We’re Back!

Who would believe that we have only been back in school for three days? For some, the honeymoon is over, and they’ve realized this thing called school is going to be where they go everyday for the next several months! Transitions are hard but we know that soon our new kindergartners will feel at home. We did have “the best first day ever.” We thank you for reading our parent letter and knowing what to do ahead of time, and for cooperating with our safety procedures. When you consider we have almost 500 students and 140 new kids, I’d say we did pretty well!

Kindergarten parent passes are no longer valid, and everyone must go through the normal sign in process. You will be asked to leave collateral. While a photo i.d. is preferable, we will take keys and phones - but they do take up a lot of space. One adult will be allowed to accompany a child to class, so please don’t bring all your friends and relatives unless there is a special event going on.

We continue to ask your help in having your child have his bus tag attached to his back pack or jacket. These are sometimes our only source of information and allow us to quickly locate a bus or teacher if there is a question about where a child should be going. Please show your child where the bus stop is so he can become familiar with land marks. Teach your child not to run across the street, but to wait for you - and if needing to cross the street, how to walk out in front of the bus, check for the driver’s “OK” signal, and then cross.

Children will be placed on the bus unless we hear otherwise. If you intend to pick your child up from school, you must call or send in a note. A note is preferable. Our first concern is your child’s safety, and we need your help. If your child goes home some days, and to the sitter some days, if at all possible, we ask you to pick up your child on the days that you are home. If this is not possible, you might send in a note reminding the teacher that “Today is the day to take the bus home.” It gets very busy at the end of the day, and teachers place the students in the appropriate line, but sometimes children switch themselves. We do check tags, but it is hard to catch the one that says M - home, TWTHF sitter. We know there will be the occasional mishap, but we really work hard to have a safe, effective system, and we need your help.

Our News Flash comes out as needed, at least a few times a month, and always giving notice way ahead of time of upcoming events. We have much to offer, not only about what is happening here at school, but also about community events that may be appropriate for your family. So, if you don’t receive the local paper, this is the place to get your news. Please be sure to check your child’s backpack on a daily basis. Here you will find the agenda book, your child’s teacher’s newsletter, reports, and other pertinent information.

Occasionally there will be a supplementary newsletter attached to the News Flash that will offer hints on helping your child with reading, everyday activities, or offer ideas on developing appropriate behavior. While not everything in each paper will be relevant to you, there will usually be a helpful hint or two that may provide some food for thought.

I will also be experimenting with the format of the newspaper from time to time as I explore new software. At any rate, we hope this continues to bring you some of the information you need.

Also, if you haven’t already, you will be asked to fill out an information sheet for Connect Ed, our district’s automated phone system. When updated, this will be used to contact you in the event of a snow day or early school closing, as well as special events. While used only on an experimental basis last year, response was generally positive.

News at John L. Edwards