Boyertown Elementary

There are many exciting events coming up at Boyertown Elementary School. We are looking forward to them!

October 14: No School

October 15: BES PTO Meeting in Library at 6:00

October 16: Early Dismissal

October 25: Fall Fest and Trunk or Treat (Information coming soon!)

Please do not park out front in the main entrance parking lot, where the buses pull in. We have had cars driving around our buses while our students were loading, and cars pulling out in between the buses while they are trying to leave. Also, please do not pull up in the bus loop and line up behind the buses. This is a NO CAR ZONE during student arrival and dismissals.

Dear BES Parents and Guardians,

We are looking to fill some additional support roles at our school. If you are looking for a position that has the same hours as your children, this is a great opportunity for you.

If you are interested in working within the school setting, please call our CCRES representative, Ashley Burke at 484-593-5040. More information and an application can also be found at https://apply.workable.com/ccres/j/41ADE4D96D/

This will help us connect you with job opportunities at BES or other buildings within the school district. We hope you can join us for the 2024-2025 school year.

For ABSENCES that are for reasons other than illness as a vacation, a day trip, or a family visit, an EDUCATIONAL TRIP FORM must be completed and submitted to the school prior to the absence. Please do not use the online absence slip to report this type of absence. The form can be found here: BES EDUCATIONAL TRIP FORM.

**PHONE CALLS ARE NOT ACCEPTED FOR ABSENCES. PLEASE PROVIDE BOTH FIRST AND LAST NAMES OF STUDENTS WHEN SUBMITTING AN ABSENCE.**

For a LATE ARRIVAL, please email your student’s teacher and email the attendance mailbox directly at attendanceBES@boyertownasd.org.

For an EARLY PICK-UP, please either send in a note to the teacher(s) or email attendance at attendanceBES@boyertownasd.org. Please include the following: student’s name, teacher’s name, time of the pick-up, and name of the adult picking the student up (*they must show ID at the door).

For a FULL-DAY ABSENCE, please use the online slip (BES ONLINE ABSENCE SLIP ) or send in a note to the school that your child will be absent (please state the reason why).

UNLAWFUL ABSENCES: *If the school does not receive an email (or a written note) concerning an absence within three (3) school days of that absence, it will be coded as unlawful, and the Unlawful Absences letter will be sent to the parents/guardians. It will also be added to the student's file. *NOTE: We cannot remove an Unlawful absence after the three (3) school days have passed.

Each student may have a total of ten (10) excused absences per school year. Every absence after those ten absences will all require a Doctor’s Note.

Was your child eligible for free or reduced-price meals during the 2023-2024 school year? The Federal Government provides a 30-day grace period at the beginning of every school year for participating families to submit their required annual renewal application. The grace period ends on Tuesday, October 8, 2024. Families that have not completed their application for 2024-2025 will be charged for lunches beginning on Wednesday, October 9th. If you’re still in need of this program and have not submitted your annual application, please visit www.schoolcafe.com as soon as possible.

Full details regarding the program, including Federal Income Guidelines and the 2024-2025 Homebound Letter, are included in the Food Services Information Packet for 2024-2025. https://secure.smore.com/n/ztpme

There are new policies and procedures for clearances this year. Clearances must be uploaded into the new Raptor system in order to be in the school district's volunteer system. Volunteers who previously submitted clearances were grandfathered in until November 17, 2023. Once submitted, clearances will be take 10 days to be verified. Paper copies of clearances will no longer be accepted. Clearances are mandatory to volunteer in Boyertown Area School District. Please view the links below for more information and access to the Raptor site.

BASD Volunteer Process: NEW: BASD Volunteer Process | Smore Newsletters for Business

BASD Website/HR Department: Human Resources / Volunteer Information - Using Raptor (boyertownasd.org)

If you need to reach the Transportation Department, please email transportation@boyertownasd.org for assistance. If you need assistance determining the location of a bus, reporting a bus problem, etc., please dial 610-369-7684. If you need help with a deviation to daycare within your school's sending area, with non-public school transportation, etc., please call 610-473-3473.

For safety purposes and efficient dismissals, we ask all parents utilizing the car rider line, to please always remain in their vehicles. Getting out of your vehicle and/or pulling outside the cones is not allowed and may pose a safety hazard if not adhered to.

