News from the Nest

Spend some time outside and help our school get a little facelift out front! Drop in any time in the 8 am-12pm window. We'll have a list on the front door of things that we'd appreciate some help with. The main thing is weeding garden beds out front and spreading some mulch. We have a wheelbarrow - but if you have gloves, shovels, rakes and other tools, bring them along!

• Wednesday, August 21st - Class Lists posted by Student Number (after 4pm, Front Doors)
  
• Wednesday, August 21st - 8-12 pm - Beautification Day! Help get our school ready for the first day!
• Friday, August 23rd - Meet the Teacher, 1:30-3:00pm
• Monday, August 26th - First Day of School!
• Monday, September 2nd - Labor Day (No School)
• Wednesday, September 4th - Coffee with the Principal - 8 am in the WvES Media Center
• Thursday, September 12th - PTO Meeting, 8:15 am @ Weaverville Elementary Media Center
• PTO Website: https://weavervilleschoolspto.org
• Thursday, September 26th - Open House & Annual Title 1 Meeting, 5:30 - 7:00 pm
• Friday, September 27th - Early Dismissal (12:25 pm)
• Friday, October 4th - Fun Run (More details coming soon!)
• Monday, October 7th - Optional Teacher Work Day (No School for Students)
• Tuesday, October 8th - Optional Teacher Work Day (No School for Students)
• Wednesday, October 9th - Health Fair (More info will be shared with you)
• Monday, October 14th - Fall Picture Day
• Thursday, October 31st - Early Dismissal (12:25 pm)

Buncombe County Schools District Calendars

Class lists will be posted outside the main office using student ID numbers on Wednesday, August 21st, by 4 PM. *You can find your child’s ID number on their report card or on parent portal. Your child might also know their number from lunch and device logins!

• Please do not park on the street or in residents' driveways along South Main St. Parking might be complicated, and we want to respect our neighbors' property.
  
• We will have a bus information table, hard copies of the free/reduced lunch application, and after school club information ready for you!
• You are welcome to bring supplies to drop off with your child's teacher.
• Please plan to depart by 3:00 pm so our staff can take our staff photo and finish getting ready for the first day of school.

You can find your student's ID # on their last report card. Your rising 3rd or 4th grader should know their ID by heart since they use it to sign on their computer. This is also their lunch number that they input when buying lunch.

You can also call our front office:

828-645-3127.

This newsletter has a lot of repeat information, but we've had quite a few new families to enroll, and they'll benefit from this information! I also want to get back on my "Sunday News from the Nest" routine. From now on, you'll get the News from the Nest at 4:45pm on Sundays, or Mondays if we have Monday off. We've tried to include as much back-to-school info in this newsletter, so please read it thoroughly if you're wondering about the details of your child's day and what your role is in arrival, dismissal, etc. We are VERY MUCH looking forward to seeing everyone at Meet the Teacher on Friday, and then to have all our students back on Monday, August 26th!

Welcome, Ms. Burleson!

Our school was fortunate enough to have Ms. Burleson assigned to us for her Principal Fellows Program through Western Carolina. Ms. Burleson is an experienced teacher and is excited to learn all she can this year. She will be sharing some of the admin duties that I typically do. You might get calls or emails from her, especially if it's regarding buses, behavior, or testing. Let's give her a warm welcome to Weaverville Elementary!

Teacher Assignments:

Next week is a big week: Students will find out their teacher on Wednesday afternoon (Posted around 4pm), and we have Meet the Teacher on Friday, August 23rd. I know that finding out your child's teacher is a big deal for everyone, and I want every parent to know how much time and care we put into class placements. As new students enroll and others unenroll, we are constantly moving and shifting as we progress through the summer. While I always welcome parent communication (whether it's a concern or question or even a bit of praise!), I feel it's important to let parents know that we do not change class placements once they are communicated out to families. To do so would mean moving other students around, which would lead to a lot of chaos right before the start of the school year. Please help your child be excited about the start of the year by trusting our teachers to do what they do best - to love and to teach our children! We want that as much as you do, and we know that matching a child to the right teacher or the right classmates is the first step in setting them up for a great year. We do not take this job lightly.

Looking for a bus driver for our school!

