Bernardo Parent Bulletin #2

We can't wait to see all of our amazing students this Tuesday when school begins! We've been working hard to get our classrooms ready and to have all of the details worked out to ensure a smooth beginning and fantastic start ot the school year.

On Tuesday morning, our PTA will have several different photo backdrops set up to celebrate each student's first day of their new grade. Please read through the information below carefully so that you have all the information that you need to know as we kick off the year.

One of the biggest challenges that we face in education is balancing a warm and welcoming environment with student safety. We want all of our families to feel valued and treasured when they come to school. At the same time, we want to ensure students are as safe as possible and that we are able to closely monitor everyone who comes onto campus.

To help our students at the beginning of the year, parents are welcome to walk their children onto campus during the first four days of school. Beginning on Monday, August 15, we are asking students to say goodbye to their parents at the front gates. We will have many staff members and student helpers present every morning to help students find their way to the playgrounds so students won't get lost. If you do need to come on campus for any reason, please check-in at our front office and obtain a visitor's badge.

We want our parents to know how much we appreciate and value your involvement. Bernardo would not be the amazing school that it is without the partnership that exists between staff and parents and we hope that these procedures provide reassurance and comfort as you entrust us with your children each day.

Our staff spent a great deal of time in organizing balanced classes for this year. Class placement is a complex task that involves reviewing factors that include academics, social needs, behavioral concerns, learning styles, and friendship groups. There was also an opportunity for parents to provide their input last Spring that helped provide thoughts to the grade level teams who organized the classes for this fall.

While we are always happy to discuss any questions or concerns that parents may have about their child, please know that we do not grant requests for specific teachers and will not make any changes to class assignments during these first two weeks, except when their are dire extenuating circumstances.

In this Sunday's parent bulletin, we'll have an exciting video to share that will highlight the drop-off and pick-up process. Below are some key points to be aware of when it comes to dropping off and picking up your children.

First Day of School Arrival

• Parents may walk their children onto campus.
• Our front gates will open at 7:30 a.m.
  
• On the first day of school, students are to go directly to their classroom.
• After school begins, teachers will ask parents to say goodbye so we can begin the day!

Days 2-4 School Arrival Process

• Parents may walk their children onto campus.
• Our front gates will open at 7:30 a.m.
• 1st-5th grade students who arrive before 7:40 will go to the lunch tables (breakfast will be available). At 7:40, students may go to the playground to play until the bell rings.
• TK and Kindergarten students who arrive prior to 7:40 will go the TK/Kindergarten playground (they will eat breakfast after school begins).

Day 5 (August 15) and Beyond

• Parents will say goodbye at the front entrance gates.
• Our front gates will open at 7:30 a.m.
• 1st-5th grade students who arrive before 7:40 will go to the lunch tables (breakfast will be available if they'd like). At 7:40, students may go to the playground to play until the bell rings.
• TK and Kindergarten students who arrive prior to 7:40 will go the TK/Kindergarten playground (they will eat breakfast after school begins).

Student Pick-up Process all year

• All teachers will walk their students to the front gates of the school for dismissal. Classes will sit together on the grass while they wait for parents to arrive.
• Below is a map that shows where the different gates are for each grade level as well as photos of the signs posted on each gate for easy identification.
• TK students will be picked up at the gate located on the side of the front office (the nurse's office entrance).
• Older siblings can wait with younger siblings until they are picked up.
• If you are walking to pick up, please proceed to the appropriate gate and line up at your child's grade-level gate.
• If you are picking up your child in your car, please place a sign on your dashboard with your child's name and teacher listed boldly (like the picture below). This will help us call him/her up to the car promptly. We will walk students out to the cars and ask that parents remain in their vehicles at all times.

Check out the awesome video below that the fabulous Mrs. Woods made that provides a helpful visual of the process and expectations for student pick-up in our drive-thru line. Thank you to Ochoa, Palmquist, Van Lleeuwen, and Zuffinetti families for starring in this ground-breaking video!

For the safety of our students, please remind your children to use the crosswalks and to avoid cutting across the grass or unmarked locations in the parking lot. If you are parked on Mountain Heights Drive, please use the sidewalk at all times.

The District has been sending out information about a new communication tool calls "Rooms" which will allow parents and teachers to communicate easily through the EUSD app. This is a new program to our staff as well as parents so we appreciate everyone's patience as we work out the kinks. Please know that email will continue to be a communication option for our families for the time being.

By this Wednesday, all parents should have received an email with an invitation to join your child's teacher's "room." This means that you have been added to your teacher's distribution list for class communication and once you accept the invitation and log into the app, you will be able to start receiving messages from your child's teacher.

If you do not receive an email invitation to join a room by Wednesday, August 10, please contact your child's teacher to check on the status.

This year, the District is offering free breakfast to all students who wish to participate. No sign-up is required and students can decide each day whether or not they wish to partake.

