BHC Elementary School

You are invited to come watch your Bear run in this year's fun run on September 10th! To help expedite the process, please fill out the pre-registration form for each visitor. Just a reminder: Each visitor will still need to present their ID on the day of the event. If you have never been to our campus before, please stop by the front office prior to the event so that we can scan your ID into the system. We look forward to seeing our Bears do an amazing job!

Mental Health Weekly Minute

In an effort to promote mental health awareness and reduce the stigma of seeking help for mental health concerns, the Leander ISD Counseling Services team created the Mental Health Minute video series. The video will be shared with students each week during their PE class as well as in our newsletter. If you would like to see past or future videos, please go to the BHC School Counselor website.

Week of September 1, 2025

Topic: Healthy Friendships

YouTube: English

Google Drive: English

Script: English

BHC Families:

We are off and going with the 25-26 school year. The students seem excited to be on campus with friends and are working on getting accustomed to the early school hours. We are so happy they are back!!!

Thank you for all your patience as we tweak our systems to implement our new dismissal changes. The new “Families on Feet, FOF" location seems to be working out in the grassy area. Remember to be on time each day so we can continue this as a grab and go station rather than staff remaining there to supervise.

Due to the construction across the street, we are not allowing students to cross in front of school and wait for parents along the front curb. This was formerly “flag pole” and for safety reasons we have eliminated that pick up spot. Parents can park along the curb and walk to Families on Feet to gather students if needed. The parent drive through line seems to be going quickly and is also another option for parents who do not want to get out of the vehicle.

A quick reminder to send your students off each morning with a water bottle and any needed supplies for the day. Looking forward to students and families at the PTA Ice Cream Social later in August.

Smiles~

Dr. Cady

As we continue to refine our dismissal procedures for 25-26, we are making a change to FAMILIES ON FEET when the weather is unsafe to be outside. Our first rainy day dismissal this year just happened to be one with severe weather of heavy rain, lightning and thunder! Good times at Block House:) After reflecting as a leadership team, we will now implement the following changes:

1. Upon the determination of SEVERE WEATHER that is dangerous, BHC will send out a parent link notifying parents that we are implementing SEVERE WEATHER dismissal.

1. Students who are Families on Feet will be automatically changed to parent drive thru so that we can dismiss students in an orderly way while keeping safety in mind.

1. If a SEVERE WEATHER message goes out, parents will need to arrive on campus through the parent drive thru lanes to gather students. This will prevent walk up traffic at the front entrance of the school while we load day care and bus students safely into awaiting vehicles.

1. Yellow car tags will be distributed to Families on Feet students so that parents can keep them handy if a SEVERE WEATHER announcement goes out. Parents will need to then arrive on campus remaining in the vehicle to proceed through the parent drive thru lane for students to be loaded into awaiting cars. This will eliminate the heavy traffic congestion at the front and side entrances.

1. If you do not have a yellow car tag, please write student names on any paper and show it to staff calling names as you approach the drive thru loading zones.

1. Students that walk or bike home will all be allowed to continue home (once dangerous conditions have improved) as planned so be sure you have established a rainy day plan with walker and biker students.

Luckily, we should not have to implement this SEVERE WEATHER change too often. In years past we have had very few storms at dismissal time, but this will formally put a plan in place moving forward. We appreciate your patience as we work to ensure all our Bears arrive home safely.

Students may enter the building from 7:10 -7:30am. They can use the door closest to their classrooms to assist with quick entry into the building. The first three days of school families may enter the building and walk students to class. Beginning August 18th, families may finish up hugs and well wishes outside the building with staff present to assist with prompt arrival to classroom or breakfast. Students who are new to the building may join our welcome wagon line either near the cafe or front doors to be escorted to class.

Families on Feet have a new location to ensure parents can safely locate their students. Parents may wait in the designated area, a grassy spot on the east side of the building, until the student comes to meet family members. This is a pick up and go dismissal station. If you are not there to meet your student by 2:50 p.m. they will be moved to the parent drive-through area where they can be supervised until you arrive. Car riders will be issued yellow tags indicating student information and loaded into waiting cars in the drive through area. Walkers and bikers will exit the side and front doors to begin their way home. Day care and bus students will gather in the front hall to be escorted to waiting transportation.

