Welcome Back, BOES Eagles

Dear Boulder Oaks Families,

It is with great excitement and hope that I welcome you to the 2021-2022 school year. We are looking forward to a wonderful year full of fun, learning, and many of our BOES traditions. As we have planned this upcoming school year, we have done so with the expectation that the year will be as “normal” as possible. While we are back to a normal schedule and school day, some safety protocols and procedures will remain in place and will gradually be reduced depending on the status of the virus. Those protocols will be described more in detail later in this letter.

For those of you that are new to Boulder Oaks, this will be my seventh year as principal at this amazing school. I began my educational career in Alpine right after I finished my student teaching in 1997 and have never looked back. I feel incredibly blessed to be part of this tiny but mighty school district along with its close-knit and supportive community. My family and I live in Rolando Village near SDSU. My husband, Steve, is a psychology professor at Cuyamaca College and we have two teenage children. Caleb is starting his freshman year at Patrick Henry High School and Ella is starting her freshman year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

As a principal, it is my number one priority that our students feel loved, safe, and valued at school. I strongly believe that in order for students to be successful in school, they need to have strong relationships with their teachers and other staff members. At Boulder Oaks, we put those relationships above all else. As we come out of the pandemic, this philosophy is more important than ever. Our students have suffered greatly over the past year and a half; not only academically but also socially and emotionally. Our teachers and staff are deeply invested in ensuring that our students thrive this year both academically and emotionally. The district has purchased i-Ready this year to help address the “unfinished learning” that many of our students are facing as a result of the pandemic. This program encompasses both assessment and skills practice in one and creates a personalized learning program for each individual student. You will be hearing more about i-Ready in the future and we will even be hosting a parent night to provide you with all of the information that you need. We will also have our own counselor this year that is at Boulder Oaks full-time to support the social and emotional needs of the students. Many of you might know Jane Smith who was previously at JMMS. She will be working with our teachers, doing whole class social and emotional lessons, and meeting with small groups, and individual students. Additionally, we are thrilled that Mrs. Darcey, our assistant principal, will be at Boulder Oaks full-time this year to also help support our students and staff.

With our growing enrollment, we were fortunate to add another classroom this summer. Mrs. Elizabeth Suto will be teaching 4th grade for us. She brings with her seven years of teaching experience and is highly trained and skilled in the best teaching practices. We are thrilled to welcome her to our staff!

I am also thrilled to share with you that we have an almost complete PTA Board. As some of you may recall, we were struggling to fill positions last spring. Thanks to an incredibly collaborative group of parent volunteers and to our new PTA president, Rob Laatsch, we could not be more pleased to open up our school year with a dedicated PTA that is going to make a huge difference in the lives of our children. Later in this newsletter, you will hear from Rob as he sends out a welcome on behalf of the PTA Board.

In closing, I know that we all had high hopes of this school year being completely back to normal. While we are not completely where we wanted to be, we are making progress and doing as much as we possibly can to make things as normal as we can for our students. I hope that you “keep the faith” that we will make progress this year and get even closer to “normal.” I can assure you that no matter what, making sure your children know that they are loved, supported, and cared for is our number one priority and we will do everything in our power to make this the best school year that we possibly can.

As always, thank you for your support.

With much respect,

Jenna Weinert

On the first day of school, August 18th, you will receive a handbook with all of the BOES protocols and systems. But, in the meantime, we want to make you aware of everything that you need to know for a successful first day of school.

