Bell Top Welcome Back Letter – August 2024

Aug 21, 2024 | Bell Top

The following letter was mailed home to Bell Top parents on August 20, 2024.

Dear Bell Top Parents, Guardians, and Children,

I am excited to begin the 2024-2025 school year as the new principal! I could not be happier to be part of this community and school and can’t wait to get students back. It is always a pleasure to see our hardworking students after the summer months and it will be a pleasure to welcome our new students and their families to the Bell Top School. Each new school year presents many opportunities for growth and development. Our entire staff will continue to work on creating and maintaining a safe, supportive, challenging, and engaging environment for all of our students. I hope that you are all well rested and eager to return to class, begin working, and see all of your friends.

As always, the summer months have been busy in order to prepare for your return. Many of our staff members have attended various professional development seminars centered on a variety of educational topics.  Staff members have been busy planning their lessons and getting their classrooms prepared. Our building looks great. Our maintenance staff has been working incredibly hard, and it paid off. 

Enclosed in this mailing is your child’s classroom/teacher assignments as well as a modified supply list. As a reminder you can also find our bus routes and updated supply lists on our parent information tab on the Bell Top website.

I am also thrilled to be part of the special traditions Bell Top celebrates, such as our annual welcome back ice cream social which will be held on Friday, September 13th, where families can reconnect and celebrate the opening of school.

In addition I would like to invite all of our parents to add the following dates to your calendar for our Bell Top Elementary School “Back-to-School Nights” (Open House) which has been scheduled as follows:

  • Kindergarten – Grade 2: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 from 6:30-8:00 PM
  • Grades 3-5: Thursday, September 26th, 2024 from 6:30-8:00 PM

These evenings provide our parents with an opportunity to meet the staff members that will be working with their child this school year. On these nights staff members typically provide our parents with important information regarding the school year, such as: grade level curriculum, classroom routines, expectations, etc. This night also provides our parents with an opportunity to ask questions about their child’s classroom, work expectations, routine, etc. These nights do not provide parents with an opportunity for individual student conferences. Conferences will be held on December 5th, or as necessary and agreed upon.

Just as a reminder, the opening days of school are scheduled as follows:

  • Wednesday September 4th, 2024: Kindergarten Orientation – More information to follow
  • Thursday, September 5, 2024: First day of school for all students in Grades K-5
  • Friday, September 13th, 2024: Bell Top’s Ice Cream Social sponsored by our PTO from 6:00 to 7:30 P.M.  [Parents/Guardians must accompany their child to this event.]
  • Tuesday, September 17, 2024: Bell Top Open House – Grades K-2 (6:30 – 8:00 P.M.)
  • Thursday, September 26, 2024: Bell Top Open House – Grades 3-5 (6:30 – 8:00 P.M.)

For families that will be dropping off and/or picking up their students there is detailed information on our website (https://egcsd.org/bell-top-elementary/arrival-and-dismissal-procedures/.) They are also listed below for your convenience. 

Bell Top’s A.M. Arrival and P.M. Departure Policy

Morning Arrival

  • The school day starts promptly at 9:15 a.m. If your child arrives after 9:15 a.m., please escort them to the front vestibule and sign them in.
  • Parents should park in the lower parking lot and escort their child up the sidewalk to the Main Entrance.
  • The circular driveway is used for buses. Parents should not enter the circular driveway between 8:45 – 9:15 a.m.
  • The morning bell rings at 9:00 a.m. All front doors are opened and monitored by staff at 9:00 a.m.
  • If a student arrives before 9:00 a.m., parents must wait with their child until the bell rings.
  • Students will exit the buses at the morning bell, and enter the building through one of the three front doors closest to their classroom.
  • Please do not drop children off on Reynolds Road and allow them to cross our bus entrance area.

Afternoon Dismissal

  • The school day ends at 3:30 p.m. Students who are being picked up will be called down to the Main Entrance beginning at 3:20 p.m.
  • Parents must park in the lower parking lot and walk to the main entrance. Parents should not enter the circular driveway between 3:00 – 3:45 p.m.
  • Parents should arrive by 3:15 p.m. to sign their child out in the front vestibule. Parents will wait on the front sidewalk for their students. Only children who have been signed out will be allowed to exit the building.
  • Parents do not enter the school building at dismissal.
  • Written permission is required for student pick-up for anyone other than the legal guardian. Please send a written note with your child, or send an email as early in the day as possible to Carrie Davis at: davisca@egcsd.org or to Stephanie Nagel at: nagelst@egcsd.org.
  • If it is your first visit to Bell Top, please be prepared to show your driver’s license or picture ID. Once your license is scanned into our system, you will not be required to show ID on future visits/pick-ups.
  • Buses begin to arrive at Bell Top around 3:05 p.m. and will park in the front circular driveway.
  • Students who ride the bus will wait in their classrooms until their bus route is called over the PA system.
  • Once parent pick-ups are completed, buses will be announced in the order of their arrival. Two announcements and a “Last Call” are made for every bus route.
  • Staff are stationed at all three front doors during dismissal to supervise children as they are dismissed to their buses.

School Safety: Visitors and Pick up

  • To ensure the safety of our students and staff here at Bell Top School all exterior doors will be locked throughout the day. At arrival 3 doors in the front of the building will be open and supervised by staff. Once the buses have completed their student drop off these doors will be shut and locked. At this time Bell Top goes to our single point of entry method for all visitors.
  • The single point of entry at Bell Top School will remain at the center entrance of our building. 
  • Each time a guest arrives here at school during the instructional day, they will be required to ring the bell at the main entrance.  
  • Visitors must have valid ID to pick up a student or enter the building. All visitors entering the building will be screened with our Raptor system.    
  • All visitors to Bell Top will be required to wear a tag/sticker that identifies them to all staff members as a visitor.  
  • The Bell Top staff understands that all non-staff persons in the building must have this tag displayed. 

If you have any questions concerning the opening of school, I encourage you to contact the main office (518-207-2600) between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM during the last two weeks of August.

Please take some time to relax and enjoy your families during the remaining days of summer.  I am sure that this will be a fun and rewarding school year for all.  

Best regards,

Mike Neumann
Principal