The Growler

Inspiring future leaders to imagine and build a better world through thoughtful action and kindness.

• Benefit for Maui
• First PTO Meeting this Thursday!
• Expectation Stations
• Stop, Walk, Talk
• Growth Mindset Video
• Kindergarten Start Information & Schedule
• Help! We Need Our New Playground Installed!
• Pick Up & Drop Off Expectations
• Calendar, Updated version
• Volunteering at School

Our first Parent Teacher Organization meeting will be held this Thursday from 6:30-7:30 in the library at Bellview. Every parent is already a member! There will be free childcare and pizza provided. Learn about our fun family events and how you can get involved!

Have questions? Here are the PTO Board Members for the 2023-24 School Year:

Andrea Zundel, President andreamzundel@gmail.com

Molly Shenandoah, Secretary/Communications. molly611@hotmail.com

Kristen Ellingson, Treasurer kebookkeeping@gmail.com

Holly Linerud, Events Coordinator hollylinerud@yahoo.com

Each fall, as a part of our Positive Behavior Supports and Interventions system (PBIS), we explicitly teach students our expectations for each area of the school. Before morning recess, grade levels learn about what being safe, respectful, and responsible looks like, sounds like, and feels like in one specific area of the playground.

We also review general expectations for students in the hallways, bathrooms, pick up and drop off times, and the cafeteria. We revisit expectations after each long break as well to be sure students remember the expectations, setting them up to be successful in all areas of the school.

Over the first two weeks of school, our school counselor, Michelle Bolinger, and our Student Advocate, Julie Claycomb, teach our students what to do if someone is bothering them at school. We use a three step system called Stop, Walk, Talk. Students at Bellview know to use these steps if another student is bothering them, and to skip the first two steps if they are feeling unsafe, or if someone is getting hurt. Here are the steps:

1. Ask the student calmly and respectfully to stop, and be specific about what you would like them to stop. This can be accompanied by the ASL sign for stop: holding one hand flat in front of your chest and bringing your other hand firmly but quietly down on the other (ask your student to demonstrate!)
2. If the student is still bothering you, walk away from them.
3. If the student follows or persists, get an adult to help.

This Wednesday, we welcomed our new kindergarten students and families at our kindergarten open house sessions. We went over some basics of starting school, and also watched this video from TedTalk with Carol Dweck, researcher and author of many things Growth Mindset related. There's a lot of wisdom packed into this 9 minute video on how to support our kids at home: focusing on a growth mindset in the way we talk to our kids, the way we offer them praise, and the way we frame mistakes and failure as an essential part of the learning process. Take a look, it is worth revisiting even if you've seen it before!

August 25-29: Teacher/Student/Family Individual meetings

Teachers will meet individually with kindergarteners and their families. Your child's teacher will call you to schedule.

August 30: Kindergarten begins!

We will have a 8:20-12:30 schedule for these first few days and students and families get to know our school routines, especially pick up and drop off!

September 5: Full days begin, 8:20-2:50 (1:30 dismissal every Wednesday)

Last year, in partnership with the school district, the PTO and grant dollars, we were able to purchase this beautiful playground structure to replace our old one that has reached the end of it's lifespan. Yay!

The next hurdle is to have it installed so our students can use it. We have run into many roadblocks with our usual channels for acquiring this kind of service, so I am reaching out to our broader community for help. Please reach out if you know of a licensed, bonded, contractor with the necessary equipment that would be willing and available to do this project!

STUDENT ARRIVAL/DROP-OFF Procedures:

• All students not riding the bus should use the front entrance to the school on Tolman Creek Rd.. Families driving their students may use the drop off loop out front.
• Please do not stop your car in front of the school door to let your child out of the car. Instead, pull all the way to the front of the loop to make room for other families to drop off their students behind you so that we don't get traffic backed up into the street.
• Do not get out of your car for any reason in the drop off circle. Make sure your child exits on the right side of the car and is ready to get out when you stop.
• If your child needs assistance for any reason with their seatbelt or managing their things, please park your car to help them and walk them over to the sidewalk.
• Students arriving between 7:50-8:15 can go to the library or the playground, or eat breakfast in the cafeteria before the first bell rings at 8:15.
• No student may go to their classroom before 8:15.
• Students arriving at 8:15 can report directly to class.
• Students arriving after 8:20 will need to report to the office to check in.

STUDENT PICK UP PROCEDURES:

• Students in Grades K-2 will be picked up in the lower pick up loop at the end of the primary wing of the school. There is a separate entrance and exit to this loop so you don't have to mix with the cars for the other grades.
• Students in grades 3-5 will be picked up in the circle in front of the main entrance to the school.
• Siblings will go to the location of the youngest sibling's grade
• School is over at 2:50. That means your student will not be available to be picked up until after 2:50. Please do not arrive to the parking lot earlier than about 2:47 at the earliest to pick up your child. This causes traffic to back up on the street and gridlock in the parking lot that is not fun for any of us, or our neighbors. Traffic flows freely once the students are outside and ready to go. If you aim to arrive right at 2:50, that will probably work best, after that traffic is flowing!

How To Become a Volunteer:

Step 1:
Complete the Volunteer Registration Form, which includes the Notice of Background Check form.

Once completed, please submit the forms and a copy of your driver’s license to the Office Manager of the school where the volunteer position is needed. Forms may also be mailed or faxed to the school office. If no school is specified, forms may be submitted to 885 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520.
Once you have passed your background check, you are cleared to apply to volunteer for any position throughout the school year. No additional background check is necessary, however, it is necessary to repeat this process each school year.

Step 2:
Mark your calendar with the agreed upon days and times. Please note that certain positions require training and a time commitment. Make sure you can fulfill the volunteer commitments before agreeing to the position.

Be prompt and dependable. Call ahead if you are ill or unable to keep your appointed times. When you commit to volunteering, people are depending on you.

Ashland School District uses the Safe Oregon tip line system.

A link to the tip line is located at the bottom of every school web page.

Who receives tips to the School Safety Tip Line? Specially trained technicians field incoming tips 24 hours- a-day, 365 days-a-year for all public schools Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. The Oregon State Police provides this service through a contracted vendor.

For details on how the tip line works, click here.

Principal, Bellview School

She, Her

Email: christine.mccollom@ashland.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/o/bes
Location: 1070 Tolman Creek Road, Ashland, OR, USA
Phone: 541-482-1310
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bellview-Elementary-School-104141858437771