The Park Lower School • Back-to-School Information • (Click on a link to jump to a topic below.)

Review Park’s Community Agreement: Please review and discuss these guidelines with your child.

Veracross Household Calendar: Logging into the Veracross Parent Portal will allow you access to the Veracross Calendars. Your Household calendar will display important events and dates that specifically affect members of your household. The School Calendar will display everything that's on the school's public calendar (aside from athletics) and the Athletic calendar will display all Bruin games. You have the ability to subscribe to different calendar feeds, and have the dates feed directly into your online calendar system (Google, iCal or Outlook). For information on how to subscribe, click here.

Grade Level Back-to-School Supply List: Click HERE to download the list.

Medical Forms and Health Information: Complete your child’s online medical forms to Magnus Health Student Medical Record (SMR). A fully completed SMR must be on file for your child to participate in gym, athletic activities, and on field trips. To check the status of your child’s forms, log in to your Magnus Health portal. DO NOT send health forms to the school. All forms must be scanned, uploaded, and sent to Magnus Health. If you do not have a scanner, all forms can be sent to Magnus Health by fax. (You must include a cover sheet from Magnus Health if you are mailing or faxing the form. Instructions for obtaining a cover sheet can be found on the Magnus Health website.) Please remember to complete all required information as soon as possible, as it needs to be reviewed before school starts. Your credentials to log in to the Magnus Health portal are the same as your Veracross login. If you do not remember your password, you may reset it using the “Can’t access your account?” link from the Veracross portals login page here. If you have questions or need help with logging in to your account, please read Magnus Health Frequently Asked Questions.

The Park School Directory: The Park School Directory will be accessible through the Veracross portal. In order to ensure we have the most up-to-date information for the directory, please update your information in the Veracross portal by Monday, August 23.

The Lower School Handbook: The Lower School Handbook will be available through the Veracross portal.

Grandparents: The Veracross portal includes a section in the “Family Update Form” called “Grandparents.” By updating contact information for grandparents, you will enable Park to share community news periodically, and invite grandparents to future events and other community activities.

All Lower School parents will have an opportunity to connect with their child’s teacher before or on the first day of school. The purpose of these conferences is to establish the foundation for a strong, year-long partnership between teachers and parents. Lower School Administrative Assistant Kara Leonard will send out conference sign up information during the week of August 16.

The conference schedule is as follows:

Monday, August 30

Virtual Parent Conferences

9 a.m.–noon

Tuesday, August 31

Virtual Parent Conferences

8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

Wednesday, September 1

Virtual Parent Conferences

1–4 p.m.

Morning Drop-off

The school day begins promptly at 8:30 a.m.

Pre-K and Kindergarten drop-off is at the Kindergarten building.

Lower School students (Grades 1–5) will be dropped off at the Pearlstone entrance (a.k.a. The Lower School entrance or the “bus circle”) on the back side of the main building. Middle and Upper School siblings of Lower School students can be dropped off at the Athletic Center.

To help expedite drop-off, all students must be ready to exit their vehicles at the time they turn on to Park School Drive. Face coverings need to be on and adjusted properly. Note that students will not be allowed on campus without the parent first completing their Magnus Health screening.

EARLY DROP-OFF

Please note that this service has a limited capacity and is provided for families who must drop off students before 8 a.m. due to work schedules or other constraints. Please drop students off between 8 and 8:30 a.m. if you are able to do so. Thank you, in advance, for understanding the intention of this service.

Students in Grades 1-5 may arrive as early as 7:30 a.m. and go to the cafeteria for early morning care. They are dismissed to their classrooms at 8:10 a.m.

Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten children may be dropped off in the Kindergarten building for early morning care in the multi-purpose room at 7:30 a.m. Kindergarten children enter classrooms at 8 a.m.

afternoon pick-up

Afternoon carpool for Grade 1-5 families ­starts at 3:10 p.m.

Afternoon carpool for Pre-K and Kindergarten families starts at 3:05 p.m.

DISMISSAL TIMES

Kindergarten dismisses daily at 3:05 p.m. If you only have Kindergarten children to pick-up, please see note below.

Families picking up both Kindergarten students AND students in Grades 1-5 must PICK-UP KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS FIRST. You can re-enter the carpool line in front of the Lieberman Building to retrieve your older children.

Grades 1-5: dismissed from class at 3:10 pm. All Lower Schoolers (including those with Middle or Upper school siblings) will wait in designated LS areas.

