Hawks Happenings

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful break. I missed that big snow that I was hoping for but we still may get it soon! Please review the Remote Learning Plans towards the bottom of this newsletter. Rest assured that your child's teacher will send out more information if we need to use this type of learning format. Please note that we are not sending home devices every Tuesday now but rather when wintery weather is in the forecast.

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 school.

Please note that if your child rode bus 531 in the afternoon, they will now ride bus 229. The route will remain the same. April Phillips (NBES parent and employee) will be driving this route.

I'm looking forward to a great month of growing, learning and succeeding here at NBES!

-Mrs. Allison

Ms. Mann was voted on by her peers to represent our school for this honor. Ms. Mann is patient, kind, inclusive and loving. She works diligently to help students be their best! We are so thankful that Ms. Mann is a Blackhawk!

• PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR ID IF YOU ARE CHECKING YOUR CHILD IN TARDY OR CHECKING YOUR CHILD OUT OF SCHOOL EARLY.
• GUESTS USING THE COMPUTER SYSTEM TO SIGN IN SHOULD STOP BACK BY THE OFFICE TO SIGN OUT.

Here is another change with the time of our PTO meetings! We will now meet at 1 PM on the dates listed below. Everyone is welcome to attend PTO meetings!

• January 10
• February 7
• March 13
• April 10
• May 8

📣Contact us at nbespto@gmail.com or on Facebook: North Buncombe Elementary PTO if you would like to help, have questions.

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!

Level 1 Volunteers - General volunteer - never supervising students.

Level 2 Volunteers - Volunteer who supervises/gives directions to students or serves in a leadership role (such as PTO board). This level requires a background check (conducted by Buncombe County Schools).

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

To attend a field trip, volunteers must have Level 2 status!

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

What happens when we must close our buildings to students due to inclement weather?

• If a weather event is truly severe and impacts power or the internet in our area, the day would be a ‘no school’ day where no instruction would occur.
• For significant but less severe weather events, we are able to utilize a certain number of remote learning days that will count toward our state-mandated instruction per year. This means we will not have to make up those days later in the school year.

What happens during a delayed start?

Should a minor weather event cause us to delay starting school for students, you will receive more specific instructions that day to let you know when to drop your child off or have them at the bus stop.

• The bus schedule and campus opening adjust to match the time delay.
• For example if we are on a two hour delay, bus pick up times are two hours later and the building opens at 9:15 for student drop off.
• Breakfast is served on a two hour delay but not on a three hour delay.

What happens during an early dismissal?

Should we have to send students home early due to a weather event, students will eat lunch before they leave. The district will let families know when they can begin picking up students or expect them on the bus. We’ll also include information for after-school activities and athletics. If a parent is delayed in picking up their child from school, the child will be safe and supervised until the parent arrives.

Please note that it is our policy that if weather is impacting more than two districts, the schedule change will impact ALL BCS Schools.

We want to remind you of the various ways you can receive weather and emergency notifications.

• The fastest way to receive notifications is through the Buncombe County Schools app for your smartphone or tablet. Simply download the app and turn on push notifications. Visit buncombeschools.org/app to download the app for iOS or Android.
• Please follow Buncombe County Schools on social media. (@BuncombeSchools)
• Also, our local TV stations post the most up-to-date closings and delays on-air and online via their weather ticker.
• Please ensure your phone number and email address are correct. This information should be verified each school year. You can check that in the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
• Finally, if you don’t have internet access, you can call our weather hotlines for updates: 828-255-5939 (English) or 828-255-5948 (Spanish).

Please log on to buncombeschools.org/notifications to learn more about the ways you can stay informed during severe weather or emergency situations! We also maintain a list of inclement weather daycare providers in our area.

Remote Learning can be used during inclement weather events to keep students learning even when they are at home. Remote learning would be asynchronous on the first day of the weather event and synchronous on all subsequent days of that weather event. Any work assigned must be made up within five days.*

• Asynchronous means that the teacher will assign tasks that will be completed online or on paper and there will be no live teaching.
• Synchronous means that there will be a blend of live virtual instruction and independent work.
• Should an isolated area of the county be severely impacted by a storm or your family has extenuating circumstances, please work with your school and teacher to make up the work.
• If we expect a weather event, all students to take their school-issued device home with them.
• This year we are using Google Meet for any live teaching.
• See the schedules below.

