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Newsletter
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March 2023 Newsletter
REMINDERS
- Parent/Teacher Conferences Thursday, March 2nd and Tuesday, March 7th from 4pm-7:45pm.
- There will be no BECEP classes on Thursday, March 16th and Friday, March 17th due to storm make-up days.
- Spartan Nash has discontinued the Direct Your Dollars Program effective March 1, 2023, therefore, BECEP’s Parent Policy Council will no longer be collecting Dan Supermarket receipts. Thank you to all that saved their receipts and handed them in. We did recently reach the goal and the Policy Council was awarded $1000.00.
BECEP Parent Policy Council
The BECEP Parent Policy Council is looking for 2 Head Start parents who would like to serve on the policy council for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year. The BECEP Parent Policy Council is a decision-making, policy setting parent group mandated by the Head Start Program. There is no experience necessary. The policy council plays an important role and gives parents/caretakers a voice in the programs at BECEP and is a great way to meet and form friendships and partnerships with other parents/care takers and staff. The Policy Council meets the third Tuesday of each month from 5:30–7:00 pm at BECEP at Richholt. Virtual option is also available. A meal and childcare are provided. If you are interested or would like more information, please reach outto your child’s teacher or Darnell Eckert, HeadStart Family Advocate.
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration is underway and continues to be completed on-line. If you have a child going to kindergarten in the fall, please go to the Bismarck Public Schools website and click on the Registration tab. Along the left-hand side you will click on Kindergarten Registration and follow the steps. If you need help, please reach out to your assigned Family Advocate to set up an appointment. You can also stop at Central Registration, located at BPS Administration Building at 806 N. Washington for assistance.
Head Start Re-Enrollments
If your child is eligible to return to Head Start in the 23-24 school year, re-enrollments will begin the week of March 20th. Your Head Start Family Advocate will reach out to you to schedule a meeting time. Reminder, be sure your child’s dental and physical exams have been completed for this school year and the information has been turned into Nurse Rhonda. If you have any questions, please reach out to Rhonda at 323-4432.
Community Friends Program at BECEP
BECEP has openings for 4-year-olds in the Community Friends program for the 2023-2024 school year. This is a tuition based, ½ day preschool program, for students who demonstrate age-appropriate skills. Tuition costs are $126/month for 4 half days a week and $63/month for 2 half days a week. Please call BECEP at 701-323-4400 to schedule a screening.
BECEP Right Track and Early Intervention
There is now an easy way to request information. If you know someone with an infant or toddler, let them know about these FREE programs. Simply scan the QR code!Door 4; East Side of BECEP Richholt
Please do NOT exit through this door when dropping off your child in the morning. The only unlocked doors are the front and we need to keep track of all visitors in and out. We do not have the staff to watch to ensure someone accidentally leaves it ajar, someone sneaks in, or a child slips out. We appreciate your cooperation.
Early Head StartDid you know that BECEP also has an Early Head Start Program serving families and children prenatally to age three? The Program is designed to provide early support to families of infants and toddlers in their home. Family group activities are also provided twice a month. The Program will enhance your child’s development through healthy beginnings and caring relationships. Early Head Start offers an individualized curriculum that will transition your child into pre-school with success! If you or someone you know is interested in this program, you can contact the BECEP office at 323-4400.
HHS and human service zones launch new Customer Support Center and redesigned customer experience to simplify access to SNAP, Medicaid and more
North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) and its human service zone partners announced today the launch of a new customer service experience for individuals applying for Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Care Assistance Program and other financial help. Beginning Feb. 13, experienced team members from local human service zones across the state will be working together to serve North Dakotans more quickly. The work of processing applications and renewals for economic assistance programs will be shared across teams in the 19 zones.
The redesigned customer experience also includes the launch of a new Customer Support Center where North Dakotans can get answers to questions, report changes and get help applying through one toll-free phone number at (866) 614-6005, 711 (TTY). The Customer Support Center is staffed by experts in the human service zone offices Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.- 6 p.m. CST. There is now one place to send documents using one fax number (701) 328-1006, one email applyforhelp@nd.gov, or one mailing address: Customer Support Center, PO Box 5562, Bismarck, N.D. 58506.
Greetings Game
The goal of this game is to be delightful and silly. When your child arrives home from school, begin by shaking the child’s hand and saying, “It’s wonderful to see you”. Next, give a handshake to the child’s foot, commenting, “It is wonderful to meet you, Mr. or Ms. Foot”.