Mr. Brown, our beloved driver for 292, will be retiring early this Fall. We are so sad to see him go, and we are also looking for a bus driver to take over his route. If you know someone or if you're feeling inspired, reach out to Whitley.Burleson@bcsemail.org (administrative intern/assistant principal) and she will help you out with next steps. If I'm being honest, we have two of the best bus routes in the district. They're pretty easy and lots of good families and kids to fill your bucket each morning and afternoon. Please help us put the word out and find the perfect person for this very important job!

After School Clubs & During School Clubs:

We LOVE letting our kids shine through different creative outlets. We have a wide variety of after school clubs, AND we lead in-school clubs once/month. We'll send more info about in-school clubs, but it's important to get info for after-school clubs. Most of these folks will be at our Meet the Teacher Event, and you can sign up there. Check out our after-school clubs section of the newsletter below!

Dress for Success:

We do have a dress code for our county and for our school. The main thing I want parents to know is that we do not allow students to wear hats to school. This includes toboggans and hoods, even in winter. Students need to be hat/head-gear free in our building. Additionally, this year we will not allow students to wear headbands with "ears," tails, or paws. This is very distracting when we are focused on learning and classroom participation. Please do not allow your students to wear these items to school.

Information about the start of the school year:

• Checkout the link for the list of school supplies needed for the start of the school year.
  
• Lunch and Breakfast are FREE this year! That's great news!
• Even though lunch is free, you can still send money/load money for your child to buy additional snacks and/or ice cream.
• Please take a moment to read through excerpts from our parent handbook (below). I've included important information about safety, visiting campus, arrival, and dismissal. I'll keep these in the newsletter for a few weeks after school starts, and I'll be sending you a finalized handbook closer to the first day of school. It is very similar to last year's handbook with a few updates.
  
• Be sure to follow us on Facebook, AND take a look at our Weaverville Elementary Youtube Channel to see videos of all the awesome things from past years!
• Check out our PTO website AND our PTO Facebook page, too! They'll be at Meet the Teacher if you want to get connected.

New Staff:

Be sure to check below for pictures of new staff and teachers who will be at our school. We are excited to welcome these amazing educators to our Blackhawk Family!

I hope you find this information helpful, and I'll be sharing more as we head into the last few weeks of summer break. Thanks for all you do to support our amazing Blackhawk Leaders!

Previous Weeks' News from the Nest

Please do not plan to enter the car line (in the morning OR in the afternoon) by turning from Main St. You must always use Yost St. to enter the car line. Please do not block driveways on Yost St.

The Fun Run is Weaverville Primary and Elementary's biggest annual fundraiser, and it's coming this fall! Much more information will come soon, but right now PTO is working hard to gather business sponsors to support our fundraiser! If your business would like to sponsor our event and be featured on the back of our Fun Run t-shirts, please see the PTO Website at www.weavervilleschoolspto.org for more information or email weavervilleschoolspto@gmail.com!

*We are still working on scheduling Weaverwood (grades 3-4), Battle of the Books (grade 4), Chorus and Lego Robotics (grade 4). Chorus (grades 3-4) will start after November. We are also waiting to hear back from Bricks for Kidz about an after-school club at our school. This is not a "sure thing" yet, but we are working on it!

Mondays -

• Playground Stage, Grades 2-4, 2:30-3:30pm, 9/23-12/2 unless school is closed.

• Girls on the Run, Grades 3 & 4, (Wednesdays as well) - 2:30-4:00 pm

Tuesdays -

• Tennis Time, Grades 2-4, 2:30-3:30 pm - 9/3-11/12

Wednesdays -

• Battle of the Books, Grade 4 only - 7:30 am in the Media Center (We are trying mornings this year so that more kids can participate!).
• Chess Club, Grades 2-4, 2:30-3:30 pm, 9/18 - 11/20
• Girls on the Run (Mondays as well) - 2:30-4:00 pm

Thursdays - TBD

Fridays - NONE

Free Lunch Info from Lisa Payne

Do you want to know more about free lunch? I recommend every parent read through this newsletter (above) from our Child Nutrition department. You can learn how lunches are paid for, and what constitutes a whole lunch. This program depends on participation, so the more students who participate and get “free lunch” (which is at least 3 items) - the longer this program will continue. This document has good information for parents!

