Announcements

Lunch Menu: https://www.blufftonschools.org/lunch-menu-download

Parent Teacher Conferences: PT Conferences will be held on Monday 11/24 staring at 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. and on Tuesday 11/25 from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.. There will be no school Weds 11/26-Fri 11/28. We are using PTCFast.com to make signups as convenient as possible this year. Please enter the following web address into your browser window: https://ptcfast.com/schools/Bluffton_Exempted_Village_Schools . If you do not have internet access, please contact us via phone at 419-358-7951. The deadline to schedule your conference online is 11/17. After that date you must schedule them by calling the school. 

Girl Scouts: Any girl in grade Kg-5th grade is invited to attend a Girl Scout meeting on Tuesday, November 11 at 6:00 in the First Mennonite Church downstairs meeting room. A parent/guardian needs to attend this first meeting. Call Kate Sherer if you have any questions 937-279-6534

PTO Help Needed: If you are willing to make food to feed the teachers during Parent teacher conferences, please use the following link to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DAFAF23A2F8C25-59327910-teacher#/

5th Grade Boys Basketball: Any 5th grade boy interested in playing basketball for Bluffton this winter needs to sign up online.   A paper was sent home with all 5th grade boys the week of 10/20 with information on how to sign up. You can also click on this the link to sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_cDnkXTfVfk1LI2wuXuTe36p4i74Rs7PQMrP1U_VE_se1ag/viewform . Contact  Steve Yarnell at yarnells@bluffton.edu with any questions.

Girl Scouts: There will be a meeting on Tuesday, 11/11 at 6:00 in the First Mennonite Church's meeting room (downstairs) for any girl interested in being in Girl Scouts. The parent should also attend.  The church is located across the street from the Middle School front doors. 

Youth Wrestling: If you have a boy or girl interested in wrestling this winter, you can sign up at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/RX84uNwfME. The cost is $45. More information will be provided the first week of practice, but for additional information please visit their Facebook group Bluffton Youth Wrestling Club or call/text 567-328-8216. 

Type 1 Diabetes Information: We are required by the state to inform parents about diabetes. Please click on the following link for the information:  /fs/resource-manager/view/b6c76f22-9c76-4002-8859-0a2f10c16d70

Girls 4th-6th Basketball Sign up: A form was emailed to 4th & 5th grade girl's parents via Final Forms on Monday, 9/15 with a QR code to sign up or use this link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=zvRAFsaG8kSkdwa9OWF-lzaTtlmPzEhGhyw-EvdLdutUOUZPT1dNV0k5Mks3SzhLQk0xQkFWSUhNVi4u&origin=QRCode. If you have questions about these teams or signing up, contact Cory Meyer at 419-890-2925.  If you did NOT receive an email from Final Forms/Mrs. Oberly, check your Final Form account and look at what email address you have down and update it if needed. 

Please sign up for the NEW SCHOOL ALERT system if you have not yet done so. Text the following to 22300 on your cell phone and then under messages type in #BLUFFTONSCHOOLS to receive Bluffton school alerts and delays, #BLUFFTONATHLETICS to receive Athletic alerts and/or #BLUFFTONMUSIC for Bluffton Music Booster alerts.  The OLD text alert system is no longer available so don't miss out on hearing about 2 hour delays, cancellations and other important events going on in the district. If you send your message and it does not send you a text response back, you may need to unblock a short code on your phone. For Iphones: go to Settings>Messages>Blocked contacts, then swipe left on the number you want to unblock and tap the Unblock button. If the short code isn't in your blocked list, check your Message Filters in the same "Messages" setting to ensure "Filter Unknown Senders" is turned off, as this can hide short code messages. If you still don't receive messages, contact your wireless carrier to ensure short code messaging is enabled for your account. 

School Hours: The tardy bell is at 8:10. All day Kindergarten students are dismissed at 2:50. Kindergarten parents must wait outside of the front doors of the elementary school and your child will be released when the teacher/student sees you. 1st-5th grade Walkers are dismissed at 3:00/Bus riders at 3:05.  Students who arrive between 7:30-7:45 a.m. must sit in the middle school cafetorium until 7:45 when they will be dismissed to go to their homeroom.  Office Hours: 7:30-3:30 M-F

New Student Registration: If you have moved into the Bluffton School District and are wanting to enroll your child into our school,  you will need to set up a new "parent account" in Final Forms to start the process.  Please click on the following link to get started: https://bluffton-oh.finalforms.com/. You will need to download your child's birth certificate, proof of residency, custody information and their current immunizations. If you have any questions or need help with the enrollment process, please call 419-358-5901 and Julie Steiner in the superintendent's office can help you. If she is unavailable, please contact Julie Oberly in the elementary office at 419-358-7951. If you do NOT live in our district but want to apply for Open Enrollment, complete the following application for approval: Open Enrollment Application