Please be aware of any parent(s), child/children or staff member(s) who may be walking throughout our parking areas and crosswalks. In addition, please continue to be mindful of our surrounding families who live in the area and the children who are walking to and from school. There are NO U-TURNS ALLOWED on Second Street.

If your child/children will need assistance during dismissal for any reason, please do not use the car rider line. Instead, please park in the side lot or in the back lot and walk to the school's front entrance to sign out your child/children for parent pick-up. Use crosswalks where applicable.

If using the parent pick-up at the end of the school day, please make sure to park in the school’s side parking lot, park in a parking spot, and walk around to the main entrance.

Please make sure to have your ID out and ready, sign out your student(s) in the sign-out binder, which will be located at (or just inside) the front door. The students’ names will then be announced over the loudspeaker and will be instructed to report to the main entrance, once all the bus numbers have been announced. Please do not call the office at dismissal time to have your student(s) report to parent pick-up.

⛔✋Please do not park out front in the main entrance parking lot, where the buses pull in. We have had cars driving around our buses while our students were loading, and cars pulling out in between the buses while they are trying to leave. Also, please do not pull up in the bus loop and line up behind the buses.✋⛔

IF YOU NEED TO PICK UP YOUR CHILD(REN) EARLY (before dismissal time) please SEND IN A NOTE to school or please EMAIL the teacher(s). Please include the student(s) full name, teacher/grade, the time of pick-up, the reason, and the name of the adult doing the pick-up (please make sure that they bring along their ID for verification purposes. This is for your child’s safety.

If your child’s transportation home (at regular dismissal time) is different than their usual mode of transportation, please send a note (or email) to their teacher so that they can make sure the student is reporting to the correct area at dismissal time. Thank you!

Dear Parents of Multilingual Learners,

It's time to schedule a meeting with your child's ESL teacher. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss your child's English Language Development and address any questions you may have about their school experience. This is a great way to stay informed and engaged in your child's education.

Please use the link to select a time that works best for you: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B44AEAB23AAF94-51126482-meet

I look forward to connecting with you and working together to support your child's success.

Best regards,

Mrs. Patti Baumgard

ESL Coordinator

At various points throughout the year, the intervention team, Reading Specialists, and classroom teachers get together to review student data and discuss specific needs. Through this collaborative process we determine which students are in need of additional reading support through our WIN (What I Need) program. Students in WIN will work with an intervention teacher, Title 1 Paraprofessional, or Reading Specialist for 30 minutes each day to target specific areas of need. Occasionally, the WIN teachers may be unavailable to see their groups in which case those students would remain in their classrooms during that time and work on various reading activities. Those students who were selected for the first round of WIN should have brought home a letter on Thursday notifying you of their placement in the program. We meet regularly throughout the year to re-evaluate student growth and areas of need and make adjustments to our groups as needed. Parents will be notified if your student is entered or exited from the program at any point. Should you have any questions about the program please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Reading Specialists, Mrs. Graff and Mrs. McCaw.

Mrs. Graff: jgraff@boyertownasd.org

Mrs. McCaw: lmccaw@boyertownasd.org

Title I Programs in the Boyertown Area School District:

Boyertown, Colebrookdale, Earl and Washington are the identified Title I elementary schools in our district. Middle School West is also identified as a Title I school. These schools receive Title I funding based on the percentage of low-income eligible students.

Title I is a federally funded program purposed with ensuring all children have a fair and equal opportunity to learn and grow. Boyertown has transitioned to a Schoolwide Title I program. A Schoolwide program is designed to serve all students in a Title I building and improve all structures to help support student learning. Our Schoolwide plan was developed with the help of parents, community members, teachers, and administrators. Our plan is evaluated annually to determine the impact that these supports have on student achievement.

As a Schoolwide Title I building, the staff is reviewing all students' data to determine needs. Students are identified for intervention if in need of academic support, primarily in the area of reading. All students receiving additional support must qualify through our district assessments. Support is provided to the students individually or in small groups both in class and as a pullout program. Schools set a goal for academic progress that will be measured through mid-year and end-of-the-year assessments. The Reading Specialists, Intervention teachers, paraprofessionals, and classroom teachers partner together to support students.

