Weekly Newsletter

Welcome!

I am excited to have your child in my class this year!

Thursday, August 15th is the first day of school and here are a few important tips for you and your child to help make this day and the first week of school as successful as possible:

* Please put your child to bed early each night (between 7:30-8:00) in order for them to adjust to their daily school schedule. School starts promptly at 7:40. Please allow time in the morning for your child to have a nutritious breakfast and use the bathroom before coming to school. We take a few bathroom breaks during the day but it is still important that they enter the room prepared and ready to go.

* Please have your child wear comfortable clothing. Children must wear socks and comfortable tennis shoes as well. Please avoid flip-flops, sandals, or high heels. Your child will not be able to play, run or have fun on the playground if they are wearing uncomfortable shoes.

* Your child needs to bring a medium sized backpack, large enough to hold the Tuesday folder and small enough to fit in our cubbies. Each child shares a cubby with another child, so please avoid getting a very large back pack. Also, please avoid backpacks with wheels as they are not very safe and might cause other children to trip and fall.

*Please send a nutritious snack, packed separately from their lunch, daily. Examples of good snacks include: cut up pieces of apples, carrots, crackers and cheese or anything they like as long as it is healthy and nutritious. Please avoid sending chips, cupcakes or cookies. We eat snack mid-morning.

* Our Lunch time is @ 11:40. If you’re packing lunch for your child, please let them know that they have lunch and won’t be buying from the cafeteria. If they choose to buy a lunch from the cafeteria, there are two ways to pay for lunch: one way is to pay directly to the cafeteria (cafeteria manager 512-464-5519) and the other way is to pay online. You can also send the lunch money to me but please put the money in an envelope or a plastic bag with your child’s name and my name on it. This way the cafeteria manager knows to whom the money belongs to.

* If you choose, you can also send a water bottle with your child’s name on it. I prefer bottles with pop-up tops or straws over screw tops. This is optional as we take quite a few bathroom and water breaks during the day.

* Please avoid sending toys and stuffed animals in your child’s backpack. This is distracting to children’s learning and unfortunately I have to take it away from your child and return it to you if I see one.

* Each Tuesday afternoon your child will bring home a “Tuesday Folder” containing all of the graded work for the previous week. Please take time to look over your child’s papers with him/her and make any corrections. Folders should be signed and returned on the following day (Wednesday).

* Daily agendas come home everyday. Please sign the agenda and send it back to school the next day. The agenda is a way for us to communicate on a daily basis.

* If you are making any changes regarding your child’s transportation on a particular day, please notify me by e-mail or phone or call the office (464-5500), either the day before or on the same day. Please try to call as soon as possible so I can make the necessary arrangements. If you send an e-mail or leave a voice mail in the last few minutes before dismissal, I may not have time to check e-mails or voice mails and therefore I will not be aware of your changes.

* Last but not the least, your precious children have been home with you for the last couple of months during the summer. Coming to school early in the morning and saying goodbye to you might be difficult for some. Please help me to help your child to make this transition as smooth and as successful as possible. For this reason please make your goodbye short and sweet and don’t linger at the door too long. Be confident that your child is going to have a great day and they are in excellent hands!

I thank you all for your help and support, trusting your children with me, and being a partner in their education.