Family Bulldog Bulletin

• 11/1: No School
• 11/2: Spirit Night Graceful Expressions Parents Night Out @ 6-8:30pm
• 11/4: Schoolwide PJ Day
• 11/5: No School
• 11/5: Election Day – must be in line at polling place or return absentee ballot by 7:30pm!
  
• 11/8: Report Cards Go Home
• 11/11: Veterans Day – No School

• 11/11-11/15: School Psychologist Appreciation Week

• 11/12: PTA Meeting @ 7pm

• 11/12: WCPSS School Board Meeting

• 11/15: Cultural Arts – Sankofa: The History of African American Music (grades 3-5)

• 11/18: Intervention Coordinator Day

• 11/26: WCPSS School Board Meeting

• 11/27-11/29: No School

Briarcliff is a polling site for Election Day. Please be aware that there may be limited staff on campus and be patient if a staff member does not immediately answer the door or phone. Thank you for understanding!

Dear 3rd-5th Grade Families,

This Fall, we will have students complete a Student Engagement Survey, which aligns with the WCPSS Strategic Plan and Briarcliff’s School Improvement Plan (SIP). This will provide us with vital information in our efforts to ensure all students feel welcome, challenged, and supported. The survey will be completed in classrooms by November 20th. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about your student taking the survey. Mrs. Nelson can be emailed directly to answer these questions (lnelson5@wcpss.net)

Over the next month teachers will be reaching out to you to set up a parent conference. All families should sign up for an in-person or virtual conference to learn more about how your student's social and academic progress in school.

What to expect during your conference:

• A chance to talk about your student

• Hear about your students' strengths and opportunities for growth (social-emotional and academic)

• Chance to ask questions

Bulldog families attended an Info Session with WCPSS and RATIO (the design firm) on Tuesday 10/29 to learn more about plans to update the Briarcliff building. The PTA would like to share our notes on that presentation and discussion for those who could not attend.

The current plan is to build a new building on our existing land, where the sports fields are located, starting in fall 2026. Students will remain in our current building until moving to the new, finished (two-story!) building sometime between fall 2028 – fall 2029. We will NOT be moved to a temporary location or temporary buildings/trailers during construction, and student safety will be the highest priority.

Multiple visioning workshops were held to gather staff and student feedback and to set priorities for the new design – so we can preserve what we love about Briarcliff now, while still planning to modernize for the future. The new building layout is in the early planning phase, and the timeline will be subject to government approvals and permitting. Additional info sessions will be held throughout the process.

• Meeting Notes from October 29 Info Session
• Images from a "Block" visioning exercise to brainstorm possible layouts for the new building on our campus (these are just ideas – NOT the final design!)

Graceful Expressions Dance Education (map) is hosting a Grown-Ups' Night Out Glow Party to benefit Briarcliff on Saturday, November 2, from 6-8:30pm.

Make your adult social plans now, and register your children in advance at https://gracefuldance.com/classes/#events!

It is $35 for the first kid in your family, and $25 for each subsequent child (with 50% coming directly back to Briarcliff!). There will be a glow party with glow sticks, black lights, and dancing in one room, and there will be pizza and a Pixar movie playing in another room. There will also be a calm "cool down" room in case any kids get overstimulated or need to take a break.

Same-day registration is available for in-person early voting.

Polling places will be open from 6:30am – 7:30pm, and any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30pm will be able to vote.

• Voter Search: Registered voters can find their polling place and sample ballot here.

Don't forget to bring your valid photo ID. We encourage you to research candidates and support those who support our public schools!

• Personalized Ballot Builder – non-partisan tool to research candidates on your ballot
• Free childcare while you vote from Blush Coworking (201 Shannon Oaks Circle, Suite 102 – across from Trader Joe's) – see the flyer below for details!

Join us on Tuesday, November 12, at 7pm in the Media Center and on Google Meet (with translation available*)!

Get involved, learn about what's happening at Briarcliff, and meet other Bulldog supporters. ALL are welcome to attend!

Meeting agendas and minutes are always posted online as soon as they are available. Send any questions to briarcliffptanc@gmail.com.

* To translate the Google Meet: in your meeting, click More options > Settings > Captions. Select Language of the meeting (English). Turn on translated captions. Then select the language that you prefer to translate into.

It's never too late to join the PTA and get involved! All are welcome!