Dear Parents,
Welcome back to another school year! I am hopeful that everyone had a wonderful summer unspoiled by carcinogenic sunscreen, flesh-eating bacteria, excessive screen time, hormone –enhanced ice cream, or any of the other challenges discussed in our end-of the year bulletin!
As you know, the beginning of a new school year marks an exciting transition for children and parents alike! Please plan on taking at least 14 personal days this month in order to volunteer in your child’s classroom as we help our students become independent learners!
Feels great to be back.
The school year begins on Thursday the 17th with a Welcome Back Breakfast from 9am-11am, which we encourage all parents to attend. I have attached the snacks sign-up sheet below. As a reminder all snacks should be nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, PABA-free, cruelty-free, recycled, organic, kosher, sustainable, instagrammable, local, blessed by an angel, and non-GMO! Coffee will be provided, but please bring your own mug as we are a waste-free environment.
Our first day will be a half-day with pickup at 12pm. Please be on time for pick up, as several studies have shown that children whose caregivers are even three minutes late for school pickup are more likely to engage in risky behavior as adolescents!
Please join us on Friday for orientation! At orientation, each parent will have the opportunity to meet his or her child’s teacher and discuss each individual child’s one-of-a-kind learning style, unique strengths, favorite color, current philosophies about discipline, and indoor /outdoor/ food allergies. Teachers will discuss the protocol for alerting families of each lice outbreak, the first of which we typically expect the week before Thanksgiving. Orientation is from 9-12, with regular dismissal at 2:30.
Our first PTA meeting will be held on Monday morning after drop-off. We will be discussing the hidden dangers of fidget spinners and slime, as well as the fundraising goals for this school year. We are hoping to raise enough money to hire three salaried first grade teachers in order to bring the total number of first grade teachers to three. Many thanks to our wonderful 5th grade learning buddies who have been covering the first grade curriculum up to this point. It takes a village!
Finally, we suspect that last year many notices sent home in the children’s folders were going unread!!! In an effort to better communicate with families, we have developed an app that parents will be required to download. The School Daze app will allow your child’s school to send you important messages about volunteer opportunities, field trips, performances, and school events via email and text on your smart phone, ipad, laptop, car dash, watch, or desktop at any time, so you will never miss another chance to devote more time and money to your child’s development!
We are looking forward to another wonderful year, parents!
Best,
Your Kids School