1st-5th Grade Students:

We will open up the front gates at 7:30 and any 1st-5th grade students who are interested can go to the lunch area to get their breakfast. After they finish eating, students may head out to the playground until the bell rings at 7:55.

For TK & Kindergarten Students:

TK and Kindergarten students will have an opportunity to eat breakfast together with their class after school begins. Therefore, TK & Kindergarten students should go directly to the TK/K playground when they arrive for school in the morning.

Once again, the District is offering free lunch to students this year. There is no need to fill out any paperwork as students will simply have the option of selecting a free lunch each day if they choose.

Welcome back to school! I am looking forward to a new year with all the returning and incoming students.

I am available to accept medications here at school. To accept any medications, I need the Drs. orders with both physician and parent signatures as well as the medication in original form (labels from the pharmacy, students name, and DOB on the medication).

Please know that students who require emergency medications (epi-pens, rescue inhalers) cannot start school until the medication and orders are in the Health Office.

Please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns at asalinas@eusd.org

The school parking lot spaces is for staff parking only from 6:30-8:15. We ask that if you wish to park to come onto campus in the morning, please use Mountain Heights Drive or the dirt lot located on Bernardo Road and Oak Lane. After 8:15, parents are welcome to park in any available spaces.

Also, please note that we have a 5-minute parking up by the office that is available from 8:00-1:45 each day. Otherwise parking is available on Mountain Heights Drive on the side of the street opposite the school.

We are excited to once again invite parents to volunteer in classrooms, on field trips, and at various events. Teachers typically begin scheduling volunteers after the first few weeks of school are underway and they will contact their families when they are ready to begin.

The great news is that if you completed the online volunteer registration paperwork during the 2021-2022 school year, you do not need to complete any paperwork this year! New volunteers will need to complete an on-line application by clicking HERE.

To be a volunteer on our campus, parents/guardians/grandparents/etc. will need to register online as well as confirm vaccination status or test negative within 7 days of being on campus. After you have registered online, please either provide a copy of your vaccination card or negative home test by bringing it to the office or email it to dommen@eusd.org with a notation of who your student is.

Please visit the Bernardo volunteer web page for more volunteer information.

We know that many families love to celebrate their child's birthdays and if your child has a summer birthday, you may be looking for ways to honor him/her as we start the year. The School Messenger email contains an attachment that communicate the District guidelines about birthday celebrations at school.

To help with connecting lost lunch boxes, jackets, etc. with our students who leave them behind, please write your child's name and teacher.

Please call our main office at (760) 432-2700 whenever your child is absent from school and let us know the dates and the reason why. Thank you!

Parents and students who will be in TK, Kindergarten, 1st grade, or in one of our special education classrooms are invited to a meet-and-greet event on Monday, August 8th in your child's classroom. The meet-and-greet event is a drop-in event, meaning there will not be a formal presentation. Rather, this will be an opportunity for you to visit the classroom for about 15 minutes and meet your child's teacher as well as some of the students who will be in your class.

Below are the times for the meet-and-greets on August 8:

• Ochoa/Eagleton, 11:00-11:30
• TK Meet & Greet, 11:30-12:00
• Kinder Meet & Greet, 11:30-12:00
• Mrs. Bond Meet & Greet 11:30-12:00
• 1st Grade Meet & Greet, 12:00-12:30
• Mrs. Vernon Meet & Greet, 12:00-12:30
• Mrs. Leedom Meet & Greet, 12:00-12:30

The campus will be open on Monday, August 8 between 3:00-4:00 for any families who would like to come see where your child's classroom is located. To ensure that we keep things as safe as possible, please abide by the following guidelines:

• Please don't sit or gather on campus but rather keep moving throughout the visit.
• Please don't knock on any doors or interrupt any staff you may come across as they are very busy preparing for the first day of school.
• Please stay off of the play structures since this time-frame will be unsupervised by Bernardo staff.

TK Families, please see the flyer below for information about a new FREE before and after-school care program designed exclusively for TK students. Click on the flyer if you are interested.

Please CLICK HERE for the school calendar that is located on our Bernardo School website.

8/5-8/9 - Class Lists Posted on front office windows

Meet & Greet Events

8/8 - Ochoa/Eagleton, 11:00-11:30

8/8 - TK Meet & Greet, 11:30-12:00

8/8 - Kinder Meet & Greet, 11:30-12:00

8/8 - 1st Grade Meet & Greet, 12:00-12:30

8/9 - 1st Day of School! School starts at 8:00

8/12 - Ice Cream Social, 5:00

8/18 - Back-to-School Night

• TK/K: 5:30-6:00
• 1st/2nd: 6:00-6:30
• 3rd/4th/5th: 6:30-7:00

8/19 - Parent Breakfast for parents new to Bernardo, 8:00

8/31 - PTA Meeting, Time TBD