Events and Dates to Remember: September 7 Executive Committee Meeting 4:30pm September 8 Assembly 9:10am IQS Scorecard Review 1:00pm September 11 Curriculum Committee Meeting 3:45pm September 12 Martial Arts 3:30-4:40pm Executive Committee Meeting 4:30pm PTO Meeting 7:00pm September 13 5th Graders at Wolf Ridge September 14 5th Graders at Wolf Ridge September 15 5th Graders at Wolf Ridge September 19 Martial Arts 3:30-4:30pm Cub Scout Info Night 6:00pm September 21 School Board Workshop 5:00pm School Board Meeting 6:30pm September 22 Professional Development – No school for students September 25 Chess Club 3:30-4:30pm Governance Committee Meeting 5:30pm September 26 Martial Arts 3:30-4:30pm September 28 KidzArt Fall Workshop 3:40-4:40pm Fall Family Picnic 6:00-8:00pm Scholastic Book Fair 6:00-8:00pm September 29 Student Picture Day

 

Welcome Back to School We are excited to have you all as part of our Beacon community. Our school day is 9:00am – 3:30pm. Students who are not in their seats at 9:00am are counted tardy unexcused. Also, we ask that you call the office by 1:00pm  with any changes to your child’s end of the day routine. We will not accept changes after 1:00 unless it’s an emergency. You can review the attendance policy on pages 12-13 of the Family Handbook. Thank you for your attention to these attendance matters.

 

 

Beacon Academy Family Handbook and Family Calendar Each family should have received a family handbook and a family calendar. They were given to the youngest or only child in each family at Back to School Night or on the first day of school. I am attaching an electronic copy of the handbook here. If you did not receive a calendar please ask your child. It’s very important that you have these items. Family Handbook

 

 

French Toast Uniform Shipment and Ordering French Toast orders from the second shop are due at Beacon Academy the end of the day this Friday, September 8th. Orders can be picked up on Monday, September 11th. We have also opened up the ordering link for French Toast. Please note, orders placed will be sent to you directly for a small shipping charge. A uniform/spirit wear shop will be opening up in the next two weeks. In the meantime please click this link to order uniforms http://www.beaconacademy.epluno.com/

 

 

Healthy Classroom Snack Guidelines If you are packing your child a snack to have during the day we ask that you follow the Healthy Snack Guidelines. We do not allow the students to have pop or candy as a snack. The Healthy Snack Guidelines can be found in the Family Handbook on page 19. Please review the guidelines and go over them with older students who might be packing their own snacks.

 

 

Carpool Connection If you are interested in connecting with other families in your area to carpool this upcoming school year, you can sign up through the PTO Carpool Connection. This is for all families, both new and returning. More information and the signup form can be found at https://goo.gl/99wPPm. A map of the neighborhoods is at https://goo.gl/u7SKjp   Questions? Email Wendy at wlterrymom@nullyahoo.com

 

 

School Board Committees  We welcome parent involvement on our school board committees. There are 5 active committees; Curriculum, Employee Retention and Compensation, Finance, Governance and Technology. You can see full descriptions of the committees on our website https://www.beaconacademy.com/school-board-2/ If you are interested in joining a committee please use the contact name listed below. Curriculum Committee – Kris Gapinski kgapinski@nullbeaconacademy.com Employee Retention and Compensation Committee – Kimberly Reid kreid@nullbeaconacademy.com Finance Committee – Nick Meyer nmeyer@nullbeaconacademy.com Governance Committee – Ann Marie Roder amroder@nullbeaconacademy.com Technology Committee – Darrin Enerson denerson@nullbeaconacademy.com

 

After School Activities We have several after school activity offerings for students. All the current offerings are linked below. Please fill out registration forms completely and return with payment to the school office. Please note the grade level the activity is offered to as not all activities are open to all grades.  I will be emailing new offerings out as they are scheduled. ·         KidzArt ·         Piano ·         Board Game Club ·         Yoga and Mindfullness ·         Chess Club

