Welcome Back to School Letter From The Principal
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!
August 2, 2023
Dear Big Horn Elementary Parents/Guardians and Students,
On behalf of the staff at Big Horn Elementary School, I am excited to welcome you to the 2023-24 school year! The staff and I are eager to connect with you and your child(ren) after a very pleasant summer. We hope you and your child(ren) have had a safe and healthy summer experience!
There are quite a few new faces at Big Horn Elementary! We welcome them to our outstanding staff; they are Ms. LeAnn Boggs (third grade teacher), Ms. Liza Scott (fourth grade teacher), Ms. Lisa Townsend (fifth grade teacher), Megan Moore (reading teacher), and Mr. Brandon Garner (PE Teacher). Our full faculty and staff are:
Ms. Mandy Leach – Pre-Kinder
Ms. Holly Butler – KinderBoost
Ms. Katelyn Swing – Kindergarten
Ms. Kayla Martinez - Kindergarten
Ms. Katie Stewart – 1st Grade
Ms. Caroline Houck -1st Grade
Mr. Adam Healy – 2nd Grade
Mr. Jesse Hinkhouse– 2nd Grade
Mr. Kip Butler - 3rd Grade
Ms. LeAnn Boggs– 3rd Grade
Mr. Lamont Clabaugh -4th Grade
Ms. Liza Scott – 4th Grade
MS. Cherie’ Taylor – 5th Grade
Ms. Lisa Townsend – 5th Grade
Ms. April Zent – Special Education
Ms. Megan Moore- Reading Interventionist
Ms. Crystal Lenhart-Literacy Coach
Ms. Shari Hollingshead – Math Interventionist
Ms. Alexis Walter – KB-5 Counselor
Mr. Tyler Rogers- Art & Music
Mr. Ty George– 4/5 Art
Mr. Brandon Garner- P.E.
Ms. Jody DeHaven - Tech & Literacy
Ms. Amy Steel - Speech & Language
Ms. LaDonna Garneau –Occ Therap.
Ms. Nan Wallach – Librarian
Ms. Suzanne Prior – Campus Nurse
Ms. Kim Maurhoff – Campus Nurse
Ms. Terry Fudge – Day Building & Custodial
Mr. Roger Ouellette - Day Bldg & Custodial
Mr. Bob Aksamit - Grounds Coordinator
Mr. Steven Ross– Transportation Coordinator
Ms. Carolyn Rolfe– Food Service
Ms. Laurie Wood – Food Service
Ms. Melanie Meineke – Office Assistant
Ms. Anita Clapham – Office Assistant
At Big Horn Elementary we believe we have a duty to help your child be the best that they can be so that they can be successful and productive adults. To us this means we foster a love of learning, assure a safe environment, create meaningful relationships, implement real and relevant education, and provide differentiated instruction. Assessments will be right away to determine where your child(ren) is academically and begin instruction where your child’s needs are. We are also planning our Parent Teacher Conferences to be September 14th and 15th so that we can review the results and set goals together. Our commitment to these beliefs guide us in all we do. Thank you for sending your child(ren) to us!
We also strongly believe that a child is most successful when they have an active support system; parents, elders, family, friends, and community. It is our hope that your child will reach new heights this year through the combined effort of home and school. All staff emails use the following template: first initial of first name, followed by their last name, @sheridan.k12.wy.us for example Kathy Powers’ email is kpowers@sheridan.k12.wy.us. If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email, phone, note or coming.
Here is some more useful information:
BACK TO SCHOOL CELEBRATION & BBQ – The 20th Annual Big Horn Campus BBQ will be on Wednesday, August 16th.
SCHOOL DAY – The first day of school is Monday, August 21st. School/seat time begins at 8:00 A.M. Monday through Thursday. Students can enter their classroom at 7:55 A.M. School dismisses from 3:50 PM for K-2 and 3:55 for 3-5. The buses leave at 4:05 P.M. The good attendance, study habits, and behavior that your child develops in elementary school can set a strong foundation that can prevail through a lifetime. Therefore, it is very important that your child arrives at school in a timely manner. It is also important to realize that with a four-day week of school, absences can add up to a week’s absence quickly.
SCHOOL LUNCH AND BREAKFAST – Students may bring a cold lunch or partake in school breakfast and/or hot lunch. We will begin serving breakfast at 7:45 A.M. and lunch is at 11:30 for KB-2nd and 11:55 for grades 3-5. If applicable, Free and Reduced Lunch applications can be found on the website.
SCHOOL SPIRIT DAY – Thursday is our Spirit Day. On Thursdays, we celebrate our school by wearing our school colors, maroon and gold, or school spirit clothing line. Spirit wear clothing will be available from an order form coming home on the first day of school. Clothing is also available from the HS Parent Group and various places around town.
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES - Families play an important role in their child’s education and we honor you. We will hold our Parent Teacher Conferences Thursday, September 14th and 15th. Appointment requests will be sent on the first day of school.
HOME AND SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS – Our school bulletin called the “Monday Folder” will be sent via email and printed every Monday as one way to ensure our families are aware of opportunities for involvement and all the great things happening at BHE. It is also posted on our website at https://www.sheridan.k12.wy.us/o/bhe. If you would like to make sure we have the correct contact information, please give our front office folks a call or an email. Also, as a way to reduce paper waste we will send paper copies home with the oldest child in your family. If for some reason this reduces the communication, please let us know and we will send paper copies home with everyone in your family. Postings will also be available on our social media sites. Lastly, teachers send home newsletters with specific information for classes.
Again, we are looking forward to our school year ahead, and thank you in advance for your support and involvement. The staff and I are honored to partner with you in the education of your child. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Warmly,
Kathy Powers, Principal