Baker-Butler Elementary School Administration's Blog: August 2017

Dear Baker-Butler Families, August 21, 2017

Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year!

We are looking forward to the start of this new school year with our students and teachers. We would like to share some updates and new information with you as we get ready to begin school on Wednesday, August 23, 2017.

Construction and Renovation updates

Perhaps the most noticeable change you will see this year is our construction and renovation project.

This project is funded by the Albemarle County bond referendum that passed in November, 2016, and it has two phases. The first phase, which has already been completed, was the relocation of the main office and student clinic into temporary spaces, and to turn the former office into a large flexible learning space. At this time our main office (including the Assistant Principal and Principal) and student clinic are in temporary offices near the main entrance to the school.

The second phase of construction is the addition of a controlled (or secured) entrance for our school to the right of the front doors (near where the flag pole used to be located). After the project is complete, visitors during the school day will enter the new main office, check in with school staff, and then enter the main hallways and lobby of the school. The new main office area will house our receptionist (Lisa Beauchamp), front office associates (Carole O’Neil & Holly Carden), and our school clinic and school nurse (Lisa Moore). This phase of the project is scheduled to be completed around December.

Welcome:

This year we are excited to welcome several new staff members to our school:

Cindy Sheperd: Early Childhood Special Education DeDe Leach: Kindergarten

Annie Martin: Second Grade Mary Beth Farhi: Third Grade

Sarah Miller: Third Grade Alexandra Stokes: Fourth Grade

Hillary Bigman: Fifth Grade Gabe Gomez: Fifth Grade

Ryan Shrader: Physical Education Miles Nelson: Counselor

Sabra Timmins: English Second or Other Language

Arrival & Dismissal information:

In order for our school day to run smoothly, we want to share the procedures for the safe arrival and dismissal of all of our students. Here are a few important reminders about arrival to and dismissal from school:

Arrival:

School starts at 7:55 a.m.
Students may enter the building starting at 7:40 a.m.
Car riders: Student drop off begins at 7:40 a.m. when a faculty member is present. All cars should use the drop off circle located at the front of the school. Student car riders should not be dropped off unless a faculty member is present starting at 7:40am.
If you walk your child into the building in the morning, please park in the parking lot.

Dismissal

Students will begin exiting the building at 2:25 p.m. Kindergarten, first and second grade students will dismiss at 2:25 p.m. and third, fourth, and fifth grade students will dismiss at 2:30 p.m.
If you are in the car circle line, your child will be called and brought to you in your car. Please remain in your car while in the car circle.
Pick up: Please park in the parking lot and meet your child in the designated area on the sidewalk.
If you need to make a change in your child’s afternoon dismissal, please notify the school before 2:00pm.
For the first three days of school (August 23^rd, 24^th, and 25^th) we will begin dismissing our students at 2:10pm. These additional 15 minutes will allow the bus drivers to check every student on their manifest. The buses will then leave BBES around their scheduled dismissal time (after 2:35pm) to arrive as close to the advertised afternoon bus stop arrival time as possible.

Safety Drills this year:

There is no higher priority at our school than the security and safety of our students and staff. An important part of meeting our high standards is the various and periodic drills that prepare our school for emergencies. During the school year we will hold drills that prepare us to be safe during a fire, an earthquake, a tornado, and in the event of a lockdown. Our first lock down drill will be on August 31, 2017. During this exercise, which will take only a few minutes, we will make an announcement over the public address system for students and teachers to lock their doors and move away from doors and windows. We are confident that our students will perform these drills well this year.

Upcoming events

Here are some important dates for the start of the 2017-2018 year:

No school for students on Monday, September 4^th (Labor Day)
Back to School night for grades K-2: Tuesday, September 5^th 6-7:30pm
Back to School night for grades 3-5: Tuesday, September 12^th 6-7:30pm
No school for students on Friday, September 22^nd (professional development day)