The following letter was mailed home to Bell Top parents/caregivers on Monday, August 18.
Dear Bell Top Parents, Guardians, and Students,
I’m truly excited to welcome you back for the 2025-2026 school year! I can’t wait to see our happy students after the summer, and I look forward to welcoming our new families to the Bell Top community. Each new school year brings fresh opportunities for growth and development, and our dedicated staff is committed to continuing to foster a safe, supportive, challenging, and engaging environment for all our students. I hope you’re all well-rested and eager to return to class, dive into learning, and reconnect with friends.
The summer months, as always, have been busy as we prepare for your return. Many of our staff members have engaged in valuable professional development, deepening their expertise across various educational topics. They’ve also been diligently planning lessons and preparing their classrooms to ensure a smooth start. You’ll notice our building looks fantastic, thanks to the incredible hard work of our maintenance staff.
You’ll find your child’s classroom/teacher assignment enclosed in this mailing. Usually, a supply list would accompany the assignment letter. However, “Lisa’s Dream Closet” consignment store, owned by Mr. Dan O’Neill, has purchased ALL of the recommended supplies for all of our Bell Top Students!!! We cannot thank them enough.
I’m also delighted to let you know that our annual Welcome Back Ice Cream Social will be held on Friday, September 12th, offering a wonderful chance for families to reconnect and celebrate the opening of school. Thank you to our outstanding PTO for planning this great event.
Additionally, please mark your calendars for our Bell Top Elementary School “Back-to-School Nights” (Open House), scheduled as follows:
- Kindergarten – Grade 2: Tuesday, September 16, 2025, from 6:30-8:00 PM
- Grades 3 – 5: Tuesday, September 30, 2025, from 6:30-8:00 PM
These evenings are designed for parents to meet the dedicated staff working with your child this year. Staff members will share important information regarding grade-level curriculum, classroom routines, expectations, and more. This is also a great opportunity to ask general questions about your child’s classroom or the learning environment. Please note that these evenings are not set aside for individual student conferences; those will be held on December 4th or as arranged by appointment.
Finally, we want to bring your attention to the new statewide ban on internet-enabled devices that takes effect this school year. Our district has thoughtfully developed plans tailored to each grade level. At the high school, students will be utilizing “Yondr Pouches” for their devices throughout the day. For Bell Top and our other elementary schools, we are requiring that all devices capable of connecting to the internet (such as phones, smartwatches, and AirPods) remain in your child’s backpack within their cubby during the school day. Should you need to reach your child, please contact the main office, and we will ensure your message is delivered promptly. Please note that medical exceptions to this policy can be made. You can find more detailed information in the attached articles and policy, or feel free to call me with any questions.
Some important dates to have on your calendar. The opening days of school are scheduled as follows:
- Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025: Kindergarten Orientation – More information to follow
- Wednesday, September 3rd, 2025: First day of school for all students in Grades K – 5
- Friday, September 12th, 2025: 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 16, 2025: Bell Top Open House – Grades K-2 (6:30 – 8:00 P.M.)
- Tuesday, September 30, 2025: 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 Pick-up
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.
- If you need to pick up your child prior to 3:20 p.m., please arrive to pick up your child before 3:00 p.m. It would help us greatly as the time from 3:00-3:20 our main office staff and teachers are preparing for the end of the school day and it is difficult to call additional students down to go home.
- 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