Dear Branchville Families, 

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year at Branchville Elementary School! We hope you all enjoyed a fun and restful summer, even though it seemed to go by in a blink of an eye.  As we embark on this new school year, we are extremely excited about what the faculty, staff and PTA have in store for our BES community!

As our children start this school year, we want you to know that this year you can expect to see many of the traditional BES PTA experiences that we were able to provide before the pandemic. For those families who have been a part of BES prior to the pandemic, that means a Beaver Boogie fun run that will take place after school rather than during the school day.  This year also sees the return of the Spring Gala and Auction after a four-year hiatus (details to follow)! That being said, in the world we live in, it is not always easy to predict if some of what we plan will have to change. Fortunately, these past two years have empowered us with the ability to be adaptable, flexible and creative. Rest assured, we will exhaust all options to ensure that students, families and staff experience a typical BC (Before Covid) school year. The Branchville PTA is here to support and guide you through changes as they come, with as much assistance as we are able to provide. We believe that our sense of community is the most important part of what makes BES so special, and we are here to ensure that our community remains the foundation on which we will build a successful educational experience for all of our students!

Let us tell you a little bit more about your BES PTA. The function of the PTA is to support and run programs in conjunction with the school while fostering a sense of family among everyone at BES. There are dozens of programs that we organize, fund, and facilitate each year for students and families. A sampling of our programs include Come Play School, the Scholastic Book Fair, 5th Grade Musical, Beaver Boogie, Beaver Bucks, Field Day, Language Club, Invention Convention, Foreign Language Club and Compassion & Diversity. We also underwrite fees for guest authors and other assemblies and enrichment opportunities, coordinate the yearbook, maintain the garden on the school grounds, and so much more.  

We are always looking for volunteers in a variety of roles, now more than ever!  With possible restrictions still in place, we are in need of parents who can think “outside of the box” and come up with unique creative ideas for new opportunities to support our children.  Also, there are still plenty of opportunities to help out with programs that already exist and need assistance.  If you are interested, please let us know and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction. We can be reached at board@branchvillepta.org. 

Please visit the BES PTA website at branchvillepta.org for important information pertaining to upcoming events and programs. For your convenience, links are provided to make purchases and sign up for activities at BES. You can find the lunch menu, school calendar and many other helpful links there. We hope this will be your go-to for everything PTA.  In addition, there is now a Membership Toolkit app! Membership Toolkit is our website platform, and the app will helpfully notify you anytime we send a message.  If you’re tired of weeding through your inbox to find information, we suggest downloading it from the app store! 

With all of this in mind, we highly encourage you to join the PTA; your membership provides you with a vote, access to the online Branchville Student Directory and PTA communications. The Directory is only available to members and is an essential for communicating with other BES families! Our eBlasts, a weekly email, are the best way to stay in the know in regard to all things BES; on our website, click the blue button that says “Register and Join the PTA'' and register to receive the eBlasts. Please take note, if you do not register for the PTA, you will not receive the weekly eBlast emails nor will you have access to the directory. Plan on registering when you have received your child’s class assignment by going to branchvillepta.org.  When you register, you can list your child’s teacher, and you’ll be able to see other families in the same class as well. 

One other exciting update we want to share with you all is that we are in the process of working to upgrade the back playground! You have likely heard by now that we have already ordered one piece of equipment that will be installed next month, and we have begun fundraising for the main structure! Please click here to read all about these planned improvements, and how you can help.  We truly believe we can reach our goal if we come together as a community to give whatever we are able to give. 

Finally, we want to stress that the PTA and the school administration are very open to hearing any concerns, suggestions, or questions you may have.  Before you take to social media to air your ideas or concerns, please let us know what’s on your mind by emailing us at board@branchvillepta.org! Mr. Margolus has asked us to emphasize that his door is always open as well. Just call or email Catherine in the main office (cbasso@ridgefieldps.net) to set up a time to talk to Mr. Margolus! We all want to work together to make sure that all students and families continue to have a positive experience at BES.  

Welcome (or Welcome Back) to BES! Let’s have a great year! 

Warmly,

Lorraine Catalano & Mary Salgado

BES PTA Co-Presidents

board@branchvillepta.org