Bobcat Bulletin

Hello Ballenger Creek Community,

We are excited to welcome families into the building soon for our upcoming Parent-Teacher Conferences! In this bulletin, you will find reminders about how to sign up for conferences, along with important calendar updates for the month of October.

The crisp fall mornings have been a refreshing change, and as cooler weather approaches, we’ve been encouraging students to dress in layers. Our building can sometimes feel chilly, so this helps keep everyone comfortable throughout the day.

Thank you for your continued partnership—we truly value the support you provide to our school community.

With appreciation,
Jonathan Davis, Candace King, and Karyn Queen
BCES Administrative Team

• October 2nd- Yom Kippur, Schools Closed
• October 3rd- Interim Reports issued (if applicable)
• October 7th- PTA Meeting, 6:30-7:30 pm (in-person and virtual options)
• October 13th & 14th- 4 hour late arrival (arrival at 12:45 pm), Evening conferences (information sent via School Messenger 10/1, see conference section below)
• October 15th- 3.5 hour early dismissal (dismissal at 12:15 pm), Afternoon conferences (information sent via School Messenger 10/1, see conference section below)
• October 17th- No School for Students
• October 28th- No School for Students

School Messenger information sent on 10/1/2025:

Hello BCES Families,

It’s time to sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences! Please use the links below to choose a time that works best for you. Each grade level has its own tab, and if you have more than one child, you can use the “More Sign Up Groups” link at the top of the tabs to make scheduling easier.

5th Grade Conference Sign Up Link

4th Grade Conference Sign Up Link

3rd Grade Conference Sign Up Link

2nd Grade Conference Sign Up Link

1st Grade Conference Sign Up Link

Kindergarten Conference Sign Up Link

Pre-K Conference Sign Up Link

Conference Dates/Times:

Monday, 10/13 → 5:00–8:00 PM

Tuesday, 10/14 → 5:00–8:00 PM

Wednesday, 10/15 → 1:15–4:00 PM

Thank you for taking the time to sign up—we look forward to meeting with you and partnering together to support your child’s growth and success!

Quarter 1 Mid-Term Interims: Interim reports will be sent home on Friday, October 3, 2025 to families of students who may be showing concerning attendance patterns at this point in the year. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Dawn McFarland at Dawn.McFarland@fcps.org.

Student Vacations, Reminder Policy Update: During the March 25, 2025 Board of Education meeting, Policy 430 Attendance and Enrollment was reviewed and approved. (NEW)

The policy states: “The Board further realizes that occasionally parents will choose to take a trip with their children during the school year. However, absences for students who take trips with approval of their parent/guardian will be considered unlawful. However, these absences will not be considered as truancy for a maximum of 5 days, per school year, with prior written notice to the principal or designee.”

Student Absence Communication Reminder: There is no need to call the school when your child is absent, but instead, send a note when your student returns (must be sent within 48 hours of the absence to be considered lawful) or send an email to bces.attendance@fcps.org. The note should include the child’s full name, date(s) of absence, the reason, and the signature of the parent/guardian. Without a note, each absence is considered “unlawful”. Please refer to FCPS Regulations 500-25 for more information. Student attendance is monitored regularly by our administration. In addition, our Pupil Personnel Worker (PPW) supports families to assist with attendance considerations. Our administrators meet monthly with our PPW and letters are distributed to promote home-school collaboration when student absenteeism is a concern.

Message sent 9/29/2025

Dear Parents:

Thank you for your support thus far this school year! There are a few reminders/clarifications we need to share with you.

Thank you to all the families who are ensuring that their children are at school by 9:10 each morning. This allows them to settle in and begin eating breakfast prior to the 9:15 late bell. Just a reminder that our staff enters the building at 9:10 to prepare for their daily instruction. Well done parents.

Please refrain from dropping off fast food meals for your child’s lunch. We know everyone is excited that Chick-fil-a just opened but save that special meal for one evening or weekend. With almost 200 students eating in the cafeteria at a time, that leaves many wishing they had a special fast food lunch. Thanks for understanding!

When picking up your children early or changing the way they go home, please do so by 3:15 each day. The last 30 minutes of the school day is very busy with many moving parts. Students are dismissed from five different locations within our school, making these last minute changes difficult. Thank you for pre-planning.

Thank you for your continued support!

At BCES, we are continuing to implement a Positive Behavior Support System that reinforces our school-wide expectations and behaviors while promoting positive social-emotional learning experiences for all students.

In addition to our Positive Paw Reward System, all staff are also using four key response strategies to support students when needed. These strategies are designed to help with self-regulation, re-focusing on tasks at hand and being ready to learn! These tools not only benefit students at school but are also helpful tools for families to use at home! The four BCES response strategies are listed below but include examples to support at-home implementation.

