BECEP Buzz October 2026

BECEP Mission:

BECEP partners with families and community to promote the overall development of children to reach their full learning potential.

BECEP Vision:

We encourage our school family to become lifelong learners by providing opportunities in parent and child education within a safe, healthy, enriching environment that promotes a positive self-concept. Meeting the developmental needs of our children is accomplished through various pathways to ensure individual success. We advocate for our parents and children at school, home, and in the community.

If you do not call in for your child's absence, you will receive an Infinite Campus alert that they are unexcused.

if your child is not riding bus, or if you have any transportation related questions, please call the Transportation Department at 323-4500.

Class will run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 7:40am-2:10pm

Early Childhood Special Education or ECSE

Richholt and Elk Ridge locations will have class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:50am-10:50am for the first session, and 11:55am-2:55pm for the second session.

Murphy and Myhre locations will have class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:40am-10:40am for the first session, and 12:05pm-3:05pm for the second session.

There are NO ECSE classes on Fridays.

BECEP strives to provide the safest environment possible and needs your help to do this. If you are dropping off/picking up your child from BECEP, please consider the following safety precautions:

*DO cross at corners, using the crosswalks. Stop and look both ways. Please DO NOT park on/over the crosswalks.

*When parking along 14th street, please be mindful of our bus loop driveway. Do not block any length of the driveway.

BECEP Policy Council Meeting

• Tuesday October 13th from 5:30 pm-7:00 pm BECEP @ Richholt

Picture Day

• Thursday October 15th; Classroom Pictures and Individual Retakes (Richholt ONLY)

No School

• HEADSTART ONLY; Monday October 5th
• Thursday October 22nd; Administrator Convention Days
• Friday October 23rd; Administrator Convention Days
• HEADSTART; Friday October 30th

You and anyone you have authorized BECEP to release your child to must always have identification (ID) available to present to BECEP staff. A paper copy or a photo of the ID card is acceptable.

BECEP staff must ensure the identity of anyone we are releasing a child to and this is done by checking ID. The practice is the same regardless of whether we’re releasing from one of our buildings (Richholt, Elk Ridge, Murphy, or Myhre) or a child is dropped off by the bus. To be able to pick up a child from our programs or receive them off of the bus, the person authorized MUST be at least 18 years old.

If BECEP staff are unable to verify the identity of the person picking up your child, we cannot release them. If they are at one of our buildings, your child will be kept safe with staff until an authorized person we can identify comes to pick them up. If we are unable to release a child from the bus, the child will be brought to our Richholt building and will only be released to an authorized person, whose identity we can verify. Please make sure you keep your child’s Child Authorization Form current and up to date. This can be done in person, via your child’s teacher or family advocate. Thank you so much for your help in keeping your child safe while they are with us!

Regardless of the illness, children should be excluded from school if they meet any of the following exclusion criteria:

1. The staff determines the child is unwilling or unable to participate in activities due to illness.

2. The staff determines that they cannot care for the sick child without compromising their ability to care for the health and safety of the other children in the group.

3. The child has illness suggested by a fever (temperature at or above 100.4°F any location), difficulty breathing, changes in behavior, lethargy, irritability, persistent crying, or progressive rash.

4. The child experiences vomiting two or more times in the preceding 24 hours, unless determined to be caused by a non-communicable condition and the child is able to remain hydrated and participate in activities.

5. The individual has diarrhea and cannot self-contain stool.

To return to school after illness your child must:

✓ Be without vomiting for 24 hours

✓ Student can self-contain stool without accidents

✓ Have an oral temperature less than 100.4 degrees for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications (Ibuprofen, Tylenol )

✓ Feel well enough to take part in the usual school day

If your child has a chronic health condition and requires medications to be kept at school, please be sure that the appropriate paperwork has been completed. If you have questions, please reach out to Nurse Kaitlin.

**If you do not have insurance, please inform them of this right away.

BECEP Parent Policy Council is hosting a Little Caesars fundraiser so they can support BECEP during parent/teacher conferences, with field trips, etc. Please use the link below to participate. Items purchased ship straight to your home!