If your child is not picked up by 3:40 p.m., they will be walked to Extended Day by a Lower School faculty member. You will be charged an Extended Day drop-in fee.

Please allow Kindergarten parents to enter the carpool line.

GUIDELINES

On the first day of school, your child(ren) will receive two carpool cards. Please display this card on the passenger side dashboard or visor so that the teacher on duty can see who you will be picking up. This is very important. We cannot underscore enough what a HUGE difference the presence of this sign makes in keeping the line moving. If we know who you are picking up, we can radio ahead and have your child waiting at the curb when you pull up, ready to hop in. Please note: there is a different color for each grade level in the Lower School. If you are picking up more than one child, please display each child’s name. Feel free to contact the LS office at LSoffice@parkschool.net if you need additional signs throughout the year. We will ensure they arrive home in your child’s backpack.

All carpools will be asked to load ALL their children at once.

Absolutely NO PARKING in the areas designated as such. We must have two lines of uninterrupted traffic flowing smoothly off campus at all times. If some unexpected parked cars are in the way of this, everyone suffers.

Lower School children can only be picked up from the designated areas — we do not allow children to walk to cars in the parking lot for safety reasons.

For the safety of our bus riders and our staff, the back road is not to be used for drop-off or pick-up (change from last year).

Late Drop-off

Please come to the Lower School main entrance at the Lower School bus circle. Call the office (410.339.4195) and a Lower School staff member will open the door for you and/or your child.

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Early Dismissal

Please drive to the Lower School main entrance at the Lower School bus circle. Call the Lower School office (410.339.4195) and someone will let you into the building or ask you to wait outside while we retrieve your child.

Reminders

Technology

To support both in-school and at-home academic programming and to minimize the risk associated with sharing devices, Park is requiring that each student have access to the following technology:

Pre-Kindergarten-Grade 3

• All technology requirements will be provided to families for school and home use.

• Families are not required to purchase any technology.

Grades 4-12

• Students in Grades 4 and 5 will need a personal laptop with a built-in webcam. If your child has an existing device, there is no need to purchase a new device, even if that device does not meet the specifications below. While Chromebooks will work in these grades, they are not recommended for Middle School and beyond.

• Lower-end Chromebooks tend to have difficulty running Zoom, and class-specific software in Middle and Upper Schools will not work on Chromebooks.

• Please see our Technology page for device requirements for students in Grades 4-12. This does not apply to students in Pre-Kindgarten-Grade 3.

• All Park families may take advantage of purchasing through Park’s recommended technology supplier, DSR Computers. See our Technology page for more information.

Lower School Extended Day

Our Extended Day program offers care for Lower School children who require supervision beyond the end of the school day. Our warm and nurturing staff organizes a wide array of activities each afternoon. These include crafts, board and card games, outdoor play, as well as quiet space to tackle homework in the upper grades. A daily snack is served.

During your child’s time with us, Extended Day fosters a safe sense of community while reinforcing Park School’s ideals of fair play and respectful discourse with peers and adults. Look for familiar faces as well as some new staff this fall. Our staff will facilitate a smooth transition between the school day and the student’s time in our program.

Signing In and Out of Extended Day

In an effort to improve safety and security of the children attending extended day, and to ensure more accurate billing, all students will be signed in when they arrive, and signed out by a parent/guardian when they are picked up at each site at the end of the day.

Click here for Extended Day information and registration.

Lower School After-School Classes

After-school classes will begin at 3:15 p.m. and end at 4:15 p.m. and are listed in the class descriptions and in the confirmation letters. We will be offering three sessions of after school classes. The fall session, which runs for six weeks, begins the week of September 6 and ends by the end of October. The winter session (November-early February) and the spring session (late February-end of May) will each run for 10 sessions.

If for any reason days need to be made up due to cancelations (we will not reschedule classes due to inclement weather), they will be added at the end of the session and you will be notified.

Please register online by Friday, August 27 for the fall session. Classes are not filled on a first come/first served basis. We will randomly fill the classes after that date. You will be notified with a confirmation or regret email by September 3. Late registrants will be added only if space is available.

Please remember that registration is not a confirmation of acceptance into the class. Confirmations/regrets will be emailed home by Friday, September 3. We limit the number of children who can participate so that the activity itself is both fun and manageable. If an activity is oversubscribed, we compile a “first refusal list” and offer a space in the next session if the activity is offered again. There will be no refunds for an after-school class following the first week of the class.