Our district works diligently to use the Title I funds as required and to provide these additional services to enhance the educational program of our Title I students. If you have any questions about the Title I program, please reach out to your building's reading specialist or call the Title I office at (610) 369-7414.

Title I Programs Website Link

Each month our Reading Specialists, Mrs. Graff and Mrs. McCaw, will share some resources to support your student’s learning at home. Please enjoy the September editions of the Daily Planner and Newsletter.

We are happy to welcome fall & the return of field trips to BASD elementary schools! This year, we will be spacing our field trips throughout the school year with some beginning in October! If your child has a medical need, please keep the following points in mind:

● Definition of a Student with Medical Needs: A student with a medically diagnosed condition and medication in the health room.

○ The parent/guardian has the right to attend the field trip with their child, or they can designate to have someone go in their place. Parents may not designate a teacher or principal to go with their child.

○ If a parent cannot attend and does not have anyone to go in their place, we can do one of two things: (1) with parent permission and doctor’s note we can skip or delay the medication (emergency medication cannot fall under this category); or, (2) we will send a nurse on the trip.

○ The nurse attending a trip for a student with medical needs is there for the student(s) with medical needs who would not otherwise be able to attend.

● Are Clearances Needed or Not: If a parent/guardian is attending a field trip to support their child with a medical need, they do not need clearances. They are there with their child only and should be in the same group as the teacher.

○ The parent/guardian without clearances may not be a chaperone or be without a teacher at any time with any child that is not their own.

○ That parent/guardian will have to provide their driver’s license to the office either prior to or the morning of the trip.

● Other Important Reminders: Chaperones are not able to administer medicine to anyone that is not their child. The nurse on the field trip is only for those children that would not have access to their education if they didn’t have their medication available.

Our goal is to provide a safe and fun field trip experience for all students! We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding.

Illnesses: When to keep your child at home

Occasionally, it may be necessary for your child to remain home from school due to illness. The following guidelines should be followed when determining if you should keep your child at home.

• Your child should be kept at home following a nighttime bout of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or fever. Keep at home and watch for further symptoms. Students should be free of vomiting for 24 hours before returning to school.
• Your child should remain home if he/she has a temperature above 100 degrees. His/her temperature should remain normal for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication, which includes but not limited to: Acetaminophen/Tylenol, Ibuprofen/Motrin or Aleve, prior to returning to school.
• For any illness or injury that occurs prior to the start of school, after school, or at home, the parent/guardian should contact their health care provider for further directives regarding treatment and care.

Extra Clothing

Kids have accidents sometimes and they may need a change of clothing. Although there is some extra clothing in school, our supply of shorts, pants, and underwear go very fast. If we had to give your child a change of clothing, please bring them back as soon as you can. It is highly encouraged that parents have an extra change of clothing in a child’s backpack that includes a weather-appropriate shirt, pants/shorts, underwear, and socks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your school nurses!

BES Nurses

Victoria Monts MSN CRNP CSN

Becca Lacock BSN RN

Stacy White BSN RN

BASD has the ability to utilize one snow day and 5 flexible instruction days throughout the school year in the event that inclement weather or other emergency school closing. Your child’s teacher will review these directions with your child early next week. In the event of an unexpected school closing, the district message will define what type of day is being used. Digital and paper/pencil options will be provided. If a student cannot access the Internet or paper copies of the learning activities, he/she will have three (3) school days to complete the assignments. Any student who fails to complete their FID assignment within three school days will be marked as absent.

Volunteers are VERY important for all our PTO events and activities to run smoothly. We are in need of volunteers this year more than ever. We have many exciting opportunities to help out! If the event is outside of school hours, you will not need clearances. If it is during the school day, then you will. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!

**Please be aware, this year if we do not have sufficient volunteers to run the event, the event will be cancelled. This is needed due to the lack of help in previous years, and the events not running as expected.**

BASD hosts an online Community Bulletin Board. The electronic bulletin board features district and community activities, events, clubs, resources, and more. The board is updated regularly and is an excellent source of information regarding things happening throughout our community and beyond. Be sure to check it out regularly!

Canva is also used in the creation of this newsletter.

Any additional applicable copyright information for items used throughout the newsletter will be provided on a use-by-use basis.

Boyertown Elementary
641 East Second Street
Boyertown, PA 19512
(610) 369-7462