Back to School Night
Please join us on September 17th for Back to School Night. This is an opportunity for parents and guardians to meet with staff and receive an overview of the upcoming year. While general questions are welcome during the classroom visits, this is not the time to ask about individual children.
Here is our schedule for the evening!
6:20: Arrival/Childcare drop off
6:30-7:00: Grades K & 1 Classroom Visits
7:05-7:25: Grades K-3 Meet Dr. Nolan, Specialists, English Language Education, and Service Providers in the Cafeteria, PTA presentation
7:30-8:00: Grades 2 & 3 Classroom Visits
8:00: Thank you for joining us!
6:30-7:00 Classroom Visits for Grades K & 1
Childcare will be provided. Please complete this form by September 16th if you are interested.
School Advisory Council
School Advisory Council Openings: The Butler School is seeking two parent representatives and one community representative for the School Advisory Council. According to the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, every school in the state must have a School Advisory Council. The Council's role is to assist the principal in identifying students' educational needs, setting educational goals for the school, reviewing the annual budget, and developing the annual School Improvement Plan (which is reviewed by the School Committee). The SAC meets virtually about four to five times a year, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Please email Dr. Nolan at enolan@belmontschools.net if you're interested in serving on the School Advisory Council. Our first meeting will be in October.
Picture Day is Coming
Thursday, September 25, is Picture day. Please be on the lookout for more information.
Drop off and Pick up
Please be careful when dropping off children in the morning. Everyone is in a rush in the morning, which is understandable, but we remain mindful that our first priority is student safety. Please do not let children walk between cars themselves, cross streets themselves, or get out of cars themselves.
If you walk your children in the morning please cross streets only at those intersections where crossing guards are stationed. We have five crossing guards (Lexington and Sycamore, Beech and White, Beech and Maple, White and Sycamore, and Trapelo Road and Hawthorne).
Every morning, regardless of the weather, “roll-up” staff members will be available on White Street for parents who prefer to drop their children off directly from their cars. If you are dropping off your child in the morning on White Street, please help us ensure the safety of all children by pulling your car up to the front of the school and waiting until a staff member opens the doors. We understand that everyone is in a rush, and the slow approach to the front of the school can seem tedious, but dangerous situations can arise when students can exit at any point along the street from any side of the vehicle. Be mindful of other parents also waiting to drop off behind you. When dropping off in front of the school, please do not exit the car yourself; a staff member will be happy to assist your child. Please also ensure that your child knows to exit and enter your vehicle only from the sidewalk side. These suggestions reflect the traffic conditions on White Street, a major thoroughfare.
Important Dates to Remember:
September 17th - 6:30 pm Curriculum Night.
September 29th Picture Day
I look forward to seeing you all next week at Back to School Night if not before. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns at 617-993-5550 or enolan@belmontschools.net.
It’s going to be a great year!
All the best,
Beth
From Ms Harteveldt
Nurse’s Notes
I would like to extend a warm welcome back to all students and families. I hope that the summer has provided you and your children a time for both fun and rest. I look forward to helping to keep your children healthy this school year.
Please be sure to inform me of any severe allergies, surgeries, accidents, illness, or new health conditions that may have developed during the summer months or which may occur during the school year. If I can be of any help to you or your child throughout the year, please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.
Kindergarten and Grade 1 Families Updated physicals are required of all students entering kindergarten and 1st grade. Some physicals have been received but many are still missing. Please send in a copy of your child’s physical (dated within the last 12 months) as soon as you are able. If your child has a physical scheduled between now and the end of the school year, please let me know the appointment date so that I know when I can expect to receive the form.
September is Head Lice Awareness Month
Time to look for head lice! Now that summer activities with friends are over, it is time to inspect your child’s scalp for lice. Head lice are not uncommon in school aged children. Statistics show that head lice are found in 3-5% of the elementary population at any given time. Head lice are not harmful. They do not carry disease and they live exclusively on the human scalp. Routine regular inspection of children’s heads by parents and guardians is ESSENTIAL to combat the spread. Please become familiar with our head ice guidelines
Instructions for inspecting and treating head lice are available in my office and on the BPS website. If you have any questions about what you are looking for or what you might be seeing, please do not hesitate to contact me.
More information: MA Department of Public Health, American Academy of Pediatrics
Lisa Harteveldt BSN, RN
Butler School Nurse
617-993-5556