Volunteering Opportunities for 2008/2009 school year

There are many volunteer opportunities throughout the year that allow you to get involved in your child’s school. You can volunteer at class parties or to sell tickets at Chili Night Out or to chair a booth at the school picnic. There are also regular weekly volunteer opportunities for those who have the time. Two of our regular opportunities are:

Publishing Center: Teachers place their orders in a file folder in the school office. Projects may include cutting out 40 elf hats, laminating a child’s artwork or sorting pages in a child’s school-year scrapbook. You can come in any day of the school week and any time during the school day to go through the file folder to see what needs to be done. You can work as little or as much as you want. For more information, contact Melissa Lambert at cloudsofviolets@charter.net

Wednesday Envelopes: Every Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, volunteers collate school news and notes and place the papers in envelopes that go home with our children on Wednesday afternoons. The task takes about 1.5 hours each of the two days. The more volunteers we have, however, the quicker it goes. For more information, contact Marie Dilg at mtdilg@sbcglobal.net. 

SIS Parent Portal Instructions

Mrs. Buckley and Miss Strzembosz each received a grant from the Mehlville/Oakville Foundation. 

The cold weather has definitely arrived. I wanted to remind all parents to dress your children appropriately for school.  Standing at the bus stop or being out at recess in the cold weather can cause health and safety concerns.  Students will be having outside recess unless the temperature goes below 10 degrees (includes wind chill.)  Here are a few tips to follow:

· Cover all parts of the body

· Dress in layers-layers can be removed when inside

· Stay dry-wet clothes will not keep you warm in winter

· Choose fabrics such as fleece, wool, flannel, corduroy and heavy knits

· Wear a hat  that covers the ears- 50% of body heat can be lost through the head

· Wear a scarf to keep neck covered

· Wear gloves or mittens- mittens are warmer than gloves

· Wear thicker socks

· Shoes should be water repellent, closed toe and without holes

· Boots are a great alternative

Coats should cover the torso and seat not just to the waist.

Hypothermia develops when a child’s temperature falls below normal due to exposure to cold.  It happens mostly when playing outside in extremely cold weather without proper clothing.  The child may shiver and become lethargic and clumsy. Speech may be slurred and body temperature will decline. If any of these symptoms occur call 911 and take the child indoors, remove any wet clothing and wrap in blankets and warm clothes.

Frostbite happens when the skin and outer tissues becomes frozen. It occurs mostly on fingers, toes, ears, and nose. They may become pale, gray and blistered. The child may complain that the skin feels like it is burning or is numb.  Limit time outdoors when very cold.  If you suspect frostbite has occurred bring child indoors and place the frostbitten parts of the body in warm (not hot) water. Apply warm washcloths to face, nose, ears and lips.  Keep child warm and dry. Give warm fluids to drink. Call the pediatrician if numbness continues for more than a few minutes.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!!

Kim Aka, RN

 Registration will be January 26— January 30

We will be having night registration on

Wednesday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Call 314 467-5500 to make an appointment

The fee for full-day kindergarten will be determined at a later date and will be included in the January issue of the Messenger.  A deposit will be required at the time of registration.

The YMCA School Age Child Care Program offers before and after-school care here at Bierbaum.  Our program follows the Mehlville school year calendar.  When the Mehlville schools have a 2 Hour Late Start school day, we will offer before-school care, with registration open to any family who has a child (ages 5-12) currently enrolled.

Registration will end the Thursday (9:00 a.m.) before each scheduled late-start date, or when all available slots are filled.  No registration will be accepted after that date.

Care would begin at the normal school starting time (8:45 a.m.) and would continue until the 2 hour late start finishes and children begin their school day.  There is no pre-registration fee, but a fee of $14.00, per child is charged for each late start day attended (payment made to South County YMCA/ no cash accepted).  You will need to register your child(ren) each month you wish to use the program.  Registration forms and payments should go directly to the YMCA School Age Child Care Staff at your school.  Families in our School Age Child Care Program have first preference, with the other slots being filled on a first-come, first serve basis. 

Listed below are the late start days for the 2008-2009 school year:

*  Thurday, Sept. 11, 2008                               *  Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009

*  Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008                             *  Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009

*  Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008                              *  Thursday, Mar. 26, 2009

*  Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008                            *  Wednesday, May 6, 2009

All students excel to their highest potential in a welcoming, enthusiastic, positive environment.  Through relationships among all members of the Bierbaum community, students succeed in becoming productive, creative citizens.

Thanks to the efforts of Bev Dahlen of

Mobil station at 2600 Lemay Ferry Rd,

Bierbaum has been awarded a $500 ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Grant to support our schools’ programs.    Funded by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance program is designed to

provide Mobil retailers like Arch Energy Lc with an opportunity to invest in the future of their community through educational grants to neighborhood schools.  

-Thank you for cooperating with our arrival and dismissal procedures.  We work very hard to make sure all children are safe at all times.  With this in mind, if you must pick up your child early from school, it must be BEFORE 3:10 p.m.  After 3:10, we will not release students to their parents, except from the pick up lines in the gym which is around 3:30.  We hope you understand that this is in the best interest of all our families and it helps to keep traffic flowing smoothly for everyone.

-Please remember to call the Attendance Hotline if your child will be absent from school.  The number is 467-5510.    This helps us notify the teachers so they can plan accordingly.  Thank you for your help.