The Knightly Scoop

Dear Buckingham Primary School Families,

Welcome to a new school year at Buckingham Primary School!

It has been an exciting start, and I am so grateful for the energy, enthusiasm, and support our students and families have already brought to our school community.

The beginning of a school year is filled with new routines, new friendships, new learning, and plenty of opportunities to grow. Our students are settling in, our teachers are building strong classroom communities, and our staff is working together to create a school where every child feels known, supported, and ready to learn.

At Buckingham Primary, we believe that every day matters and every child matters. Our goal is to provide a safe, welcoming environment where students can build confidence, develop independence, and experience success both academically and personally. We will continue to focus on strong instruction, positive relationships, clear expectations, and a partnership with families that supports our students every step of the way.

This newsletter will be shared with families monthly as one way to keep you connected to all that is happening at BPS. Each edition will include news, celebrations, reminders, and updates from our grade levels and departments throughout the school. We hope it gives you a glimpse into the great things happening each day and helps you stay connected to your child's school experience.

There is already something exciting on the horizon! Back to School Night is Thursday, August 27, from 5:30–7:00 p.m. We look forward to welcoming families into our school, sharing more about the year ahead, and giving you an opportunity to connect with the people who will be working alongside your child. Be sure to watch for more details!

We also hope you will make plans to join us throughout the year for our family events and school celebrations. These occasions are an important part of building the strong, connected school community we want for our students. We love having our Buckingham families in the building and look forward to seeing you often!

Thank you for trusting us with your children and for being an important part of Team Buckingham. Your encouragement at home, communication with our staff, and partnership with the school make a tremendous difference. Together, we can make this a year filled with learning, growth, and memorable moments for our students.

I am excited about what lies ahead and proud to be part of the Buckingham Primary School community. Here’s to a wonderful year ahead!

With appreciation,

Sharon Pettus
Principal
Buckingham Primary School

Buckingham Primary School completed our first fire drill last Friday. The students did really well for their first drill of the year. For the first month of school, we have to complete one fire drill per week. After the first month, it is one per month. We will also be having tornado, earthquake, and intruder drills throughout the school year.

Please remember, for student safety, you need to bring your ID into the school to check-in or check-out a student. If you have any updates for people who can pick-up your child, please call the front office. Lastly, It is extremely important for us to have updated numbers for everyone on your call list. We use these numbers for all occasions when we need to get in touch with parents, guardians, or other family members.

Our Kindergarteners are off to a wonderful start! We are learning our back-to-school rules, routines, and procedures so we can have a safe, successful, and happy school year. Coming up, we will be exploring fun nursery rhymes, practicing how to make writing strokes, and learning how to properly use our math tools and manipulatives. We are excited to learn, grow, and build our classroom community together!

We are off to a great start in first grade!

We are taking the first 20 days to learn procedures and expectations. We have also begun our first units in reading and math. In reading, students are learning about fables. In math, students are learning about describing shapes.

We have had a successful start in second grade! Our students and teachers are working very hard during these first 20 days to set our routines and expectations clearly, with lots of opportunities for practice. We have had a fun start in our reading units, with unit 1 being fairy tales and tall tales. In math, our first unit has focused on addition and subtraction, building a mathematical community, and learning how to use different tools and strategies to show our math thinking. As for social studies, our first few weeks will focus on good citizenship, rights, and responsibilities!

Library - We are working on classroom rules and learning how to work in a team. We will be working on book care and checking out books in the next couple weeks.

Art (2D) - We are entering our year starting with classroom rules and expectations. The first quarter, we are reviewing critical skills and foundations of art. The first project we are attempting this year is an all inclusive collage of the blue ridge mountains which is going to be located on the hallway bulletin boards. Every artist will participate in this, as we are growing together in the blue ridge.

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for Open House/Literacy Night! We hope you were able to gather lots of wonderful reading materials to help your family get the school year off to a great start.

We are excited to begin our reading instruction for the year using the Amplify CKLA curriculum, which includes both Skills and Knowledge instruction. Our teachers are building strong literacy foundations while helping students develop their knowledge, vocabulary, comprehension, and reading skills.

We will also begin administering the VALLSS (Virginia Literacy and Language Screener) assessments on the following dates:

• Second Grade: August 24
• First Grade: September 1
• Kindergarten: September 23

Thank you for partnering with us to support your child's literacy growth! Reading together at home, talking about books, and making time for your child to read each day are wonderful ways to support learning. We look forward to a fantastic year of growing great readers together!

For the 2026-2027 school year, students will use Kiddom VA Math and Zearn, a computer-based math program, to build a strong foundation in mathematical skills and concepts. Kiddom VA Math will provide standards-aligned lessons, hands-on learning experiences, and opportunities for students to use manipulatives to explore and demonstrate their understanding of math concepts. Zearn will provide additional independent practice and digital learning activities that reinforce classroom instruction. Together, these programs will help students strengthen foundational skills, build confidence, and develop problem-solving strategies for success throughout the school year.

We will be having Zearn challenges where students can earn prizes for completing all of their lessons for the week or month. Please stay tuned to see how you can help your child with their math at home!

We are looking forward to making sure every child becomes a math mathematician and loves math! Thank you for partnering with us in the education of your child!

Welcome Back, Knights!

We are so excited to have all of our students back in the building! We have had a wonderful start to the school year and are looking forward to working together with our families to make this a successful year for every student.

We can’t wait to watch our Knights learn, grow, and reach new goals throughout the school year! We are also excited to celebrate our students’ attendance. Students who have perfect attendance each month will have the opportunity to earn a special Brag Tag to add to their collection!

And that’s just the beginning! We have many more exciting things planned throughout the school year. Be sure to stay connected with us and keep an eye out for newsletters, announcements, and updates.

Thank you for partnering with us and helping our Knights shine!