Is your child riding the bus this year? Thinking about riding the bus? We will have bus information at Meet the Teacher. We'll be able to confirm routes, pick-up and drop-off time, and answer other questions. Transportation will be located in the gym.

Buncombe County Schools

August 6, 2024

In September of 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly mandated that the Asheville City and Buncombe County school systems jointly study the feasibility of a merger and designated Buncombe County Government as the lead entity for this project. Prismatic Services, the firm chosen by Buncombe County commissioners to conduct the study, will lead nine drop-in community meetings, as well as one online forum to gather community input that will be presented to the North Carolina General Assembly in February 2025.

The drop-in meetings are designed so community members can participate for 15-30 minutes at the time and location that best suits their schedules. Spanish interpretation will be provided. For those who cannot attend in person, an online forum will be held. An online input form will also be released in September. The drop-in community meeting schedule includes:

• Monday, Sept. 9 - 3:45-6:30 p.m. - Owen Middle School

• Tuesday, Sept. 10 - 3:45-6:30 p.m. - East Asheville Library

• Thursday, Sept. 12 - 3:45-6:30 p.m. - Cane Creek Middle School

• Friday, Sept. 13 - 11:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m. - Weaverville Community Center

• Monday, Sept. 16 - 3:45-6:45 p.m. - Isaac Dickson Elementary School

• Tuesday, Sept. 17 - 3:30-6:30 p.m. - Erwin High School

• Wednesday, Sept. 18 - 5:30-8:30 p.m. - Enka Intermediate School

• Thursday, Sept. 19 - 3:45-6:30 p.m. - Hall Fletcher Elementary

• Friday, Sept. 20 - 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. - Skyland/South Buncombe Library

• Monday, Sept. 23 - 5:30-7:30 p.m. - Online forum

Click here for more information or to sign up for updates on the consolidation feasibility study.

Join Mrs. Nichols and Ms. Burleson in our media center for Coffee with the Principal on Wednesday, September 4th at 8 am (after drop-off and morning news). We'll schedule a few of these this year, depending on participation. This is an informal gathering to meet other parents and get to know Mrs. Nichols and Ms. Burleson!

All parents are automatically members of the PTO! Come to a meeting to learn more about how our PTO supports our students, staff and families. We have one of the best PTOs around!

Check out our PTO Website for all things Weaverville Schools PTO!

Breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost to all students this school year!

We are pleased to inform you that Buncombe County Schools will be implementing a program available to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

What does this mean for you and your child(ren)?

Great news! All enrolled students at Buncombe County Schools are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to your household each day of the school year. Weaverville Elementary School Parents, there are no action steps for you to take at this time to participate in this program.

K-12 Prepayment will remain active allowing parents and guardians to place money on their students accounts to purchase a la carte items if they would like too. We look forward to serving your students during the 24-25 school year. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact us at Buncombe Schools Nutrition Office, 828 255-5932.

Participation matters! The more students who eat lunch and breakfast at our school increases the likelihood that this program will continue.

Please remember the following requests:

• If you need to check your child out early, please check them out BEFORE 1:45 pm. We will not be checking students out the last 30 minutes of the day as this interrupts instruction.
• If you need to make a dismissal change for your student, please call the front office before 12:30 each day.
• Do not enter the car line from Main Street. Please use Yost St. Please respect our school rules that keep others safe.

Don't forget that our students, staff, and visitors have access to masks all day long. We have regular 3-ply masks and KN95 masks available. Masks are available in the front office, and we have reminders at hand-sanitizing stations that you can get a mask in the front office.

If a student requests a KN95 mask, we must have parent permission since it is considered a respirator. Parents must complete the Voluntary Respirator Use Form and sign and return. Here is a link to the form. If a student requests a KN95 mask, and we do not already have the form on file, we will email it to parent/guardians for you to sign.

