October from the School & Office
Leawood Elementary School
Enrollment Secretary Kathy Catron Financial Secretary Margarita Russell Health Aide Melissa Hake
October Count Day
Each year Jeffco Public Schools must provide the State of Colorado an official count of how many students are enrolled in our schools. Please Mark October 3rd on your calendar! The most important action you can take to support school funding is to make sure your student attends school that day. Much of public education funding from the State of Colorado is based on student count, and the official student count day this year is October 3rd.
The “count window” the state observes is September 26th – October 10th, and the key student count day is Thursday, October 3rd. Please help us ensure all our students are accurately counted by having your student in class that day! If your child must be absent on October 3rd due to serious illness, please call our attendance line, 303-982-7813 to report the absence. Attendance during the “count window” will help counteract an absence on October 3rd, but it’s best to come to school that day. Thank you for your support of Leawood!
After Hours School Activities
It’s that time of year again when many before or after school activities and clubs begin. If you are dropping off or picking your child up from one of these, please keep in mind that there will be no access to the building before 8:30am or after 4:00pm. Please make arrangements with the teacher or activity coordinator as to where you will drop/pick your child up.
The Office Needs Your Help
The office staff kindly asks you to respect the office hours of 8:30-4pm. Since the start of school, we have had many days where we have had students who have not been picked up after the dismissal bell of 3:45pm. The office staff has to try to reach a parent or an emergency contact, and stay with the student until someone arrives. This creates a problem because they have to stay overtime, and there is no money in the budget allowed to pay for their additional time. In addition, it keeps them from meeting their own obligations with their families, appointments or other activities. We appreciate your understanding.
From the Financial Office
If you haven’t done so yet, please take a moment to log into your Jeffco Connect account to pay your students’ fees. In addition, if you have a full day Kindergarten student, please remember that per contract your tuition is due on the first day of every month. If the fee is not paid on the due date, you may risk losing your full day slot and will be placed into a half day position. If you need assistance with fees, feel free to contact Mrs. Russell at 303-982-7860 ext. #5
Health Room Updates:
There are new documents regarding administering medicine to students. A written Medication Permission Form must be signed and submitted by the parent/guardian AND signed by a health care provider for all prescription, nonprescription, and herbal medication to be administered or self-administered at school. Families shall be responsible for providing all medication to be administered to the student. These new medical forms are located on our website under the Family Resources link (Documents), as well as on our parent information rack. Please remember if your child has a fever of 100 or more they will be sent home from the Health room. Your child has to be fever free without medication for 24 hrs. Same rule applies if your child has the stomach bug.
The Health room is in need of girl/boy clothing, especially new underwear, and pants ranging in sizes XXS-M.
Stay Healthy,
Ms. Hake
Health Aide
Updates From the Cafeteria
New this year regarding personal checks
Chef Diann will no longer be able to separate a parent’s personal check for lunches between two siblings. You will have to submit two separate checks for each of their accounts. Also, she cannot transfer money from one siblings account to another’s. You can also put money in your student’s lunch account online at Food and Nutrition Services.
Halloween Parties
Wednesday, October 31stAll students may wear their costumes to school. The parade will begin immediately after morning announcements at 9:15am. The classroom parties will follow the parade. After the parties, about 10:30am, students will change into their school clothes and the rest of the day will be a normal school day. Students who don’t celebrate Halloween should come to school at 10:45. Please do call the attendance line to let us know they will be coming in later. The following are some guidelines to keep in mind as you prepare for Halloween:
· Please be sure that costumes are in good taste and are appropriate for school. We discourage costumes that depict violence.
· If your child’s costume includes anything that is “weapon-like” (swords, knives, guns, etc.,) these are not appropriate for our school Halloween celebration and should be left at home.
· Masks (that cover the face) are NOT allowed to be worn. Students may carry their mask. Students may not be able to see well when they wear them, and we may not be able to see our student!
· Hair dye and face paint/makeup are allowed but will need to be washed off after the celebration. Please send your student with makeup wipes of some sort.
Parents are invited to attend our costume parade, which will begin at approximately 9:15am. Visitors are requested to follow the above dress code. We plan to hold our parade outside on the soccer field. If inclement weather occurs, we will move the parade into the hallways and gym. Classroom parties will immediately follow the parade until approximately 10:40am.
Van Gogh Fall Picture Day
We have two days scheduled for pictures this year. On Tuesday, October 2nd will be Preschool, 1st, 2nd, and 5th grades. On Wednesday, October 3rd will be Kinder, 3rd, 4th and 6th grades.
Lockdown Drill
Emergency Situations at School
The students and staff participated in a Lockdown drill last month. Everyone did a fantastic job. Leawood and Jeffco Public Schools are committed to ensuring the safety and security of our students, staff, and visitors. Click here for more information on our Standard Response Protocol guidelines.
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.
Illegal Parking
Please remember that parking is not allowed on South Jay Street on the west side of the school. This is for DAY-CARE VANS/CARS ONLY. We have had some issues with people parking and waiting for their students after school. Our daycare providers have nowhere to park their vans so it creates a traffic jam at the crosswalk. This also is a safety issue for our students who are trying to cross the street. In addition, please do not send your child across the street between cars, and instead have them go up to the crosswalk to cross. We want to keep our precious kids safe each and every day.
East Parking Lot Reminder
There are four parking spots in the upper parking lot that are reserved for Silent Auction Winners, PTSA, and Watch Dog. There are signs posted above the spaces. Please do not park in these spots as they are designated for the car owners. The Silent Auction winners paid for these parking spots at our annual Silent Auction last year. We appreciate your cooperation in leaving these parking spaces vacant.
Leawood has its own APP
We have our own APP. You can download it for free. Just search “Leawood Elementary” in the App Store or Google Play. We send out weekly and daily updates through this App. This is just another way for you to receive communication from Leawood.
Attention 5th and 6th Grade Parents
Colorado Ski Country Passports
Do you want to receive free and discounted ski days this winter? If so, you can register at Colorado Ski Passport. If you have questions, you can call 303-866-9707 (Mon-Fri, 9am to 4pm), or email passport@coloradoski.com. You will need the unique registration code CO-uk6ttz-1819. The deadline to register is January 31, 2019.