Click here for class offerings and registration.

Please contact Kara Leonard by email (kleonard@parkschool.net) or phone (410-339-4195) with any questions you might have.

Opportunities

After-School Music Program

A variety of music lessons are offered after the school day for an additional fee. Weekly instruction is offered in guitar, ukulele, electric bass, piano, drum set, xylophone, violin, viola, cello, and upright bass. These lessons are in addition to the student’s regular participation in music class. Additionally, clarinet, saxophone, flute, trumpet, trombone and tuba lessons are offered virtually, with a possible return to in-person lessons later in the year.

To register for lessons please visit: Individual Music Lesson Info and Registration

For more information, contact Chris Peterson at afterschoolmusic@parkschool.net

Fourth and Fifth Grade co-curricular Activities

The information below references activities that are available to the 4^th and/or 5^th Grade students at no cost. All of the information below can also be found on the Park School website.

FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE Co-curricular MUSICAL ACTIVITIES

SOUNDWAVES

The 4th and 5th grade extracurricular chorus will rehearse after school on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m., starting in September; please contact Mr. Bryant (bbryant@parkschool.net) in early September if you are interested.

LOWER SCHOOL JAZZ BANDS

Grade 4 Jazz Band, led by Chris Peterson, will start up in January 2022, and will rehearse after school on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Students can play classroom instruments like xylophones and drums or play their own personal instruments if they are currently enrolled in private lessons.

Grade 5 Jazz Band, led by Chris Peterson, will start up in January 2022, and will rehearse after school on Fridays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Students can play classroom instruments like xylophones and drums or play their own personal instruments if they are currently enrolled in group lessons or enrolled in private lessons. (Group lessons are part of the Park 5th Grade music curriculum; please stay tuned for more information during the fall semester.)

Athletics

FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADE SPORTS OFFERINGS

Dear Fourth and Fifth Grade Parents:

We would like to welcome you to Park School Athletics for the 2021-2022 school year and to introduce the Lower School Athletic offerings. Typically, fourth and fifth grade students are given the opportunity to participate on a Park team and to compete, sport dependent, against other schools. The philosophy of our Lower School Athletic Program is for all students to have the opportunity to be on a team and to have balanced participation in games. However, due to the global pandemic our program has been placed on hold. As we begin to return to “normal,” the Lower School will be offering practice and skill sessions (no games) for soccer and field hockey this fall through the Lower School after-school programing. This is available to 4th and 5th Graders. Due to the LS protocol of maintaining grade level cohorts, the practice sessions will be as follows: Monday = 4th Graders; Wednesday = 5th Graders. We will need a minimum number of 10 committed students per grade level to run either of these activities. Practice sessions will occur outdoors only and will be canceled if weather or field conditions are not safe for play. We acknowledge the disappointment; however, in the spring, we plan to return to our full athletic experience, offering Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse, with the hope of scheduling competitive games with other schools/programs. There is no cost to families for this program; it is fully supported by the athletic department.

We are one of the very few schools who offer team sports at this level. Our parents have been tremendous supporters of this program and our kids' participation has been outstanding. We hope that your child will join our teams and be a part of "Bruin Pride." It is our intention that practice will be used to teach fundamentals of the sport as well as the strategies needed to be successful in scrimmage play in a supportive and positive manner. Our goals are for the kids to have fun, experience team play, and to ensure that they are excited about continued participation in Park Athletics when they reach our Middle School.

Lower School sports have been a tradition at Park and we are excited and thrilled to have your child take part. Please feel free to contact Robin Cardin Lowe ’84, rlowe@parkschool.net, or Dia Clark ‘06, dclark@parkschool.net, should you have any questions.

Strive On!

Robin Cardin Lowe ’84 Dia Clark ’06

Director of Athletics, Girls’ Programs Director of Athletics, Boys’ Programs

Director of Physical Education dclark@parkschool.net

rlowe@parkschool.net 410-339-4140

410-339-4150

LOWER SCHOOL FALL PRESEASON INFORMATION

**REMINDER REGARDING HEALTH FORMS: See INFORMATION FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE above.**

All practices will run from 3:15-4:30 p.m. on Mondays (4th Graders) and Wednesdays (5th Graders) during the season.

