News from the (Eagles) Nest

• This week is Attendance Matters spirit week! See the information below to join in the fun! Monday is hat day, Tuesday team day, Wednesday wacky day, Thursday color day, and Friday is pajama day.

• Join our Superintendent's Listening Tour Monday night from 6-7 in the BES library!

• Friday, September 19th is BES Family Night at the Goochland Home Football Game.

• Friday, September 26th is a Teacher Work Day and Student Holiday

• If you would like to volunteer this year (field trip chaperones included), then please complete the volunteer background check (see below)

• Please make sure all transportation changes are to the office before 1pm.

• Information about the Byrd Bazaar is included below!

The following suggestions will help our car rider drop-off and pick-up loop run more smoothly.

• Parents please stay in your car whenever possible during drop off and pick up
• Make sure to pull all the way up in the loop each time
• If a child is having a hard time at drop-off, please pull around and park so you can walk them to the front door.

Friday night is Byrd Spirit Night at the Goochland High School home football game. Kids get in free, and they will receive a ticket this week. Look for the BES table at the game with pompoms and tattoos!

We are excited to announce that our Stuff’d Pals Fundraiser began this week! This initiative is designed to be effortless for everyone involved—there are no catalogs to manage, no products to deliver, no door-to-door sales, and no money to collect. Both students and parents appreciate the simple and enjoyable format.

How to Participate

Register your child at the link below if you have not already using the information on the yellow flyer.

www.themegablast.com/join/Byrd

Student Incentives

Once your student is registered and has sent out 10 adult emails, they will instantly receive five special Golden Ticket prizes:

· Mystical Coop Lanyard

· Coop Keychain

· Golden Kindness Egg Keychain

· 12 Coop Stickers

· $500 in Tuition Rewards points for college

If your student raises at least $50 from supporters, they will also earn a 16” department-store quality Stuff’d Pals Reading Buddy. At the celebration party, students can choose from 25 different animal friends. By sending emails and sharing their unique link, students can earn an outfit for their Stuff’d Pal as well as many additional incentives available this year.

Additional Ways to Help

You can further support our fundraiser by inviting friends and family to join, either by adding their email addresses or sharing your student’s unique link on social media.

Thank you for helping your child make a difference for our school!

School attendance is one of the biggest predictors of long term achievement in students. Everyday counts and can make a significant difference in your child’s overall learning and development. Please see some important stats below regarding attendance and the impact on a child’s learning as well as some tips for good attendance!

Facts:

• Students who miss 2-4 days at the beginning of the school year are 5 times more likely to be chronically absent than students who are absent fewer than 2 days.
• Literacy instruction is frontloaded in early grades, so if a student misses too much instruction, they lag behind classmates in reading.
• By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school.
• By 9th grade, good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th grade test scores.

Tips:

• Build regular routines for bedtime and morning.
• Develop back-up plans for getting to school if something comes up.
• Avoid scheduling trips or appointments when school is in session.
• Don’t let your child stay home unless truly sick.
• Keep a chart of your child’s attendance at home.
• Talk about the importance of attendance with your child.
• Reach out to your school if you have concerns or needs that we can help address!

If your child is ever going to miss school, please reach out to both the front office at beseagles@glnd.k12.va.us and your child's teacher.

Linked here, please find a preview copy of the student GCPS Sense of Belonging and Inclusion Survey that will be administered to students in 4th and 5th grade during school on between October 13th and 31st. The purpose of the survey is to collect the students' input on how our school is doing in creating a safe, welcoming, inclusive environment for all students and to get their feedback on how we can improve. Any parent wishing to opt their child out of taking this survey may do so by contacting Mr. Meiller (ameiller@glnd.k12.va.us).

Please see the Volunteering page on the GCPS website to view the Volunteer Recruitment Form!

We encourage all interested volunteers to fill out the form to help us match your skills and interests with the perfect opportunities within our schools. Your time and expertise are invaluable to the success of our students, and we are grateful for your support!

The Goochland Restaurant feels passionate about encouraging reading throughout our community! They are sponsoring a reading incentive program that is similar to the BOOK-IT Program many adults loved once-upon-a-time! Goochland students will receive a bookmark to track their reading. Once students have read 8 books, then they can turn the completed bookmark into the Goochland Restaurant in exchange for a free drink AND their choice of fries, onion rings, or a cookie! The best part is that students are not limited to just one bookmark! They can complete multiple bookmarks!

If you would like to know more about he process for purchasing titles for our library, then please read more about our district procedures outlined here.

Please notify the office about transportation changes via email at beseagles@glnd.k12.va.us. If you have daily transportation needs, please make sure you provide changes at the beginning of each week for the entire week. Please make sure you have all transportation changes in prior to 1:00 PM, this allows staff time to communicate all necessary changes and avoids confusion when a call is not received. We appreciate your support.

Parents who wish to chaperone a field trip or volunteer regularly in our school must submit to a background check every 2 years using the BIB portal. The process is completely electronic. If you are having problems with the system, contact Demetra Harris at dharris@glnd.k12.va.us.

• PowerSchool parent portal
• Add money to student lunch accounts
• Breakfast/lunch menus
• Pay school fees
• School calendars
• GCPS virtual family assistance center
• GCPS Parent-Student Handbook
• Byrd Parent Group Facebook
• Byrd Parent Forum Facebook
• Meet the Byrd Elementary Faculty and Staff

Principal: Andrew Meiller

Office Hours: 7:30am - 4:00pm

Arrival: 7:45am - 7:55am

Instructional Hours: 7:55am - 2:15pm

Dismissal: 2:15pm (car riders) - 2:30pm (buses)

Website: https://bes.goochlandschools.org/
Location: 2704 Hadensville-Fife Road, Goochland, VA, USA
Phone: 804-556-5380
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ByrdEagles/
Twitter: @EaglesBes

Instagram: @byrdeagles