EAGLE’S NEST

Volume I                                                                                                                                                             September 2009

Dear Parents/Guardians:

                On behalf of the staff of Bradbury Heights Elementary School, I wish to welcome your family to the 2009-2010 academic year.

                We are sensitive and respectful of the transition so many of our students have experienced, due to boundary changes. These changes have been implemented throughout the school district. Our focus at BHES has been to minimize anxieties that are common with change.  In so doing, we have tried to keep you informed via our School Communication System (telephone sync mail) with relevant announcements.

                We anticipate this to be an exciting and highly productive year of academic growth and achievement for our students.  With your support in our partnership of school/students/parents, we are confident that student learning will exceed the standards set by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and our school district.  It will take all of us working together to achieve this goal.

                To enhance our mission we have incorporated our school philosophy into our theme; Failure Is Not An Option:  Continuous Improvement Is Our Goal.  As we approach each lesson, subject and opportunity at BHES we want our children to understand that learning is a process.  They will have experiences in which they will not be successful, at first, so they may fail.  However they will not be a failure.  They will learn from that experience, grow, and move forward thereby showing improvement.  Failure Is Not An Option:  Continuous Improvement Is Our Goal!

                As we forge ahead remember that our priority at BHES is to work on behalf of all of our children.  We ask for your patience, confidence and participation so all children will benefit from our partnership with you.  Please take time to develop an open communication with our staff to demonstrate to our students that “we” are working together for their long-term development and success. 

                Again, we are sensitive to the transition our children had to make and also our parents and families.  We cannot change any of the miscommunications that have occurred which may have added frustrations.  However, we can remain positive in knowing that this is going to be a fabulous learning experience for all of our students, staff and families.  We must sometimes agree to disagree but remain committed to making a difference for our children.

                                                                                                                Respectfully,

                                                                                                                Denise Lynch

STUDENT SAFETY

                We wish to express to you the priority we place on student safety and asking that you respect our perspective and support us on behalf of the children.  As a public school our doors are “open to the public.”  We try very hard to monitor the entry of visitors and their desired destination.  With more than 600 students, just one adult per child this presents quite a few faces and names to learn.  As much as we endorse the need for parent participation, “a drop-by” the classroom can greatly impact not only the quality of instruction provided but also the amount of instruction provided. 

                If during the course of the day 25 parents “dropped by” to see the teacher “for a minute,” or to deliver something to the student, and we only calculate 2 minutes to do this (of course we can’t do much of anything in 2 minutes) that averages to almost 1 hour of lost instructional time.  For some students another person at the door is distracting and it is hard for them to get back on task.

We want you to come and visit the classroom to gain insight into what is being presented in class however, if it means interrupting the learning time of our children this is not acceptable practice.

                Often public schools are the locations of choice for families to try to maneuver domestic issues (parent visitations) and parental differences.  The school system’s posture is to follow the law.  Both biological parents have the right to participate in the educational process of their child.  The school must adhere to this policy unless legal documentation concludes otherwise.  We would appreciate your understanding and not ask or expect restrictions to be excused without proper documentation (court statement/legal). 

 

Lastly, for the protection of your child we will not give information over the telephone regarding your child (example:  Caller wants to know, “Is Beyonce in school today? This is her mother calling.) We will also request to see a picture ID until we are able to recognize parents /guardians.  Please send a written note if you are giving permission for someone other than the legal guardian to pick up your child.  These precautions may seem extensive but we’d rather error on the side of safety of your child than allow an unauthorized release.  Thanking you in advance for your cooperation and support.

 

DISMISSAL AND EARLY DEPARTURES

                If we expect to meet and/or exceed the rigorous expectation of NCLB  (100% proficiency by 2014) we must allow our children to participate in the entire instructional program.  Our instructional day begins at 7:45 a.m. and ends at

1:55 p.m. We begin dismissal at 1:50 p.m. to allow our buses to depart at 2:00 p.m.

An occasional early dismissal for doctor’s appointments or other scheduled appointments is understandable.  These are not frequent in nature. If you want your child to value education adults must set that tone and model behaviors that express it’s importance.

 

UNIFORMS

                Bradbury Heights Elementary School has a mandatory uniform policy.  Students are expected to be appropriately dressed each day wearing navy blue and white.  Boys wear; navy blue slacks, or knee length shorts (no jeans) with white polo shirt, dress shirt or turtle neck (t-shirts or tanks or not acceptable).  Girls are to wear; navy blue skirt/skort, slacks or jumper with a white blouse (turtleneck or polo), white or navy blue tights or socks are acceptable.  Students may also wear a sweater or sweatshirt (navy blue or white) over their uniform to be comfortable during cool weather.  Jackets, coats or hats are not worn during the school day in the classrooms.

 

NO UNIFORM PASS

                Periodically we will announce to our students an opportunity to have a day to wear regular clothing to school.  Whenever this occurs we will provide a “call out” via our sync mail to inform you of the reason and date.  Other times we will present the parent with a pass for the student.  This will occur when we indicate the presence of a parent at a designated event earns a pass for the student. If you do not receive a notice uniforms are mandatory.

 

FEDERAL MEAL PROGRAM

                Each year we encourage our parents to complete the Federal Meal Application to help offset the cost of student lunches, for eligible families.

The applications were sent home on Monday, August 31, 2009.  Please complete a form and return it to your child’s teacher.  Students who were on the program during the previous school year, 2008-2009 may continue with the same designation until the new application is processed.  At that time parents will be notified of any change in status.  September 30, 2009 is the last day students may continue to use 2008-2009 eligibility.

 

PTA NEEDED

                The boundary changes placed our former PTA officers into transition and we are without officers for this organization.  It is our hope that among our more than 600 parents, individuals will come forward to build a strong Parent Teacher Association to support our children.   During our Back-2-School Night event we can put our heads together to get things started. Please think about volunteering to run for an office or chairperson of a committee.

 

EMAIL DIRECTORY

                We have included with this newsletter edition a listing of our staff for easy contact to build our partnership.  It is sometimes difficult to contact a staff member via telephone as most of their time is committed to instructional and then collaborative planning.  Should you wish to contact via email a 24-48 hour response time is expected.  Our Webmaster is Mrs. Elliott-Caesar you may contact her with information relative to our webpage.

 

DATES TO REMEMBER

 

September           2              Instrumental Music Recruitment; Ms. Palmer 9:00 a.m.

                                                Cafetorium.

                                                School Planning Management Team meeting; 2:30 p.m.

                                                Art room; Parents welcome

                                3              Fundraiser Kick-Off Assembly; 1:00 p.m. Cafetorium

                                7              Labor Day; Prince George’s County Public Schools closed

                                11           Student Pictures ; non uniform opportunity

Back-2-School Night; 6:30 p.m. Parents/Guardians required

                                12           STEP AHEAD Tutoring Program Family Picnic;

                                                Capitol Heights Elementary School;

                                25           Professional Development: Prince George’s County Public

                                                Schools closed

                                28           Yom Kippur; Prince George’s County Public Schools closed

                                30           School Improvement Plan Due; Executive Summary posted on                                                                 school’s website

 

October 6              First Quarter Progress Reports released

                                9              Annual Comer Retreat registration deadline ($25.00 )

                                16           MSTA Teacher Conference; Prince George’s County Public

                                                Schools closed

                                25           Annual Comer Retreat; Eleanor Roosevelt High School;

                                                8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Parent participation expected.

                                29           End of First Quarter

                                30           Grading/Planning; Prince George’s County Public Schools

                                                closed