Fall – Soccer – Grades 4-5

Fall – Field Hockey – Grades 4-5

Spring – Boys' Lacrosse – Grades 4-5

Spring – Girls' Lacrosse – Grades 4-5

General Information

Veracross Household Calendar

Logging into the Veracross Parent Portal will allow you access to the Veracross Calendars. Your Household Calendar will display important events and dates that specifically affect members of your household. The School Calendar will display everything that’s on the school’s public calendar. You have the ability to subscribe to each of these calendar feeds and have the dates imported directly into your online calendar system (Google, iCal, or Outlook). For information on how to subscribe, click here. Try it out and know that you can always unsubscribe!

Student Support: Counseling and Wellness

Park’s Counseling and Wellness Department includes a full-time counselor for the Lower School. The role of our school counselor is to promote student wellness and to work with students, families, and faculty to address any individual, social and emotional needs of students that may interfere with academic or social success at school. Counselors are a confidential resource available to students and families via email, phone, or on a drop-in basis. Contact Amy Ancona, Lower School Counselor aancona@parkschool.net for more information.

Park’s counselors also lead the Park Connects Parent Education Workshops for parents at each grade level throughout the school year. Refer to their calendar for education workshop dates specific to your child’s grade.

Lunch

Lower School families will have the option to pre-order lunch from the cafeteria, as students will be eating in their classrooms for the time being. To order lunch, parents will complete an online form at least 48 hours in advance. If a student forgets their lunch, the cafeteria will provide a bagged lunch. If any Lower School students are able to return to the cafeteria during the 21-22 academic year, parents can expect to hear an update about lunch options.

Save the Date

Virtual Back-to-School Night for Grades K-5

• Thursday, September 23 , 6:45-8:45 p.m. Zoom

Meet & Greet Parent Coffee with New LS Counselor Amy Ancona

• Monday, October 4, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Zoom

Grades 1-2 Park Connects with LS Counselor Amy Ancona

• Tuesday, October 13, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Zoom

Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Parent Coffee with LS Counselor Amy Ancona

• Tuesday, October 19, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Zoom

Grades 3-5 Parent Technology Coffee with LS Tech Coordinator Meghan Marinucci & LS Counselor Amy Ancona

• Monday, October 25, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Zoom

*Please refer to the Lower School Calendar section below for more important dates.

Park Bulletins

In an effort to streamline and improve communication between school and families, Park sends out a bulletin every Thursday for each division. The Park Bulletins are sent, as links, to all families and Park staff and contain news and information from the school, teachers, and community. To reduce the number of emails you receive, we ask that you scan the Bulletin weekly to be kept apprised of campus happenings and the latest changes to the calendar. The first Bulletin for 2021-22 will be sent to you at the start of the school year.

Lower School Calendar

AUGUST

30 Monday Virtual “Get to Know You” Conferences 9 a.m.-noon

31 Tuesday Virtual “Get to Know You” Conferences 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Orientation for Students and Parents New to Grades 2-5 10-11:30 a.m.

SEPTEMBER

1 Wednesday Lower School Half Day, 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Virtual “Get to Know You” Parent Conferences, 1-4 p.m.

6 Monday SCHOOL CLOSED: Labor Day

7 Tuesday SCHOOL CLOSED: Rosh Hashanah

13 Monday New Parent Breakfast, 8 a.m., Davison Courtyard

Parents’ Association Virtual Welcome for New Parents, 7 p.m., Zoom

16 Thursday SCHOOL CLOSED: Yom Kippur

20 Monday Parents’ Association Grade Rep Training Meeting with Division Principals, 7 p.m., Zoom

21 Tuesday Park Connects Kindergarten Parent Discussion, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

23 Thursday Virtual Back-to-School Night for Grades K-5, 6:45-8:45 p.m., Zoom

29 Wednesday Parents’ Association Opening Meeting & Guest Speaker Peggy Orenstein, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

30 Thursday Picture Day

Park Connects Grade 1 Parent Dinner & Discussion, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

OCTOBER

2 Saturday Partners’ Program Kick-Off, 12-1:30 p.m.

4 Monday Meet & Greet Parent Coffee with LS Counselor Amy Ancona, 8:30-9:30 a.m.

5 Tuesday Park Connects Cross-divisional themed Parent Discussion, 7:30 p.m.

9 Saturday Saturday in the Park

13 Wednesday Grades 1 and 2 Park Connects with LS Counselor Amy Ancona, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

14 Thursday Kindergarten Butterfly Celebration, 10:30 a.m. (rain date Monday, Oct. 19)

Park Connects Grade 2 Parent Dinner and Discussion, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

