March From the School & Office
Leawood Elementary School
Enrollment Secretary Kathy Catron Financial Secretary Margarita Russell
Health Aide Melissa Hake
Parent/Student End of Day Messages
Parents, we understand that sometimes you need to get a message to your student before the end of the school day. We ask that you limit these messages to “emergency messages” only. Teachers are involved in classroom instruction up until the bell rings and any phone calls to the classroom can be a disruption. We appreciate your cooperation with this.
Inclement Weather/Snow Changes
The district makes every effort to decide and announce decisions to close schools before 6:00am. The planning and review process actually begins the night before. Once a decision is made, a message will be sent to Jeffco families via School Messenger and local media will be notified. The district’s telephone hotline at 303-982-6600, and the school system Web page are also updated. SchoolClosureProcess
Emergency Information
Parents, we want to remind you to have current phone numbers and emails in Jeffco Connect. If we have a lockout or weather related school closure, medical emergency, or if a teacher needs to contact you, we want to make sure you are receiving all messages and phone calls from the school and district. Please take a few minutes to go into your Jeffco Connect account and update your information. It only takes a quick moment to keep your child safe. JeffcoConnect
We Love Our Watch D.O.G.S.
We would like to send out a huge thank you to our Watch Dog Dads. We appreciate the difference you make in the safety and security of Leawood and the positive impact you have on our students and staff! We still have lots of days on our calendar with no coverage. You can sign up via our website Watch D.O.G.S., or you can also come into the school and fill out a form and attach it to the Watch Dog wall in the front lobby.
Class Assignments for Next School Year
The next two months is the time when teachers begin thinking about next year’s class lists. A lot of time and thought goes into creating a balanced environment for all students. This process is very intentional, and we solicit information from many sources, including you. Current classroom teachers will collaborate with the principal, special education teacher, and AMP teachers to place students based on the educational needs of their students.
The following criteria are used when making the final decisions for placement:
· Principal and/or teachers do not take parent requests for specific classroom teacher assignments.
· Each classroom will be balanced with student achievement, gender, leadership, and behaviors.
· Students who consistently demonstrate that they cannot get along socially will be separated.
· The number of students in each classroom will be as equal as possible. New students will be evenly distributed among classes as they enroll.
· If you believe your child has specific learning or social needs, parent input will be considered. Please complete the Placement Consideration form by Thursday, April 18th. The form is available in the information rack.
Although parent requests will be taken into consideration for student placement, it does not guarantee placement of the student into a particular class or teacher. Final class placement of a student will be made by the building principal.
Traffic Alerts
With three Kindergarten and three Third grade classrooms entering and exiting on the west side of the building (Jay St), there is quite a bit of traffic. There are a lot of little ones, so PLEASE slow down and pay close attention. Also, please NO U-Turns in front of the school. Any student wanting to cross from the south side of the street, we ask that they cross at the stoplight and use the crosswalk. We have noticed many parents and students darting in between cars, so please be vigilant and watch for them. Thank you so much for your help and attention to help keep our precious kiddos safe.
BakPak Program
Leawood is still offering the BakPak weekend food program, sponsored by local faith-based ministries and businesses. Please call our school counselor Mrs. Magri (303-982-4765) if you are interested in participating.
A Day Without Hate Friday, April 26th
A Day Without Hate is a student-led, grassroots organization that promotes nonviolence, respect, and unity within our schools. Help your child join his/her fellow students district wide to help end school violence and promote peace. By encouraging students to be tolerant, friendly and kind, and teaching them that there are non-violent solutions to problems, hopefully as a community we can create a better world. In 2018, 10 graduating seniors were awarded $1,000 scholarships for their efforts in promoting peace in their high schools and communities. The price of the T-shirt is $5 for youth and $5 for adults. A limited number of shirts will be available on-line at DWOH T-Shirt Order on April 19th. You can go on this date to place your order. (The school will not be placing any personal orders).
SAFE2TELL
SAFE2TELL® is designed to help students anonymously report any threatening behavior that endangers them, their friends, family, or the community. Call 877-542-7233 to get help
From Chef Diann in the Kitchen
Just sending out a reminder that Leawood serves breakfast. If you need to get to work early on those cold snowy mornings, or would like a little extra time for another cup of coffee for yourself, you can drop your students off at 8:40am for a nice warm breakfast. (price is $1.85 per meal and free for those who qualify).
