BES Bulletin

In this issue:

-Attendance Matters!

-School Office Hours

-Upcoming BES Calendar/Events

-Classroom/Teacher Assignments

-School Supplies

-School Bus Transportation

-Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

-School Meals and Fee Waivers

-Volunteering at BES

-Contact the Principal or Assistant Principal

-2022-2023 U-46 School Calendar

The 2023-24 school year in U-46 begins next week! The first day is Tuesday, August 15th. The first step towards a great education is showing up to learn each day! When students come to school every day, they have their best chance to learn and prepare for their futures. Even missing just a little bit of school can significantly impact learning.

As your family starts to make plans for the upcoming school year, please remember that the only vacation periods for U-46 occur during Thanksgiving, Winter Recess, Spring Recess, and summer vacation. You can see the dates for those breaks on the school-year calendar here.

Extended absences and/or vacations during the school year are discouraged and considered unexcused absences. In order to have the best academic success, it’s important that your child is in school and on time for class each day. School starts at 8:30 A.M.

We understand that sometimes students have to miss school due to a medical appointment, illness, some type of family emergency. If a student is going to be late or absent or you need to pull your child out for early dismissal, please contact us through our attendance line at 630.213.5545 (Use the attendance line prompt.). You can also use our attendance email: bartlettelementaryattendance@u-46.org.

Our school office will be open from 8:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. on week days through the beginning of school. Families who still need to drop off medical or dental forms, documents, medication, or need assistance with registration, please feel to call us at 630-213-5545 or drop by the office during those hours.

• Tuesday, August 8th - Yahoo, You're New to School, 9:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M.
• This event is for new families and for incoming kindergarten students. We will welcome everyone, pass out some information, answer any questions, and take participants on a quick tour of the school.
  
  
• Monday, August 14th - Teacher Meet and Greet, 2:00 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.
• This event is for parents and students to be able to come into school to see their classroom and meet their teacher before the first day of school.
  
  
• Monday, August 14th - Beginning of the Year BES School Party, 2:30 P.M. - 4:30 P.M.
• This event is for BES families to celebrate the beginning of the school year. The celebration will have music, a magician, and a Kona Ice truck. Families can enjoy the playground and activities in the field, too.
  
  
• Tuesday, August 15th - First Day of School, 8:30 A.M. - 2:30 P.M.
  
  
• Thursday, August 24th - Curriculum Night, 6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.
• The evening will structured into two presentations. 6:00 P.M. - 6:30 P.M. will be for K - 2nd grade classrooms, and 6:30 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. will be for 3rd - 6th grade classrooms.

In the coming weeks, U-46 will be sending out information about how parents will be able to access classroom/teacher assignments in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal for the 2023-2024 school year. Parents will have official access to that information beginning on Monday, August 14th.

As a school, however, we should have our class lists finalized by Friday, August 11th, and we want families to have that information as much in advance as possible of our Teacher Meet and Greet on Monday, August 14th and the first day of school on Tuesday, August 15th.

On Friday, August 11th, therefore, classroom teachers will send a welcome email to families by 5:00 P.M., effectively providing teacher-assignment information in advance of the official release.

U-46 will provide school supplies for students entering kindergarten through 6th grade, as it did for last school year. Families will just need to provide a backpack. Students will receive their supplies at their schools once classes get underway.

Information on bus stops and schedules for the 2023-24 school year will be available for students who qualify for transportation services in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal later this week. U-46 will be hosting a bilingual Call Center on August 11th and August 14th for parents/guardians who have questions or need help resolving issues. There will be more information from the district once that information is available including the Call Center phone number and hours. The information will also be updated and posted at the top of the U-46 Transportation website at u-46.org/transportation.

For our incoming kindergarten students, BES will be hosting a transportation event this Thursday, August 10 at 8:00 A.M. Take a short bus ride and learn about bus safety! Please arrive promptly outside Door 1. (Please do not park in our circular drive in front of the school.).

Our arrival and dismissal procedures and locations are mostly the same as last year, but it's important that students and parents know the locations and procedures to help keep our students safe. Please review the 2023-2024 BES Arrival and Dismissal Procedures here. Included in the procedures document is a link to an arrival/dismissal location map that can also be found here.

U-46 will again offer breakfast and lunch meals at no cost to all students at all U-46 schools. Monthly menus will be available on school websites starting a few days before the first day of classes as well as on this page of the U-46 Food & Nutrition Services department.

For anyone interested, breakfast begins at 8:00 A.M. Students going to breakfast enter the school's main entrance, Door 1.

Although meal applications will not be required for the 2023-24 school year, we recommend families complete the Fee Waiver Form, which can apply to older U-46 students, for athletic fees, driver’s education, and more. The 2023-2024 fee waiver forms can be found here.

We love having parent volunteers at school. In order to volunteer in our school in any capacity, you must get fingerprinted and cleared through our district office before doing so. Volunteering includes helping out in the classroom, being a chaperone on field trips, and helping out with classroom parties. If you have already been cleared to volunteer, you don't need to go through that process again.

For those who haven't yet been cleared to volunteer, we recommend you begin this process now if you plan on volunteering this school year as the process can take a number of weeks to clear. Please follow these steps:

1. Complete this form.

2. Contact the school to let us know the form is complete. You can email Mrs. Meinhardt at meganmeinhardt@u-46.org or call 630.213.5545 to provide that information.

3. You should then receive an email from HR within a few days of the form being submitted to schedule an appointment for fingerprinting. Keep an eye out for that email.

4. After two to four weeks of being fingerprinted, please check back in with Mrs. Meindhardt by phone or email to find out whether you have been cleared to volunteer.

For classroom information, questions, or concerns, please reach out to your child's teacher as a first point of contact.

If you have other questions or concerns or need assistance from us, we are always happy to help. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

You can contact us by email (johnsignatur@u-46.org or natashagiraldo@u-46.org) or phone (630-213-5545, x5627 for Mr. Signatur and x4355 for Ms. Giraldo).

If you would like to meet in person, we just ask that you make an appointment in advance. We are not always able to meet with parents if you drop by unexpectedly. Appointments can be made with our office staff or by contacting us directly.

Here's the calendar.

Email: johnsignatur@u-46.org and natashagiraldo@u-46.org

Website: https://www.u-46.org/Bartlett
Location: 111 East North Avenue, Bartlett, IL, USA
Phone: (630) 213-5545
Twitter: @BartlettElemU46