Blue Hole Buckaroo Bulletin

Our mission

Our mission at BHP is to nurture a love of learning by building a community rooted in consistency, care, and respect, where all students can excel.

Buckaroo Be's: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible

January 12th- School Board Meeting

January 16th- Popcorn Friday

January 19th- NO SCHOOL

January 22nd- Lock Down Drill (see information below)

January 23rd- Popcorn Friday

January 27th- Day of Drumming (see information below)

January 29th- 100th day of school

Fluency is the "bridge" that allows a child to move from the hard work of sounding out letters or counting fingers to actually understanding what they are doing.

Think of it like learning to drive: when you first start, you are so focused on the pedals and the steering wheel that you can't really pay attention to the directions or the scenery. Once those physical movements become "automatic," you can actually navigate and drive safely.

1. It Frees Up "Brain Space" (Cognitive Load)

The brain has a limited amount of "working memory."

In Reading: If a child spends all their energy decoding the word c-a-t they often forget what happened at the beginning of the sentence by the time they reach the end. Fluency allows them to focus on the meaning of the story.
In Math: If a child has to count on their fingers to solve 4 + 3, they will struggle when they get to double-digit addition or word problems. Fluency allows them to focus on the strategy of the problem rather than the basic calculation.

2. It Builds Confidence and Reduces Anxiety

When a child isn't fluent, school can feel exhausting.

The Success Cycle: When a child can recall a math fact or read a sentence smoothly, they feel a sense of mastery. This confidence makes them more willing to try harder, more complex tasks.

3. It Predicts Future Success

Fluency in the early years is one of the strongest indicators of how a child will perform in high school and beyond.

Reading to Learn: After 3rd grade, kids stop "learning to read" and start "reading to learn." Without fluency, they struggle to understand science, history, and even math word problems.10
Math Foundation: Higher-level math like fractions, decimals, and algebra all rely on a fast, accurate recall of basic addition and multiplication.

4. Connection Between the Two

Interestingly, reading and math fluency are linked. A child who is a fluent reader is often better at math because they can quickly process the "language" of math—recognizing patterns, following multi-step directions, and understanding the logic behind word problems.

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Arrival: We have many students who are arriving late each morning. School starts promplty at 7:45 am. All students should be in class before the tardy bell at 7:45.

Video announcements begin between 7:45 and 7:50. Many students are missing their names being announced for birthdays, awards, shout outs and their time to be on the video! The announcements are a vital part of building our school community. We appreciate your efforts in getting your students to school on time.

Parking: There is plenty of parking in the mornings without the use of the "mud pit" parking area. Walking through the lot and crossing in front of traffic or parking along the curb impedes the flow. The "mud pit" area will soon be closed off for construction (further information to follow).

The fastest and safest way to drop off your student is to use the car rider loop. This is the perfect time of year to start preparing your 2nd graders for the transition to JWE, where there is no walk up drop off.

Dismissal: Please have your child picked up no later than 3:20 unless they attend kid connection. If you arrive after 3:20, please park in the parking lot and pick your child up from the office. Teachers often have after school meetings to attend that they need to get to. Thank you!

Our “lockdown” practice drill with law enforcement is scheduled for January 22nd. Prior to the drill with law enforcement, we will practice without law enforcement. During this practice emergency drill, students and teachers will go through the steps of our campus lockdown procedure. Like our campus fire evacuation drills and shelter-in-place drills, this drill will allow teachers and students to practice the procedure while our campus emergency response team evaluates the plan for effectiveness and efficiency. You will see emergency vehicles on campus on January 22nd, because they will be assisting us in practicing this drill.

A true “lockdown” would occur in the event of a threat or hazard inside the school building. During this procedure, teachers would lock the classroom doors, turn out the lights, and move the students and themselves into an area of the classroom that could not be seen from the doorway window. Students would be directed to remain quiet and calm while each teacher takes roll. The class would then wait until the lockdown procedure is canceled by an administrator or until first responders open the classroom door to give directions.

Before our practice drills we will be preparing our young students for the drill by using the following excerpt:

“At school we have safety drills to help make sure we are always ready in case of a problem at school. One drill we do is the fire drill. Can anyone tell me what we do when we hear the fire alarm go off at school? Why do we do this? We practice at school to make sure we all know what to do. This week we are going to practice a new kind of drill. This drill is called a lockdown. It means that we are all going to stay in our classrooms. We do this type of drill in case we need to stay in the classroom and make sure that no one goes in the hallway. The first thing I do when I hear the lockdown announcement is to lock the classroom door and turn off the lights. Everyone will then move to this area in the classroom. It is our job to be very quiet when we practice this drill just like when we do our fire drills. We will sit in this corner for a few minutes until our door is unlocked by an office worker or by an emergency worker. During our drill we might have someone come to our door but I’m not going to open the door. This is a time when we just have our own class together. Let’s practice right now…”

These words were carefully selected in order to inform BHP students about the drill in an age-appropriate manner. All of our teachers have received training on our campus lockdown procedures and how to prepare students for the drill. On the mornings of our drills, I will make an announcement over the intercom to start the lockdown drill. Members of our campus emergency response team and law enforcement will then walk assigned areas of the campus to make sure that all areas of the building are secure. The expected amount of time for this drill is approximately 10 minutes. On Jan.22nd, we will have a lockdown drill with local law enforcement officers. You will see emergency vehicles on campus that day, because they will be assisting us in practicing this drill.

Thank you for your support of our efforts to make our campus emergency plans as effective as possible. The safety of our students, staff members, and campus visitors is my top priority. Our campus emergency response team—which includes administrators, counselor, office staff, custodian, and nurse—will continue to look for ways to keep our building as safe as possible while also retaining the welcoming atmosphere that makes BHP so special.

Rhythm Path’s “Day of Drumming” program is a unique assembly program in which every student will have their own authentic West African djembe drum to play. The students will work as a team to accomplish the goal of making rhythms together! Students will learn “Drumming Is Easy!” and “If you can say it, then you can play it!”

We appreciate your generosity!

We are currently in need of restocking our sensory bins and craft supplies. The following items would help with our restock!

Craft supplies

Cotton Balls

tissue paper

googly eyes

colored cardstock

popsicle sticks

sheet protectors

velcro dots and strips

Sensory Bins

Beans

Rice

pasta

deer corn

puff balls

chick peas

fish tank rocks

large beads

Amazon Wish List

Popcorn Fridays are here!! We will be serving up fresh popped popcorn 2x per month in class! Please use the following link to order your bags! You can order monthly for $3 per student or $20 for the year per student. Donations are always welcome! Provide a snack for a teacher or for the whole class! When ordering, please list your child's name and teacher name. If you are donating for a specific teacher or class, please include that in the notes section.