Welcome Back

Blackford Bobcats we are so excited to start the 2018-2019 school year. While we hope that you are enjoying the last couple weeks of summer we wanted to ensure that we are providing you with pertinent information to have an incredibly successful start to the year. 

Tentative Class Assignments:

• On Tuesday, August 21st at 5:00 pm TENTATIVE class placements will be emailed to you. If you do not receive an email not to worry, we will have several people supporting on the first day of school to help you find your child's teacher.

School Schedule: 

• First day of school:  Wednesday, August 22nd. This is a shortened day. (TK - 3rd grade will be dismissed at 1:50 and 4th & 5th graders will be dismissed at 2:00)
• Start time: 
• 8:35 (All Students) The warning bell rings at 8:32am and classrooms doors are opened.
• Dismissal time Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays:
• TK-3 at 2:50; 4th & 5th at 3:00
• Every Wednesday is a shortened day.  It is during this time in the afternoon that the teachers receive additional educational training and plan detailed instruction to best meet the needs of your children in the classroom. 
• Wednesday dismissal time:
• 1:50 for TK-3rd
• 2:00 for 4th - 5th 

Breakfast Program 

• A hot breakfast will be served for students choosing to participate between 7:55 and 8:25 A.M. Students who are not eating breakfast are welcome on campus at 8:20 a.m. with their parents. Only students eating breakfast may be dropped off between 7:55 and 8:15 a.m.

Parking and Traffic

• Pick-up and drop-off can be a very busy time and we ask that you please support our efforts by adhering to our safety guidelines. Your child’s safety is of utmost importance to us.  
• When dropping-off or picking-up your child, please use the appropriate lanes. In the front parking lot, the left lane is drive-through only and the right lane is for pick-up and drop off.
• While in the right lane, please DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR.  Additionally, please do not let your child enter or exit your car from the left lane or have your child go through the parking lot to meet you out in front of the school.  
• Children and families need to use the crosswalk at the corner of Stokes St. and Leigh Ave. with the crossing guard if they are being dropped off across Leigh Ave. or if they are walking to school.  
• For the safety of your family and other families coming to school, DO NOT CROSS THE STREET OR PARK ILLEGALLY ON LEIGH AVE. We have asked for increased law enforcement prescence to help with this issue as we want to ensure the safety of every student.  
• Lastly, if you are parking, please make plans to come early to get a parking place either in our parking lot or in the surrounding neighborhood.  Please help us to be a good neighbor, and don’t block or park in anyone’s driveway.

Lunch 

• Hot lunch is offered in the cafeteria each day.  At Blackford we have a “cashless line”.  This means that students and/or parents need to bring lunch money into the office or give it to the teacher first thing each morning. Please place the money in an envelope with your child’s name, teacher, and amount enclosed.  You can also add money to your student's lunch card online via the district website. 
• For the 2018-2019 school year, lunch will be $3.50. An application for free or reduced lunch will be included in your first day packet or you can apply online now at campbellusd.org

 Blackford PTA

• We would love to extend an invitation for you to join our PTA!  Involvement in your child’s school provides them with a solid sense of the value of education.  The PTA here at Blackford contributes so much to each and every child’s education and we encourage  and invite you to take an active role in this school/home partnership!
  

Student/Parent Handbook:

• This handbook will be sent home on the first day of school and can be found here on our school website to reference (resources > family involvement > 2018/2019 Blackford Student Handbook). Please take time to read this with your child as it contains important information about Blackford and our expectations. 

We are looking forward to an amazing year. See you soon!

Corrine Frese  &  Jen Jasper

Principal                Assistant Principal