Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year, BVHM families!

It is with great anticipation that our staff awaits the morning of August 16, when all of our students will step through our gates. I know that many of our children feel the same. 

Your child might also be feeling nervous or wondering what to expect– you might feel so as well. All of those feelings are completely normal and appropriate! Our staff is here to answer any questions you might have about the plans, routines and schedules we are adopting to keep your child safe and happy. 

As we all transition back to in-person school, we will strive to meet the diverse needs of each of our students so that they can learn and grow:

This school year calls for all of us to rally around the resilience of our children, to connect them to their classrooms, their teachers and classmates. To help them see themselves in their lessons– to lose themselves in books and find themselves as they work out a math equation. The collective work we will do to support our kids this year is to help them ROOT and GROW. 

Our students will take root in the rich soil of their school community and they will flourish as learners. It might not happen quickly or all at once, but if we — families and staff together– commit to supporting and challenging these kids, they will “rise to our high expectations and bloom into healthy, competent, and confident learners.”

The quote above is from our mission. I end this letter with our mission in its entirety. I share it to remind you that it has always been the mission of our school to support our students through the personal and societal struggles they encounter– to help them see all the ways in which their ability to persevere has strengthened them, and to continue to draw upon that strength as they grow. 

This year, staff and families will partner closer than ever to support our children. We will communicate regularly and truly work together on their educational goals. I look forward to hearing from you through phone calls and emails, over zoom and at pick up and drop off times. Through collaboration, our children will no doubt, become the strong bilingual, multicultural agents of change” we need, so they can “transform our community for the betterment of all.”

I have much to share with you, so please read on for specifics about this year, 

 

Principal Claudia DeLarios Morán 

We take the safety of our community seriously. In order to reduce the risk of infection, please be sure to follow the guidelines below when you send your child to our campus

All children and families who arrive at our gates are required to wear a mask. 

Students will be expected to keep their masks on while on school grounds (both inside the building and on the yard).

If your child rides the bus, they need to be masked the entire time they are on the bus.

Parents will not be allowed onto campus this semester. Our goal is to welcome families back to our building and yard as soon as it is safe to do so! At the end of this term, we will evaluate whether it is still necessary to keep families offsite– hopefully we’ll be able to loosen the restrictions for Spring semester.

Until then, please drop off and pick up your child at the gates, or give authorization for them to arrive and depart school on their own (4th grade and up).

If you are accompanying your child to school, you no longer need to wait in line while we screen them for symptoms– please screen them at home before sending them to school. 

We ask for your understanding at the end of the school day, as we’ll be retrieving students from the yard once we see that their family has arrived at the gate.

Kinder, 1st and 2nd grade students will arrive and depart from the Valencia gate. 

3rd, 4th and 5th grade families will arrive and depart from the Bartlett gate. 

Middle schoolers will use the gate that leads into the middle school wing from Valencia street. 

If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home and contact us. 

If your child stays home or is sent home with a symptom associated with COVID, they can only re-enter with a doctor’s note or a negative COVID test. 

Please keep your child  home if they experience any of these symptoms:

o Fever  100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher

o New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for students with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline) 

o Diarrhea

o Nausea/vomiting

o New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever

o Loss of smell or taste     

o Chills 

o Sore throat 

 

      A few first-day logistics: 

  • For grades K-5, school ends at 3:45 every day except Wednesday, when it ends at 2:30. For grades 6-8, school ends at 4:00 every day except Wednesday, when it ends at 2:15. 

Given this change to the middle school start time, we anticipate many more 6-8 grade students needing before-school care. All families who are interested in enrolling their child in before care or after care should contact Nancy Hernandez at nancyh@jamestownsf.org

  • If you are driving, please give yourself plenty of time to find parking. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN BUS ZONES ON 23rd St. Instead, use the white zones on either side of the building, find a metered parking spot, or use the public parking garage on 22nd and Bartlett. 
  • The school day starts at 9:30 sharp, so please drop your child a few minutes early (by 9:25). The yard will be supervised starting at 9:10 am. On the first day of school we hope to show our students how EXCITED we are to see them by creating a warm and welcoming group environment before students head inside. 
  • All grades, K-5, will meet their teachers in the yard. Students will look for the sign with their teacher’s name and room number (younger students will be led to their line by a staff member). If you are not sure what class your child is assigned to by the first day, we will provide you that information at the gate. 
  • If you are sending your child with a snack or lunch, keep in mind our district and school healthy foods guidelines and choose alternatives to soda, candy, or chips. All students will be able to eat school lunch for free this year, so feel free to skip the grocery shopping and food prep and let us take care of lunch for you! Breakfast will also be provided for all who want it, and those students staying for the after school program, will be served Supper. 