Response Strategies

• When-Then - This re-direction tactic involves using the language of "when-then" when needing children to engage in a task. One example at home would be "when you brush your teeth, then you can watch 5 minutes of your ipad." This tactic communicates an expectation paired with a positive outcome after students meet that expectation. It is beneficial for all ages but especially multilingual students, those who struggle with following multiple step directions and younger learners. Using this strategy leaves room for child choice while giving them the sense of feeling in control. Children can choose not to, but they don't receive the positive consequence if they don't. If a child opts not to follow the direction, allow them some time to think. State "maybe you'll change your mind," walk away for a few moments and then check back in.

• Calm Down Corner - This strategy teaches children to recognize and manage their emotions, which helps to improve their self-regulation skills. Calm down corners support self-regulation and children's overall well-being. These quiet, safe spaces give students the opportunity to pause, reflect, and manage big emotions. Implementing a calming corner at home can be very beneficial in teaching children to self-regulate while giving them their own private space to think and calm down.

• Controlled Choices - Offering choices helps to increase cooperation and gives children a sense of control and independence. By allowing students to make decisions within acceptable boundaries, we reduce power struggles and challenging behaviors. Controlled choices empower children while still maintaining structure and clear expectations. To implement at home, determine two acceptable options and present them to your child. Repeat if necessary and state" let me know what you decide."

• 1-2-3 Strategy - The "magic" in the counting system is not just the numbers but in the ability to remain quiet and calm during the counting process. This counting procedure helps to minimize forms of "testing" behaviors from children, such as arguing, bargaining, defiance, or intimidation.
• This strategy uses a simple counting strategy that helps to support children to engage in something you want them to do or stop an unwanted behavior. To use this strategy:
• State your direction
  • Count "1": State "That's 1" and re-state your direction. Avoid any further talking or bargaining.
  • Count "2": If the behavior continues after a few seconds, you say, "That's 2" and restate the direction again in a calm and supportive voice.
  • Count "3": If the behavior continues after the second count, you say, "That's 3" and provide a consequence such as "thinking time" or loss of an immediate privilege.

These strategies align with our Staff Responsibilities Listed in the Student Code of Conduct and Level 1: Documented Staff-Led Responses to Minor Behavior. See Page 5 and 8 of the Student Code of Conduct.

Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) is thrilled to partner with family and community members who are interested in joining efforts to support our students and schools with their time and talents by way of volunteering. Last year, we welcomed over 12,700 volunteers into our school system contributing over 76,550 volunteer hours. THANK YOU!

This year, FCPS collected the feedback from our volunteers and staff to modify the volunteer process, while prioritizing the safety and security of our students, staff and community. As a result, we have streamlined the process of registration and training to be completed by all volunteers across the county. All volunteers will be equipped with the necessary information they need to partner with our schools.

Family and community members interested in volunteering should begin the volunteer process by visiting our FCPS Volunteer Webpage (select the sta image to access the webpage). Applicants will be directed to:

1. Complete a registration form.

2. Complete a training module on Unified Talent.

3. Await school approval on application.

4. Sign-up for volunteer opportunities facilitated by individual schools.

*Complete ONE registration form only per person. Additional school selections may be added after original approval.

Please note: To avoid delays, you must complete the registration form and training using the exact same full name and email address each time. Do not use nicknames, abbreviations, hyphen variations, or alternate spellings or email addresses.

The volunteer registration and training process is completed annually for each school year. Volunteers must complete the process before being signed up for volunteer opportunities. FCPS encourages family and community members interested in volunteering to complete the process early as processing times can vary.

For technical support in Unified Talent, volunteer applicants may contact unifiedtalent@fcps.org. For all other volunteer related questions, volunteer applicants may contact: FCPSVolunteers@fcps.org. FCPS is grateful for the generous support from our family and community volunteers.

For more information on the volunteer program and process, please see our FCPS Volunteer Handbook.

Join us for Fantastic Fun on November 1, 2025 to watch the Harlem Wizards play against Team Frederick. Tickets are NOW on sale. Select the image for ticket information and the QR code.

When purchasing tickets, select Ballenger Creek Elementary School from the dropdown menu. BCES will receive $3 per ticket sold when our school is selected!

Principal Davis will be representing BCES by playing for Team Frederick! We can’t wait to see Mr. Davis’ moves on the court!!

Email Contact Information:

• Jonathan Davis, Principal- Jonathan.Davis1@fcps.org
• Candace King, Assistant Principal- Candace.King@fcps.org
• Karyn Queen, Assistant Principal- Karyn.Queen@fcps.org

Website: https://education.fcps.org/bces/home
Location: 5250 Kingsbrook Drive, Frederick, MD, USA
Phone: 227-203-1880