Big Bend Elementary Newsletter

Phone: 262.363.4401 OFFICE: #0 / ATTENDANCE: #1 / HEALTH ROOM: #3

Fax: 262.662.1309

Office Hours: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

School Hours: 8:30-3:35 Monday - Friday

• Lunch Menu
• Volunteer application
• 24-25 District Calendar

BBES Families,

Thank you for your huge turnout at open house and introducing me to your families. I know things can be hectic and I appreciate all the positivity and meeting with so many of you. Our PTO will be getting our students pumped for our Fall fundraiser this month and I thank you for your continued support of our school. Also, during the month of September, we will be practicing our safety drills. More information is provided below, but please discuss these drills with your children and why they are important. We have so many new and exciting things happening this year and I am thrilled to get going. Thank you again for your teamwork with us at BBES.

Greg Burton, Principal

Big Bend Elementary

Burtogr@masd.k12.wi.us

The safety of our students and staff is the top priority of the Mukwonago Area School District. Each year, district schools practice the Standard Response Protocol which include hold, secure, shelter, lockdown, and evacuate.











In the past, many of these safety drills were announced in advance to students and staff. However, knowing that these drills are coming limits their effectiveness.




Starting this year, the Mukwonago Area School District will treat September as School Safety Month. During the month, schools will run an evacuation (fire) drill, a shelter (tornado) drill, a lockdown drill and a hold drill. We will provide information to teachers, students, and our families on the meaning of each drill and information following each drill to let you know that it has been conducted.




After September, in order to help everyone practice the Standard Response Protocol as effectively as possible, our safety drills – including holds and lockdowns – will not be announced in advance. However, you will always receive communication from your school after a safety drill – including a lockdown, hold, or secure – is held.




Please talk to your child about the importance of safety drills and being prepared for an emergency. The district is confident this will help our students and staff be as ready as possible for any situation that may occur.

All visitors and volunteers upon entering the building will be asked to present an ID such as a drivers license which can be scanned or manually entered into the system. Once entry is approved, a badge will be issued that identifies the visitor, the date and purpose of visit. Please allow a few extra minutes upon arrival in the building to get your badge.

Earlier this summer, the MASD school board approved Policy 5136 - Personal Communication Devices (PCDs). PCDs are defined in Policy 0100 as including "computers, laptops, tablets, e-readers, cellular/mobile phones, smartphones, and/or other web-enabled devices of any type."

The new policy prohibits students from using their own personal communication device - specifically cell phones - during the school day and during school-sponsored activities. Except as authorized by a teacher, administrator or IEP team, students must power off their cell phone and other PCD and store them out of sight at all times once they have entered the building for the school day.

This policy means that no student may have a cell phone or other PCD out during the school day, unless the child has a confirmed medical condition or which requires the use of their cell phone or other PCD.

The new policy has been created to combat the excessive distractions and interruptions cell phones cause to learning during the day and reduce the number of negative student behaviors exacerbated by social media and phones while at school. The increase in mental health concerns with our nation’s children has been well-documented in recent years and it is hoped that having a cell phone free environment will reduce behavioral issues and improve student learning.

Students who violate this policy may have their cell phone or other PCD confiscated and held until a parent picks up the device at school. This means that the only way a student will have a confiscated cell phone or PCD returned is by parent pickup.

If the violation involves an invasion of another person’s privacy, the student may be directed to delete any audio, pictures, and/or video files while the parent is present. If the violation involves potentially illegal activity, the confiscated cell phone or other PCD may be turned over to law enforcement.

Parents are reminded that the best way to get in touch with their child during the school day is by calling the school office.

The Mukwonago Area School District has changed the enrollment process to a Yearly Online Registration Process (a verification of enrolled students) through the parent/guardian Infinite Campus Portal.

This is an annual process that must be completed prior to the start of the school year. All families are required to complete this process to ensure your students enrollment is complete for the 24-25 school year. This information should be completed by August 31. If you do not complete this annual update in the appropriate timeframe, the building administrative assistants will be contacting you. If you do not have a portal account, email helpdesk@masd.k12.wi.us and provide the parent name, student name, school, and grade level. Do not use the student's account!

Once you are in the portal, please select the link in the lower left hand corner of the parent portal: Select More > 2025 Online Registration > 24-25 School Year Existing Student Registration (do not select New Student Registration). If you select this link and "Not Primary Household" is listed next to your student, this means you are not required to complete this update because another household is listed as the "Primary Household" for census purposes only in our database.