Regardless of whether or not you plan to send your child with lunch, it is important that you fill out the Multipurpose Family Income Form (you’ll be prompted to fill it out when you log in to your Parent Vue account). The information we collect on this form will determine how much funding we receive as a school!

  • If you need to complete registration, have questions about ParentVUE, ParentSquare, the After School Program, the Multi Purpose Family Income Form, the Emergency Form, school lunch — any questions at all — please visit the help tables set up outside of the Valencia and Bartlett gates during the first week of school. If you can’t be there, call our front desk at (415) 695-5881
  • The beginning of the school year is always a busy transition—and often an emotional one. A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and a few encouraging words will go a long way towards providing children a positive experience during the first days of school. Thank you, thank you for your partnership!

Introductions:

Since we did not have enough qualified Assistant Principal candidates to hold an interview panel, we were appointed an interim Assistant Principal for this school year instead. Here is Assistant Superintendent Jason Hannon’s description of the process that led to the placement of our new Interim AP. 

While we will plan to hold interviews in Spring 2022 for a permanent Assistant Principal, we have been given a fantastic interim Assistant Principal for this school year. Our Interim AP’s name is Veronica Reilly. Here is the letter she wrote to our community. 

 

Along with Veronica, we welcome the following staff to our school: 

Araceli Leon is moving to BVHM from Monroe to teach Kindergarten while Debby is out on sabbatical.

Inez Vara was Maribel’s student teacher last year and is stepping in to teach 1st grade while Lisa is on sabbatical.

Xenia Mejía was Ana Huitron’s student teacher last year and will be teaching 3rd grade. 

Monica Mendoza, who started her career as Frank’s student teacher and has since taught at Dolores Huerta, will be replacing Frank in 5th grade this year.

Ariel Kreitzman is stepping in as Middle School RSP, alongside Fabian, while Laura Crahan is on sabbatical.

 

This year, we will have one representative from last year’s 2nd through 5th grades moving up with their students, in order to convey their deep knowledge of them:

 

Xenia Mejia is moving up to 3rd grade alongside all of her students from last year

Allison Matamorros is moving up to 4th grade alongside all of her students from last year

Mira Carberry is moving up to 5th grade alongside all of their students from last year

Paloma Lopez is moving up to 6th grade alongside all of her students from last year

We wish our staff the best of luck as they transition into their new roles!

Goodbyes: Alberto Martinez has been our Beacon coordinator for as long as we’ve had a Beacon. We’ll miss him VERY MUCH but we wish him well as he explores his next professional adventure.

Supplies: We will provide the basic school supplies for our classrooms including: crayons, pencils, markers, glue, scissors, dry erase markers, paper, composition books, home/school communication folders, rulers, colored pencils, folders, highlighters, post-it notes, Kleenex, and more. We are very appreciative of any donations you may be able to make to supplement our basic supplies. Your child’s teacher will communicate directly to you regarding specific classroom needs. 

Parent Involvement: Please know that we welcome your participation. If you are a carpenter, if you are crafty, if you like to paint, design, cook, translate, etc. please let us know. Our teachers and parent groups will be in touch regarding how you can help our students and programs. Watch for more information about our Parent Teacher Association (PTA), English Learner Advisory Council (ELAC), School Site Council (SSC), and other opportunities for your voice and gifts to contribute to our school community. 

ParentSquare is the primary communication tool at BVHM. If you are a BVHM parent but have not signed up for our electronic directory and communication system, ParentSquare, please go to https://www.parentsquare.com/signin to register for an account.  To learn more about ParentSquare, please review this video. If you need help getting onto Parent Square, please email calderonr@sfusd.edu

If you are new to Buena Vista Horace Mann and have questions about registration or requirements for starting school, please email Jesenia Martin at martinj4@sfusd.edu or call 415-695-5881 before August 16.