Bulldogs Newsletter October 2, 2023

Hello Basswood Families,

There is a lot happening at Basswood this month. Here are just a few...

National School Counselor's Week: Across the country school counselors are being recognized during National School Counselor's week. At Basswood our program is Nationally recognized by the American School Counselor's Association. Ms. Paton led our school to meet those standards to ensure that our students receive excellent support. Ms. Paton and her little pups (Thor and Loki) are dearly loved at Basswood. We celebrate you, Ms. Paton! Thanks for all you do at Basswood!

Black History Month: Today we had an all school assembly in honor of Black History Month. Our third grade students sang their hearts out and the whole school joined in as we celebrated together. For more on this event, please the Basswood Facebook page (see below).

I Love to Read Month: February is a great time to cozy up with a book and our Basswood Bulldogs are doing just that. The Read a Thon is also underway and I am seeing students reading everywhere. Thank you for encouraging reading this month. Remember to come to the BOOK FAIR before it closes on Tuesday evening.

In partnership,

Steven Schwartz
Basswood Principal

#WeAreBasswood!

We still have two more days of conferences on February 10 and February 12 with before and after school options. If you still need to schedule a conference, please call the office for assistance at 763-494-3858.

Scholastic Book Fair began on February 4 and run through February 10 with evening options on February 10 during conferences.

Basswood Gives Back Team has a new project starting next week! We Are Love project is intended to spread friendship and love at Basswood and beyond! Heart O’Grams are little notes to share with others near Valentine’s Day. Heart O'Grams will be on sale in the cafeteria during lunch beginning Monday, February 9, through Friday, February 13, for 10 cents each. The money raised will go to Feed My Starving Children. 💌

Basswood Elementary School 2025-2026’s yearbook is available for sale! Order your yearbook by 04/09/2026.

• February 9-10 - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 10 - Conferences/Book Fair open during conferences
• February 12 - Conferences
• February 13 - School Spirit Day: Wear pink or red or white for Valentine's day

• February 16 - No School / Presidents' Day Holiday
• February 19 - Group Activity Pictures 9am
• February 24 - Classroom Pictures
• February 25 - Hold Drill 10:05am

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!

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.

• 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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