Ingles:

As we start another school year, remember it's time to link your Ingles Advantage Card to Weaverville Elementary School. This must be done each year to ensure the benefits from your card will support our school! Ingles Tools for Schools makes a huge difference in our school. Thanks for your support.

https://www.ingles-markets.com/tools-for-schools-link

Other Ways to Support WvES While You Shop:

• Publix: www.plublix.com/partners
• Amazon Smiles: www.smile.amazon.com
• Box Tops: www.boxtops4education.com
• Harris Teeter - www.tie.harristeeter.com

The information below are parts of our Student & Families Handbook. While we're still a month away from the start of school, it's important that our families know all the procedures and safety expectations. I'll leave these in our News from the Nest for a few weeks

The WvES campus will open at 7:15 for morning arrival. No students may be dropped off prior to 7:15 AM. Students will wait in the cafeteria until they are dismissed to their homerooms at 7:40 AM. All students should be in their classrooms and ready to learn by 7:55 AM.

Car Riders:

Please remember that all school traffic should use Yost Street (which is off Merrimon Avenue) when dropping off students and picking up students as car riders. In the morning, cars must use Yost Street to enter our car rider line, and then use Yost again when exiting the car rider line.

Please be respectful and patient. The first weeks of school are always a little bit confusing for everyone, and wait time can be longer. I promise it will improve as we move into the school year.

Students will be dismissed from class at 2:25 pm. Buses will load in the bus lane, and car riders will wait in the gym for their names to be called when their ride arrives.

All parents of car riders must use the car rider line to pick up their child(ren) in the afternoon.

Please view the illustration above to see how the car line works.

Dismissal Car Line Pro Tips:

• Pull all the way forward to the empty space, and a staff member will call for your child to come out.
  
• Please use your car tag each afternoon if you plan to use the car line. This will help the line move swiftly and efficiently.
• Please use YOST ST. to both enter and exit the car line. Use the illustration above for reference.
• If you have someone picking your child up that is not YOU, make sure this person is listed in powerschool as someone who can pick up your child. We will ask for their ID to make sure they are who they say they are. We appreciate your patience and kindness in these circumstances; we definitely want to make sure we're sending kids home with adults who have permission to pick them up!
• If you do not have your car tag with your child's name, we will ask you to come into the office and get one, and we'll ask you to show and ID. We can't do this in the car line because only our office staff have access to that information in powerschool. Please remember that this is a commitment to keeping each child safe. We only want students going home with grownups who are approved for pick-up.
• Please be patient during the first few weeks of school. The car line always take a bit longer in the beginning, but we'll get the hang of it! After a week or so, it's usually about 15 minutes.
  

Walkers:

A few WvES families live next door to the school and they are considered 'walkers'. Parents of 'walkers' may come to the gym door with their green card to collect their child/ren. If you do not walk to campus to pick up your child, this does not apply to you so you must use the car rider line. Please do not park your car and walk to the gym door to collect your child/ren.

ALL parents and visitors to campus must sign in at the office and obtain a visitor sticker (or a volunteer pass if applicable). Please note that you must sign in even if you are only visiting the cafeteria. Your cooperation in helping us to follow Central Office policy and ensuring the safety of all children is expected and appreciated.

If you have an appointment or scheduled time to be at school in the morning, and wish to walk in with your child, please still plan to follow the established procedure of coming to the office, signing the visitor registry, and obtaining a visitor tag.

Visitors will only be allowed to visit a classroom if the visitor has scheduled the visit with the teacher beforehand or if the visitor is a scheduled volunteer.

We love having families in our building, and we promise to have many opportunities for our community to be in our school this year. We also want our first day for students to start with high expectations for safety and routines. Because of this, we ask that you allow your student to walk to class on their own. We will have many staff ready and waiting to help them along their way. Thank you for respecting this request.

Students must be in attendance for more than half a day (11:30 a.m.) to be counted present for the day. On a two hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:15. On a three hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:45. Students arriving at school after 7:55 AM must report to the office and to sign in. Tardies will only be excused if accompanied by a medical (doctor or dentist) statement or if excused by the principal. These notes/statements should be presented to the office staff when signing in. Upon returning to school from an absence, students must bring their teacher a parent note or medical statement (doctor or dentist) giving the reason for the absence.

Our day starts promptly at 7:55 am. Please work together as a family to have your child arrive on time, with time to get settled in their classroom, and ready to learn at 7:55 am. If your child plans to eat breakfast at school, please do your best to have them arrive with time to eat before lessons begin at 7:55 am.