MASD is suspending the service fee for online payments made through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal through September 30, 2024. The service fee suspension makes it a great time to pay your student fees and fines. Go to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal to pay your student fees today!

School doors open for students at 8:20 AM. Students are not to arrive before this time unless under contract with Y.M.C.A. for before school services. Buses will arrive at school at approximately 8:20 AM. When dismissed from the bus, students are to come directly into the building and go to their classroom. Playground supervision is not provided before school. Staff will be supervising the unloading of buses as students arrive at 8:20 AM.

We ask for the cooperation of parents with children of “walkers.” Please do not allow your children to leave the house earlier than necessary for them to arrive at school at 8:20 AM. The crossing guard does not cross children until approximately 8:20 AM. Please view our morning drop off procedure/map below. Thank you for your assistance.

• Parents will stay in their vehicles, and pull through the parking lot up to the NE corner of the gym.

• Parents will need to make a sign with their child’s *** LAST NAME & CLASS CODE - they should either hold the sign, or place it on the passenger side windshield, or passenger side window. Have the sign every day for pick up. Make sure it is BIG enough for someone to read from far away!

• Staff members will call students from the gym to exit the building and find their cars, as they come through the line.

• Parents should remain in their vehicles and should not park in the parking lot and come to the doors.

• Students will be released to the gym around 3:27 pm and will be dismissed a few minutes later.

Parents are now able to submit absence requests via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal or Mobile App. School staff can review and process requests to automatically update attendance. Save time and make your absence requests via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal!

If you are not comfortable using this new feature, please call the school (262-363-4401) and choose option 1 for attendance. Please leave a message including your student's first and last name, reason for absence, or late arrival. If your student will be arriving late, please include their lunch choice (cold lunch, hot lunch, choice 1, or choice 2). **This is very important to assure we have enough sent to our school each day. We call in the number of hot lunch choices by 9:00 am each morning. Lunches are sent over from our central kitchen at the High School each day.

*Any student who does not arrive at school by 8:30 a.m. must report to the office. This must be done prior to reporting to their class. The teacher will have already marked the student absent. A lunch will not have been ordered for them if taking hot lunch unless you have called the attendance line. The student reporting to the office will allow/ prevent the office from calling home to inquire about his/her absence as well. Please send a note or call ahead if the student will be late due to a medical or dental appointment so that we can mark the excuse for tardiness appropriately.

If your child's dismissal plan is going to be different than his/her usual way of getting home, you MUST SEND A BLUE NOTE informing the teacher of your expectations for that day. If your plans change during the day, you may call the office to give us this information. We ask that you make that call prior to 2:00 p.m. Contacting your child's classroom at the end of the day can be difficult to reach them with the message.

If we do not have notification of a change from a parent, we will have to send your child home following the plan we were given at the beginning of the year. Thank you for your cooperation.

When filling out the blue notes, please make sure you have the following information completed. (One note for each child should be completed if you have more than one child) We regularly see notes that do not have the following information provided. Please make sure your child's last name is included on the slip.

The Mukwonago Area School District is pleased to work with local community partners who provide onsite before and after care services at each of our district's elementary schools. For more information, please contact the community partner directly.

Mukwonago YMCA phone: 262.363.7950 (on site)

Vernon Child Development Center (VCDC) Phone: 262.662.4648 (busing available)

The Grade 5-8 Take-Home Device Parent Presentation virtual meeting was recorded separately and is now available for parents/guardians at this link. For your convenience, you can also find a copy of this presentation here. At this time, the meeting will not be rescheduled. Please feel free to email helpdesk@masd.k12.wi.us for any questions that may not have been answered during the recorded meeting or in the presentation. Thank you!

The Mukwonago Area School District understands that it takes students, staff, and the community to build better schools. One way the community can support our schools is through their time. We are grateful for the help of volunteers at each of our schools.

In order to provide for the safety and well-being of our students the Board of Education requires a background check for all volunteers. Background checks will be conducted prior to the individual’s first assignment in the District. Approval of volunteer applications are subject to District review.

If you are interested in volunteering, you will need to complete the online volunteer application no later than five school days prior to your first volunteer assignment in our schools or as a field trip chaperone. Your approved volunteer application will remain active for two years and is good for any school in the District.