Shake your child’s elbow, knee, pinky finger earlobe, hair, thumbs, and nose. Any body part will do! (Taken from Conscious Discipline, “I Love You Rituals”)
Play Plans to Build Social Emotional Skills One easy (and interesting) way to increase your child’s Social- Emotional Skills is with Play Plans. Play Plans are simply your child planning out their play before it happens. This helps your child plan, build initiative, and makes their play more purposeful. You can help your child make play plans before they go to preschool, or before they play at home by asking simple questions like:
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- What are you going to play with today?
- What are you going to make?
- How will you make it?
- Who are you going to play with today?
- Who are you going to say hi to at school?
- What rules will you remember today?
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Hopefully this will also provide interesting conversation and for you and your child!
Conscious Discipline Skill #5-POSITIVE INTENT The skill of assuming positive intent, allows us to see the best in others. What we offer to others, we experience in ourselves. When we define children positively, we hold them in high esteem. Start out by assuming that your child’s motives are positive. Instead of assuming your child is bad or trying to make your life difficult, you can shift your perception. Thinking positively creates teaching moments by transforming resistance into cooperation. Children cannot behave differently until they are seen differently.
Formula for Positive Intent
Step 1: State the child’s positive intention, usually by completing the sentence, “You wanted ”. **This builds security and cooperation.
Step 2: State for the child the skill she/he used in obtaining what they wanted. Describe the action without judgments, usually by completing the sentence, “So you ”.
**This builds consciousness.
Step 3: State for the child the skills/he is missing. This would usually be, “You didn’t know what else to do” or “You know the words to use to ”. **This builds a positive concept.
Step 4: State the limit. “You may not . It hurts. (is hurtful, is not safe)”. **This sets the limit and shows the child how his/her actions impact others.
Buffalo Wings and Rings! BECEP Parent Policy Council is hosting a fundraiser in conjuction with Buffalo Wings and Rings. This fundraiser will assist the Policy Council in supporting the different BECEP programs. Show the flyer when you eat on March 23rd and the BECEP Policy Council will receive 25% of your total purchase. The flyer will come home with your student closer to the date.
Breakfast with Buddies!
BECEP at Richholt will be hosting Breakfast with Buddies on Tuesday, March 28th, from 8:00 to 8:30 am, in the Richholt Gym. More information to come with directions on how to RSVP.
Reminder for a Safe Arrival and Dismissal
We know school pick up and drop off can be busy and hectic when trying to get children to and from school on time, especially when you have children at multiple schools in the district, but we want to give a reminder of some measures that are put in place to keep you and your family safe.
We are now a designated school zone, which means the speed limit in front of the school is 20mph. A child can dart away from their adult so fast and going a little slower ensures more reaction time in case of such an event. U-turns are also a safety concern for us here as it is easy to overlook an oncoming vehicle or pedestrians.
Please also be aware of crosswalks when parking your vehicle because every family deserves a safe, designated place to cross the street. It can be especially difficult this time of year when other areas are blocked by snow.
Parking may not seem ideal in front of BECEP, but we have tried to free up the whole street for parking by adding the bus loop last year. Before that, families had to walk sometimes many blocks because most of the street in front of the school was bus only parking.
The buses now use the bus loop to park, so please note that the bus loop is only for bus parking, with the parking spots in the loop being for staff who arrive early before any bus traffic. It can cause a safety concern when cars pull into or park in the bus loop as it backs buses up into the street.
We have designated handicapped spaces on the West side of the building. Since we are a locked campus, please visit with your classroom teacher or family advocate to make a plan if you need to bring your child in from those spaces.
If you have any questions regarding expectations during arrival and dismissal, please don’t hesitate to ask a staff person!
Did You Know?
At BECEP we do monthly safety drills: fire, lockdown, tornado, and evacuation. We try to practice the fire and evacuation drills in the warmer months and do the tornado and lockdown drills in the colder months. The church across the street, Faith Lutheran, is where we go for evacuations. We have a procedure for reunification in the event that we would ever have to actually evacuate, and families would have to come pick children up at the church. Ask your child if they can tell you anything about a safety drill they have done at school. Even if they can’t, rest assured all staff are well-versed in what to do in case of an emergency.
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Any third party non-school district events in this newsletter are not sponsored/endorsed by Bismarck Public Schools.
District Newsletter
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The Bismarck Public School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age or disability in admission or access to or treatment or employment in its programs and activities. To obtain this material in an alternate format, or if you need access, or auxiliary services such as interpreters, large print, braille or recorded material, call (701) 323-4071, or a TTY Relay Service at 711 or 1-800-366-6888 two weeks prior to the event.