As we continue to navigate the current legal and safety measures, we are moving to lunch visitors on Fridays ONLY. This will bring us into alignment with our neighboring school Pleasant Hill Elementary, where it has been in place the last few years. We ask that if you are planning to come for a birthday lunch that you move the visit to the closest Friday that is convenient for you. Family members may share lunch with their students at a separate table in the cafe. We will no longer be permitted to invite other grade level friends for privacy reasons. At BHC, we take the first few weeks to get the students familiar with the lunch procedures enabling us to begin Friday lunch visitors on September 12th.

Teachers will send welcome messages to parent’s email informing them of 2025-2026 class placements for this year. Messages are set to be recorded and distributed in the mid-afternoon of August 8th.

Will be held on August 11th with Last Names A-L 5:00-5:45, Last Name M-Z 5:45-6:30.

Please feel free to bring school supplies to place in student desks. PTA will also host spirit wear sales and sign ups in the foyer.

Teams will be communicating dates and times for grade level orientations (class procedures and curriculum highlights) beginning later in August. These will overview specific grade level and classroom information. We find these to be most effective when it is parents only so we can get through the information in a swift and timely manner.

Our former Performing Arts teacher moved to another district position allowing us to pick up Marissa Barker this year. She will be joining us from Giddens Elementary and is eager to begin her tenure at BHC.

The PE Coaches are taking time to be with family this year so we brought aboard Larua Brown from RRISD who will be the head coach. Jordan Martinez with experience coming from the YMCA will be Coach Brown’s assistant this year. Both are passionate about health and wellness bringing some new ideas into the BHC program.

We also gained two new staff members serving on our Special Education team. Lauren Redig will work with our SCSS students, coming from Whitestone Elementary. She was hired back in April and has spent most of the summer preparing and coming to campus!!! Zoe Wright coming from Tarvin Elementary has recently finished her fellows program for LISD and will provide resource and inclusion services for our students.

Every month Mrs. Mercer teaches classroom counseling lessons to each classroom on topics such as conflict resolution, emotion regulation, college & career goal setting, friendship skills, self esteem, growth mindset, middle school transition, child protection unit, and more! You can view her lesson plans on her website. The classroom teachers use Second Step curriculum to teach daily short social-emotional lessons as well.

Due to Senate Bill 12, this year parents must opt in for your child to participate in these classroom counseling lessons. This opt-in does not include 4th & 5th grade growth & development lessons (aka puberty videos). This is a separate opt-in in the spring.
Please be sure to set your counseling consent by completing the opt-in form.This remains in effect for the 2025-26 school year unless you revoked.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our school counselor at tracy.mercer@leanderisd.org or 512-570-7616.

Please join us Monday, September 8th for Grandparents' Day Lunch!

Click the link below to pre-register and check your students lunch time.

In accordance with Texas Senate Bill 12, Leander ISD is providing this annual notice of the campus-based health services available to students.

To comply with state law, please complete the 2025–26 Health Services Annual Parent/Guardian Consent Form to indicate your decision.

This ensures we provide only the services you authorize.

Complete this consent from the link, or use the QR code.

All students, new and returning, must complete their immunization requirements for school. The health services staff at your campus will be able to review your students’ immunization records and offer you locations to obtain immunizations, if they are needed. If you are unsure whether your child has received these required immunizations, please contact your physician. You may request a copy of your child’s immunization records by emailing student.records@leanderisd.org.

*State-mandated change. Effective May 2024.* Administration of OVER-THE-COUNTER medications during the school day REQUIRE a medical provider AND parent/guardian signature. This includes but is not limited to: Ibuprofen or acetaminophen, oral or topical allergy medication, insect bite or burn-gel.

