BG eNews

AUGUST

8/29 - Buona Beef PTO Fundraiser

8/30 - Institute Day (NO STUDENTS)

SEPTEMBER

9/2 - Labor Day Holiday (NO STUDENTS)

9/5 - PTO Welcome Back Picnic

9/10: Grades K-2 Curriculum Night (Details Below)

9/10- Salsa Verde PTO Fundraiser

9/11: Grades 3-5 Curriculum Night (Details Below)

9/16 - Picture Day (Retakes are on 11/4)

9/25 - Early Release 2:35 Dismissal

9/25 - Chipotle PTO Fundraiser

You can email your child's teacher directly from HAC. After logging in, click on the "classes" image on the top menu. You will be able to view your child's schedule. Each of your child's teachers are listed under "teacher." If you right click on a name, you are given a "copy email address" option.

9/10: Grades K-2

Parent(s)/Guardian(s) are welcome to attend either session listed below. This is a parent only event. Students should not attend.

• Session 1: 5:30-5:55
• Session 2: 6:05-6:30

9/11: Grades 3-5

Parent(s)/Guardian(s) are welcome to attend either session listed below. This is a parent only event. Students should not attend.

• Session 1: 5:30-5:55
• Session 2: 6:05-6:30

Our beloved Campton Hills Police Department K-9, Koda, is retiring!

Koda has brought smiles to many BG faces over the past couple years with frequent visits.

If you'd like to help us celebrate Koda's retirement by making a toy donation, please have your child bring it to the office by 9/18.

We use a Visor Tag System. Each family has received a car tag that has the family last name and the class codes of students in the family. The use of this visor tag expedites our car rider line tremendously as staff members are able to get students ready for their cars as the cars pull up! Please display the tag on your passenger side visor, or passenger side window, so that it is visible to the BG staff as you pull through the pick-up line.

If you need additional visor tags, please email Mrs. Kirincich.

Bell Graham is committed to supporting all students in showing their BG Best: Being respectful, responsible, and safe. In the past years we have focused on extrinsic rewards with having students purchase items from our BG Shop with their earned BG coins and Bucks. This year we are moving away from this system and looking to reward students with staff, parent, and community connections. In order to do this we are seeking your help. We are looking for parents to volunteer before school or during school to play a game or build legos with students, make a craft, teach students a new skill, such as sewing or crocheting, or anything else you would like to share with our Bobcats. Please sign up today and Dr. Dieckman will be reaching out to you to schedule a date and time for you to share your talents and time with our students.

Thank you for your continued support. We could not do this without you.

BG Monthly Parent Support Raffle

*Remember that you must have a liability waiver form on file before you volunteer. You are welcome to email completed forms to Mrs. Cloy kristin.cloy@d303.org.

BG Monthly Parent Support Raffle

When will the pictures arrive to Bell-Graham?

On average, 3-4 weeks. They will likely arrive by the second week of October.

Why would I pre order without seeing the pictures first?

To avoid a shipping fee.

What if I want retakes after prepaying for pictures?

Simply send your child in with the picture package you ordered on the day of retakes. (Retakes are on 11/4) They will return the first set of photos to the photographer. When retake photos are printed, your child will be sent home with the same picture package you originally ordered, but with the retake photo.

What if my child is absent on picture day?

They will have an opportunity to have their picture taken on retake day, 11/4.

If you are visiting the school, for any reason, you MUST have your ID with you. Your ID needs to be scanned before you are permitted to enter the building.

If you intend on volunteering at any point this school year, the office MUST have a liability waiver form on file for you. Please do not sign up for any volunteer opportunities unless you already have a form on file for this year. This is an annual form that needs to be completed every school year. You are welcome to email completed forms to Mrs. Cloy kristin.cloy@d303.org.

Field Trip volunteers will have to follow additional steps to volunteer.

Vision: Each Student Will Have the Skills Needed to Participate in Grade Level Work (academic, social, emotional).

Mission: As a community we foster a culture that values and celebrates the whole child by empowering collaborators, risk-takers, and problem solvers.

Core Values:

1. Trust: Trust is assuming competency and feeling safe in professional relationships.

2. Collaboration: Working together to achieve a common goal by relying on, supporting, and challenging one another

3. Integrity: Holding oneself accountable for your actions and words.

Our lost & found is conveniently located in the lunch room where every student has a daily opportunity to look for lost items. Please encourage your child to check for misplaced items. Don't forget to label as much as possible. We regularly donate unclaimed items with no names on them.

