Good Sunday evening, Ettrick Family Members!
This is Dr. Smith, your proud principal, calling to help you begin the countdown to the start of the 2023-24 school year! Last Thursday Ettrick Elementary wrapped up a very successful summer session, and now we are ready to fully prepare for the new school year. For those new to Ettrick and my weekly messages, the purpose is to give you important information and dates to help you and your family prepare and to make sure we are all working together to help our children be successful in school. In addition to information and dates, each weekly message has a corresponding email that includes a table at the bottom of the message with “Frequently Used or Needed Links”. Whenever a website, form, or outside source is mentioned in the message, you will find the link to it in this section of the emailed message. I will send out weekly messages each Sunday evening, usually around 6:00 PM.
Transitioning from an unstructured, limited routine summer break into a scheduled and structured school environment can be tough. Starting to prepare for that transition now, by doing simple things like adjusting sleep schedules, easing into routines, doing a few structured activities around the house, and checking in with your child’s upcoming teacher, can all help with a successful transition back to school. In our FUL section you will find an article linked in that can provide you with ideas on how you can start preparing now for that transition.
On Monday Ettrick will mail a letter to all of our students regarding steps you need to take now to prepare for your child’s method of transportation to and from school. The letter and the forms have also been linked to the corresponding email of this message. Verifying your child’s means of transportation before the first day of school is a critical step toward ensuring your child makes it to the correct location in a timely manner on the first day of school.
Next, we will host Kindergarten Orientation on Thursday, August 17th at 10:00 AM. This is a wonderful milestone opportunity for both parents and students to not only meet the teacher but get a taste of what a kindergartner’s day will look like. During this same time, PreK and Head Start students and their parents are welcome to come to school to see their child’s classroom, ask the teacher questions, finalize emergency contact cards, and make sure transportation arrangements are complete before the first day of school; however, there will not be a formal presentation in the classrooms at this time. Then, from 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM that same evening, ALL Ettrick Students and their families are invited to return to the school for our third-annual Back to School Block Party! We will have games, vendors, and food trucks for your family to purchase dinner, as well as scheduled opportunities for your child to reacquaint him/herself with the classroom teacher and drop off school supplies.
Finally, and probably the most important date for you to remember…the start of the new school year. The first day of school for all 1st - 5th-grade students is Monday, August 21st. Our PreK and Kindergarten students will do a “staggered start” the first week of school, in order to allow our youngest learners the opportunity to acclimate to school with fewer people around them. This means that PreK and Kindergarten students whose last names start with A - L will start school on Monday, August 21st, and attend Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd. PreK and Kindergarten students whose last name starts with M - Z will start school on Wednesday, August 23rd, and attend school Wednesday the 23rd, and Thursday the 24th. Then, ALL PreK and Kindergarten students will attend school on Friday, August 25th. All that being said, no matter what grade your child is in, Ettrick’s instructional day begins at 9:20 AM, which means students must be in their classrooms by 9:20 AM and our instructional day ends at 3:55 PM. Our job is to provide our students with the best education possible in a safe and nurturing environment, therefore we make every instructional second of the day count! We hope you will help us with this by making sure your child is in school, every day and all day!
As I close this message, I’d like to remind everyone that at Ettrick we are readers! Mrs. Kyser provided students with a copy of our community read book, A Boy Named Bat, and a reading card with a suggested schedule to have your child finish reading the book before school starts. While it might be late July, it’s never too late to start your summer reading! And remember, while you’re waiting for these hot summer days to start to cool off…you should be reading!
Have a nice evening,
Dr. Smith
Frequently Used/Needed Links
Lunch Guest Sign-Up Links (All Grades) Coming Soon! | |||