Charles T. Koontz Intermediate

PHOTOS: Koontz students experience the eclipse!

REMINDER: Friday 3/29/24 is an early dismissal day for students. Have a safe and peaceful Spring Break!

Safe Science: See what you should know about the 4/8 eclipse at bit.ly/48eclipse

Our students had a blast at the Southern Conference Education Days at Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville! Students enjoyed a morning of high-energy basketball fun, and found inspiration in talented college athletes, musicians, and performers! Special thanks to the Regional Sports Commission, Harrah's, and the Southern Conference for making these rewarding days possible! Check the BCS Facebook for more photos!

Our students had a blast at the Southern Conference Education Days at Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville! Students enjoyed a morning of high-energy basketball fun, and found inspiration in talented college athletes, musicians, and performers! Special thanks to the Regional Sports Commission, Harrah's, and the Southern Conference for making these rewarding days possible!

How much screen time is enough? All BCS families are invited to a special screening of SCREENAGERS, March 28 at 6pm in the NBMS theater. Admission is free.

Please use the link below to read the 2023 North Carolina School Report Cards. https://bit.ly/3hriYBh "The NC School Report Cards website contains snapshots of information about our schools, including the school performance grade, students’ academic growth, how prepared our students are when they enter a school, and a number of other measures as well," said NC Superintendent Catherine Truitt. "These resources are readily available for you and allow transparency into aspects like spending as well as school performance. Although this information is important to know, we know it doesn’t tell the complete story. It doesn’t show the hard work our educators pour in each day for their students and schools and it doesn’t show the spirit of the school itself. No data will be able to show the dedication of our educators nor will it show the extracurricular opportunities, the athletic programs, the apprenticeship, or career preparatory classes - all of which have a profound impact on students and growth."

Good afternoon, BCS Staff, Families, and Community: As the school year continues, we are working hard to ensure all of our students have the resources they need- and you can help! Thanks to a partnership with Purposity, we have identified the most urgent student needs and uploaded them to the Purposity website - a program that allows our community to meet these needs with just a few clicks. 🖍Items include everything from new shoes to school supplies. What do you need to do? Simply sign up at https://www.purposity.com/organization/BuncombeSchools, follow our page, and meet a need with just a few clicks today. You can also download the Purposity App for your smartphone.

The Buncombe County Board of Education will meet in regular session on November 2, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. in the Minitorium at 175 Bingham Road, Asheville. **Public Comment will be accepted in person. Members of the public wishing to speak will need to come to Entrance “B”. Doors will open at 4:45 p.m. and speakers must arrive no later than 5:15 p.m. to complete entrance screening procedures and sign in to speak. All speakers will have precisely three minutes to speak and must adhere to guidelines set forth in BCS Policy #2310 – Public Participation, including all reasonable rules established by the Superintendent. **Following monthly Public Comments, the Board will hear public comments specifically related to the required board policies addressing the State’s Parents Bill of Rights statutes. These policies are linked in the meeting agenda. **https://www.buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/current-public-board-agenda Individuals wishing to speak during this time should sign up on the designated sheet before the meeting begins. These comments will adhere to the same public comment guidelines set forth in BCS Policy #2310. Additionally, parents may email comments to be shared with the Board of Education to communications@bcsemail.org Given the desire of BCS to provide the most information possible to the public, the public may view the live broadcast via YouTube on the BCS Communications Department YouTube Account at: YouTube.com/BuncombeSchools

The Buncombe County Schools Board of Education is committed to providing a safe, inviting, and civil educational environment for all students, employees, and other members of the school community. The Board expects all students, employees, volunteers, and visitors to behave in a manner consistent with that goal. The Board recognizes that bullying and harassing behavior creates an atmosphere of intimidation and fear, detracts from the safe environment necessary for student learning, and may lead to more serious misconduct or to violence. Accordingly, the Board prohibits all forms of bullying and harassing behavior, including encouragement of such behavior, by students, employees, volunteers, and visitors. Additional information on reporting and responding to bullying is available here>>> https://bit.ly/3YG6ib4