 

 

Bus Captains We are looking for volunteers who are interested in being bus captains for the school year. Bus captains are needed for every bus stop. One person can be the captain or you can share the responsibility. Responsibilities include: Being the link between the families at your bus stop and the school Wait with students either in the morning or afternoon so parents can get to work on time or if they are running late getting to the stop in the afternoon Watching for any safety concerns at your bus stop You fulfill your family’s 20 hour volunteer commitment when you are a bus captain Interested? Contact Nikki at ndensmore@nullbeaconacademy.com

 

Box Tops for Education   The next Box Tops for Education submission date is rapidly approaching.   Please send your box tops to school as soon as possible. Funds from this program, along with the other indirect fundraising efforts, make a significant difference for Beacon students. Nancy Vos nancyevos@nullgmail.com Indirect Fundraising Coordinator

 

 

Save the Date: Fall Picnic We are celebrating the beginning of the school year with an all school picnic on Thursday, September 28th from 6:00-8:00pm. More information coming soon!

 

Dear Beacon Community,

Welcome to Beacon Academy!

Welcome new families and students. We hope you have an amazing second week of school. We’re excited that the year has started and thrilled to have you here at our beautifully renovated facility. As we grow and adapt in our new building we are constantly reflecting in certain areas and making improvements. Although we planned out new routines and processes, we appreciate your patience as we grow through them and learn. Every room is new and every process is a learning experience in which we’re building off of past routines, planned growth, and new found obstacles. Thank you for bearing with us as the dust settles. As a community, we will come out stronger on the other side.

Student Information System

We recently went through a transition in the main office personnel and we are working to expedite the intake paperwork. We’re working extra hours to try and clear up our systems and student information system information. The delay on the data entry has slowed everyone’s ability to get full information from TeacherVue, ParentVue, and other aspects of our student information system, including viewing any updated middle school schedules. We’ve been in contact with Synergy, the student information system company, and also have had several staff working overtime to get the system corrected. We appreciate your patience with this.

Before School Drop-off

Students should be dropped off at the Performing Arts Center entrance in the mornings. This requires families to approach from the Nevada Ave. side of the building. Students dropped off prior to 8:30 a.m. will have to wait outside until supervision is available. Please do not drop your students off on the Louisiana side of the building.

After School Pick-up

Families should approach from the Nevada Ave. side of the building and park in one of several locations: a) the right lane of the one way loop; b) the middle parking lot; or c) down on Nevada Ave. For those of you walking up to the building from your cars, the kindergarten classes will be coming around the corner by the playground and all other grades will be using the Performing Arts Center Doors.

We are currently evaluating the traffic flow and safety of all students during the end of the day pick-up routines. We are in the process of setting up School Patrols/ Crossing Guards to help facilitate safe crossing points outside for families. Until then, look for our staff in the bright yellow vests to help families cross to the middle parking lot.

As a reminder, please pull into the right lane when picking up and drive slowly in the left lane when exiting. We’ve also had several suggestions for how to orchestrate the pick-up process. We appreciate that feedback and plan to continue to explore options. We need to have all students picked up prior to 3:45. Thank you.

Bussing

Over the first few days we’ve been working on making sure our bus lists are correct and the students are traveling in the correct directions. In order to do this, our busses have not left on time as we cross reference the lists, check the hallways, and clear the building of students. Please remember to call the office if your child’s transportation needs have changed. If you find yourself leaving the building during afternoon bus departure, between 3:30 and 3:45, please utilize the north exit to Louisiana and allow the busses to use the south exit to Louisiana Ave.

Student Enrollment

If you know of anyone who has students in 1^st, 3^rd, or 5^th grade who might be interested in a change in their child’s education, please let them know we have openings. We are thrilled you have chosen Beacon Academy for your students’ education. Thank you. Together we will have a great year.

Respectfully,

Sean Koster

Principal