• Absences should be called in by 7:45 AM
• You can leave a message 24 hours a day
• State your child’s name, their teacher's name and the reason why your child is out.
• If they are ill, please list their symptoms.

You are also welcome to email Mrs. Cloy in the main office. kristin.cloy@d303.org

Please call the office when you are 5 minutes away and we will have your child ready and waiting for you at the office. You will have to press the buzzer to come inside the vestibule to sign them out on our iPad. 331-228-2100.

Please turn in your required health forms to the Health Office! If you are missing any health records you will be contacted in the next week.

Kindergarten and Students new to Illinois- Physical, Vision, Dental, Health survey Students who are new to Illinois need to have these on Illinois forms.

2nd Grade- Dental

3rd Grade- Updated Health Survey

All of the forms are linked here for your convenience or you can go to the District Website and find them in the parent section under Forms. We will be sending home letters to the students who have missing medical records after Labor Day weekend.

Please reach out if you have any questions. Feel free to send any communication, including health forms, to bel-nurses@d303.org to ensure that all of our Bell Graham nurses receive this important information pertaining to your student(s)The health office direct line is 331-228-2104.

Thank you!

Kerisa Martini Espinosa, RN
LeeAnna Anzaldi,MSN, RN, PEL-ILSN

• 1 lunch with a loved one per student per school year for bday (1 TOTAL, not 1 with grandma, 1 with aunt, 1 with mom )
• ONLY bring food for your child and/or yourself. No sharing food/treats with friends at the lunch table.
• Stay for lunch ONLY, recess is not included
• Bring your ID for check in. No ID, no entry
• You do not need to give advance notice, but are welcome to email the office the day of to speed along the check in process.

Click here to see what time your child eats lunch.

BUONA BEEF FUNDRAISER - TODAY 8/29

Join us for our second restaurant fundraiser of the year at Buona Beef! With a wide variety of menu options for the whole family, our Buona Beef Fundraiser is a great way to kick off the start of a long holiday weekend. Best part is…you will be supporting Bell Graham! Proceeds from sales benefit Bell Graham. See the flyer here for more details and don’t forget to show it when ordering!

SPIRIT WEAR - SALE ENDS TOMORROW (8/30)

The web store is open and accepting orders...but act fast, as the sale ends August 30! Start shopping NOW by clicking here! Orders will be sent to Bell Graham for distribution in September. Avoid shipping fees by continuing to move forward in the process, adding your address, then selecting "group delivery."

The annual BG Spirit Wear Sale is here and it’s time to get your BG Bobcat spirit wear! Spirit

wear is great for school events, school spirit days and to make those morning outfit decisions easy. Volunteer at the school? What a great way to show BG love while you’re there! And the best part...proceeds from the sale will support Bell Graham! Now that’s a win-win.

WELCOME BACK PICNIC - 9/5

Our annual Welcome Back Picnic will be Thursday, September 5, from 5:30-7p. There will be food trucks (Big D’s Hot Dogs, Fernando’s Street Kitchen (tacos), Nick’s Pizza Truck, D’s Treats and Ice Cream), face painting, sports stations, various vendors to check out and new this year, INFLATABLE OBSTACLE COURSE AND SLIDE! Bring the family and spend the evening celebrating a great start to the year! 10% of food sales will support Bell Graham!

We cannot do this without our parent volunteers. Please see the link below to sign up for a volunteer timeslot. Inflatables must be manned for use!

Bell Graham: Bell Graham Welcome Back To School Picnic (signupgenius.com)

And finally, HUGE THANK YOU to Bell Graham Dad, Jason Graf, COO of Chestnut Health and local realtor, Kat McWard, for sponsoring the inflatables. Your generosity will help make this event extra special for students and families!

BG STAFF SNACK CLOSET

Help us support the staff snack closet! The staff at BG reward and thank each other for their help and support with their own version of “BG Bucks”. These bucks can then be turned in for items in their snack closet. These are great pick me ups for our hardworking BG staff, and they appreciate the donations to the inventory from our BG families! If you would like to donate, please sign up here and drop your items off by September 13. Thank you!