The Speech-Language Clinic is part of the speech-language pathology program. Services are provided by graduate student clinicians under the supervision of faculty who are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and licensed by the North Dakota State Board of Examiners: Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

Our clinic offers a supportive, learning-focused environment with an emphasis on person-centered, evidence-based care.

The University of Mary’s Speech-Language Clinic is located in the Saint Gianna School of Health Sciences on the university’s main campus in Bismarck, ND. The clinic is located in the center of campus.

Visitors should enter campus using the north entrance and follow the main road to the parking lots located across from the Clairmont Center for Performing Arts (Lots D and E). Enter through the main doors of the Clairmont Center for Performing Arts and proceed down the hallway to the west. The Speech-Language Clinic is at the end of the hallway to your left.

• Fall (mid-September – early December): Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00–11:45 AM

• Spring (mid-January – early April): Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00–11:45 AM

• Summer (mid-May – early July): Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00–11:45 AM

701-355-8053

SLPclinic@umary.edu

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) accepts LIHEAP applications year round. Payments start on Oct. 1. If approved, program applicants can receive heating assistance from October-May.

“Utility costs are part of a family’s total housing cost,” Economic Assistance Director Michele Gee said. “To help improve overall housing affordability, the new LIHEAP assistance calculation is based directly on income and ensures families will not pay more than 6% of their income toward heating their home. Previously, families may have paid up to 14% of their income toward heating costs.”

Both homeowners and renters can apply for heating assistance.

In addition to heating costs, LIHEAP may also assist with weatherization services and the costs of purchasing or repairing cooling and heating devices such as furnaces or air conditioners.

Individuals can apply for LIHEAP and other assistance online at hhs.nd.gov/applyforhelp, locally at a human service zone office, or by mail. For help filling out the application or submitting relevant verifications, North Dakotans can also contact Community Options, a partner agency, toll-free at (800) 823-2417, 711 (TTY).

Each month, BECEP @ Richholt staff give out Kindness Cards to our students who display Safe, Kind, and Helpful behaviors. Each classroom has identified a number of overall cards needed to have a celebration. These celebrations may look like a dance party, a pajama day, extra play time, etc. For the month of September, 417 Kindness Cards were handed out. EIGHT classroom parties were had for those that met their classroom goal. Way to go BECEP Bees!

We are so proud of our students for being SAFE, KIND, and HELPFUL!

What you focus on, you get more of! How many times do you tell your child what not to do, to “Stop” doing something only to watch them smile and do that very thing. While very frustrating for parents, this is a result of the way we communicate with the child. Young children can’t distinguish between negative commands and what they should do instead. For example, if you say, “Don’t run!” your four-year old child’s brain hears “Run!” To clearly communicate our expectations to young children we must first ask ourselves, “What do I want this child to do?” and then communicate it positively. So, instead of saying “Don’t run,” we would say, “Walk beside me.” Instead of, “Don’t hit,” say, “Touch her gently like this,” and demonstrate an appropriate touch. If we focus on the undesirable behavior, we will see more of them because children can’t make the shift from what not to do to what they should do instead. We must do it for them and place our focus on the behaviors we want to see more of! Where is your focus today?

Would you like a FREE, in-home developmental screening for your infant or toddler? If so, simply call 701-328-8985 to request Right Track for your child. Right Track is a statewide program that is unique to ND. Right Track Specialists complete developmental screenings, go over the results, answer questions, and provide ideas to promote development and referrals to other community programs, all from the comfort of your own home! Right Track is FREE for all children under the age of 3 and is one of our BECEP programs.

Did you know that BECEP’s Early Head Start Program for families who are expecting a baby or have a child ages birth-3 provides programming all year round? Early Head Start is a homebased program that provides weekly home visits by a teacher and two-Family social gatherings (play dates) each month. Early Head Start serves eligible families in Burleigh, Kidder and Emmons Counties. For additional information scan the QR code.

BECEP Head Start has a Face Book page. Just scan this QR code and like our page. On this page we will share information, promote events with community partners, and offer a space for positive interaction.