If your student will be taking an extended trip during the school year, please communicate with our data manager at least 2 weeks before the trip is to take place. This will allow us to properly document the student's absences and complete any necessary paperwork.

Check your child's grades, attendance, and more! Email powerschoolteam@bcsemail.org and our BCS staff will email you a link, login, and password for your account. If you email this week, please be patient as they respond to many requests, especially right before school starts.

You can also manage your contact information through parent portal.

Email Dawn.Flanigan-Bryson@bcsemail.org, WvES Data Manager, to check your Powerschool settings and contact information.

Safety is one of my top priorities, and I want to be very clear with all of our families about the ways we will keep our students safe on our campus. The following procedures and expectations are in place with safety in mind. Please support our staff and students in keeping our campus safe by following these expectations at all times.

• All visitors must check in each time with no exceptions. You'll get a badge to wear, and you must wear the badge at all times. If you do not have the badge on, our staff will politely ask if we can help you, so please be kind to staff in response.
• Visitors are only allowed to visit a classroom if they have a scheduled appointment with the teacher. We want to protect the instructional time of all students.
• All doors will remain locked at all times.
• Please do not enter the front door unless you have been buzzed in by an adult. It may seem easy to slip in with someone else who is being buzzed in, but please help us keep our safety practices in tact by following this simple request.
• If you are already inside the school, please do not open the front door for others. Please allow our office staff to safely screen each person entering the building.

Please follow this "Multi-visitor Entrance Procedure:"

1. If you have buzzed in and are being screened and you notice another visitor is arriving, please don't hold the door and allow anyone in without being screened first.
2. If the other visitor is 15 feet or less from the door, please buzz in and be screened together.
3. If the visitor is more than 15 feet from the door, please buzz in and ensure the door is closed completely after you enter.

We certainly want to encourage politeness, and we also want our visitors to understand that it is unsafe to hold doors and allow visitors in without being verified by front office staff first. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

School safety is the most important component of our day. We know we must balance safety with having a welcoming school building so that parents and community members can be part of our school. Please help us do this by honoring these safety protocols about entering our building.

Parents are invited to eat with their child in the cafeteria; however, as a courtesy to other students, we ask that you do not bring outside food such as fast food and/or sodas into the school cafeteria. Parents should arrive at school in time to get a visitor’s pass and report to the lunchroom hallway five minutes before the scheduled lunch time. Please always let the teacher know ahead of time if you plan to eat with your child.

Parents are invited to have lunch with their child at the end of September. Please wait for an announcement from the principal that parents/family can come to school to have lunch with their child.

A monthly menu will be posted in the classroom and the daily menu will be read during morning announcements. Occasionally there will be a menu change due to late deliveries or snow days.

You can find links to BCS menus here: https://www.buncombeschools.org/page/menus-and-pricing

Please note that any outside food brought in for special snacks or birthday treats cannot be consumed until the last student has been served lunch. This will be at approximately 12:30 PM. Should you desire to bring in a special snack for your child’s birthday or another event, please coordinate this with your child’s teacher so as not to conflict with our lunchroom policies. In addition, any food brought into the school to be shared with students must be store bought with ingredients listed. Please allow school staff to distribute snacks due to their knowledge and understanding of students’ allergies and dietary needs. Our school also encourages healthy snacks and choices. Please refer to the School Wellness section in this handbook for more information.

• Free/Reduced Lunch Application: www.lunchapplication.com
• Please do not check your child out between 1:55-2:55 so that we can have a safe and calm dismissal for students each day.
• Please always let us know in writing if there is a transportation change for your child.
• Please let us know by 1:00 pm if you are changing your child's regular dismissal procedure.

Phone: 828-645-3127

Address: 129 South Main St., Weaverville, NC 28787

Email:

Mary Nichols - Principal (Mary.nichols@bcsemail.org)

*Please email both office staff if you have a dismissal change.

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Data Manager (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• attendance
• student information/records
• immunizations
• enrollment

Ashley Mendoza - Head Secretary (Ashley.mendoza@bcsemail.org)

• general inquiries
• money questions related to school
• bus questions