Welcome Back
July 16, 2018
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 2018-2019 school year! Our first day of school is August 13th. This year we will have a Construction theme that will emphasize the need to continue building a brighter and better future for Kate Sullivan students. We will continue to implement iLead, a school-wide initiative that encourages students to take an active role in setting personal and academic goals, monitoring their progress and celebrating accomplishments! As always, we will continue our emphasis on the core content areas of reading/language arts, writing, science, social studies and math with renewed strength and energy.
We will continue to use the computer-based program called iReady this year as it is an innovative program that provides instruction, practice, and assessment in both reading and math. And now that our “trial year” is behind us, it will become even more beneficial than ever as we ensure that all students are making appropriate progress each and every day.
New this year are several new teachers and I am very excited about the energy they will bring. I can’t wait to see the rigorous learning opportunities they will provide for our wonderful students. And speaking of new, have you seen our new windows? While construction is not quite complete, I am assured it will be before everyone returns. Also new this year is that Kate Sullivan fifth graders will be departmentalized. This means that fifth graders will actually have two teachers: one for Math and Science, and one for Language Arts and Social Studies. This approach will give students more targeted instruction in those areas and will likely result in higher achievement for all students.
And finally, we will continue our parent pick-up process with new tags and our sign-in/sign-out protocols that will increase student safety on our campus. We can never underestimate the importance of school safety!
We are looking forward to a very successful year and can’t wait for the return of all our Kate Sullivan Crocodiles! We hope you and your family have had a wonderful summer, and that you are excited about the upcoming year. The information included in this letter will help you prepare for the new school year. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions as we approach the start of school.
Student Orientation, Thursday, August 9th, 1:00-3:00 P.M.
An orientation for all students in grades K-5 will be held on Thursday, August 9th from 1:00-3:00 P.M. Students will be able to meet their teachers and visit the classrooms at the orientation. We will also provide an opportunity for parents to sign up for the Extended Day Program, purchase school shirts, and obtain other general information.
School Hours for Students
Our school start and ending times will remain the same as last year. The school day will begin at 8:30 A.M. and will end at 2:50 P.M. The first bell will ring at 8:25 A.M. and the starting/tardy bell will ring at 8:30 A.M. Students who are not in their classrooms by 8:30 A.M. will be considered tardy. Outside supervision doesn’t begin until 7:45 A.M. Please don’t drop off your child before that time. Safety is our first priority!
Medication Procedures
If your child will be taking medicine at school, school forms that you may need for your child are available on the School Health page of the Florida Department of Health on Leon County’s website at:
http://leon.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/clinical-and-nutrition-services/school-health/school-health-parent-forms/index.html or through a link on the Leon County Schools homepage at http://www.leonschools.net
Medication must be brought to school and picked up by parents as students are not allowed to do so.
Our School Health Aide will be available to receive medicine during student orientation on Thursday, August 9th.
Important Procedures for Parents to Insure a Safe, Orderly and Productive School Year
We welcome and appreciate parent involvement! Opportunities to sign up for volunteering in your child’s classroom and for school wide events will be available at the orientation on August 9th. While we strive for full involvement from our parents, we also make every effort to protect the teachers’ instructional time with their students and to have an orderly arrival and dismissal time to insure the safety of all our students. In order to accomplish our goals, we ask parents to follow these guidelines:
*Morning Arrival: When bringing your child to school, parents must use the parent drop off area where adults are available to assist your child. Parents may not pull into the bus loading zone area or let children out of vehicles in the street. After the first day of school, we ask that students report to their designated areas when arriving at school. For everyone’s safety, parents are not allowed to accompany students to their classroom. Your child’s teacher will pick up the class when the first bell rings allowing the children to enter the classroom with their teacher. Also, please, please do not drop off students before 7:45 a.m. as there is no supervision. However, before school care is available for a fee. If you are interested, please contact the director of this program, Stephanie Menard, at 488-1834.
*Dismissal: Please do not go to the classroom to pick up your child. Dismissal is a hectic time and teachers need to concentrate on making sure every child is dismissed to the appropriate area. Teachers will take your child to you at the designated areas. Important: All students will be issued two parent pick-up tags that can hang inside a car on the rear view mirror and/or be carried by hand if you are walking. Parents/guardians must have this tag when picking up their child. If you forget your tag, you must report to the office and show I.D. before picking up your child. We cannot risk releasing a child to the “wrong” adult just because they are willing to go. Safety is always first!! Additionally, last year’s tag is no longer valid!
*Leaving School Early: When checking your child out early from school, please do so at the front desk. Parents are not permitted to go to the classroom so as not to disturb the instruction taking place. Your child will be called to the office to meet you.
*Volunteering in the Classroom: We welcome volunteers! Parents may volunteer in a classroom if they have prearranged a time with the teacher and have completed a volunteer application online.
*Dropping off Items during the School Day: We ask parents to make every effort to send necessary items to school with their children. However, on those rare occasions when you find it necessary to drop off an item at school for your child, please leave it at the front desk and we will make sure it gets to your child.
*Teacher/Parent Conferences: Teachers will conference with all parents within the first semester of school. Parents should feel free to request additional conferences with teachers when needed or may e-mail teachers with questions or information to share.
We are very fortunate to have such supportive and involved parents. We want to maintain our “family” atmosphere at Kate Sullivan while at the same time making instructional time and attending to our students a top priority. We appreciate your support in following these guidelines so that the instructional time for students isn’t compromised, and teachers are able to focus on the needs and safety of their students. The world is “spinning” fast and it is our sincere desire to make sure that all of our students are more than ready at each turn for the journey that is ahead. We are looking forward to seeing you during orientation and working with you throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Michael W. Bryan, Principal
