BC Bear Facts

Dear Boulder Creek Families,

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2024!

At the end of any calendar year, we tend to conduct "A Year in Review" to remind us of the many important events that have happened. School year calendars are a bit different, so we thought it would be great to review for our parents what we have accomplished thus far in the 2023-2024 school year as well as share where we are headed for the remainder of 2023-2024.

Besides Language Arts, Math, History, Science, and Physical Education (PE), we have engaged students in the following areas thus far in 2023:

• Digital Citizenship - Appropriate positive internet use and cyberbullying are a few of the topics students engage in during these lessons throughout the year. Digital Citizenship Week took place in October.
• Music - We have been able to bring our music teacher all the way down to the 3rd grade, so 3rd-8th grade students receive music instruction outside of what they receive from their homeroom teachers. In addition, we have added Honors Choir!
• 1st-5th Art - We have added a certificated Art Teacher who rotates through our primary and intermediate grades.
• 6-8 Electives - There are many new electives in middle school this year. Check them out in our Student/Parent Handbook.

In 2023, our teachers and support staff are engaging students where they are and moving them forward. Some additional supports include:

• BEAR (Be Excellent At Reading)Time which is focused reading time by grade level. All 1st-5th graders receive reading instruction at their level. This includes reading intervention for those who need extra support.
• Extended Day Tutoring opportunities
• 6-8 ELL, Study Skills, and Learning Labs

In 2023, we have many ongoing as well as new social, emotional, and behavioral supports available to our students:

• We continue to have adults on campus available for students to speak with should they need it.
• Bear Buddies - an elective where our older student leaders spend time modeling positive social skills for our younger students.
• Alternative Recess - a new opportunity for students struggling with social skills during unstructured time
• Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curricula (Second Step, My Best Me, Leader in Me) lessons take place in BC classrooms.
• 4/5 Peer Mediators
• The Boulder Creek Way - Continued teaching and reinforcement of school expectations that lead to positive school culture
• Monthly Positive Character Focus
• The Leader in Me - The process we use to empower students with leadership and life skills. We start with 7 Habits for Highly Effective People.
• Caught Being a Leader Luncheons

In 2023, we continued our vast sports and clubs, as well as adding some new ones!

• TK-5 Cross County
• Volleyball
• 6-8 Co-Ed Soccer
• 6-8 Cross Country
• 6-8 Flag Football
• 6-8 Girls' Basketball
• Engineering Club
• Game Club
• Garden Club
• Flag Club
• Kindness Club
• Ski and Snowboard Club
• Chess Club

There are many more sports and clubs, including new club Calligraphy Club, to come in the 2024 half of our school year!

In 2023, our Parent Club has brought back ALL of the traditional Boulder Creek family events that bring us together:

• On-site monthly Parent Club Meetings
• Riffle-Raffle Fundraiser
• Golden Bear Store
• Boulder Bash Fall Festival
• Fall Book Fair
• Holiday Boutique (students Christmas shop and wrap)
• Middle School Snowball Dance

There are many more to come in the 2024 half of our school year!

In 2023, we have engaged in a multitude of school events already:

• Family/Parent Events - Back-to-School Night, Trimester Awards, Parent/Teacher Conferences. Game Night and Literacy Events are on the way!
• Assemblies/Rallies - Middle School Rallies, , Trimester Awards Assemblies, Veteran's Day Assembly, Cascade Christmas, Middle School Spelling Bee, Annual Whole-School Christmas Sing-a-Long
• Classroom and Grade Level Events - There has been a multitude of events across the grade levels thus far, including the Middle School Career Day
• Performances: Music Department - Veteran's Day, Garden of Lights Caroling, Breakfast with Santa, Annual Christmas Sing-a-Long. Dance Crew - Rallies, Basketball Halftimes, Redding Lighted Parade. Class/Grade Level - There have been multiple class/grade level performances in 2023.
• Dances - Back-to-School Dance, Snowball Dance
• Annual Jog-a-thon-Turkey Trot
• Spirit Weeks - Back-to-School Spirit Week, Red Ribbon/Spirit Week

• Field Trips - Classroom/Grade-Level Field Trips are back on track!
• Attendance Incentive - 12 Days of Presence

There are many more to come in the 2024 half of our school year!

Wow, what a list of accomplishments, and we are only halfway through the school year! All of us are happy to be able to bring back annual events as well as introduce new ways to engage and support our students. Throughout the remainder of 2023-2024, we will be working toward accomplishing our schoolwide goals of every student meeting their individual reading goals, increasing our positive attendance rates, and increasing positive behaviors. Check with your teacher about how you can help your child reach his/her individual goals.

Watch the monthly Bear Facts, starting with the January Bear Facts below, for much more news about upcoming events, celebrations, and other news in the second half of 2023-2024.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy new year!