• Parents on campus - At this time, parents will only be allowed on campus to drop their child off and to pick up their child and will not be allowed in any indoor space except the office. This includes classrooms and bathrooms. We ask that parents leave campus immediately afterwards and not mingle with other parents. As of right now, our plan is to allow volunteers on campus for more of an extended time starting on October 4th. (But, we all know things change constantly!)
• Cohorts - Students will continue to be separated into cohorts. This means that the students will be separated by class at lunch and recess and eat and play in assigned areas. We are hoping that this is only temporary and will change when and if quarantine guidelines are adjusted.
• Start time - School starts at 8:55am. Students may be dropped off as early as 8:25am if they are eating breakfast at school. If not, students may be dropped off as early as 8:40 BUT they will need to wait in their line on the blacktop where the students will be separated by class. For the time being, students will not be allowed to play or mingle with students in other classes before school starts. Please note that there is not any supervision before 8:25am. Parents will be called to pick up their student if he/she is dropped off before this time.
• First day drop off (August 18th) - On the first day of school, please plan to arrive early and leave yourself plenty of time to find parking. You will be allowed to walk your student to the classroom but will not be allowed to enter the classroom. We are asking that parents leave campus immediately after walking their student to the class to reduce the time in contact with other people. The classrooms will be open at 8:55.
• Regular Drop Off - Starting on Thursday, August 19th, students will line up on the blacktop before school and we will gather as a school community for announcements, flag salute, and our Peace Pledge. At this time, we ask those parents that wish to walk their children to the line, to leave as soon as their student is in line. We are hoping that this will change SOON and that parents will be allowed to stay for our Peace Pledge and flag salute. This is an important part of building our school community so please be patient and join us as soon as we are able to have visitors stay!!
• Dismissal - School is dismissed at 3:07. We again encourage you to be early if you plan on parking and waiting for your child outside of school. Our parking lot is going to be crowded and it is going to take time and patience as we all adjust back to our traditional pick-up routine that we had prior to COVID. At approximately 3:00, we will open the gates to the school and parents can walk to their child’s classroom. Again, we ask that you leave the campus right after you get your child and not mingle with other parents. The teacher will dismiss the children whose parents are there and then walk the rest of the class out to wait for their parents.
• Parking lot - Please make sure that you gather as much patience as possible before picking your student up the first few weeks of school. You may want to practice deep breathing ahead of time!!! Our parking lot will be very busy and it is going to take time for everyone to get adjusted and learn our routines. Tavern Road gets messy and crossing the street even using the crosswalk is tricky. Please be prepared as much as possible by carefully reading BOES Parking Lot Guidelines using the following link: BOES Parking Lot Guidelines 2021-2022
• Class Lists - Class lists will not be posted outside the school this year but you will be able to log into Parent Vue at some point on Tuesday to view your student’s class assignment. We will announce the exact time as we get closer to the date. IMPORTANT: Returning BOES and CELC students need to still register for the 2021-2022 school year in Parent Vue or you will not be able to view your child's teacher.
• Chromebooks - If your child does not already have a Chromebook, please go to the BOES to check one out. Chromebooks will need to go back and forth from home to school daily and will need to be charged at home every night. Once again, we will be offering insurance to protect our Chromebook if it is lost or damaged. If you purchased this last year, you will need to "renew" it by purchasing it again this year. Please use this link to do so: https://www.alpineschools.net/o/ausd/page/chromebooks
• Beach Towels - Just like last year, we are requesting that the students bring a beach towel in their backpacks so that they have a comfy spot to sit for outdoor learning.
• Water bottles - It is extremely important that your child brings a water bottle to school DAILY. We do have multiple water bottling filling stations on-site to refill their bottles.
• Bussing - Bussing does start on the first day of school but only students who have completed their bus registration will be permitted to ride the bus.
• Student Calendar - Teacher Collaboration days take place twice a month on Wednesdays. and school is dismissed at 2:07 on these days. Please click on the link to view the calendar: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/775803/21-22_Student_School_Calendar_7.28.21.pdf

Tuesday, August 17th - Parent Vue will show teacher and class assignments - exact time TDB

Wednesday, August 18th - First Day of School

Monday, August 23rd (and every Monday) - College Gear Dress-up Day

Wednesday, August 25th - Teacher Collaboration Day - 2:07pm Dismissal

Wednesday, August 25th - VIRTUAL Back to School Night (6:00pm and 6:30pm)