Leawood’s Food Pantry
We welcome any family who may be in need of food assistance to reach out to our school social worker, Mrs. Magri, and arrange a time to come to our small food pantry. We have collected a variety of soups, ingredients for casseroles, pasta, beans, and some dessert items. We also have personal hygiene items, as well as paper products such as kleenex and toilet paper. The food pantry is located in the back of the school, which is easily accessed by driving into the driveway off of Jay Street and pulling your car up to the second blue door. If your family is in need of specific items, you can share these with Mrs. Magri and she will do her best to gather them. Please call (303) 982-4765 or e-mail jennifer.magri@jeffco.k12.co.us if you would be interested in this resource. All information is confidential. A special thanks to Chef Diann for her support in organizing and contributing to this effort!
Attendance
Just a reminder regarding absences: If your child is going to be late or absent, please call the attendance line at 303-982-7813. You will also need to give a reason as to why your student is going to be out or late. If no reason is given, your student will be marked unexcused. If you are picking a child up early, we will call them down after you arrive to sign them out. Unfortunately, we cannot call them down in advance. Thank you.
From the Financial Office
Please don't forget to go login to Jeffco Connect and verify that all of your student's fees have been paid. Fees that start with "OPT" are Optional fees for optional activities such as Gymnastics. Keep in mind that all of our field trips are paid online. Students with outstanding fees at the end of the school year will not receive their report cards. We will be adding the fees to your student as the date of the field trip approaches, as well as library fines for lost books. While you are in Jeffco Connect, please verify your personal information and make sure we have updated phone numbers and email addresses. In addition, please be sure to add additional emergency contacts other than just parents listed just in case we are unable to reach a guardian. If you need assistance with fees, feel free to contact Mrs. Russell at 303-982-7860 ext. #5
From the Health Clinic
If a child becomes sick at school the parent will be called. It is expected that the parent, or another designated adult, will pick up the child within the hour. We recommend that a child with a fever should return to school when they have been FREE of the fever (without medication) for a 24-hour period and recovered from their symptoms. Same rule applies to children that have the stomach bug. We ask that all parents follow the “Golden Rule of Health”. Please remember that a child who is too sick to take part in outside activities would be more comfortable at home. For the protection of your child and his/her schoolmates, it is advised that children be kept at home if the following symptoms are present:
Skin Rash or sores
Stomach ache or nausea
Vomiting
Flushed face
Inflamed eyes
Chills symptoms
Diarrhea
Earache
Coughing
Fever of 100˚ or more
Heavy nasal discharge
With the weather slowly changing we would like to remind everyone that the Health room does not provide any type of Chap Stick/Vaseline or lotion. Your student is allowed to keep Chap Stick in their back pack/class. The best way to stay healthy for the upcoming sick season is to wash hands thoroughly. Also remember, as we’ve stated in previous newsletters, if you want your student to have any type of over the counter or prescription medicine, you must have your doctor fill out the appropriate medical forms. We have them on our website or they are also located in our parent information rack outside the front office.
The Health Room is in need of little girls and boys underwear (xxs-m) and pants only (xxs-large).
Stay Healthy,
Ms. Hake
Easy Ways to Support Leawood
You Can Still Support Leawood by participating in the following programs . We are still collecting Box Tops and Milk Caps for Mooola . We have a collection bin in the front entryway of the school. We are also participating in the American Furniture Warehouse and Burgers for Better Schools Programs.
· American Furniture Warehouse “Better Your Home, Better Your School”
If you shop there, please let them know you have students at Leawood. Use code LES016 when you make your purchase and 2-4% comes back to our school.
· Burgers for Better Schools Program
Leawood has been selected by Red Robin to be a part of this new program. Every time you eat at Red Robin, 1% of your check will be donated directly to your school of choice. Be sure to invite your friends, family and neighbors to join Red Robin Royalty and opt-in to support your school, too. Remember, the more you devour – the more they’ll donate!