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Butler Family Newsletter
November 13, 2023
Hello Butler Families!
I hope everyone enjoyed an extended weekend. The Butler School held their annual Veteran's Day assembly last Tuesday where 15 local veterans were recognized along with performances by different grade levels. This weeks is an important week with Superintendent Dr. Geiser presenting next year's budget information to the School Committee on Tuesday with a public form on Thursday. Please see details below and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Respectfully,
Julie Babson
Principal
In this newsletter you will find information about:
Budget Meetings
Picture Retakes
Attendance
Nurse's Notes
Important Dates
Resources
Budget Meetings
This year presents a challenging budget season. For FY25, the school department has been developing an override and a non-override budget, both of which will be shared this week and will provide opprotunities for community engagement.
On Tuesday, November 14 @ 6:30pm, Superintendent Dr. Geiser will present the FY25 school budgets to the School Committee. This is a hybrid, public meeting open to anyone who would like to attend in person or watch on Zoom or local cable television. At that point, the budget documents will be publicly available.
On Thursday, November 16 @6:30pm, there will be a public forum about the FY25 school budgets. The purpose of this forum is to solicit comments and feedback from staff, families, and members of the Belmont community regarding the budgets. This meeting is also hybrid, and we welcome anyone from the Belmont community to join us either in person or on Zoom.
Notices with Zoom links for both meetings on November 14 and November 16 can be found on the School Committee page of the website: School Committee Notices and Agendas
Picture Retakes
Picture retakes will be held next Thursday, November 16th. Please return the entire original package to the photographer on retake day. Write the student’s name and the reason for the retake on the envelope and a new package will be ordered using the retake day photo.
Students who were absent on original picture day and did pre-order will have that order fulfilled with the retake day photo.
Students who were absent on original picture day and did not pre-order, he or she may be photographed as well. Please print a copy of the order form that the school initially shared, fill out the bottom in its entirety and send with your cash or check payment into school on retake day.
Attendance
At regular intervals throughout the school year – usually at the end of each quarter – the attendance team meets to review attendance records for all enrolled students at the Butler School. One of our goals is to identify students who have been absent, tardy, or dismissed for 15 days or more and communicate this information to parents/guardians. All students who meet one of those criteria are receiving this notification, regardless if previous outreach has been made by the school.
Massachusetts General Law Chapter 76, section 1, mandates that all students between the ages of 6 and 16 attend school. In accordance with this regulation, school districts are required to regularly monitor attendance. While the Department of Education does collect attendance information for all students in Massachusetts, we are not planning to report any of this information to other government agencies.
We know there are many reasons why children need to miss school, but missing school frequently can make it hard for children to catch up with their classmates and learn the new material at the same time. We are contacting you because we hope we can:
Check to see if any of these absences/tardies are a mistake or should be excused
Learn if there are ongoing difficulties that make it hard for your child to come to school
Talk with you about any supports or changes we can make that might help your child be in school more often
Our intention is to work with parents to help children be in school as often as possible.
Nurse's Notes
Illness Reminder
Colder temperatures are here and cold and flu season is upon us. Early symptoms of flu, COVID, and other respiratory viruses can look similar for many children, including congestion, cough, runny nose, muscle aches, fever, and headache. We continue to recommend at home COVID testing; please note that testing more than once is recommended as it may take time for the virus to show on a home test. If your child continues to feel unwell, please reach out to your pediatrician for further guidance.
When to keep your child home:
A cold or COVID-like illness, in the early contagious stages (frequent sneezing, coughing, nose stuffed up, nose constantly running, child feels ill) Please use a rapid antigen at-home COVID test prior to their return to school.
A temperature of 100.0 degrees or higher. Students should not return to school until their temperature is normal for 24 hours without fever reducing medications (Tylenol, Motrin etc.), regardless of a negative COVID test.
Vomiting or diarrhea. Students should not return to school for 24 hours after the last episode.
An undiagnosed skin rash.
Infections such as strep throat, conjunctivitis (pink eye), ringworm, or impetigo. Keep your child home until they have been on prescribed treatment medication for 24 hours.
If your child has been sick and is still requiring frequent over the counter medications for cough, fever, or other symptoms, they are not well enough to return to school. Please be sure to keep them home until they are able to make it through the day without medication.
Be sure to call the absence line at 617-993- 5552 to report your child’s absence (messages can be left 24 hours a day). ALL positive COVID-19 cases are to be reported on this form If your child has been diagnosed with an illness, it is helpful to let me know so that I can help you plan a safe return for your child and keep track of potential trends and outbreaks in school.
Returning to school Following Illness
It is important that sick individuals continue to follow the illness policy and stay home to reduce the spread of illness to others. Your child may return to school when symptoms are improving, they have been fever free for 24 hours (less than 100.0 without the use of fever reducing medication), their symptoms have improved, and they feel well enough to make it through the school day. Best practice would include wearing a mask while symptoms are present. Staying up to date with COVID vaccination and boosters along with annual flu vaccines is highly recommended. For more information: vaccine finder
Diabetes Awareness Month
Did you know that November is diabetes awareness month? Diabetes is a chronic health condition where the body either doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use insulin the way it should. Diabetes can affect infants, children, adults, and pregnant women.
The symptoms of diabetes can come on suddenly or gradually and range from severe to mild (making them go unnoticed). Symptoms can include increased thirst, increased urination, hunger, fatigue, blurry vision, slow healing of cuts/bruises, and unexplained weight loss. Early detection and treatment can help to prevent complications from diabetes.
There is not currently a cure for diabetes. Find out more to support those living with diabetes and help to spread awareness. More information: Diabetes basics Diabetes symptoms
Wishing you and your family a safe and healthy holiday season. As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Lisa Harteveldt BSN, RN
Butler School Nurse
617-993-5556
Important Dates
November 14 - Budget Presentation to School Committee @ 6:30pm
November 16 - Picture Retakes
November 16 - Budget Public Forum @ 6:30pm
November 16 - PTA Board Meeting @ 6pm
November 17 - Fun Run Dance Party (during school day)
November 17 - PTA Green Team Clean Up 4-5pm
November 22 - Early Release @ 11:40pm
November 23-24- Thanksgiving Recess
Resources
Here are some Back to School Resources for Parents.
To receive emails from our school, please follow this link and sign up for the listserve.
Here is the district webpage with resources for new families.
About Butler
Email: jbabson@belmontschools.net
Website: https://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/butler/
Location: 90 White Street, Belmont, MA, USA
Phone: (617) 993-5550