*In May 2024, the Leander ISD School Board approved updates to Board Policy FFAC (Local) supporting the Health Services Department alignment with best practices according to the Nursing Practice Act and the Texas Board of Nursing which state, “Nurses do not take original orders from patients, including their parents or other responsible persons, for the administration of medications in Texas.”

Standing Orders

Leander Health Services has Over-the-Counter Standing orders that each student can assess during the school day as long as parent/guardian has not opted-out during registration.

• Over-the-Counter Standing Orders

Respectfully,

Alicia Esposito, RN, BSN

Nurse Block House Creek Elementary

Clinic Phone: (512) 570-7627

Fax: (512) 570-7605

Block House Creek Clinic Website

Leander ISD Health Services Website- Forms and Immunization Information

Please visit the LISD Transportation | Bus Information website to see the latest news about registration.

What's New?:

• NEW Student Transportation Registration Form
• 1 Form for EVERYONE (General AND Special Education Students)
• 1 Form to register for the 2024-25 AND 2025-26 School Years
• NEW QR code
• Revised Temporary Bus Permit Form with the NEW QR Code
• See the Register to Ride Newsletter for more details.

Registration deadline to guarantee transportation on the 1st day of school is May 31st.

Registrations received after May 31st will be processed on a first come-first served basis, as fast as transportation can.

Transportation will continue to send reminders to the parents of unregistered riders throughout the summer.

Our doors open for students at 7:10am. Teachers begin their instruction at 7:30 each day. If your child is just 10 minutes late each day of the week, that accumulates to 50 minutes of lost instruction time and roughly 200 minutes ( 3 hours & 20 minutes) of lost instruction each month. We want each and every Bear to be engaged in learning all day, every day!

Campus Truancy Prevention Measures to Improve Attendance

On page 21 of the parent and family handbook, LISD explains the attendance policy and measures put in place so students are successful each year. Campuses provide a multitude of Truancy Prevention Measures to support improving student attendance prior to a referral to a truancy court. These steps may include, but are not limited to:

1. Notifications when students are absent.

2. Attendance warning notifications for excessive unverified/unexcused and excessive excused absences.

3. Invitation to view a Truancy Prevention Video.

4. Referral to school and community resources.

5. Notification of hours owed to regain credit.

6. Attendance Behavior Improvement Plan (ABIP).

-CROSSWALKS: We have many crosswalks on and around campus. You MUST STOP anytime a child or adult is standing or walking in a crosswalk. Please do not ever try and drive across the crosswalk when people are there.

-ARRIVAL: The gate from Block House Creek Dr. will be closed every day around 7:29am. School starts and side doors lock at 7:30am and our staff must get to classrooms ASAP. If you get to the gate once it is closed, please re-route and drive to the front doors of the school. At 7:30am, you are able to drive right up to the front and drop your student at the front doors. Please plan to have your student at school prior to 7:30am so they can be in their seat ready to learn by 7:30am.

-DISMISSAL: The drive entrance to the back parking lot off of Creek Run Dr. becomes EXIT ONLY at 2:30pm every day. Vehicles will not be allowed to turn in after 2:30pm each day.

-We have a no smoking policy in our facility and we ask for your help in keeping our campus smoke/vape free anytime you are on school grounds.

Thank you for your help in keeping our Bears safe!

LISD provides free and reduced lunches for children approved for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) To apply for this program, please submit an application online here: https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application. For More information regarding menus and pricing, please visit the Online application link. The paper application and printable instructions can be found on the CNS website.

LISD has moved to MySchoolBucks accounts to conveniently view your students cafeteria purchases, check their balance, and securely pay for school means or snacks from anywhere. Previous positive account balances will transfer automatically from Titan/Linq to MySchoolBucks.

Prices:

Student Paid Breakfast: $1.50

Student Paid Lunch: $2.90

Guest Lunch: $4.25

Email: BLOCKHOUSE@leanderisd.org
Website: bhc.leanderisd.org
Location: 401 Creek Run Drive, Leander, TX, USA
Phone: 512 570 7600
Facebook: facebook.com/blockhousecreekelementary
Twitter: @BHCBears