Bus Transportation Changes: If you are adding your child to a bus route or changing a pick up or drop off address for next school year, please click on this link: "Bus Transportation Form". The completed form will need turned in to the MS office.   If you are taking your child OFF the bus route please call Doug Westrick in the MS office and he will delete the child from the route. 419-358-7961

Progressbook:  Grade cards will NOT be sent home with 4th - 5th graders this year. They will be able to be viewed and or printed out through the Student's Progressbook account.  A letter will be sent home with your student with directions on how to log into PROGRESSBOOK if you have not yet set up an account.  You can also view your 4th & 5th grade child's current grades in their class prior to receiving their grade card. You can log into Progressbook through blufftonschools.org. Click on Parent and then Progressbook at the top of the school's webpage. If you have a K-2nd grader and would like to access Progressbook, contact the office for a Registration #.  Grade cards can be viewed and printed for K-5th grade students through Progressbook. 

When it is necessary to close or delay school due to bad weather, announcements will be made on the WLIO website (School closings) , radio stations: WIMA, T102, & WFIN, and on WLIO TV 35.  Please do not call the school offices for delay/cancellation information.  See “Parent Alert System” for information on how one may sign up to get alert text messages for delays or cancellations.

When school is delayed for two hours, the two year Kindergarten class will go to Plan B.  This means that the two year kindergarten students will attend school, but will stay in school one hour later than usual.  The two year kindergarten class dismissal for walkers and bus students will be at 12:00 instead of 11:00 on a 2 hour delay day. 

Bluffton Schools is using Final Forms to update your child's personal information including address, phone # and contact information, to register a new student, to sign off on forms, as well as signing off on the parent/student handbook.  Please go to our website, www.blufftonschools.org and under the Parents Link, choose Student Registration-Final Forms tab, and follow the instructions. This is where you make changes for your child throughout the school year. This form needs to be updated and forms digitally signed before the beginning of each school year. 

Please remember that if your child is going home a different way than normal, he/she will be required to have a note from a parent or the office needs to be notified by 2:00 so that they can contact the teacher.  If your student does not have a note or the office does NOT receive a call by 2:00, then he/she will be sent home the normal way.  A Bus Request form must be signed in the elementary office if a parent is changing a daily pick up or drop off.

Free/Reduced Lunches: If you think you would qualify for a Free or Reduced lunch, complete an application asap. You can find it on the schools website @ blufftonschools.org and then click on "Parents" and then "Payschools Central" and set up an account if you don't have one already. It will then let you complete an application online or you can stop in the superintendent's office and pick up a hard copy. You can also add money to your child's lunch account through Payschools or you can drop off a check to the cafeteria before school starts each morning. (There is a mailbox inside the cafetorium to put checks in).  Make sure the check has the students first and last name and their student ID# in the memo line or put cash in an envelope with this information.

School absences: ALWAYS contact the office regarding absences 419-358-7951 by 8:20. We will inform the teacher.  If a student will be leaving early for an appointment, please have them stop in the office as soon as they get to school and we will give them an "Early Dismissal Slip" to give to their teacher. If they do have a Dr Appt, please return a Dr excuse to the office so that we can mark it down as a medical appointment. 

School Hours & Lunches: 8:10-3:05 daily. Students CANNOT get into their classroom prior to 7:45. They must sit in the cafetorium if they arrive prior to that time. Walkers are dismissed at 3:00 and the bus riders at 3:05.School breakfasts are $1.50 and lunch is $2.50. 

School Fees: Pre-K $20/ Full day Kindergarten-5th grade $40. Fees can be paid online through Payschools or a check can be made out to Bluffton Elementary School and dropped off in the office. If you qualify for a free lunch, school fees will be waived so do not make a payment on fees until you see if your application has been approved/denied.

Transportation Changes: Makes sure to call the Elem. Office 419-358-7951 with any transportation changes (ie. picking up your child instead of riding the bus etc) prior to 2:00 p.m. daily. We will need to know their bus # if a bus rider. Even if you contacted the teacher, you need to also contact the school office. Just a reminder that students are NOT allowed to ride the bus home with each other for a playdate, alternative transportation must be arranged. 

Bussing: If you have a bus change email westrickd@blufftonschools.org. If your child has a change in their transportation for the day, you must contact the office 419-358-7941 prior to 2:00 p.m. that day in order for us to make the change.

Community Market Receipts are being collected by the PTO so DO NOT throw yours away. This is a great way for them to earn money from the Community Market and Chief stores.  Receipts can be turned into the Elem office or to your child's homeroom teacher. Remind your parents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters to save theirs too!!

Box Tops for Education: Instead of cutting out the actual Box Tops, you now need to download an app to collect them which actually is easier to do than tearing up a box. Check out the following link for more information and help out the Bluffton Elementary PTO collect more money for equipment and activities:  https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/

A small grab-n-go breakfast (cereals, poptarts or granola items with milk) will be served before school on a daily basis from 7:35-8:05 a.m. in the Middle School Cafetorium. The price of a breakfast is $1.50. The federal government has extended their free breakfast and lunch program for all students.