The BlueJay Beat

We are so excited you are sharing your child with us this year and we cannot wait to get the year started! Thank you for completing the registration process and for working with our front office staff to get your child enrolled.

This newsletter includes a lot of valuable information to help the first few days go smoothly. We know as PK parents you have a lot of questions, and we want to do our very best to ease those first day of PK jitters for all of our parents and students.

Our number one priority is your child's safety. Every procedure we have in place is to keep all of our students, staff and parents safe.

Thank you for your cooperation as we know the first few days of school hold a lot of emotion for everyone. We appreciate your patience as we build routines for our BlueJay students, staff and families.

August 10 - Meet the Teacher

August 12 - First Day of School

We are excited to welcome all of our families to Meet the Teacher!

Monday, August 10th from 3:00 - 5:00

Did you know?

• You can log into Skyward to see who your child's teacher is for all your children in the district.

• Tour the Campus
• Visit your Classroom and Meet your Teacher
• Take Pictures with the BlueJay
• Speak with the Nurse if needed
• Meet your Principal, Mrs. Laird and your Assistant Principal, Mrs. Alvarez
• Verify your transportation information. Car riders will receive their car rider tags.

For the safety of our students, transportation can not be changed the first two weeks of school. This is to help students, staff and parents learn the routines before changes begin.

You can log-in to Skyward to see who the teacher is for all your children.

1. Log into Skyward
2. Make sure you are in Family Access. If not, you can change this by using the down arrow in the top left corner by the house icon.
3. Click on Schedule tile.

For Meet the Teacher and any other event at campus throughout the year, we have partnered with St. Andrew Church and are allowed use of their parking lot. For your convenience, there is a walk through gate behind the church so you do not have to walk near Sheldon Road. All cars must be in a parking place. Cars cannot be parked along curbs. Please use the additional parking at St. Andrew.

• Every thing moves very slowly for the first few days. Patience is key. Once routines are learned by all, things will begin to move more quickly. This is a new experience for many of our students and families. We appreciate your patience as we welcome our students in and keep everyone safe.
• Regardless at the time we complete car riders, all students will be given breakfast.
• Do not park and walk up to the building. All students enter the building through the car rider line or from the bus. There is a lot of traffic in our lot and this is for everyone's safety. If you park, you will be redirected back to your car to enter the car rider line. We appreciate your compliance with this process.
• Allow plenty of time the first few days of school and do not be in a hurry.
• Make sure your student has their name and teacher's name on them or their backpack.
• Administration stays at campus until all students are delivered home. We do not leave until the buses are done with their routes. We will give updates via text and email.
• Car rider lines and bus pick-up/drop-off will run very slowly the first few days. Please remain patient and watch your phone for updates.

• The constables will be directing traffic for car rider drop off. Follow their directions.
• To enter the car rider line once the campus is full, you will be directed across the street to form a line. When headed Northbound on Sheldon, you will turn right to enter the line in the Bill Neal lot. Cars will not be permitted to turn left when headed Southbound. Make sure you are on the Northbound side of Sheldon, coming from Woodforest, to enter the line.

All BLECC students are issued an ID. This ID is required for all students in order to keep them safe.

In the first few days of school, your child will receive an ID. It is important that your child wears this ID everyday as it has important information on it.

1. Their name and picture
2. Their teacher's name
3. QR code for their breakfast and lunch number
4. QR code for their iPad log in
5. Transportation information for dismissal

• All students are given their first ID. Afterwards, there is a $5 replacement fee.
• All students are required to wear their ID as a safety measure.
• If your student arrives without their ID, you will be contacted to bring it to school before 9:30 or purchase a new one.
• Make sure when your child gets on the bus or in the car they are wearing their ID and it is not in their backpack or elsewhere.
• Students will not be released at dismissal through the car rider line or placed on the bus without their ID. You will need to come to the front office with your ID to purchase a new ID and receive your child.

Thank you for your participation in making sure your child wears their ID so that routines are efficient and students are safe.

All students will receive a backpack at Meet the Teacher and on the first day of school. Our campus works on a color coding system and backpacks match the hall colors. Red hall students have red backpacks, blue hall students have blue backpacks, green hall students have green backpacks and our yellow hall students have yellow backpacks. This is another tool we use to help usher students efficiently to their correct hallway and classroom. Students are allowed to bring their own backpacks as long as they follow the district guidance of being clear or mesh. We do ask that our students please use the colored backpack given to them for the first two weeks while everyone is learning routines.

