News from the Nest

• Wednesday, August 23rd - Class Lists posted by Student Number (after 4pm, Front Doors)
  
• Friday, August 25th - Meet the Teacher, 8:00 - 9:30 am
• Monday, August 28th - First Day of School!
• Monday, September 4th - Labor Day (No School)
• Thursday, September 14th - PTO Meeting, 8:15 am @ Weaverville Elementary Media Center
• Thursday, September 14th - Open House, 5:30 - 7:00 pm
• Monday, October 2nd - Optional Teacher Work Day (No School for Students)
• Tuesday, October 3rd - Required Teacher Work Day (No School for Students)
• Monday, October 9th - Fall Picture Day
• Tuesday, October 10th - School Health Fair

District Calendars

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- English

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Romanian

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Russian

• 2023-2024 Academic Calendar- Spanish

• Please do not park on the street or in residents' driveways along South Main St. Parking might be complicated, and we want to respect our neighbors' property.
  
• We will have a bus information table, hard copies of the free/reduced lunch application, and after school club information ready for you!
• You are welcome to bring supplies to drop off with your child's teacher.
• Please plan to depart by 9:30 am so our staff can take our staff photo and finish getting ready for the first day of school.

You can find your student's ID # on their last report card. Your rising 3rd or 4th grader should know their ID by heart since they use it to sign on their computer. This is also their lunch number that they input when buying lunch.

You can also call our front office:

828-645-3127.

I am realizing as I write this letter to you all that we are one month from the first day of school! I love our summer breaks so much because we can catch our breath, get organized, and prepare for a fresh start to the new school year. Mr. Jarvis, our custodian, is working on getting our floors nice and shiny, and Ms. Dawn and Ms. Ashley are working hard in the front office. But... it's way too quiet around here! We miss our amazing students, and there's nothing quite like the feeling of the beginning of a school year. I hope you're getting excited, too!

Information about the start of the school year:

• I will be sending this newsletter (News from the Nest) weekly during the school year. However, during the summer, I will wait a few weeks before I send another one. The main thing I want you to note are Meet Your Teacher and the Important Dates, which will always be listed at the top of the newsletter.
  
• Checkout the link for the list of school supplies needed for the start of the school year.
• Lunch and Breakfast are FREE this year! That's great news! We still need families to complete the Free/Reduced lunch application at our Meet the Teacher event so that we can continue to qualify for Title 1 Funds. You'll hear more about Title 1 as we head into the year, but be sure to fill out that form! If you want to go ahead and complete our lunch application, you can do so here: www.lunchapplication.com. We'll also have copies at Meet the Teacher.
• Even though lunch is free, you can still send money/load money for your child to buy additional snacks and/or ice cream.
• Class lists are finalized, and we will not be making any more changes. Thanks for understanding! I get quite a few emails over the summer with requests for teachers or requests for being placed with friends. We form our class lists in May (before summer starts) so that all the staff can have input. We have to enter these students, classes, and their schedules into Power School over the summer, so we have to have them finalized at this point. Some students enroll or unenroll, so we sometimes adjust a little as we get closer to the start of the year. This is why we do not communicate class placements until right before school starts.
• Please take a moment to read through excerpts from our parent handbook (below). I've included important information about safety, visiting campus, arrival, and dismissal. I'll keep these in the newsletter for a few weeks after school starts, and I'll be sending you a finalized handbook closer to the first day of school. It is very similar to last year's handbook with a few updates.

New Staff:

Be sure to check below for pictures of new staff and teachers who will be at our school. We are excited to welcome these amazing educators to our Blackhawk Family!

Counselor: Maggie Wheeless

2nd Grade:

Patricia Berzinski

Valerie Brown

Emily House

Robin Ingle

Shelly Swann

*In Progress* - To be announced soon

3rd Grade:

Brian Arnst

Amy Clouse

Rich Dunkel

Jonathan Hintz

Allie Snyder

Kellie Webb

4th Grade:

Jill Bell

Amanda Fields

Shelley Graham

Thomas Oliver

I hope you find this information helpful, and I'll be sharing more as we head into the last few weeks of summer break. Thanks for all you do to support our amazing Blackhawk Leaders!

Previous Weeks' News from the Nest

Ingles:

As we start another school year, remember it's time to link your Ingles Advantage Card to Weaverville Elementary School. This must be done each year to ensure the benefits from your card will support our school! Ingles Tools for Schools makes a huge difference in our school. Thanks for your support.

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

Other Ways to Support WvES While You Shop:

• Publix: www.plublix.com/partners
• Amazon Smiles: www.smile.amazon.com
• Box Tops: www.boxtops4education.com
• Harris Teeter - www.tie.harristeeter.com

The information below are parts of our Student & Families Handbook. While we're still a month away from the start of school, it's important that our families know all the procedures and safety expectations. I'll leave these in our News from the Nest for a few weeks

The WvES campus will open at 7:15 for morning arrival. No students may be dropped off prior to 7:15 AM. Students will wait in the cafeteria until they are dismissed to their homerooms at 7:40 AM. All students should be in their classrooms and ready to learn by 7:55 AM.

Car Riders:

Please remember that all school traffic should use Yost Street (which is off Merrimon Avenue) when dropping off students and picking up students as car riders. In the morning, cars must use Yost Street to enter our car rider line, and then use Yost again when exiting the car rider line.

Please be respectful and patient. The first weeks of school are always a little bit confusing for everyone, and wait time can be longer. I promise it will improve as we move into the school year.

Students will be dismissed from class at 2:25 pm. Buses will load in the bus lane, and car riders will wait in the gym for their names to be called when their ride arrives.