Hot lunch (including milk) is available daily for $3.20 for elementary students, $3.35 for middle school students, and $3.55 for high school students. . The cost of ala carte milk is $.50. Funds should be deposited to your child's Infinite Campus food service account. You may check the balance at any time by accessing the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. You will receive an automatic low balance or negative balance phone call when your child needs money added to his/her account.

Payments may be made online through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, or paid by check made out to MASD and sent to the school office. Our free/reduced-price lunch application is also available in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal for families wishing to apply for assistance (please make sure you fill out the application and the FRAM Waiver form).

MASD is suspending the service fee for online payments made through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal through September 30, 2024. The service fee suspension makes it a great time to pay your student fees and fines. Go to the Infinite Campus Parent Portal to pay your student fees today!

The Village of Big Bend is looking for a Crossing Guard to assist students safely crossing the street before and after school.

• Part-time position, working a brief shift in the afternoons after school.
• Interact with diverse groups of students, parents, and community members.
• 5 hours per week at $20 per hour

Apply by calling the Police Department at 262.662.3782 or stop in the Village offices.

9/11/2024 - Bulldog Bolt kick-off

9/12/2024 - PTO meeting @ 7:00

9/18/2024 - Picture Day

9/21/2024 - Mukwonago's Fall Fest

9/27/2024 - Bulldog Bolt

We are excited to announce our 2024-25 BE A STAR school-wide theme. As in the past we are offering a theme based T-shirt designed by Mrs. Kratochvil through Monday, September 9, 2024. Students and staff typically wear the shirts at least one day each month throughout the school year.

The final order will be placed on Monday, September 9th. Orders should be delivered to students by the end of the September

To order a T-shirt go to (reminder to complete a separate online order form for each child):

https://bit.ly/2425BBESTHEMESHIRT

OR

Payment Options

1. Cash

2. Check (made payable to the Big Bend Elementary School)

Send your payment to school in an envelope with the following information:

• Be a Star T-shirt Order

• Child’s name

• Child’s class code (grade and 1st letter of their teacher’s last name).

• If you have more than one order, feel free to include all payments in 1 envelope.

Your T-shirt order will not be filled until full payment is received. Any questions should be directed to Becky Bretza via email (bretzbe@masd.k12.wi.us).

Thank you in advance for your order!

SEPTEMBER

Welcome back!! We are very excited for the start of another school year and all of the fun PTO events we have planned. None of this would be possible without the support of all of our BBES families. We appreciate you!! Thank you for participating in our events, volunteering, donating and attending our monthly meetings!! The fun begins with our third annual Bulldog Bolt Fundraiser. What a successful event this has been!! We raised over $48,000 for our school two years in a row!!! Wow!!! This money supports staff needs, building upgrades, playground upgrades, staff appreciation, a paid for field trip for all grade levels and so much more!! Be sure to pay attention to your child’s folder for important fundraiser info and mark your calendar with the dates below!

Bulldog Bolt Fundraiser Kick Off!!- September 11th

Bulldog Bolt Fun Run!!- September 27th

PTO MEETING- SEPTEMBER 12th @ 7 PM- We encourage everyone to attend our monthly meetings. All are welcome! Meetings are held the second Thursday of the month in the library. You can also attend virtually using the link below.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for our upcoming events. Please sign up if you can help. THANKS!!

BULLDOG BOLT FUN RUN:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4EA5AB2DABFB6-44130921-bulldog

HALLOWEEN PARTY:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E4EA5AB2DABFB6-bigbend1

What’s Coming Up…

HALLOWEEN PARTY- 10/18

PTO MEETING ZOOM LINK

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87433901291?pwd=KC1W5xCQFpn3jgSbV54aX1sah5ceIt.1

PASSCODE- 970099

LIKE us on Facebook: Big Bend PTO ~ JOIN our Instagram @BIGBENDPTO

2024-2025 Alpine Valley (ages7+)

Winter will be here before you know it! In order to get our school discount we need participants. Please Consider signing up for this fun winter activity. For up to date club information and dates, join our facebook page BBES Ski and Snowboard Club. Questions contact: Bandon Steinhauer@ 414.207.1003 or Amy Steinhauer@262.825.6414 or email BigBendSkiClub@gmail.com

As a service to our community, don't forget that MASD hosts a virtual Community Bulletin Board that is regularly updated with information from organizations providing services or activities. Be sure to bookmark the page and watch Key News for Families all year long for updates.