Paw Print

I know that it is REALLY early in the month, but I couldn't wait any longer to welcome your family to the 2024-2025 school year at Belmont Elementary! This newsletter is the main vehicle of school-wide information and I BEseech you to at least give it a good glance when it arrives in your mailbox...usually each week on Friday! The analytics within the SMORE platform continue to show great visitation by readers like YOU, so thank you for keeping up the good work!

Today's edition will hopefully get a couple of BEautiful Belmont Community Opportunities on your calendar and maybe even answer a question or two about the first week of school. Are you ready to learn? Here we grow!!

Belmont PTO would like to say a huge THANK YOU to our Belmont families for their involvement in their child’s school. Without your continued support our students and teachers would not be able to have such an exciting school year. Let's get connected at the PTO sponsored Bulldogs on the Playground Events (see flyer above), our Belmont Family Welcome Night on August 12 (see article below) or our first PTO meeting of the year on Monday, August 26, 6:30pm in the cafeteria.

Join us on August 12th to meet your child's classroom teacher and drop off school supplies. Teachers are looking forward to welcoming your family into their classrooms and although this won't be a time for lengthy personal conversations, it is a great time to share contact information and get tuned in to classroom communication tools so that you can stay connected with your child's learning environment throughout the year. We'll welcome you, you'll welcome us to your child's team, and we'll work to settle some of those butterflies that may be flying inside some nervous bellies. New can be hard, but we are here for your family!

It would be SUPER helpful for you to aim for the time indicated below according to your family's last name:

5:30-6:00 pm A-J

6:10-6:40 pm K-R

6:50-7:20 pm S-Z

Our Belmont Elementary PTO (Did you know that YOU are a member as soon as you enroll your child at Belmont?) and multiple community groups will also be represented at our Welcome Night to answer your questions and help you and your child get connected.

Pro tips:

• Bring all of those new school supplies and get them all put away!
• Take family pictures in the classroom, on the playground, all around the building!
• The parking lot gets busy, so feel free to enjoy a family walk to school if you live nearby. BE safe out there! Much appreciated!

As long as your children make it to school, we're not so worried about HOW they get here, but it is rEaLLy iMpOrTaNt to us to know how we should be sending them home. If you have a KinderDog through 5th grader, please click here to let us know how your child will be getting home each day. You may enter all of your children on one form if their transportation is the same. This form will go directly to our office team. If you have any questions, please contact Kristina Lee at klee@usd232.org or 913.667.1810.

Pro tip:

• We have two car loops. The front loop is for kinder and first graders (and their siblings if older). The back loop is for the 2nd - 5th graders. No one has to go through two separate loops to collect all of your children. If you are unsure which loop to cruise, call the office and we'll set you up for success!
• We have a lot of healthy walkers. Please check out all of the options on the form and choose the one that makes the most sense for your family. Not sure? Just ask us!

Here are a few fun ideas that might BE just what you're looking for before school begins:

• Teach your child how to open packages that you might be sending in their lunches. You know...build your own pizza lunchables, for example. Or those little packages of fruit that explode when you touch them. And...well, any of it really. OF COURSE we will help them at school, but you should know that there are usually 2-3 adults serving 120-150 students each lunch period. It's hard to be everywhere at once. Anything your Bulldog can do to help themselves helps all of us! Those BENTGO boxes are amazing!! No packages!!
• While you're at it, start thinking about helping your child to be ready to follow a school lunch timeline. We have 30 minutes to get the grade level through the line, seated, fed, cleaned up, lined up and back to class. Whew! If your kiddo is a piddler or a talker, try setting a timer for about 15 minutes and practice eating at a steady rate. I'm NOT saying to teach them how to shove it all in, just how to focus on the business of eating their protein sort of early in the game so their bellies feel satisfied and their brains don't starve all afternoon.
• During your family meals, whether at home or at a restaurant, work with your child to build their own self-regulation skills. Start simple with staying in one seat. Add in keeping their food on or near their plate. Extra points for knowing how to take care of little spills and use a napkin. Bonus mega millions when they pile all of their trash on their plate (or tray) and make it all the way to the trash can or counter without leaving a trail. Now that's a life skill that'll take them places!
• Buttons, snaps, zippers and shoe laces are powerful toys to master before school. Oh, and maybe practice the mittens before winter.
• Give your child opportunities to carry more than one thing at a time, or to begin to follow multi-step directions.
• How about balancing something without tilting...you know...like a lunch tray! That takes incredible brain and body strength.
• Play family games and don't let them win unless they really do win! Play by the rules. Take the turns. Celebrate winning fairly and that losing doesn't make you a loser.
• Oh, and please, remind them to shut the restroom door before they go...in the toilet (not on the floor), then pull up their pants, flush the toilet and wash their hands before hustling back to work!

