rd grades. If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact Brooke Roberts, PTO Parliamentarian, manchin26@aol.com.

2022-2023 PTO Executive Board

President – Elizabeth Kutka

VP Fundraising – Stephanie Porrata

VP Parent Involvement – Amy Kemp

VP Communications – Jessica Courtney

Treasurer – Carrie Foster

Secretary – Sarah Bartnick

Parliamentarian – Brooke Roberts

Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram!

BuckalewBearsPTO.com

We ask EVERY PERSON entering Buckalew to be approved as a CISD volunteer. This is for the safety of all students, as a background check is carried out.

Click the button below to complete the form. You will need your drivers license number;

We are very excited to announce that Buckalew Elementary will join in with other CISD schools and will be offering School Cash Online, which provides you with the convenience of paying online for school items such as trips, Scholastic Magazine subscriptions, and various activities. We really want to save you time when paying for school expenses, so we can’t wait for you to take advantage of this opportunity. School Cash Online is a great way to pay without the need for cash or checks!

Please follow the link below to register online (it takes less than 5 minutes!) Once you have registered your child, you will be able to see when they have a new item posted online for purchase. You also have the option to be notified whenever your child has a new school expense due, so you don’t have to worry about missing the deadline.

To set up an account and explore the system, please follow the instructions below. We look forward to hearing your feedback!

Register Online:

Step 1: Please click on this link: https://conroeisd.schoolcashonline.com/

Step 2: Register by selecting the “Get Started Now” and following the steps.

Step 3: After you receive the confirmation email, select the “click here” option, log in and add each of your children to your household account.

If you have any questions during the registration process or while shopping online, please select the SUPPORT option in the top right-hand area of the screen or you may contact the parent help desk at 1-866-961-1803 or at http://schoolcashonline.co./Home/Support or see the handout below.

CISD-Foldable-Brochure-English.pdf

Currently, in grades 1st-4th, the classes are utilizing Scholastic News and Storyworks Jr magazine subscriptions to read high interest non-fiction texts and to learn about text features and engaging stories and different genres. We thank you in advance for purchasing this wonderful subscription for your child.

For the first time, Buckalew will be collecting money through School Cash Online vs requesting parents send in a check or cash.

Thank you again for your support in our students.

Children are encouraged to bring water bottles each day. Please clearly write your child's name on the bottle with permanent marker.

A friendly reminder to please label all of your child's belongings with first name and last initial or last name. **Water bottles, lunch boxes, hats, and especially outerwear such as hoodies/jackets/sweaters are all great things to label as these items tend to pile up quickly in the Lost and Found, which is located right outside of the gym. We really hope to reunite these lost items with their owners before the break!

If you have any additional questions, please contact Jo Whitten at jojowhitten@me.com or Val Eissler veissler@gmail.com

Here are some quick links below to help you access content for your child.

Dreambox for Math can be found on your child's "SSO" and is online and can be done at home, without parent support. We recommend no more than 7 lessons a week at home, independently. Parents assisting their child with Dreambox will alter their path and not provide independent pathways for your child.

Reading either with your child, or your child independently reading is one of the best things you can do with your child in their absence from school. Ask comprehension questions: who, what, where, when, why?

PDF to help you navigate Buckalew-specific dates, procedures, and information. Please note that all information in the Addendum is subject to change due to Covid 19.

We thank you for planning ahead. Please use this calendar for your planning purposes to maximize instructional days.