The Racer Review
September 9, 2021
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
Arrival:
ALL car riders enter through the front drive and pull up to the first open cone to drop off your student(s). Do not drop off students prior to 7:40 when French staff and safety patrols will be on the front porch to assist students as they arrive. We have noticed some cell phone usage in the car rider line. Please refrain from using your cell phone while in the carpool line, because the safety of our students is paramount. Please remember it is against the law to use cell phones in school zones.
Our front parking lot will be closed from 7:40 until 8:10 and then again in the afternoon from 3:20 until the end of carpool. This will ensure the safety of our students and help to expedite the front car lines. This is going well and has helped the car line run more efficiently.
Dismissal:
As you enter the front drive, please make sure your carpool tag is visible and hanging from your rearview mirror. Please keep this tag hanging all the way through the car line. We will only be loading students on the side of the porch between the main building entry and the bike racks. It is imperative that the tag remains visible until your child is safely in your vehicle. If you do not have a carpool tag at this time, please complete this Car Pool Tag Request form for a tag to be made. Again, our front parking lot will be closed during dismissal (3:20 pm until end of carpool).
Walkers/Bikers Reminders:
Parents of walkers and bikers should meet their students at the marquee(if leaving from the front of the school) or the backstop at the farthest left corner of the school property(if leaving from the back).
Buses:
Parents of K-2 students, please be at the bus stop as your child is dropped off. Bus drivers will not release these students with no parent present. These students will be brought back to school and parents called for pick up.
Lunch Visitors Update
Please see the video below for information about Gifted/Talented Referral Window
Counselor's Corner: Information for Parents
Empathy-French Racers are learning about the second character trait in the FRENCH FIVE, Empathy. Researchers generally define empathy as the ability to sense other people's emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. You can teach empathy to young children. You can visit a park and find a quiet place to sit and observe or “people watch.” Play a game of guessing what other people are feeling. Talk about the reasons for your guesses. What are you observing? How do you think the person is feeling? For children ages 7 and up, there are several ways you can teach empathy at home.
1. Make It OKAY for Your Child to Express ALL Emotions (Especially the negative ones!) ...
2. Respond to Your Child's Physical Hurts with Empathy (Yes – even the little ones!) ...
3. Begin Identifying Your Child's Emotions. ...
4. Label Your Own Emotions. ...
5. Point Out the Emotions of Others. ...
6. Model Empathy Through Play.
Resources for Parents:
Fostering Empathy in Children (ParentingScience)
Child Empathy (Psychology Today)
Empathy Articles, Videos, and Activities https://www.pbs.org/parents/empathy