ALL parents and visitors to campus must sign in at the office and obtain a visitor sticker (or a volunteer pass if applicable). Please note that you must sign in even if you are only visiting the cafeteria. Your cooperation in helping us to follow Central Office policy and ensuring the safety of all children is expected and appreciated.

If you have an appointment or scheduled time to be at school in the morning, and wish to walk in with your child, please still plan to follow the established procedure of coming to the office, signing the visitor registry, and obtaining a visitor tag.

Visitors will only be allowed to visit a classroom (during instructional time) if the visitor has scheduled the visit with the teacher beforehand or if the visitor is a scheduled volunteer.

Parents are invited to eat with their child in the cafeteria; however, as a courtesy to other students, we ask that you do not bring outside food such as fast food and/or sodas into the school cafeteria. Parents should arrive at school in time to get a visitor’s pass and report to the lunchroom hallway five minutes before the scheduled lunch time. Please always let the teacher know ahead of time if you plan to eat with your child.

The daily lunch menu will be read during morning announcements. Occasionally there will be a menu change due to late deliveries or snow days. You can find links to BCS menus here: https://www.buncombeschools.org/page/menus-and-pricing

Should you desire to bring in a special snack for your child’s birthday or another event, please coordinate this with your child’s teacher so as not to conflict with our lunchroom policies. In addition, any food brought into the school to be shared with students must be store bought with ingredients listed. Please allow school staff to distribute snacks due to their knowledge and understanding of students’ allergies and dietary needs. Our school also encourages healthy snacks and choices.

January:

3 - Welcome Back to School!

3 - Dual Language Spanish Immersion applications open (applications posted on our school website)

9 - Middle of the Year assessments begin - Reading and Math for all grades

10 - PTO Meeting @ 1 PM in Room K04

15 - No School - Martin Luther King Jr Holiday

22 - End of the 1st semester and 2nd Nine Weeks Grading Period

23 - No School - Teacher Workday

February:

1 - Rising Kindergarten Tour at 8:30 AM

2 - 2nd Nine Weeks PBIS Reward for students with 3 or less minor reports and no office referrals

5 - NB District Town Hall (more information coming soon)

6 - 2nd Grade Musical Program at 6 PM

8 - Science of Reading Overview for Parents and Caregivers - 5:30 PM

12 - PTO Reward from Dance-a-Thon Traveling Museum!

14 - PTO Meeting at 1 PM in Room K04

15 - Early Dismissal - School will dismiss at 12: 25 PM

16 - Read-a-Lot Reef Read-a-Thon Kickoff!

23 - Count Day for Read-a-Thon (number of minutes read will be counted)

23 - Rising Kindergarten Tour at 10:30 AM

26 - 'Wear Blue Day' for Read Across America Week

27 - 'Hat Day' for Read Across America Week

27 - All County Elementary Chorus Program at Brookstone Church - 6 PM

28 - 'Under the Sea Day' for Read Across America Week (think pirates, mermaids, fish, etc)

29 - 'Beach Day' for Read Across America Week (think tropical outfits, flowers and sunglasses)

March:

1 - Book Character Day and Parade Day - Make sure to bring the book to carry in the parade!

1 - Turn in Read-a-Lot Reef Nightly Reading sheets so we can see if you met your grade level goal!

5 - No School - Teacher Workday

6 - Read-a-Lot Reef Read-a-Thon celebration day for students who met their goal!

9 - BCS STEM Day at Nesbitt Discovery Academy

13 - PTO Meeting at 1 PM in Room K04

18 - Rising Kindergarten Tour at 12:00 Noon

27 - Spring Chorus Concert afterschool

28 - STREAM Night

29 - Early Dismissal Day - school dismisses at 12:25 PM

29 - 1st Grade Musical Program (during the school day)

April:

1 - 5 - Spring Break

19 - PTO Spring Fling Date - WE NEED YOUR HELP! Be on the lookout for a Save the Date and RSVP to volunteer coming out soon!

Growing, Learning, Succeeding at NBES!

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/www.facebook.comNBuncombeES

Instagram: @northbuncombees

X (Twitter): @NorthBuncombeES