19 Tuesday Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Parent Coffee with LS Counselor Amy Ancona, 8:30-9:30 a.m. Zoom

Park Connects Grade 3 Parent Dinner & Discussion, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

21 Thursday Autumn Harvest festival, Noon-2:45 p.m.

22 Friday SCHOOL CLOSED: Professional Development Day

25 Monday Grades 3-5 Parent Technology Coffee with Meghan Marinucci and Amy Ancona, 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Parents’ Association Guest Speaker, 7 p.m., Zoom

29 Friday Halloween Parade, 9 a.m.

NOVEMBER

1 Monday Park Connects Grade 4 Parent Dinner and Discussion, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

5 Friday LS CLOSED: Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences

10 Wednesday PreK & K Parent Coffee with LS Counselor Amy Ancona, 8:30-9:30 am, Zoom

11 Thursday LS CLOSED: Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences

15 Monday LS Parent Coffee with Malika DeLancey and Matt Doyle, 8:45-9:45 am., Zoom

PA Speaker, 7 p.m., Zoom

17 Wednesday Park Connects Grade 5 Parent Dinner and Discussion, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

18 Thursday School Picture Make-up Day

19 Friday Parents’ Association New Parent Coffee, 8:30 a.m., Zoom

22 Monday Partners’ Program Thanksgiving Dinner, TBD

24-26 SCHOOL CLOSED: Thanksgiving Break (November 24-26)

29 Monday Classes resume

DECEMBER

1 Wednesday Park Connects Grades 4-6 Parent Sexuality Workshop, 7 p.m., Zoom

7 Tuesday LS/MS Winter Choral Concert, 7 p.m.

8 Wednesday Kindergarten Holiday Breakfast, 8:30-10 a.m.

LS/MS Winter Instrumental Concert, 7 p.m.

9 Thursday LS Grade Rep Meeting with Malika DeLancey, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Zoom

16 Thursday Grade 5 Winter Solstice Assembly, 9-11 a.m.

17 Friday All School Assembly, Athletic Center

12/17-1/2 SCHOOL CLOSED: Winter Break (December 17, 2021 - January 3, 2022)

JANUARY

3 Monday Classes resume

7 Friday Parents’ Association Parent Drop-In, 8:30 a.m.

11 Tuesday Park Connects Grades 3-4 SEL/Tech Workshop, 7 p.m.

17 Monday SCHOOL CLOSED: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

20 Thursday LS Family Math Night, 6-8 p.m.

24 Monday Kindergarten-Grade 3 Parent Sexuality Workshop, 7 p.m., Zoom

FEBRUARY

1 Tuesday Park Connects Kindergarten Parent Dinner & Discussion, 7:30 p.m., Zoom

9 Wednesday LS Grade Rep Meeting with Malika DeLancey, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Zoom

18 Friday SCHOOL CLOSED: Professional Day

21 Monday SCHOOL CLOSED: Presidents’ Day

MARCH

4 Friday SCHOOL CLOSED: Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences

10 Thursday LS CLOSED: Virtual Parent-Teacher Conferences

12-22 SCHOOL CLOSED: Spring Break (March 12-22), SPRING BREAK CAMP available

22 Tuesday SCHOOL CLOSED for Professional Development Day

23 Wednesday Classes resume

APRIL

6 Wednesday Park Connects Grade 5 Parent Transitions Workshop, 7 p.m., Zoom

15 Friday SCHOOL CLOSED: Good Friday

18 Monday SCHOOL CLOSED: Easter Monday (possible snow make-up day)

21 Thursday Parents’ Association Speaker, 7 p.m., Zoom

28 Thursday Grade 5 Middle School Mini-Day, 12:45- 3:15 p.m.

MAY

3 Tuesday LS Grade Rep Meeting , 9-10 a.m., Zoom

4 Wednesday Transition Meeting for Parents of Students New to Grades 2-5, 9-10:15 a.m.

5 Thursday LS/MS Spring Instrumental Concert, 7 p.m.

6 Friday Lower School Grandparents' and Special Friends' Visiting Day, 8:30-11:30 a.m.

10 Tuesday Rising 6th Grade Students & New Middle School Parent Information Meeting, 6:30-8 p.m.

13 Friday May Day, 11 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.

19 Thursday Transition Meeting for Parents of Students New to Kindergarten - Grade 1, 6:15-8:30 p.m.

30 Monday SCHOOL CLOSED: Memorial Day

JUNE

10 Friday Last Day of School