Tina Croes

At Boulder Creek, we reinforce all positive character traits. Each month of the year, we shine the spotlight on a specific trait. In January, we will focus on Kindness and Fairness. Join us by reinforcing kindness and fairness at home!

We had a very successful "12 Days of Presence" attendance incentive in December 2023. We raised our Average Daily Attendance over those 12 days by 3% over 2023. That doesn't seem like a lot, but it equates to 25 more students present each day!

Attendance will continue to be a schoolwide focus for us this year. Student achievement is directly correlated to positive attendance. How can you help?

• Unless your child is truly sick (i.e. fever, vomiting), please ensure they come to school.
• Schedule appointments outside of school hours.
• Schedule vacations/trips during school vacations.
• Did you know there are five weeks of vacation during every school year? This does not even include summer break!
• Always call the school office when your child is absent. *Remember, some reasons for absence will be excused, and some will not. These attendance rules are set by the state.

Thank you for working as a team to ensure your child is learning. Making sure your child has positive attendance is the number one way you can partner with school in helping your child succeed!

Click HERE to register online.

It's already that time of year again - New Student Registration Time!

**REMEMBER** You do not have to re-register your child if he/she is already a Boulder Creek student.

We register students on a priority system with the first priority going to those who reside in the school attendance area and are not currently enrolled in school. Here are the registration dates and corresponding priorities:

Starting January 9, 2024

• Residents of the school attendance area, not currently enrolled in school
  

Starting January 15, 2024

• Those who moved into the attendance area after the first registration period
  
• Siblings already in the school of choice with an Inter/Intra-District Agreement
  
• Those who live inside the Enterprise Elementary School District boundaries with an Intra-District Agreement.
  

Starting January 22, 2024

• Open Enrollment, including those who live outside of the Enterprise Elementary School District boundaries with an Inter-District Agreement.

If you have specific questions, you may contact our Student Services Clerk, Kensey Jones at kjones@eesd.net or 530-224-4140.

Students, staff, and families will regularly see our School Resource Officer (SRO) Ray Maready. We love having Officer Maready, Enterprise School District's SRO, hanging around campus. Don't be surprised to see Officer Maready's car on campus often, as his goal is to get to know and create positive relationships with all Boulder Creek students. Most times he is at BC, he is on the playground with our kids! He is also here to assist with smooth dismissals in our parking lot and on Springer Drive as well.

Thank you, Officer Maready!

Did you know ...

Boulder Creek teaches our students about bullying behaviors, including cyberbullying. All teachers use social-emotional learning curricula such as Second Step and Leader in Me on a weekly basis. Bullying lessons are embedded in Second Step, and cyberbullying is presented more in-depth each October during Digital Citizenship Week. All of these lessons are reinforced throughout the school year by all staff members.

Did you know ...

Parents who may not be aware, your children have many adults on campus they can seek out should they ever have a need to talk with someone about anything at all. Whether they are worried about academics, peer relationships, or anything else, all of our staff – teaching, administrative, counseling, and all other support staff – are here for your children at all times. Please encourage them to come to us whenever they need.

Did you know ...

Boulder Creek offers a wide variety of clubs for our 3rd – 8th graders throughout each year. For example, this winter our Jr. High students are enjoying Ski and Snowboard Club, Chess Club, Garden Club, Kindness Club, and Dance Crew to name a few. Be sure to listen for future club announcements and encourage your child to get involved. And, If any of our parents possess a special skill you would like to share with children, I encourage you to inquire in the office. We are always open to new ideas!

The whole Boulder Creek School Community is starting 2024 off on the right foot! We are having many discussions and focusing on positive behaviors. Join us!

It’s time to order your 2023/2024 yearbook, as they are on sale NOW! All orders will be placed online at yearbookforever.com.

A Message to 8th-Grade Families:

If your child has been at Boulder Creek since Kindergarten, please submit their Kindergarten photo to vickyt234@gmail.com by February 17th. This photo will be displayed on the yearbook's "Throwback to Kindergarten" page.

Any questions? Please feel free to email me at vickyt234@gmail.com.

Best,

Victoria Wrigley

Yearbook Advisor

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for Friday Foodies and the Golden Bear Store Fridays 11am-12:45pm. Students earn Golden Bear bucks for good behavior and hard work and then get to spend them on Fridays at the Golden Bear Store and Friday Foodies snack store. The kids love this program, but it is only possible with parent volunteers. If you can help, please click HERE to enter your contact information and select the dates you are available to volunteer.

***note: Golden Bears is for grades 1st -5th and Friday Foodies is for grades 1st - 8th.

Coming soon (February 2nd-27th). Stay tuned ...