All parents of car riders must use the car rider line to pick up their child(ren) in the afternoon.

Please view the illustration above to see how the car line works.

Dismissal Car Line Pro Tips:

• Pull all the way forward to the empty space, and a staff member will call for your child to come out.
  
• Please use your car tag each afternoon if you plan to use the car line. This will help the line move swiftly and efficiently.
• Please use YOST ST. to both enter and exit the car line. Use the illustration above for reference.
• If you have someone picking your child up that is not YOU, make sure this person is listed in powerschool as someone who can pick up your child. We will ask for their ID to make sure they are who they say they are. We appreciate your patience and kindness in these circumstances; we definitely want to make sure we're sending kids home with adults who have permission to pick them up!
• If you do not have your car tag with your child's name, we will ask you to come into the office and get one, and we'll ask you to show and ID. We can't do this in the car line because only our office staff have access to that information in powerschool. Please remember that this is a commitment to keeping each child safe. We only want students going home with grownups who are approved for pick-up.
• Please be patient during the first few weeks of school. The car line always take a bit longer in the beginning, but we'll get the hang of it! After a week or so, it's usually about 15 minutes.
  

Walkers:

A few WvES families live next door to the school and they are considered 'walkers'. Parents of 'walkers' may come to the gym door with their green card to collect their child/ren. If you do not live within walking distance to the school and walk to campus to pick up your child, this does not apply to you so you must use the car rider line. Please do not park your car and walk to the gym door to collect your child/ren.

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 if the visitor has scheduled the visit with the teacher beforehand or if the visitor is a scheduled volunteer.

We love having families in our building, and we promise to have many opportunities for our community to be in our school this year. We also want our first day for students to start with high expectations for safety and routines. Because of this, we ask that you allow your student to walk to class on their own. We will have many staff ready and waiting to help them along their way. Thank you for respecting this request.

Students must be in attendance for more than half a day (11:30 a.m.) to be counted present for the day. On a two hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:15. On a three hour delay, the half day mark is considered 12:45. Students arriving at school after 7:55 AM must report to the office and to sign in. Tardies will only be excused if accompanied by a medical (doctor or dentist) statement or if excused by the principal. These notes/statements should be presented to the office staff when signing in. Upon returning to school from an absence, students must bring their teacher a parent note or medical statement (doctor or dentist) giving the reason for the absence.

Our day starts promptly at 7:55 am. Please work together as a family to have your child arrive on time, with time to get settled in their classroom, and ready to learn at 7:55 am. If your child plans to eat breakfast at school, please do your best to have them arrive with time to eat before lessons begin at 7:55 am.

Check your child's grades, attendance, and more! Email powerschoolteam@bcsemail.org and our BCS staff will email you a link, login, and password for your account. If you email this week, please be patient as they respond to many requests, especially right before school starts.

You can also manage your contact information through parent portal.

Email Dawn.Flanigan-Bryson@bcsemail.org, WvES Data Manager, to check your Powerschool settings and contact information.

Safety is one of my top priorities, and I want to be very clear with all of our families about the ways we will keep our students safe on our campus. The following procedures and expectations are in place with safety in mind. Please support our staff and students in keeping our campus safe by following these expectations at all times.

• All visitors must check in each time with no exceptions. You'll get a badge to wear, and you must wear the badge at all times. If you do not have the badge on, our staff will politely ask if we can help you, so please be kind to staff in response.
• Visitors are only allowed to visit a classroom if they have a scheduled appointment with the teacher. We want to protect the instructional time of all students.
• All doors will remain locked at all times.
• Please do not enter the front door unless you have been buzzed in by an adult. It may seem easy to slip in with someone else who is being buzzed in, but please help us keep our safety practices in tact by following this simple request.
• If you are already inside the school, please do not open the front door for others. Please allow our office staff to safely screen each person entering the building.

Please follow this "Multi-visitor Entrance Procedure:"

1. If you have buzzed in and are being screened and you notice another visitor is arriving, please don't hold the door and allow anyone in without being screened first.
2. If the other visitor is 15 feet or less from the door, please buzz in and be screened together.
3. If the visitor is more than 15 feet from the door, please buzz in and ensure the door is closed completely after you enter.

We certainly want to encourage politeness, and we also want our visitors to understand that it is unsafe to hold doors and allow visitors in without being verified by front office staff first. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

School safety is the most important component of our day. We know we must balance safety with having a welcoming school building so that parents and community members can be part of our school. Please help us do this by honoring these safety protocols about entering our building.

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.

Parents are invited to have lunch with their child at the end of September. Please wait for an announcement from the principal that parents/family can come to school to have lunch with their child.

A monthly menu will be posted in the classroom and the daily 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

Please note that any outside food brought in for special snacks or birthday treats cannot be consumed until the last student has been served lunch. This will be at approximately 12:30 PM. 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. Please refer to the School Wellness section in this handbook for more information.

• Free/Reduced Lunch Application: www.lunchapplication.com
• Please do not check your child out between 1:55-2:55 so that we can have a safe and calm dismissal for students each day.
• Please always let us know in writing if there is a transportation change for your child.
• Please let us know by 1:00 pm if you are changing your child's regular dismissal procedure.

Phone: 828-645-3127

Address: 129 South Main St., Weaverville, NC 28787

Email:

Mary Nichols - Principal (Mary.nichols@bcsemail.org)

*Please email both office staff if you have a dismissal change.

Dawn Flanigan-Bryson - Data Manager (dawn.flanigan-bryson@bcsemail.org)

• attendance
• student information/records
• immunizations
• enrollment

Ashley Mendoza - Head Secretary (Ashley.mendoza@bcsemail.org)

• general inquiries
• money questions related to school
• bus questions