BES Newsletter

Read Across America Week - Monday, March 2 - Friday, March 6

PTO Lip Sync Variety Show: Friday, March 20 at 6:00 pm

End of 3rd Marking Period: Wednesday, March 25

Math and Art Night: Tuesday, March 31

School Resource Officer (SPO) appreciation day was February 15. Even though our own Officer Rossman is a School Police Officer, which is a little different that an SRO, we wanted to make sure to celebrate him anyways. Officer Rossman has been a tremendous addition to our school in many ways. You will see him every morning during arrival, every afternoon during dismissal, and outside with every grade level at recess each day. In between those times, he is out and about with our students and teachers, building relationships and making a difference. We are so thankful to have him here to help keep us safe and be a part of what we do for our kids. If you see him, make sure to thank him!

Each year we complete middle of the year testing at all grade levels. We use this data to see where our students are at and help determine where we need to focus for the second half of the year. I am happy to report that we typically see growth in many areas during our assessments. Over the past four years, we have seen a very steady growth pattern in all areas of our achievement and growth data.

This year, we saw the most growth we have seen yet during the mid year assessment cycle. As a way to reward our students, each teacher selected a few students who showed exceptional growth from the beginning of the year to the middle of the year. Those students were given a treat and a certificate and were recognized for their efforts. All of our teachers and students have worked very hard and we are proud of them all. We have a few students that were out that we need to get to yet. Once we meet with them all, we will share pictures on Class Dojo. This is just one of the many good things happening at BES!

The new building is pretty much complete at this point. Furniture is set to be delivered be in early March and should be all installed by April. We are currently planning to have back to school night before the start of next school year so that students can get in and see their classrooms and teacher before the start of school. There will also be other open house opportunities during the summer months. Our teachers will also begin the long process of packing items up to be moved to the new school within the next few weeks. This will be done in waves during the spring by a local moving company. It is really getting exciting! I have included some pictures below for you to see. I will try to continue to include pictures of the new building moving forward.

Especially during the winter months, kids can get restless when they are inside all day. Lunch time is no exception to this, as when students get done eating, it can get a little rowdy at times...and understandably so! As a result, we have started to structure the way our lunch period ends for our 4th and 5th grade students. We have used some of our new equipment that we got from our Staples donation to play movies and bought different games for students to play. The kids have enjoyed it and it has helped our lunch period end smoothly. I have included some pictures of 5th below.

In the near future, we will complete our second of three school security drills. In the past, we have completed two, but we are now able to replace three fire drills for school security drills during the school year. As a reminder, School security drills are designed to practice procedures to respond to emergency situations such as an act of terrorism, armed intruder situation or other violent threat. The Bellefonte Area School District uses the ALICE program and partners with local and state law enforcement/first response agencies to implement safety procedures. The physical and psychological safety of our students and adults is our number one priority, and we recognize the importance of having procedures in place and practicing them throughout the school year. We try to ensure that our drills are done in a calm manner and are appropriate for the young learners in our building. Any accommodations that need to be made for students with disabilities will be planned for as well. The mental health of our school community is important and we aim to offer support for our students and adults to accompany these drills.

Before the Drill:

• If you are concerned that your child may need extra support, please contact their teacher and our school counselor, Mrs. Brooke Knight at bknight@basd.net so that we can partner with you to support them. We will also do our best to identify students who may need support and reach out to work with you through this process.

• Emphasize that school is a safe place and the adults here are working to keep them safe everyday. Remind them that it is part of our job here at school to practice safety skills so we know what to do in an emergency. Just like we practice fire drills, we practice security drills even though we may never need them. This practice helps make our school an even safer place.

• Make connections to safety habits that are already in place and your child may be familiar with, such as wearing a seatbelt while riding in a car or a helmet while riding a bike.

• Discuss calming/coping strategies with your child that they can use if they have a stressful reaction. Help your child identify an adult at school that they can talk to if they feel upset. If you are worried that your child will not go see an adult and want to make sure they do, please let us know so we can check in with them.

• Let your child know that schools perform security drills throughout the school year and that students will be told by their teachers before it happens that day. Security drills that take place in school are centered around teaching and rehearsing safety procedures and do not involve any simulation of active shooters or intruders.

Please see the flyer below for information on day camps hosted by TIDES.

Please Help Stop The Spread Of Head Lice - Check Your Student At Home Frequently:

We need your help! An important link in the chain to prevent the spread of head lice is parent involvement. Please check your student’s head frequently (once or twice a week) even if they have no signs of lice. Parents should examine their child’s head, especially behind the ears and at the nape of the neck, for crawling lice and nits if their child exhibits symptoms of a head lice infestation. If crawling lice or nits are found, all household members should be examined for crawling lice and nits every 2–3 days. Persons with live (crawling) lice or nits within ¼ inch or less of the scalp should be treated. Please contact the school nurse if you have found lice at home.

Signs and Symptoms: Head lice and head lice nits are found almost exclusively on the scalp, particularly around and behind the ears and near the neckline at the back of the head. Head lice or head lice nits sometimes are found on the eyelashes or eyebrows, but this is uncommon. Head lice hold tightly to hair with hook-like claws at the end of each of their six legs. Head lice nits are cemented firmly to the hair shaft and can be difficult to remove even after the nymphs hatch and empty casings remain.

The signs and symptoms of head lice infestation are:

• Tickling feeling of something moving in the hair

• Itching, caused by an allergic reaction to the bites of the head louse

• Irritability and difficulty sleeping (head lice are most active in the dark)

• Sores on the head caused by scratching. These sores can sometimes become infected with bacteria found on the person's skin.

While head lice are certainly a nuisance, they are not a medical or public health hazard. Head lice are not known to spread disease. Please check your student’s head once or twice a week at home.

