Bulldogs Newsletter October 2, 2023

Hello Basswood families,

Week two was fantastic! I really enjoy seeing all of the students find their stride in the second week of school. This is especially apparent with the kindergarteners who have found their stride and are enjoying being the newest Basswood Bulldogs.

Basswood will kick-off the Fun Run on September 25th. This is our biggest fundraiser and it generates a significant percentage of our annual PTO budget. The PTO does a lot to improve our student experience at Basswood. The annual budget helps provide intervention supports, guest speakers, field trips and extra adult support on the playground. Please watch for details about the upcoming Fun Run.

I cannot over state the importance of following our safety procedures for the pick-up and drop-off lane and am including the following information again to ensure that families are aware of our practice.

To help us ensure safety and efficiency, please be mindful of the following:

- Please focus fully on driving. (Keep waving to your child to a minimum and stay off your phone.)

- Please monitor your speed in the parent drop-off / pick-up lane.

- Make sure that all children exit out the passenger side of the vehicle.

- Adults must stay in their vehicles or park if you need to exit your car.

- Pull forward as far as you can to reduce back-ups on Vicksburg and Bass Lake Road

- Parents that use our parking lot, must walk their student(s) to the main crosswalk.

In partnership,

Steven Schwartz

Basswood Principal

• September 15 thru 19 - Bus Safety Week
• September 18 - PTO Meeting 6:30-8pm

• September 23 - Evacuation Drill 2:35pm
• October 3 - Fun Run Event
• October 6, 8, 13 - Conferences
• October 12 - PTO Kindness in Chalk 3-5pm
• October 14 - Student Picture Day

• 2nd grade: 10:45 - 11:10am
• 4th grade: 11:15 - 11:40am
• 1st grade: 11:45 - 12:10pm
• 3rd grade: 12:15 - 12:40pm
• 5th grade: 12:45 - 1:10pm
• Kindergarten: 1:15 - 1:40pm

First bell rings at 8:40am letting students into the school. Second bell rings at 8:50am letting students know they should be in their classroom ready to start the day! At 8:50am, the front doors are shut and student will need to come through the office to get a late pass.

We welcome and encourage volunteers at Basswood. You can complete an online volunteer form online at apps.raptortech.com/Apply/Nzg0OmVuLVVT and work with our volunteer coordinator, Lezlie Northagen. Volunteer information will go home the first week of school. Activities in a normal school year include being a classroom assistant, helping with classroom parties, helping with PTO sponsored activities (Carnival, Turkey Bingo, Book Fair, etc.) along with numerous other opportunities. We continue to follow state guidelines and adjust our volunteer program accordingly.

Yes! You will be able to follow us on Facebook. Please note that we are moving away from Twitter (@BWPrincipal279) for Basswood social media. Click here below to follow us.

If you are planning a family vacation or just time away from school, please remember to call your student's absence into the attendance line. You can call 763-494-3858 and press 1 to leave a message with your student's name, student's teacher, reason for absence, and dates that your student will be gone. We really appreciate your assistance!

Every parent or guardian of enrolled students of Basswood Elementary is an automatic member of the PTO. We encourage you to join one of our next general meetings - or just send us a note if you have a question. You can find more information on our PTO website: https://sites.google.com/view/basswoodpto/home?authuser=1 or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BasswoodElementaryPto

Our district Community Education department offers a variety of after school classes. If you do sign your student up for one of these classes, please remember to let your student's teacher know about the class and when your student needs to stay after school.

The District Transportation department only allows students to ride their assigned bus to and from school. If you have questions, you can reach out to the Transportation Department at 763-391-7244 or transportationreques@district279.org.