Hawks Happenings

I hope you all had a wonderful Winter break. I was able to relax with my family and enjoy some family traditions. Our new favorite board game is 'Just One' and I highly recommend it!

What a crazy return to school today with an asynchronous learning day! I hope all of our Buncombe County friends who had water problems have had that rectified. Thank you for your patience and understanding as our school schedule was different today. I hope the technology worked out well for your family. Please remember that if you need a hotspot for internet service at home that you can request one through our school's Media Center.

As we look forward to closing out our 2nd nine weeks, we have a lot to do! Please have your child at school everyday when they are healthy and ready for learning. Next week we will begin our middle of the year assessments, so it is very important that students are in school.

Please be sure to return your child's fully charged device and charger to school when we return to in person learning (hopefully tomorrow!).

Mark your calendars for this event!

• Town Hall Meeting - Dr. Rob Jackson, our new Superintendent, will host a community engagement meeting for our district at North Buncombe High School school on Tuesday, February 7th, at 6pm. If you are interested in attending, please let me know. My goal is to have at least 10 parents/guardians from NBES attend this event.

Reminders - previously shared in an email on November 14th. We were in 'Day 1' today.

• Day 1: Remote Asynchronous/OTWD

  • Teachers use SeeSaw (Grades K-2) or Google Classroom (Grades 3 and 4) to post assignments.

  • Asynchronous assignments for the entire day will be posted no later than 10am.

  • Students will have up to 5 days to complete assignments.

  • Students will be counted present for the day/class period upon the completion of the assignment(s).

  • NO live Zooms!

• Day 2 and beyond: Remote Synchronous

  • Teacher follows a 2-hour delay schedule with a balance of synchronous and asynchronous instruction beginning at 10am.

  • The teacher(s) will share a specific schedule with families well in advance of the remote learning day.

  • Students will have up to 5 days to complete assignments.

  • Students will be counted present for the day/class period upon the completion of assignment(s) and full participation in synchronous instruction.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for our monthly PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) meetings.

We will meet at 12:45 p.m. in Room 403 on the following dates…

1/10, 2/14, 3/14, 4/11, & 5/9.

We discuss fundraisers, ways to improve the school, fun reward activities for the kids, staff support, school projects, and other things.

You’re welcome to come to them all or pop in when you can. Younger siblings are welcome too. If you’re interested in learning more, but unable to attend the meetings, please send us a message, as we often have ways you can help from home. We look forward to working together to make NBES the best!

• PTO Meetings will be 12:45 PM in room 403. Please sign in at the main office.

Link your Advantage Card to NBES to help support our school each time you shop! Remember to sign up EACH year!

https://www.ingles-markets.com/tools-for-schools-link

NBES welcomes volunteers! There are many ways for individuals to volunteer at our school. All volunteers must fill out an online volunteer application and be on the approved volunteer list before volunteering. Potential volunteers may go ahead and start on this process by following the link below. Thank you in advance for your support!

https://www.buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/volunteering

Free/Reduced Meal Applications for the new school year are available now! You may apply online at Buncombe County Schools Free and Reduced Application.>>> https://bit.ly/3QaVJHm

Please take a few minutes to fill out a free and reduced meal application today, even if you aren’t sure if you will qualify. If you have questions or need assistance please call 828-255-5927.

Please note that all schools will still serve breakfast to students at no cost next year!

• If a student tests positive for COVID (at home or at a healthcare provider), they would isolate for 5 days from when their symptoms began. We will recognize the guidelines established by the CDC and NCDHHS regarding the use of a face covering to be worn for days 6-10 upon return to school.
  

• Our normal exclusionary symptoms of fever, diarrhea, and vomiting are in effect. If a student has a fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, they must remain at home until symptoms are resolved for 24 hours.
  

• Hand hygiene, enhanced cleaning protocols, and improved ventilation are all still priorities and important mitigating strategies.
  

• Face coverings remain optional, to be worn by anyone at anytime.
  

• Physical distancing such as 3 ft or 6 ft apart is no longer required.
  

• Contact tracing is not required.
  

• Following the guidelines established by the CDC and NCDHHS, MAHEC will not be providing rapid antigen testing in our schools. Staff and families may order at home tests for free via this link: https://www.covid.gov/tests.
  

• MAHEC will send home further guidance regarding when students need to stay home due to an illness.

• For students where an absence is Covid related please indicate this in your parent or health provider's note.

• Students/teachers will follow the same guidelines for makeup work as they would for any other illness or injury.

January 2 - Remote Learning Day - Asynchronous Learning

January 6 - New BCS Superintendent, Dr. Rob Jackson, will visit our school!

Jan 9- February 1 - MAP MOY Window K-4 math; grade 4 reading

Jan 9- February 1 - mClass DIBELS reading assessment window grades K-3

January 10 - PTO Meeting at 12:45 in Room 403

January 16 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday - no school

January 19 - NBES Advisory Council Meeting

January 24 - Early Dismissal Day - school will dismiss at 12:25

January 24 - PBIS Reward and end of the grading period

January 25 - No School - Teacher Work Day

Jan 30 - February 3 - Kids Heart Challenge in PE

February 2 - 2nd Grade Program - Grandparent Program 12:00 - 12:45

February 2 - 2nd Grade Program - 6-7 PM

February 7 - Superintendent Dr. Jackson hosts Community Night at NBHS - 6 PM

February 10 - NB District Advisory Council Meeting

February 14 - PTO Meeting at 12:45 in Room 403

February 15 - Early Dismissal Day - school will dismiss at 12:25

February 15 - Read-A-Thon Kickoff Day (more information coming)

February 27 - March 3 - Read Across America Week (more information coming)

March 3 - Book Character Dress Up Day and Parade

March 3 - Last day for the Read-A-Thon

March 4 - BCS STEM Day at County Office 9-3 PM

March 9 - Read-A-Thon Celebration (more information coming)

March 10 - No School - Teacher workday

Growing, Learning, Succeeding at NBES!

Click here for previous editions of the Hawks Happenings Newsletters!

Email: heidi.allison@bcsemail.org
Website: https://nbes.buncombeschools.org/o/nbe
Location: 251 Flat Creek Church Road, Weaverville, NC, USA
Phone: (828) 645-6054
Facebook: facebook.com/NBuncombeES
Twitter: @NorthBuncombeES