Tuesday, January 9th: First day back from Christmas Break for Students

Monday, January 15th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observed - No School

Wednesday, January 17th: Parent/Booster Club Meeting

January 22nd-26th: The Great Kindness Challenge Week

Thursday, January 25th: Site Council Meeting

February 2nd - February 27th: Annual Cookie Dough Fundraiser

Tuesday, February 13th: Parent/Booster Club Meeting

February 19th-23rd: President's Week Break - No School

Tuesday, February 27th, 7:00p.m.: Winter Concert, Pathway Church

Wednesday, February 28th: Site Council Meeting

We are happy to be serving breakfast each morning before school once again. The earliest students may report to the cafeteria is 7:30 a.m. Teachers will be taking lunch counts each day. There will continue to be no charge for breakfast or lunch through the end of the school year.

We are happy to welcome our students on campus for breakfast as well as on the playground before the start of the school day this year. The earliest drop-off time is 7:30 a.m.

Regular Day - School Start/End Times:

• 4-8 grades begin at 8:00 a.m. - 2:10 p.m.

• K-3 grades begin at 8:15 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Minimum Day - School Start Times:

• 4-8 grades begin at 8:00 a.m. - 1:06 p.m.

• K-3 grades begin at 8:10 a.m. - 1:06 p.m.

Students will be released from class based upon the dismissal time. Students will be walked to a designated pick-up area (see below) and remain with their teacher/classmates. If they have a younger sibling(s), they should report to the designated pick-up area of their youngest sibling so parents don't have to visit both pick-up loops. Please coordinate this with your children.

To ensure the safety of all children, students must be picked up at their dismissal times. The school does not provide supervision for students after 2:20 p.m. on regular days and 1:20 p.m. on minimum days. Every Monday is a minimum day. If students are not picked up by the aforementioned times, they will be escorted to the office. Parents will then be required to go to the office to check students out. Remember this is to ensure your child’s safety, so please be prompt when picking up your child.

This year, you will be assigned to a specific parking lot for morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up. It is extremely important that you stick to this because your child/children will be taken to this area after school. If you have multiple BC children, we do not want you to have to go from parking lot to parking lot, so you will be picking all of your children up together in one location.

This location is decided by the youngest child in the family. Older children in the family will need to find their youngest sibling at the pick-up location that is assigned to that sibling's grade level. For example, Kindergarten will be picked up in the front parking lot, so all older siblings of Kindergartners will report to the dismissal location to find their Kindergarten sibling's class at the front of the school and wait for their parents there together. We will be out to help older siblings find their pick-up point. This should only take a day or two to get into the routine of where to go.

Parking Lot Assignments by Grade-Level:

• TK/K (and all older siblings) - Front Lot

• 1 and 2 (and all older siblings) - Back Lot

• 3 and 4 (and all older siblings) - Front Lot

• 5 (and all older siblings) - Back Lot

• 6-8 (and all older siblings) Front Lot

Please do not arrive earlier than your oldest child's release time (see above), as we want to be able to clear the parking lot quickly for each group. If you have multiple children who are released at both times, please find a parking space rather than waiting in the pick-up lane as this will block the lane from moving as you wait for your older child. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please review the BC Flow of Traffic Map in order to determine which way to enter/exit the campus from the neighborhood depending on which parking lot you are assigned. Front lot = red arrows. Back lot = green arrows.

All parents, including new parents, should have logged into the Parent Portal at some point already. Why do you need to create a parent account? This is a secure platform through which you will view your child's teacher/class, receive your child’s report card, complete enrollment, and complete the necessary beginning of the year school forms like your child's emergency card. In the future, this is also how state testing results will be communicated.

Click HERE for the link to the parent portal. If you cannot log-in successfully, please call our school's office at 224-4140 or email our Student Services Clerk, Kensey Jones, at kjones@eesd.net. Be sure to keep your log-in information in a safe but accessible place.

• help@eesd.net: for Chromebook questions (including how to get a device); technology troubleshooting as directed by your child's teacher
• eesd.net: for online resources and other district information
• bouldercreek.eesd.net: for weekly newsletters and other information

Q: Do I have to re-register my child for school each school year?

A: If your child is already a TK-7th grade student, you do NOT have to register each school year. He/she will automatically have a seat the next year. However, if your child is currently not enrolled at Boulder Creek or is a student in the Boulder Creek Preschool, you WILL NEED TO REGISTER.

The Boulder Creek School Office is staffed from 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. each day. All visitors must request access to the campus through the office entrance by using the call button to the right of the door and identifying themselves. Office staff will grant access after verifying identification. Thank you.

Website: https://bouldercreek.eesd.net/
Location: 505 Springer Drive, Redding, CA, USA
Phone: 530-224-4140
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bouldercreekschool/