Bulldogs Newsletter October 2, 2023

Hello Basswood families,

This week we kicked off our annual Fun Run Fundraiser at Basswood. We have partnered with Booster for several years and they always deliver a great event for our students. It is a FUN RUN!!!

At Basswood we do two school fundraisers a year, one that promotes physical heath and another that promotes reading. The Fun Run is done in partnership with Booster and is our biggest fundraiser of the year, bringing in approximately 40 percent of our PTO budget. This year's goal is 55,000 dollars and if we meet that goal the students will enjoy a Basswood Masked Singer event. The Fun Run is exciting for our students and it generates funds to support Basswood students. Thank you for your ongoing support of Basswood and your support of the Fun Run!

What does PTO do with the funds? The general budget for PTO provides a lot of support for our students. The impact of the PTO is significant! Here are a few of the ways PTO supports our school:

• Reading intervention support
• Recess supervision
• Fieldtrip transportation
• Eastman Nature Center lessons
• Funding of special projects
• Teacher appreciation
• Special materials to support instruction
• Library materials
• and so much more.

In partnership,

Steven Schwartz

Basswood Principal

The Basswood Elementary Fun Run fundraiser is underway! We’re looking forward to having fun and building community together to reach our fundraising goals.

Quick reminder that MyBooster.com is officially open for sign ups for our Basswood Elementary Fun Run! Our goal is to raise $55,000 for PTO budget which helps provide things like the Kindness Retreat, 5th grade celebrations, Outside vendors for student experiences, Teacher Appreciation, and so much more.

Fun Run Schedule

• 9:15-10:15am - Kindergarten and 4th grade

• 10:35-11:35am - 1st grade and 3rd grade

• 12:00-1:00pm - 4 Star and 2nd grade

• 2:00-3:00pm - 5th grade

Basswood Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held during the dates/times listed below:

Monday, October 6, 7:30am-8:30am and 3:40pm-6:40pm

Wednesday, October 8, 7:30am-8:30am and 3:40pm-6:40pm

Monday, October 13, 7:30am-8:30am and 3:40pm-6:40pm

Parents will be scheduling conferences through their ParentVUE accounts. Conference scheduling will open on Monday, September 29, and will close the evening of Saturday, October 4.

Please schedule your conference with your homeroom teacher. If your student is receiving EL services, you can schedule a conference with Ms. Pluzhnik as well as with your child’s homeroom teacher.

If you need an interpreter during your conference, please contact the Basswood office at 763.494.3858 or email at iaconot@district279.org after you have scheduled your conference.

You can log into your ParentVUE account through the Basswood website or at:

https://mn-oas-psv.edupoint.com/PXP2_Login_Parent.aspx?regenerateSessionId=True

If you do not have a ParentVUE account or have forgotten your password, please call the Basswood Office at 763.494.3858 for assistance.

This week we have been teaching students about the new expectations related to cell phones and electronics. As noted in last week's Basswood Bulletin, students that bring cell phones, smart watches and other electronics are expected to keep them in their backpack during the school day. For students that do not follow the expectations, the school will respond as follows:

Incident:

1st: Warning

2nd: Device turned into office. Student picks up at the end of day.

3rd: Device turned into the office. Student picks up at end of day and parents are called.

4th: Device turned into the office. Parent picks up device at school.

5th: Individual plan created for student (i.e. device turned into office daily and picked up at day's end).

• October 3 - Fun Run Event
  

• October 6, 8, 13 - Conferences
• October 12 - PTO Kindness in Chalk 3-5pm
• October 14 - Student Picture Day
• October 16-17 - No School

• 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 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.