🎒🖍📓 This weekend, the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office School Resource Officers and BCS staff members will be collecting school supplies at the Walmart on Hendersonville Rd. (1636 Hendersonville Rd.). The hours are: Saturday, August 19- 10 am to 8 pm & Sunday, August 20- 10 am to 2:30 pm. Examples of school items are as follows but not limited to: -Book bags—lunchboxes—pencil boxes -Binders—papers—art supplies (crayons/colored pencils) - Pencils—pens—markers—highlighters - Tissues—hand sanitizer—cleaning wipes -Water bottles—dry erase markers—plug in ear- buds—other school related items -Printer paper We hope to see you there as we work together to help ALL students have a great start to the school year!

Attention, BCS Staff: We hope you are having a wonderful summer. Don't forget to check our Employee Values page regularly for local special discounts just for educators. . . . https://www.buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/employee-values

🌞 Our Summer Meals Program is in full swing! All children in our community are welcome to stop by one of the sites pictured below for a healthy meal! . . . . #community #summermeals #summer #summer2023 #bcs

☑️Vote for the Buncombe County Schools Foundation to win one of 12 grants being awarded by The Community Betterment Foundation in honor of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce's 125th Anniversary! Through July 31, you can support Buncombe County Schools Foundation in its mission to build a strong and dynamic foundation for Buncombe County Schools students and educators. Please vote for the Foundation once a day to win one of twelve $10,000 grants in partnership with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce. There is strength in numbers; together, we are more through this powerful collaboration- “Building Community Through Business.” Vote once a day to support BCS students, educators, and faculty. Follow this link: https://woobox.com/hsn3i5 Learn more: https://www.ashevillechamber.org/.../celebrating-125-years/

Breakfast and lunch will be provided at no cost to all students next school year! We are pleased to inform you that Buncombe County Schools will be implementing a program available to schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Programs called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). We will also implement Universal Meals at Nesbitt Discovery Academy (NDA). What does this mean for you and your child(ren)? Great news! All enrolled students at Buncombe County Schools are eligible to receive a healthy breakfast and lunch at school at no cost to your household each day of the school year. Parents (except those with students at NDA), there are no action steps for you to take at this time to participate in this program. We look forward to serving your students beginning August 28, 2023. NDA parents will receive separate instructions regarding Universal Meals. If you have any questions about this letter, please contact us at Buncombe Schools Nutrition Office, 828 255-5932.

Buncombe County Schools is hosting an Educator Career Fair on Saturday, March 4, 2023, from 9 am - 12 pm. Location: 175 Bingham Road - Asheville, NC - Use entrance B. We are hiring Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, and High School Teachers for the 2023-24 school year and we want to meet you! Register at https://bit.ly/BCScareers. We look forward to seeing you soon!

All Buncombe County Schools will operate on a two-hour delay for students tomorrow, January 13.

We're thankful for our students, teachers, families, and staff who make our schools shine every day! May you have a safe and restful Thanksgiving holiday. 🦃🍊🍁🍂❤️

Free/Reduced Meal Applications for the new school year are available now! You may apply online >>> https://bit.ly/3QaVJHm This important program ensures all of our students have access to healthy lunches during the school day without accruing large cafeteria balances. This program is confidential and registration is easy! This year, children who qualify for this program will not be responsible for any of the cost of the lunch. This year, universal free lunch is no longer available at the majority of our schools as we continue with COVID recovery. Paper applications will be given out on the first day of school. Please take a few minutes to fill out a free and reduced meal application today, even if you aren’t sure if you will qualify. If you have questions or need assistance please call 828-255-5927. Please note that all schools will still serve breakfast to students at no cost next year!

Attention, Parents: If you have already moved or have plans to move this summer and will switch schools, please plan on enrolling your child in their new school as soon as possible! This includes those remaining in Buncombe County Schools and those leaving the area. Our schools have begun sending out important information for the new school year, and if you aren’t enrolled in the correct school, you’ll miss these messages. Not sure which is or will be your community school? Click buncombeschools.org/findmyschool to connect with your new Buncombe County School. We look forward to welcoming your child to school!