Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 Dear Bruns Academy Families: The beginning of the 2014-15 school year is right around the corner and I hope that you are excited about the opportunity for a new beginning. I am very excited as it will be the first full year of my leadership at Bruns Academy and I can assure you many changes have been made to increase student achievement and restore a sense of pride in our school. I am very proud to serve this school community and pledge my commitment, service, and leadership in cultivating a school that is an optimal place to learn, work, and grow! Some needed changes have been made on our staff and each teacher, secretary, and administrator is dedicated to ensuring that our school has a safe and orderly environment, high academic expectations for students, an opportunity to learn for all students, and strong, positive home/school communication. While we did make some growth last year, we are committed to leaving the past behind us and focus on celebrating a new beginning and the opportunity to move our school in a positive direction. With your help, I’m confident it will be an amazingly rewarding experience for your child. In order to get our school year started off in the right way, we will be hosting a Back to School Celebration on Saturday, July 19 at Greenville Center. This day will be full of fun and games for the whole family to enjoy. Then Sunday, July 20 we will host our Open House from 3-5 pm at the school. We will have a Support Staff Fair in the cafeteria and a Transportation Support Center set up in the Media Center. During Open House you and your child will have the opportunity to meet your child’s teacher as well. I encourage each parent to make an effort to attend our Open House Celebration as a lot of important information will be discussed that is relevant to all students and parents returning at Bruns Academy. Having important information, knowing the expectations, and having the opportunity to ask questions to clarify information will certainly be the first step in working toward a successful school year. It is extremely important that you and your child carefully read all of the information contained in this mailing and keep it on hand for reference. If you have questions about any information, please do not hesitate to call us at 980-343-5435. On behalf of the entire administrative team and staff at Bruns Academy, I wish each of you a wonderful school year. Continue to enjoy your summer, and I look forward to seeing all of you when we return for the first day of school before 8:00 am on Monday, July 21, 2014. Sincerely, Mary E Weston Mary E. Weston, Principal Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 School Information THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL The first day of school for students is Monday, July 21. The school day is from 8:15 am - 3:15 pm each day. It is imperative that students arrive at school on time every day and that students are present every school day in order to get maximum instructional time. Students may report as early as 7:45 am. Prior to that time, students should not be on campus as there is no adult supervision. When your child arrives, he/she has the option to report directly to his/her homeroom class or to the cafeteria for breakfast based on their grade level. Please be advised that students in Pre K and Kindergarten start school on a staggered entry schedule. Staggered Entry for Pre-K Schedule of Events Home Visits Staggered Entry st 1 Day All Pre-K Students Bruns Academy & Walter G. Byers 7/21-7/22 7/23-7/25 7/28 Staggered Entry for Kindergarten   Between July 23rd and July 26th , all kindergarten scholars will report to school on a daily basis depending on their last name. The teachers and administrators are very encouraged and excited about this new beginning. We anticipate positive results that will greatly benefit scholars alike. Your child will be assigned a tentative classroom teacher that is subjected to change based on our final enrollment and/or due to an adjustment to meet the educational needs of your child. Your child needs to attend school on the day as indicated below according to the scholar’s last name. Tuesday, July 23rd Wednesday, July 24th A-G H-N Thursday, July 25th O-T Friday, July 26th U-Z BREAKFAST AND LUNCH Breakfast and lunch are served daily for all students. Breakfast begins at 7:45 am. New lunch forms must be completed during the first ten days of school for free/reduced lunch. There are limited paper forms so we encourage you to visit the Child Nutrition website to complete and submit the form TODAY. http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/cmsdepartments/cns/Pages/FreeandReducedMe als.aspx. Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 Prices for lunch are listed below. Breakfast Pre-K Students Free Elementary, Middle & Free High School Students Adults A la Carte Reduced Price Students Free Lunch $2.00 $2.25 Milk $.50 $.50 A la Carte $.40 $.50 $.50 In the event that you did not obtain a form, please let us know and we will make one available. You will have 10 days to submit an application for free/reduced lunch. After that time your child will be charged full price for breakfast and lunch. We will not deny a child breakfast or lunch, but unpaid charges accumulate very quickly. These charges also carry over year to year. You will have to pay them before your child graduates from high school. If you feel as if you might qualify, please make an effort to complete the application so that you can avoid unnecessary expenses. PARENT, TEACHER, STUDENT ASSOCIATION (PTSA) While we have a very visible parent attendance at school events, Bruns Academy has had very little support of its PTSA. The PTSA is one of the strongest and most critical organizations within the school. This group provides parents with an organized way to get involved, give input, and work to ensure that students have resources, materials, incentives, and opportunities that they need to be successful. I know that all parents want the best educational opportunities for their children so we ask that you support an organization that supports this. This year, Adrena Richardson, Parent Advocate, will be working to organize this group. If you are interested, please call Adrena (980-343-5435). If you cannot invest yourself in being on the PTSA Board, I simply ask that you pay your $5 membership to the PTSA. This is another way to get involved and support the school. All of your membership fees will go to support your child and our school. PTSA membership envelops will be available at Back to School Night in August. COMMUNICATION Good communication between the home and the school is an important part of the educational process. Every month, Bear’s Business, our school newsletter, will be sent home to parents. This is a new initiative that I am starting to keep parents well informed about what is going on in our school. The newsletter will also be posted on the school website. All students will receive a paper copy of the newsletter the first week. The Bear’s Business Newsletter will highlight upcoming events as well as contain a Principal’s message to keep you fully informed of what is happening at your child’s school. Bruns Academy Website: http://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/brunsacademyES/Pages/Default.aspx In addition, each grade level will send home quarterly newsletters. They will be sent home with report cards and will help to inform you of curriculum issues or special events for your team or grade level. Also, please make it your responsibility to contact your child’s teachers by phone or Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 email for questions or updates about your child’s progress. Inquiries should always start with the teacher as he/she has first hand knowledge about your child’s performance. It is our goal that all phone calls and email inquiries be returned within 24 hours. You can also make an appointment to meet with your child’s team of teachers on the morning of their grade level planning time. Simply call your child’s counselor, Ms. Johnson (Elementary PK-4) or Ms. Segars (Middle School 5-8) at 980-343-5495 in order to make an appointment. All other parent concerns should be directed to our Parent Advocate, Adrena Richardson. I also utilize our phone messaging system to contact parents with information relevant to the entire school. It is very important that we have correct phone numbers in our system so that you will be contacted with updates or in the case of emergency. Please return your child’s blue card the first week of school to ensure we have the most up to date phone number(s) for your family. SUPPLIES Each student in our school will need the following supplies to have a great start and a successful school year. The supply list is included in this packet. Please work to get all of the supplies listed. ACTIVITY FEE This year, we are asking all of our families to pay a $10.00 activity fee to cover field trips, some needed classroom supplies, incentives, and special activities. Return the $10 fee to your child’s homeroom teacher on the second day of school, July 22, 2014. Teachers will not take money on the first day of school. We are unable to accept checks. SCHOOL INSURANCE (Middle School Only) School accident insurance is required for all students participating in middle school athletics, unless parents sign a waiver indicating that they have adequate family coverage. A brochure will be sent home with your child describing the insurance coverage. If you decide to purchase insurance, checks are to be made directly to the company. ATHLETIC PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS Seventh and eighth grade students participating in athletics must have a current physical. Students planning to try out for cheerleading, basketball, or soccer need a physical. Students who have not had a physical during the summer can get one at our school at a date determined before the basketball season begins. There will be a fee and students must have money and necessary paperwork in hand in order to get a physical. Students must also meet the other athletic eligibility requirements as established by the state of North Carolina. This is the only time physicals will be offered at the school. Physicals are good for one calendar year. ATHLETIC TRYOUTS Tryouts for basketball and cheerleading will begin soon after school starts. The dates for tryouts will be announced in September. Students must meet all athletic eligibility requirements and have a physical before being allowed to tryout for any sports teams. If you have questions about athletics, please contact the Athletic Director, Clive Edwards at 980-343-5495 and he will be happy to assist you. Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS AT BRUNS ACADEMY Safety and order are my number one priority! In order for our school to create and maintain a safe and orderly environment, extreme and/or disruptive behavior will NOT be tolerated. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook will be sent home with each student. The handbook can also be found online at http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/mediaroom/Documents/2013-2014%20Back-toschool%20information/2013-2014%20Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf. This handbook contains rules that all students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System will abide by. These rules will be STRICTLY enforced at our school. The handbook also includes Bus and Bus Stop rules and expectations. I strongly encourage each family to review these rules together. During the first few days of school every student will receive a detailed orientation. In addition, each student will receive the necessary forms that need to be signed by parents and returned to school. We will use a variety of interventions, consequences, and incentives to encourage appropriate behavior at school, using out of school suspension as a last resort. However, we will not allow students to disrupt classes taking away other students right to learn. We also will not tolerate fighting or profanity. In these cases, it may be necessary to suspend a child’s privilege to attend school. Even in these cases, we will send work home so that the student can continue to learn while reflecting on his/her choices and behavior at school. SCHOOL UNIFORMS/DRESS CODE Students at Bruns are expected to establish a tradition of proper dress for school and schoolrelated events. Our school uniform consists of the following: Elementary Shirts: Navy Blue (Long or Short Sleeve) Pants/Shorts/Skirts: Khaki Middle Shirts: White (Long or Short Sleeve) Pants/Shorts/Skirts: Khaki Blazers: Blue (provided by the school) Ties: Blue (provided by the school) These are standard colors for school uniforms adopted by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education. In no cases will students be allowed to let their pants “droop” below their natural waistline. Any type of headgear, other than hats, will not be allowed on school property. Hats shall not be worn inside the school building. Jewelry, other than watches, rings and earrings is not allowed. Non-adherence to the uniform policy will be addressed using the following procedures in accordance with Bruns Behavior Interventions: 1. Student will be allowed to contact parent and request the appropriate uniform. Parent will need to bring the appropriate uniform to the child at school. 2. Student will be isolated from his/her peers until he/she can obtain the proper attire. 3. Repeated uniform violations will be treated as insubordination and consequences will be given as stated in the CMS Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 4. If there are financial circumstances that may make the purchase of school uniforms difficult for a student, when the school is made aware support and assistance will be provided. These items shall NOT be worn at school:  Bedroom shoes / slippers  Pajamas  Pants worn below the waist or showing clothing beneath the main outerwear.  Shorts, skirts, dresses, (and slits in skirts or dresses) above the fingertips when standing erect with shoulders relaxed. (This means shorts, skirts, dresses, and slits must be approximately knee length.) Our building is completely air-conditioned.  Shirts exposing the stomach, being excessively tight, see-through or low-cut in the front or in the back.  Cut-off shirts, midriffs, tank tops, basketball jerseys, tops with spaghetti straps, halter tops, sleeveless shirts/dresses/tops of any kind.  Headgear (scarves, bandanas, headbands, stocking caps, hoods, hats, towels, sunglasses, doo-rags, and combs.)  Long chains, long necklaces.  Cut up pants or shirts  Blankets or throws According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Policy, extreme styles in clothing and grooming may be detrimental to the maintenance of discipline and morale in school. The principal and his/her staff are responsible for determining and enforcing regulations governing proper dress and grooming of students. Any type of dress or grooming which is disruptive will not be permitted. If not properly dressed, students are subject to being sent home. If there are questions about expectations for dress, please do not hesitate to call the school. The expectations for dress will be explained to each student in detail in the opening assemblies. EARLY DISMISSAL Since the school is legally responsible for the welfare of each student during the school day, no one is to leave the campus during the school day unless accompanied by a parent or guardian or authorized by the administration. The procedure for early dismissals is as follows: Parents must send a note stating the student’s full name, time, reason for dismissal and a phone number where a parent/guardian can be reached to confirm the note. The student is to bring the early release request to the attendance office no later than 9:30 a.m. Failure to turn in a note will result in an extended delay while waiting for your child. Once the early dismissal note is confirmed with a parent/guardian, the student will receive an early dismissal slip. Your student will meet you in the front office at the time requested. Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 NO EARLY DISMISSALS WILL BE GRANTED BY PHONE In order to be able to accept your request by phone, you will need to send us the request by fax and include a good contact number and a copy of your photo I.D. Please make sure to include the name of the student and the grade level. The cut off time to accept this type of request is 2:00 P.M. For your child’s safety, we will only release a student to parent/guardian or person listed on the student’s permanent record unless otherwise notified by parent/guardian. We will not interrupt class to call students to give phone messages, or to call students who have forgotten items. This procedure is to preserve a focused learning environment for all classes. Early dismissals will not be granted after 2:30 pm without a prior note. When picking up your child for early dismissal, you will need to bring a State picture ID in order to sign your child out. For security purposes and in compliance with school policy, students will only be released to parent/guardian or person listed on the student’s permanent record. As a reminder, car riders and van riders pick up time is between 3:15 P.M. – 3:45 P.M. We do not offer a school wide after school program so it is imperative that all students are picked up no later than 3:45 P.M. Please make all effort to adhere to procedures listed above as it is the least disruptive for your child and other students’ learning. TRANSPORTATION/BUS INFORMATION Student’s specific bus information will be sent directly to you from the school. If you have any transportation needs or concerns we will have a transportation support center at Open House. Students should be at their assigned bus stop at least ten minutes before the scheduled time. Pay careful attention to which bus you get on as buses for several different schools may serve the same neighborhoods, streets and locations due to the implementation of the School Choice Plan. In order to maintain the PRIVILEDGE of riding a bus to school students must exhibit excellent behavior on our buses from the first day of school. Violations of the expectations or guidelines may result in a student being suspended from school and/or bus. Parents who bring students to school should not drop them off before 7:30 am, in order to ensure proper supervision. If you do not receive any bus information or you would like to establish a bus stop, or change a bus stop, please call please call CMS Transportation at 980-343-5710 or our Dean of Students, Erika Rogers (980-343-5495). You may obtain a request for change in bus stop from the CMS Website. Staff at Bruns Academy have no authority to establish or change bus stops. This has to be done by completing the request form which has to be submitted to the transportation office. We are happy to help, if we can. Typically it takes 2 weeks to arrange for transportation and/or make changes so if you need to make these arrangements, please plan to provide transportation for your child until the process is complete. Typically, during the first few weeks of Bruns Academy Opening of School Letter July 21, 2014 school, buses are delayed in picking up and dropping off students, sometimes very late. If you experience this, please be patient as these delays typically improve. For students who are car riders, parents will need to request a car rider number. So the process of picking up will run smoothly. Ms. Amanda Lane, will serve as lead for contact for car & van riders. The car rider forms will be available at Open House and the first day of school. Welcome to Bruns Academy “Where STEMulating learning happens” Your homeroom teacher is: _________ Room # ____________________ Teacher’s Name th Open House: Sunday July 20 , 2014. 3-5 pm Please escort your child to his/her homeroom teacher’s classroom. There will be a special welcome and Principal Message through closed circuit at 4 pm. Registration and transportation support will be available in the Media Center. The Support Staff Fair will be held in the cafeteria. Middle School student schedules will be available in their homerooms. st First Day of School: Monday July 21 , 2014. Middle School students will pick up their breakfast on their hall and eat in the classroom. Elementary students (1-5) will have the option of going to the cafeteria for breakfast or reporting to his/her homeroom class am on the first day of school.