Safety is always our priority.

It is important that you cut your car tag out and hang it from your rearview mirror when you enter the parking lot and leave it up until you exit. Your tag is viewed 3 times at pick up.

1.) Your tag needs to be hanging from your rearview mirror when you enter in the drive so that your number can be entered.

2.) The second place is at the microphone where your child's name is read and announced over the sound system in the cafeteria.

3.)The third place is when your child is placed in the car. We match the name on the tag with your child's ID before placing the child in the car.

When tags are laying on the dashboard, they are difficult to see and read at certain angles, especially under the hot, bright sun and the reflection from the windshield. Every second counts in dismissal and if all car riders leave their tag up throughout pick up, this will help us tremendously.

1. Stay in your car. A staff member will get your child out. Children may be unsure or upset. It is ok. Our staff members are all trained in early childhood education and will receive your child as we work to develop routines.
2. Have your child on the passenger side of the car and not the drivers side.
3. Students should have their ID and backpack on, be unbuckled and ready to get out.
4. Staff members will safely escort your child into the building. Please exit the car rider line and do not hold the line up waiting to watch your child walk in the door.

Every second counts in efficiency and safety. Thank you for the part you play in keeping our car rider line moving.

Use this link to our CISD website to find your child's bus number and bus stop. Please note that buses do not stop in front of each home. They typically stop at a corner. Review the bus route guide to make sure you are at the correct bus stop and you know your bus number.

Bus Route Guide

* PK buses only transport PK students. Our students have their own bus with a bus aide. BLECC students do not ride with elementary or secondary students.

*Please note the time your bus driver gives you is approximate. Many things will effect bus arrival times such as amount of students on the bus that day, weather, traffic patterns, etc. Remain at your bus stop. For PK students, you will need to receive your child from the bus. Please do not be in the house, on your porch, or in the car when the bus arrives.

*PK students are not let off the bus unless a guardian from Skyward is at the stop to receive the child. Transportation will have a form for you to complete if you would like to add an additional person to receive your child at the stop. Until the drivers learn everyone, take your ID to the bus stop with you. You can also complete the form in our front office. Please note this form is strictly for transportation and not for picking up students from campus.

*If you miss the bus in the morning, please do not keep your child home. They can be dropped off through the car rider line in the morning.

We are here to support our students as they enter school and begin this next stage of maturing. Our goal is to teach students to be independent.

Please support this growth in your child by practicing independence at home.

Some ways your child will learn to be independent:

1. Putting their backpack on.
2. Putting their backpack in their locker or cubby.
3. Putting their daily folder in their backpack and their teacher's basket.
4. Buttoning and zipping clothing.
5. Putting jackets on and taking them off.
6. Wearing their ID everyday.
7. Carrying their lunch tray or lunch box and opening lunch containers.
8. Using the restroom and washing their hands.

These are some ways the staff will work with your child to be independent. Please practice these skills at home as well.

• By age 3, it is developmentally appropriate for students to be fully toilet trained with minor assistance, unless their is a special education diagnosis. We understand that students may have accidents from time to time as they are learning new routines and we are glad to help them through this learning process. However, this should not be a daily occurrence. Classrooms are not equipped to change and clean students, nor are teachers able to leave their other students unsupervised to clean a child after using the restroom.
• Students that have an accident will be sent to the nurse and the parents contacted to come to school and clean their child so the child can return to class.
• Wipes, even flushable wipes, are not permitted as our plumbing cannot handle the wipes and will back up, causing a clog and a terrible smell throughout the school.
• Dress your child in clothing so they can easily access the restroom independently.

We are so excited that each of our students are part of the Blue Jay family! This year will be packed full of learning, new experiences and fun! It is very important that your child attends school everyday. If your child misses school, a doctor or parent note is required on the day your child returns.

ALL students are provided FREE breakfast and lunch. Many students that bring a lunch still like to go through the line and will eat from both their lunch box and tray. They are welcome to do so as we like to expose our students to a variety of choices. Any student that only has snacks in their lunchbox will be sent through the line.

Did you know the menu is posted on our district website?

Menu

Parents: We are encouraging independence in eating and opening containers. Please work with your child to open items at home such as pudding cups, plastic ware, milk cartons, and containers. We will always be there to help, but we also want to work on these fine motor skills.

View this presentation for additional information.

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Arrival 7:10 - 7:45

Tardy 7:45

Dismissal 2:50 - 3:15