August/September 2024

Dear Bass-Hoover Families,

Although it may not feel like it outside, we made it to December and the second quarter will soon be complete. Our Stinger Showcase was a success, with almost 1,000 in attendance throughout the evening! Thank you to all of the families who came out to support our students and see the application of skills involving multiple disciplines of study.

December is typically a busy month for families, and this is certainly the case for our school. See details inside for events during this month.

On behalf of the Stinger staff, we hope all of our BHES families have a wonderful holiday season!

Sincerely,

Darren Thomas

Principal

We want to welcome the following new staff members to The Hive staff….

➤ Colleen Parson - Full Time Substitute

➤ Kelsey Timmerman - Administrative Assistant

The following students were recognized by their teachers in November for the following trait:

Citizenship

Kindergarten:

Mrs. Anderson - Sergio Harrison & Raegan Jones

Mrs. Duncanson - Rowan Funk & Jaelyn Bea

Mrs. Schachtschneider - Brenden Coleman & Rosalina DePaolo

Mrs. Griffith - Everley Ramey & Genis Villanueva Cristal

Mrs. Smith - Ximena Serreno Morales & Isaac Torres Argueto

Mrs. Tonovitz - Felix Sherman & Crystal Fahmy

First Grade:

Mrs. Barna - Noah Puschell & Victoria Henriquez Membreno

Mrs. Kimble - Valentina Gallegos-Sanchez & Charlie Ruch

Ms. Cline - Lydia Colvin & Caleb Gonzalez

Ms. Forsyth - Arabella Roberson & Prayash Joshi

Ms. Blackwell - Muhammad Anwar & Valerie Moreno Insuasti

Second Grade:

Mrs. Babbs - Kyleigh Croson & Dakota Jircitano

Mrs. Meyers - Corrine O'Hare & Mark Fahmy

Mrs. Painter - Brody Simmons & Adrian Merino Gonzalez

Mrs. Anderson - Cole Jenkins & Emma Thompson

Mrs. Sager - Henry Ferraro & Charlotte Kidd

Third Grade:

Mrs. Marple - Kyla Timmons & A.J. Plaugher

Mrs. Mackey - Deacon Boyd & Evelyn Szuba

Mrs. Lee - Aarsi Bhatt & William Rabren

Mrs. Simmons - Landon Biggie & Aniesha Frye

Mrs. Caldwell - Annabeth Farrar & Jedidiah Haye

Ms. Romaine - Angelique Becerra & Ivan Cardona

Fourth Grade:

Mrs. Henderson - Valerie Poniris & Jax Porter

Mrs. Cuffe - Harper Richardson & Vander Ruckman

Mrs. Kasubick - Abby Gurewitz & Nico Kinnison

Mrs. Farrar - Giselle Washington & Braden Bauer

Fifth Grade:

Mrs. Varnau & Mrs. Orsini - Jase McCall & Aimee Romero

Mrs. Hutchinson - Lydia Boynton & Ryan Simmons

Mrs. Jaramillo - Kilian Conners & Abbie Fazzini

Mrs. Bell - Derek Anderson & Mackenzie Croson

The state of Virginia and Frederick County Public Schools recognizes the value of daily student attendance in our schools, and part of accreditation for public schools in Virginia is based on student attendance.

Thanks to funding provided by the “All In VA” program, we will continue to celebrate exemplary student attendance. Grade level teams will have quarterly and end-of-year rewards for our students and for families. Please see the information below on the impact of absences on students; following that, see the guidance on what health issues would warrant a student staying home for the day. (See Below)

Hello Stinger Students and Parents…I am Nurse Heather :) Happy Holidays everyone!

🔸As a friendly reminder throughout the school year, please review the following Frederick County Public School guidelines...

