Bengal Community Update
September 10th, 2023
Back to School Night
Thank you to everyone that attended Back to School Night last Thursday, September 7, 2023. The auditorium and halls were filled with high energy, bengal pride, and positive anticipation of what is to come this school year. We hope you had a chance to meet and greet staff, to learn about resources we have to offer, to explore Blake culture, to learn our vision for the year and most importantly, to make meaningful connections. The structure this year was intentionally different and we wanted to provide a space for two way engagement and interaction between the school and families. We will have opportunities for one on one parent-teacher conferences and always provide the option for families to schedule a meeting directly with administration, counselors, and teachers. Please complete a very brief survey linked here to give feedback pertaining to the evening. Our goal is to be able to meet the needs of all of our families throughout the year.
Need to Know Information
- Every Sunday, Ms. Snead will send a community update newsletter. You can also access important information on our school website, via parentvue email communications, via the remind app, twitter "X" and instagram. Follow Ms. Snead on Twitter "X": @blake_principal and on instagram: @blake.principal.
- All parents and caregivers need to activate their parentvue account which allows direct access to monitor your child's grades, attendance, assignments and communication to and from school staff. Instructions are linked here in English, here in Spanish, here in French, and here in Amharic.
- Building access information- Students will not be able to access the building until 6:45 a.m. daily.
- All students must be under direct adult supervision if in the building or on school grounds after 2:45 p.m. daily
- After school activity buses will begin running September 12, 2023 on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week. The buses leave campus at 4:30 p.m.
School Picture Day is coming Wednesday September 13th, Thursday, September 14th & Friday, September 15th, 2023. Images will be available to view and purchase approximately two weeks following our school's picture day. Save time and Pre-order online here: https://vando.imagequix.com/g1001030554#login For questions about ordering school pictures please email underclass@vosphoto.com.
NEW for FY24- Unexcused Absences of greater than ten (10) consecutive days will result in withdrawal due to non-attendance
- In order to be in line with MSDE guidelines and other school districts in Maryland, MCPS will be reducing the number of days from 15 to 10 for students to be withdrawn for non-attendance.
- Notes regarding absences must be presented to the Attendance Office within three (3) days of returning to school.
- Students who anticipate being absent should bring a note to the attendance office 48 hours prior to the day of their absence, i.e. college visits, school-related activities, religious observance, etc. College visits are limited to 11th and 12th grade students and may not exceed three (3) days per year.
- Students who participate in sports and extracurricular activities must attend school all day on any day they participate in an event. Furthermore, participation in an athletic event is not a reason to be absent or tardy the following day.
- We are excited to covey that James Hubert Blake High School has been selected for Maryland Meals for Achievement (MMFA), breakfast in the classroom program. This means that all students at Blake HS will receive breakfast at no charge. There are a few requirements that will need to be honored with the program – with emphasis on breakfast being consumed in the classroom. We are still in the process of creating a plan that will work for our school regarding how and where breakfast will be served to align with the requirements of this grant. More information will be forthcoming.
- Lunch is $2.80 for everyone with of the exception of students who qualify for free and reduced meals (FARMS), lunch will be free for those students.
- Students MAY NOT leave campus during lunch and MAY NOT order food deliveries to the school during lunch, leaving and receiving deliveries creates significant safety and security concerns. Deliveries will be confiscated and can be picked up from the main office at 2:30 p.m.
- Families who meet certain federal income standards are eligible for free or reduced-price meal benefits. Apply online NOW for FREE and REDUCED MEALS (FARMS) so that benefits will be in place as soon as possible. All children use their MCPS ID number at the register so confidentiality is maintained and no child is overtly identified as receiving free or reduced-price meals. Only one application is needed for all students in a household. A new application must be completed for any family requesting assistance this school year. The online application is now open for families to submit applications. Please click here to apply. Meal benefit eligibility from last school year will remain current only through the first 30 scheduled school days OR until a 2023-2024 application is processed.
Updates from Athletics
- We need parent volunteers! Please consider signing up to help with concessions or other sport-specific opportunities.
- Tickets for our football, soccer, field hockey and volleyball contests will be sold through GoFan. You can purchase single game tickets for $5. There are also Fall and Full Year Season Passes on GoFan. Parents can purchase tickets and transfer them electronically to students and other family members.
- You should also receive sport-specific information from the coach of your sport. Please reach out to the coaching staff if you have any questions. You can also reach out to me with any general questions as well.
- MCPS will be limiting our capacity to 75% for varsity football games to assist with event management. Our stadium capacity (in the bleachers) is 2300, 75% of 2300 is 1725.
- GO BENGALS! Check out our athletics website here.
