Welcome from the Director:

Dear Parents,

It is with great pleasure to welcome you and your wonderful children to an exciting year in Prekindergarten at The Bear Blvd. School for Early Learning! As they begin on this new journey in school, each child will encounter a happy learning environment designed to foster a love of learning through creativity, exploration and purposeful play. We are planning for 14 classrooms of four-year-olds this year with approximately 22 children assigned to each classroom. Each classroom is staffed with a teacher and a teaching assistant and some classes also have a Head Start teacher. As your Director, I'd like to request your help and support in becoming familiar with the following policies and procedures that will help our school operate smoothly.

1) The school day begins at 8:30 and dismisses at 2:30 PM. Bus transportation is provided for all children enrolled at Bear Blvd. We are fortunate to have teaching assistants who ride the buses with the children every morning and afternoon in order to ensure their safety. It is absolutely MANDATORY that the child's parent or another adult is available to put the child on the bus each morning and the child must be met by an adult as they are returned home in the afternoon. Children will be returned to school if an adult is not present and you will be expected to pick your child up, then, from Bear Blvd. Please be aware that if this occurs more than once, bus privileges could be suspended and then you would be responsible for transporting your child to and from school each day.

2) Children can purchase beakfast and lunch daily. There is a kitchen at the school where all meals are prepared. Children may also bring their lunches. Breakfast prices this year are 75 cents and lunches are $1.30. You are welcome to complete an Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals.

3) If your child is absent, it is necessary for you to write a note to the office explaining the reason for the absence upon the child's return to school. Attendance is important and will be closely monitored. Once children enroll in school, attendance becomes compulsory. Excessive absences will be referred to the SBISD Police Department, Truancy Reduction Increased Attendance Team/TRIAT. Please note that Sec.25.0951 of the Texas Education Code states the following: if a student fails to attend school without an excuse in three (3) or more days, or parts of days within a four-week period OR in ten (10) or more days, or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year, a school principal or his or her designee SHALL notify the Spring Branch ISD Police Department. This notification is referred to as a “Referral.”

4) If it becomes necessary for you to check your child out of school for a doctor's appointment or an emergency prior to the 2:30 dismissal, you will be required to come to the office to sign your child out and show a picture ID to verify your relationship to the child.

5) In the afternoon, children who are riding home in cars will be dismissed at 2:15 in the Parent Drive on the east side of our school. You will be given a yellow card to place in the window with the students' name and room number on the card. We cannot release the child to you without that card. Please wait in your cars until the assistants have brought the children to the parent pick-up area. Parking in the designated fire lanes is prohibited. Please don't take a chance on being ticketed!!!

Thanks so much for your cooperation in working together to make our children's year in prekindergarten a wonderful beginning to school!