Policies may be modified due to COVID - See SDUSD, Birney Buzz and Birney News for updates.
Communications will be through email and/or phone calls. Additional information may be accessed via:
Parents and caregivers are expected to check email regularly and if you change email or telephone, please contact us immediately.
Conferences: You will be notified by your child's teacher about Parent-Teacher Conferences.
School Information and Flyers: Visit Home Page for PeachJar; Birney Calendar; Birney Buzz updates; and School News.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Parent-teacher conferences are an excellent way to create or build upon a strong home-school partnership that is critical to student success. To help you prepare for a productive meeting with your child's teacher, please view Making Parent-Teacher Conferences Work for Your Child , an article available on the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) website.
Formal Standards-Based Report Card Student/Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled twice a year in the fall and spring.
Our IB authorization requires us to include an IB Report Card measuring student progress on the Learner Profile and IB units. Progress on the IB units will be reflected on the report card, while progress on the Learner Profile traits will be shown on a separate sheet.
The Wednesday before conference week and the Family Friday after conference week are reserved to go over the IB report card with students and families.
Parent/Guardian Contact Information
In case of illness, accident or other emergency, the school will attempt to contact a child's parent or guardian. Please make sure the school has current contact information, including home, work, cell phone and pager numbers. In addition, be sure to keep the office informed of any changes in emergency contacts or child care arrangements. Contact [email protected] or call 619-497-3500.
School Information & Flyers
Whenever possible, school and community information is sent home with students on the newsletter, the Birney Buzz. The Birney Buzz newsletter contains the most up-to-date information about what is happening at school.
In addition to the regular principal's messages in the Birney Buzz, there may be additional articles written by student journalists, as well as contributions from the classrooms, the Friends of Birney Foundation and the Birney PTA. For example, each grade level may submit pieces reflecting the IB themes as they are completed, or we may reproduce student work we are proud of.
Finally, we recognize the classrooms with the best attendance as well as the names of the pencil winners from the drawing of yellow and blue cards every Monday morning. We strongly urge you to take a minute to read the Buzz on Thursday evenings so you are familiar with what is going on at school.
School Messenger and Power-School Parent Portal
Birney uses a program make phone calls to families. The purpose is to keep you informed about what is going on at school. Phone and email contacts are updated through the office, so please make sure your information is kept current.
Family Fridays
We urge you to make arrangements to attend at least one of our Family Fridays; dates and details of each of these events are included in the calendar and the Birney Buzz for your planning purposes.
Although you are welcome at any time, we concentrate our involvement activities at Birney around the first Fridays of the month, Family Fridays, from 2:30-3:35 p.m. We call it "Happy Hour at School." At 2:30 p.m., we gather in the auditorium for the Monthly Principal's Presentation and an opportunity for you to ask questions. At 3 p.m., you are invited to visit your child's classroom.
There will be PTA concessions on sale at dismissal (please, do not take food to the classroom during the event).