Not every child is going to be at the very same developmental place at the very same time, and that's absolutely okay. But. Sometimes our students just aren't there yet because we forget to explicitly teach them and encourage them try it on their own. Because sometimes, let's be honest.....that can seem like it's taking F O R E V E R and ain't nobody got time for that. But....when our kiddos can do something for themselves, we gain back our time, and they gain precious confidence. Have fun growing together!

Start practicing these simple acts of safety with your children now so that they'll be ready when the school year begins!

• When riding in a car...buckle up, buttercup! Even young children can learn to quickly buckle and unbuckle themselves. Stay buckled ALL THE WAY TO THE CURB in the morning! Buckle up AS SOON AS YOU SIT in the afternoon! Children pin-balling around cars in the parking lot are just not a good look for parents who love their children as much as you do.
• When riding a bicycle...wear a helmet, and either ride on the sidewalk or beside the curb on the right going the same direction as traffic.
• When walking to school...stay on the sidewalk or walk beside the curb on the left, facing traffic.
• When YOU are driving near our school or in the parking lot...put down that phone. You cannot get this time back with your children. Use every minute to pump them up and help them learn how to BE present and make people feel valued.
• If you have time, take your children on a bus or streetcar and practice staying seated, even without a seatbelt. Every child should get to ride a school bus at least for a field trip this year and practice on a bus helps our driver to concentrate on the road.

Practice makes permanent. Let's do this together!

I'm so glad you asked! We will not BE welcoming parents into the building on the first day of school. Our Family Welcome Event on the 12th is YOUR OPPORTUNITY to visit your child's classroom. The timeframe for the event is wide-ranging, allowing us to stagger big and little bodies in our hallways and classrooms all evening. We truly love having this evening to invite parents into our classrooms for a peek and face to face introductions! Happiness all around!

On the first day of school, however, all little bodies must be in their seats ready to roll at 8:45 a.m. and the doors open at 8:30 a.m. Bringing parents into the building all at once during those 15 minutes is frantic and overwhelming for many of our students....and some of the team working to kick off our new daily routines as solidly as possible right from the beginning. Therefore, whether you use one of our handy-dandy car loops, send your child on the school bus, or drive slowly into a parking space and walk them to the front door for a hug; parents will stay on the outside while students officially begin their 2024-2025 adventure. Trust me! We've got this! More importantly, your children are ready to be in the routine of school amongst friends...even if they are already complaining about the end of summer and having to get up early.

Speaking of early....STUDENTS NEED TO ARRIVE TO SCHOOL AT THE CORRECT TIME! That's between 8:30 and 8:40 a.m. The only exception could be students entering at 8:25 to go directly to breakfast, or for before-school activities such as choir or PAWS Leadership Team later in the year. Arriving too early isn't safe or fair to either your child or school staff. I'm quite confident that you have already worked out the logistics for your children, and thank you for your attention to expectations.

In a similar light, students need to be exiting their vehicle and walking toward their classroom by 8:40 a.m. if they'll have a chance at getting their things put away in their lockers and getting into their classroom on time by 8:45 a.m. Students who are late to school, especially consistently late to school, are not only at a personal disadvantage after rushing and coming in late and flustered; but they disrupt the important flow of the morning classroom routine that is already underway for everyone else. It is not only helpful for your own child to have a stable, on-time routine; but your time management skills can also have a positive effect on the rest of the class and each child's day. Thank you for helping us to take care of each other, by first taking good care of ourselves.

We are SO VERY EXCITED to welcome our students back to the building on the 14th! As parents, other than knowing that your child is happy and learning during the school day, next in importance is often knowing how to safely get your kids TO school and then how to get them back FROM school.

Lucky for you, we are providing this sUpEr LoNg list of helpful information to help your first day, and every day go well at Belmont! We'll also provide visuals (like the one below) to help!