Head lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. Head lice are spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. Anyone who comes in head-to-head contact with someone who already has head lice is at greatest risk. This can happen during play at school, at home, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp). Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.

Although uncommon, head lice can be spread by sharing clothing or belongings. This happens when lice crawl, or nits attached to shed hair hatch and get on the shared clothing or belongings. Examples include:

• Sharing clothing (hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms) or articles (hair ribbons, barrettes, combs, brushes, towels, stuffed animals) recently worn or used by an infested person;

• Lying on a bed, couch, pillow or carpet that has recently been in contact with an infested person. Dogs, cats and other pets do not play a role in the spread of head lice.

Children diagnosed with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun. Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice.

To eliminate head lice successfully, it is very important that all treatment instructions and steps be carefully followed and completed. CDC does not make recommendations as to what specific product or products should be used to treat individuals. Both over-the-counter and prescription products are

Click here to access the Food Services section of the district website which contains information about free and reduced lunches, lunch payments and more!

The lunch menu for this month is below:

I know that there are a lot of pros and cons related to AI, it's use, and many other aspects. It can be a helpful tool through if you use it correctly. For instance, if you don't want to hear my voice or look at me in the video (understandable) or read through this newsletter (also, understandable), you can go to Google Gemini and paste the link for this newsletter into it. Providing a prompt to summarize the newsletter and it will give you just the main points. The more specific you are with the prompt, the more useful the information. Give it a shot, the better you learn how to use it the more useful it can be for you.

The dates for PSSA testing are below simply for informational purposes. Please remember that the district does not approve educational trip requests that fall on PSSA testing days. More information can be found on page 18 of the Handbook.

English Language Arts - April 21-23

Math - April 27 - 28

Science (5th grade only) - April 29, 30

If you or someone you know will be registering a student for kindergarten for next year, please mark these dates down. We, along with Benner Elementary, will be completing Kindergarten Registration at the new elementary school building.

You may contact the Main Office for more information. We will begin scheduling appointments in the near future. The dates we will hold Kindergarten Registration are below:

Thursday, April 9 from 11:30 am to 6:00 pm

Wednesday, May 13 from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm

If your student is in need of any winter clothing to help keep them warm please contact Mr. Baughman. We have hats, coats and gloves that are donated. We are happy to get them to you if you need them!

We know that there is a lot of uncertainty right now regarding of the status of SNAP benefits. Below is a list of documents where you can access food resources if needed.

Food Pantries List 2025

Food Distribution Locations 2025

Thanksgiving Blessing in a Box

Attending school regularly is the first thing that everyone can do to help ensure success in the classroom. However, life happens and we know that there are times when students should stay at home, especially if they are sick. A complete overview of our attendance guidelines can be found on pages 16-18 of the Student Handbook. Below are some main points to remember.

• Remember to turn in a written excuse anytime your student is absent. Sending an email to our Attendance Clerk at beatt@basd.net is usually the easiest way. Even if you call in, we still need a written note for our records.
• Always get a note from your doctor when your child is absent for an appointment. Most offices will fax excuses directly to the school. If they do this, give us a call the next day to make sure we received it.
• Students are marked late/tardy if they arrive between 8:10 and 8:45 am. After 8:45, students will be marked absent for either a whole day or half day am. If students are tardy 15 times in a school year, truancy proceedings may be initiated with the District Magistrate.
• If a student is absent and no excuse is turned in, or the reason for an absence is not one of the valid reasons we can excuse, the absence will be marked as illegal. If a student accumulates 3 illegal absences, a meeting will be called to allow us to work together and avoid any further illegal absences. If a student accumulates 6 illegal absences, truancy proceedings may be initiated with the District Magistrate.

Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that our students are in school and that we are working with you to make that happen and also help you to make sure that their absences are recorded correctly. Please reach out to us with questions and allow us to help you if needed.

Educational Trips:

We see the value in traveling as a family and taking your children to see and experience different places and events. Below is information on how to make sure these absences are accounted for.

• Students can now take up to 10 days of Educational Trips each school year.
• An Educational Trip Form must be submitted at least seven calendar days prior to the trip. You can send that form to our Attendance Clerk at beatt@basd.net.
• This form can be found on the District Website, I will also include the link our back to school newsletter.
  

• BASD Website > Menu> Attendance > Educational Trip Request Form

Please click on the files below to learn more about Cartwheel. We partner with Cartwheel to provide mental health services to students and families.

Anyone who plans on volunteering in our buildings during the school day or at school-sponsored events, must become a registered volunteer and be approved by the School Board. Examples of volunteering opportunities that you must be an approved volunteer for include but are not limited to:

• Field Trip chaperones

• School dance chaperones

• Classroom/building helpers

• Volunteering at classroom parties

• Field Day volunteers

• Holiday Shop volunteers

• PTO/Parent Group events in the buildings during school hours

Registered volunteers will be approved by the Bellefonte Area School District Board of Directors after they have submitted the following documents:

1. Volunteer Form

2. Statement of Confidentiality

3. Residency Affidavit & Arrest/Conviction Report

4. PA Child Abuse History Certification

5. PA Criminal History clearance

All registered volunteers will need to update their clearances every five years.

If you plan on volunteering at all during the school year, it is best to get this process completed early. Please contact the main office or our volunteer coordinator, Liz Stone (lstone@basd.net) if you have any questions.

Click Here for the Volunteer Program section on the BASD website.

Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook for more updates and information on all of the great things happening here at BES!

https://www.facebook.com/bellefonteelem

100 W. Linn Street

Bellefonte, PA 16823

Website: https://www.basd.net/Domain/388

Phone: 814-355-5519

Fax: 814-353-5338

Attendance Email: beatt@basd.net