WINDY CITY ACRES FARM FUNDRAISER

Bell Graham and Windy City Acres Farm are partnering up for a fundraiser! Spice up your outside decor with some colorful Mums, beautiful floral arrangements and pumpkins, or treat yourselves to some yummy treats, such as apple cider donuts, freshly baked pies and homemade honey (vegan/gluten free options available). Orders can be placed through Friday, September 20! All items purchased will be delivered to Bell Graham for pick-up on Tuesday, September 24. Click here to start your order!

While you're ordering, check out the option to donate baked goods Bell Graham's Annual Fall Fest for our famous cake walk! Fall Fest will take place on Friday, October 4 at Windy City Acres Farm, 4-7p. More details to come. If you have any questions or would like to be a part of our Fall Fest committee, please contact Candace Kloss (candacedanko19@hotmail).

CHESS CLUB

The Bell Graham Chess Club is open to Bell Graham students in grades 1-5. Students will receive strategic chess instruction in a fun, welcoming environment and will benefit from the program for years to come. Meetings are on Fridays from 3:30-4:30p. Our first session will run September 20 - November 15. Click here to sign up!

ART CLUB

Art Club is a weekly class held after school where students learn how to draw complex objects by breaking them into foundational shapes. Children will learn how to deconstruct an image and then reconstruct it. It runs from September 17th - October 22nd and is open to K-5. Classes are on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30 pm. Click here for instructions on how to sign up!

Please consider volunteering for one of the Art Club sessions! All you have to do is check students in and out…SO EASY! Click here to sign up!

FRONT OF THE PICK UP LINE/ PARKING SPOT RAFFLE

Tired of waiting in the BG pickup line? Cruise to the front of the school each day right at pick up time by entering to win a FRONT of the line pick up spot for dismissal!!! Tickets are $20 each. We are also raffling off a VIP parking spot for BG events to one lucky family! No more parking in the lawn if you win! Tickets are $10 each. Drawing will take place at the Welcome Back Picnic. Enter as many times as you'd like! Sale ends Wednesday, September 4th.

PTO DUES

Please don't forget to pay your PTO Dues on PushCoin. PTO Dues are $25 per FAMILY. These

dues help fund so many of the programs that the PTO sponsors throughout the year. Paying your PTO dues also grants you access to DirectorySpot. DirectorySpot will be available in September. Thank you for your support!

SHOUT OUTS

Did your kiddo make an awesome play at their baseball game? Did they win an event in gymnastics? Is it their birthday? Do you just want to make a random day special for them? Send them a SHOUT OUT!! For $10 you can have 5 pictures along with a message displayed on the TV screen outside of the LRC for an entire day. After making your purchase in the Square Store, please send an email to Alicia Flint at aliciafulgencioflint@yahoo.com with your pictures, message and date to be displayed. Pictures MUST be sent 7 days prior to the desired display date or we cannot guarantee your message will be loaded in time.

SHOUT OUTS PAYMENT

STAY CONNECTED

Check out these great ways to stay connected and find out more information on the PTO!

Bell Graham PTO Webpage

Bell Graham PTO Facebook page

Bell Graham Monthly Calendar

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Any questions or comments? Please email the PTO at bgeblast@gmail.com. All comments or questions will be discussed at our monthly Board meetings and responded to accordingly.

We are happy to report that we will have a therapy dogs visiting us again this year. Please reach out to Dr. Dieckman or Julianna Harmon if you have any questions.

Mrs. Amy Klueppel - Principal

Website: bellgraham.d303.org
Location: 4N505 Fox Mill Blvd St. Charles, IL 60175
Phone: 331-228-2100
Facebook: facebook.com/BellGrahamElementary
Twitter: @BellGrahamD303

In D303, we value the opportunity to provide a community of care and support to our families, especially those faced with financial hardship. If your family is currently experiencing a significant financial need, our community partnerships have several supports available for families, including school clothes/shoes, winter coats/accessories, school supplies, toiletries, holiday meals, and/or holiday gifts. If you would like to be considered for any of these supports, please complete the Family Resource Form by September 13, 2024.

Interested in supporting the Park District’s Before the Bell program at District 303? They’re seeking additional staff to assist students in grades K-5 from 6:45-8:45 a.m. during the school year. This could be a great opportunity for parents with flexible morning hours or high school students who have first period off. Application information is at www.stcparks.org/jobs or contact Jaz Lara at 630-513-4331 or at jlara@stcparks.org.