• Fever: A child should remain at home with a fever greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The child may return to school after he/she has been fever free for 24 hours (without fever reducing medication such as Tylenol or Motrin). Diarrhea/Vomiting: A child with diarrhea and/or vomiting should stay at home and return to school only after being symptom free for 24 hours.
• Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye): Following a diagnosis of conjunctivitis, the child may return to school 24 hours after the first dose of prescribed medication. Symptoms of pink eye include eye redness, irritation, swelling, and pus.
• Rashes: Common infectious diseases with rashes are most contagious in the early stages. A child with a suspicious rash should return to school only after a healthcare provider has made a diagnosis and authorized the child’s return to school.
• Colds: Consider keeping your child at home if he/she is experiencing discomfort from cold symptoms, such as nasal congestion and cough, A continuous green discharge from the nose may be a sign of infection. Consider having your child seen by your healthcare provider.
• Lice: When a child is identified with live lice at school, the parent is notified and the child is sent home for treatment. Students may return to school after they have received appropriate treatment. Students with nits only are not excluded from school.

🔸A sick child cannot learn effectively and is unable to participate in classes in a meaningful way. Today, many schools have students or staff that may have a weakened immune system. Keeping a sick child home prevents the spread of illness in our school community. It also allows your child the opportunity to rest and recover.

🔸All prescription and over the counter medications must be dropped off by a parent/guardian to the nurse and signed consent must be given in order for your child to take medication at school. Any prescription medications must have a signed health care provider’s order.

Please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email if you have any questions and/or concerns regarding your student. Have a healthy and happy school year!

~Nurse Heather 540-869-4700, arnoldhe@fcpsk12.net

Listed below are the last Fridays of each month and our Swarmapalooza dates. Students should wear their swarm t-shirts and/or swarm colors on these days.

Thursday, December 19 (quarter 2 Swarmapalooza)

Friday, January 31 (swarms spirit day)

Friday, February 28 (swarms spirit day)

Thursday, March 6 (quarter 3 Swarmapalooza)

Friday, March 28 (swarms spirit day)

Friday, April 25 (swarms spirit day)

Friday, May 23 (quarter 4 Swarmapalooza)

On December 18 our Stinger Ensemble and chorus students will be performing their winter concert. The schedule for the evening is as follows:

5:00 p.m. Doors open

5:30 p.m. 4th Grade Chorus Performance

6:15 p.m. 5th Grade Chorus Performance

7:00 p.m. Ensemble Performance

Contact Mrs. Sherman with any questions at shermanh@fcpsk12.net.

Our cafeteria staff is happy to serve your child. See important information below.

Breakfast, lunch and ala carte prices (Please note that adult breakfast is now $2.75 and adult lunch is now $4.65).

Breakfast and Lunch Menu

Free and Reduced Price Meals Online Application

Ice cream will be sold every Wednesday and will cost $1.00 (bills or coins only, please; but it can also come out of the student's lunch account balance-students choosing this option should request this while going through the lunch line). If school is not in session on any given Wednesday, there will be no ice cream sales for the week.

Retakes will be held on Tuesday, December 3. Have your child bring in his or her picture packet or you can also purchase a package online at https://www.barksdalephoto.com/.

Upcoming PTO Events:

• Cookies with Santa & Mrs. Claus 🎅🤶 Thursday, December 5 6:30-8:00 p.m. Please RSVP to secure your spot to see Santa!

• PTO Meeting, Wednesday December 11 at 6:00 p.m. in the library

Our 2024-2025 PTO Board Members are:

President: April Frye & Chantel Whitson

Vice President: Lindsey Eom

Secretary: Natalie Conners

Treasurer: Tara Mueller

PTO meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:00 PM in the BHES library, with a virtual option to attend offered as well–see PTO Facebook page for details.

Winter break is December 23 through January 3. The office will be open on January 2 & 3. Students will return to school on January 6.

With weather changes upon us please take a peek at FCPS's inclement weather policy:

https://www.frederickcountyschoolsva.net/families/inclement-weather-procedures

Eating healthy, getting regular exercise and the proper amount of sleep, and striving for a positive mindset and relationships will help keep your child more engaged and successful in school. Thank you parents for ALL THAT YOU DO!!! - Nurse Heather

We have an overflowing bin of Lost/Found/Misplaced items. If your child is missing something, please have him or her check the bin to see if his or her items are in there.

Bass-Hoover Elementary School

471 Aylor Road

Stephens City, VA 22655

Phone: 540-869-4700

Fax: 540-869-0668

Darren Thomas, Principal

Heather Hess, Assistant Principal