• OFFICE HOURS are 7:45-4:30 p.m. but there are no kidsitters employed here, so please do not drop off your children prior to 8:30 a.m. when the building opens to students (the only exception is 8:25 breakfast program) and make sure that they are collected prior to 4:00 p.m. at the end of the day.
• All ELEMENTARY students should be dropped off between 8:30 and 8:40 a.m. Students will find it difficult to make it to their lockers and be in their desks ready to learn by 8:45 if they arrive later than 8:40 to school. Students who are tardy to class not only disrupt the classroom routine, but more importantly, begin their day already behind and frazzled.
• KINDERGARTEN and 1st GRADE STUDENTS (and family groups or carpools that include kindergarten or 1st grade students) should be dropped off in the FRONT LOOP- see visual guide below. Students should stay in their cars until reaching the front sidewalk, and must exit on the sidewalk as the parking lot can be quite busy on the driver's side. Drivers should stay in line until the cars in front have completed drop-off.
• 2nd GRADE THROUGH 5th GRADE STUDENTS should be dropped off in the BACK LOOP- see visual guide below. Cars should watch staff and pull up as far as possible before releasing children from the car. Students should exit on the sidewalk side if at all possible. Drivers should stay in line until the cars in front have completed drop-off.
• LATE TO ARRIVE STUDENTS (8:40 a.m. or later) should be dropped off in the front loop. Students arriving at or after 8:45 a.m. must be signed in by a parent.
• Special circumstances may require an alternate drop-off and/or pick-up site for some students- don't be crabby if you see something happening that is different than this plan...it's most likely just a different plan for a very good reason.
• BREAKFAST is served from 8:25-8:45 in the cafeteria. Students may go directly to the cafeteria to eat prior to going to their classroom. This is not a social time, but meant to efficiently provide nourishment to participating students prior to their school day.
• BUS STOP INFORMATION is located in Skyward in your Family Access Account. Click here for How to Find Bus Route Information in Family Access.
• HELMETS are expected for bike and scooter riders and permission from parents should be on file in the office. Bikes and scooters should be walked on the school grounds.
• GOLF CARTS are now street legal in limited areas, but they should not be utilized as transportation in the car loops. Sorry. I know they're fun.
• The SPEED LIMIT on Belmont Drive is 25, but 20 is PLENTY. Please watch out for our kids on the streets and sidewalks. When students enter a crosswalk, it is the law to stop for them. Drive slowly and watch closely. Oh, and put your cell phone down. Kids are only kids for such a short time. Enjoy them.
• PLEASE, help us to be good neighbors by NOT blocking or turning around in driveways of residents near the school. That's just not cool. You might also pay attention if a neighbor is trying to enter or exit their own driveway. Pay it forward and let them out!
• TRANSPORTATION CHANGES should be communicated to the office either by calling 913-667-1810 or by emailing smccann@usd232.org, klee@usd232.org and your child's teacher. All changes should be made at least 45 minutes prior to dismissal.

See! I told you we'd help you out! If you have questions, don't hesitate to call or email to ask!

August 5 🌻 PTO Bulldogs on the Playground: Kindergarten Families, 6:30; 1st Grade Families, 7:00; 2nd Grade Families, 7:30.

August 6 🌻 PTO Bulldogs on the Playground: 3rd Grade Families, 6:30; 4th Grade Families, 7:00; 5th Grade Families, 7:30.

August 12 🌻 BE Family Welcome Night (see time info in above article)

August 14 🌻 First School Day of the 2024-2025 School Year!

• 12:10 Dismissal, No Lunch Served
• Patience Pants Required in the Car Loops Until Everyone Gets it Down!

August 15 🌻 First Full Day of School!

August 26 🌻 General PTO Meeting, 6:30pm in the Cafeteria

August 29 🌻 BE Night at Papa Johns (see flyer below)

September 2 🌻 Labor Day - No School

September 13 🌻 PTO BULLDOG DASH FUNdraiser!

September 25 🌻 Conferences

• 12:10 Dismissal, No Lunch Served

September 26 🌻 Conferences

• No School for Students

September 27 🌻 Building Closed

• No School for Students

Visit the BE Online Calendar of Events (by clicking on the button below) for a more complete list of activities!

11:00-11:30 1st Grade

11:20-11:50 Kindergarten

11:40-12:10 5th Grade

12:00-12:30 4th Grade

12:20-12:50 3rd Grade

12:40-1:10 2nd Grade

Reservations are required to join your child for lunch- when we are ready, you'll be able to CLICK HERE (it's not ready yet) to reserve your family table!

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Email: phargrove@usd232.org
Website: be.usd232.org
Location: 5805 Belmont Drive, Shawnee, KS 66226, United States
Phone: (913)667-1810
Facebook: Belmont Elementary Bulldogs
Twitter: @BEBulldogs