Parent Newsletter October 16, 2022

Monday, 10/17, is a Teacher Workday and Tuesday, 10/18, is Remote Learning Day. All classroom teachers sent home assignments late this past week for the remote learning day. That day counts as a school day and your child will be counted present for that day as long as he/she turns in the work that was sent home to be done for that day when we return to school in person on Wednesday. If a student does not turn in the work, he/she will be counted absent for the remote learning day. So basically as far as attendance this coming Tuesday goes, work turned in=present…no work turned in=absent.

BES is celebrating National School Lunch Week this Wednesday-Friday, 10/19-21. Each of those three days, the cafeteria ladies will be randomly handing out prizes to students who eat school lunch. Thursday, 10/20, will be Tie Dye Day to go along with the theme of “Peace, Love, and School Lunch”.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we will be having Pink Out Fridays on both 10/21 and 10/28. If your child would like to wear pink on these days in honor and/or memory of someone who has had breast cancer or simply wear pink because it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, that would be great.

On Friday, 11/4, our staff is having a “You are ‘Soup’er” luncheon sponsored by our sunshine committee. They are looking for parents and/or community members who would be willing to come and do lunch duty with the kids on that day so the teachers and staff can have a duty free lunch. If you’d be available and willing to do that, please contact Mrs. Crawford. Her email address is ccrawford@haywood.k12.nc.us

Thanks in advance!

It has been requested that parents do not bring dogs to the walk up car line in the afternoons. There are often several younger siblings of BES students toddling around while waiting on dismissal and we don’t want to get anyone hurt. Thank you!

This program is sponsored by the public library and we have been asked to share the information with our parents. 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten is a national early literacy program that encourages reading to young children. Early experiences and interactions are a key factor in a child’s brain development and the ability to learn language skills is greatest before the age of six. Numerous studies have shown that reading with a child can increase the likelihood of success when entering kindergarten and learning how to read. The most important predictor of school success is being read to at home during early childhood. When you sign up for this fantastic program, you will receive a bag with all the information you need to get started on your child’s reading journey, including early literacy tips, easy activities you can do at home, reading recommendations, and some goodies!

If you have any questions, for the Waynesville branch, please contact Lisa Hartzell at 828-356-2511 or email lisa.hartzell@haywoodcountync.gov, or for the Canton branch, please contact Ashlyn Godleski at 828-356-2567 or email ashlyn.godleski@haywoodcountync.gov.

The NC Department of Agriculture will be holding the NC Farm to School art contest again this year.

This contest is open to all public school students in grades K-5. The theme is “NC Agriculture” and 13 winners and a selection of finalists will have their artwork appear in the 2023-24 NC Farm to School Calendar.

Winter weather is just around the corner. The following information is copied and pasted from a press release from the superintendent’s office:

Haywood County Schools has closed an average of nine days during the last ten years because of inclement weather. Inclement weather often creates hazardous travel conditions. Hazardous travel conditions may require altering school schedules, altering bus routes or closing schools. Schools will be closed when weather causes widespread travel hazards or fifteen percent (15%) of the bus routes have to be altered or conditions prevent all buses from running their regular routes at an individual school.

When weather conditions cause a change in school schedules, local media are notified by 5:45 a.m. so the change may be announced as soon as reasonably possible. The school system will continue to use a rapid notification system for parents and staff. Parents are encouraged to contact their school to make sure contact information is current. Weather related announcements are posted on the school system website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed. Interested individuals may also call 456-2400 (extension 2177 for English, Extension 2178 for Spanish) to hear a recorded message. Our weather-related announcements include:

Two-Hour Delay – Buses will operate two hours later than their regular schedule for morning bus runs. Buses will not run on icy roads. In the afternoon, buses will operate their normal time and route schedule to the extent roads can be safely traveled. Parents are encouraged to meet school buses on the route where road conditions do not allow a bus to travel. On two-hour delays, school buildings will open on the normal operating schedule so working parents may take children to school. Students arriving early should report to their first class or the school’s designated area. Faculty and staff should report to work on the normal schedule. Students who cannot travel safely to school will be eligible for an excused absence.

In rare instances, a Three-Hour Delay may be called. Delay schedules improve travel safety by allowing drivers to better see road conditions. Delay schedules can provide time for the Department of Transportation to work on road trouble spots. Delays are also used in some instances to determine if early morning winter storms develop as forecasted.

School Closed – Optional Workday – Schools will be closed for students. Faculty and staff may report to work or take accumulated annual leave day.

School Closed – Annual Leave Day – Schools will be closed for students. Ten-month employees will have an Annual Leave Day deducted from their leave allotment and should not report to work. Eleven- and twelve-month employees may report to work or use accumulated annual leave.

Closed (or No Day) – Schools will be closed for students and all staff. Staff may only work with the prior approval of the Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent or Principal. This day may be used for several reasons: (1) when weather causes school to be closed on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and the make-up day is scheduled for Saturday (2) when annual leave days and workdays have been exhausted or are nearly exhausted (3) when travel conditions are extremely dangerous and there is a significant risk of injury if employees attempt to report to work.

Remote Learning Optional Workdays (RLOWs) were required by state law beginning with the 2020-21 school year. Five RLOWs are included in the school calendar each year. Up to ten additional RLOWs may be used on inclement weather days. RLOWs include frontloaded learning activities and assignments. In-person and live virtual learning are not required on RLOWs. Teachers should be prepared to inform students and provide appropriate learning activities for RLOWs when school is closed because of inclement weather.

Families and employees should be very cautious when considering activities during June 5-12 and April 10-14. These are dates that may be needed to make up missed instructional time should there be frequent winter weather or other disruptions to the school schedule.

“We try to focus on the travel conditions of our roads across the county rather than forecasts when making weather related schedule changes,” said Superintendent, Dr. Bill Nolte. “Since weather can change quickly in our mountains, we need to make some decisions in the early morning hours. This allows us to consider the most current weather and road conditions.”

“Predicting road conditions and making decisions about school schedules is not a perfect science,” said Transportation Director, Stephen Sharpe. “We monitor forecast data, collect information from neighboring counties, and use firsthand information from staff checking road conditions. When making decisions about school schedules, we focus on student and staff safety.”