Chapman Chargers Update
September 3, 2018
First Day of School is Tomorrow!
Good evening Chapman Families!
The Chapman staff and I are ready for tomorrow! If you are a parent that does morning drop off, we will be using a similar procedure as last year. Please pull your car up to the furthest cone past the second set of front doors (both sets of doors are unlocked for students to enter). Continue to pull as forward as possible. It is helpful if your child is on the passenger side of the car, that way they can exit directly on to the sidewalk. If you have to park for any reason, please do so in the main parking lot. It is important to keep a consistent flow in the car pool lane to avoid a back-up on Olmstead. As always, we ask for patience, safety and kindness as we all get back into the routine of the car pool land and the parking lot.
After the students enter the building, they will go to the gym to wait for school to begin. A teacher or safety will escort the students to their classroom. If you have a Kindergarten student, they will sit in the hallway outside of their classroom with their safety.
If your child needs to eat breakfast, please have them at school at 8:20 AM. There is no eating in gym and we would like to avoid breakfast being eaten in the classroom as well. Safeties will take students to class at 8:35 with an official start of 8:38 AM.
If you choose to walk your child into the school the first day, please drop them off at the gym- do not go to the classrooms as all of our teachers are with their classes! After Tuesday, we will encourage parents to drop off at the front door. I know it is hard, especially for the little ones, but I promise they will get to their classrooms safe and sound!
At dismissal, Kindergarten classes will be dismissed out of their classroom outside doors by the small playground. We are hoping this helps with the congestion at the front door after school. Please make sure that you check in with your child's teacher :)
First and second grade will dismiss (at staggered times) out the front main entrance. Grades 3-5 will dismiss out the other front entrance.
We are always trying to improve our procedures to be more efficient, effective and safe. Your feedback is always welcome. We are also working on some parking solutions. Please be patient as we exhaust all possibilities.
That is a lot of information! I will send another update in a few days with some more information, but this is what we need to know for tomorrow!
One last thing- Check out the pictures below! As a way to build relationships with each other and our community, we did a staff scavenger hunt! So fun! Enjoy!
Reminders from Last Update:
There are so many great things that are happening at Chapman this year! We will be a school-wide 1:1 with technology. Please be patient as we roll out this initiative. Both our teachers and our students will need to be prepared for their devices. Teachers will be focused on digital citizenship at all grade levels the first few weeks. There will be a home component to this as well so you can prepare too! Lower elementary will not be receiving their Ipad devices until after September.
For the safety of our students and the security of the building there will be procedures implemented when you enter Chapman. Please make sure that you always have an ID with you when you enter the building. You will need to ring the bell at the front door and will either be greeted by name or asked for your name. You will be required to wear a badge or name tag while in the building. This helps all staff (and students!) know that you are a visitor that has checked into the office.
Our new school start time is 8:38 a.m. and dismissal is 3:43 p.m.. If your child arrives after 8:38 a.m. please make sure you come into the office and sign him/her in. Please note arrival after 9:10 a.m. is considered absent for the a.m. portion of the day and signing out prior to 2:20 p.m. is considered absent for the p.m. portion of the day. This includes field trip days.
If your child will be leaving school early it is not necessary to call in prior to pickup. We will call your child down once you arrive in the building. Please plan for the additional time to have your child come to the office.
End of day changes should be communicated in your child's folder to their teacher on the morning of the change. Remind messages and emails are not an effective to communicate these kind of changes just in case the teacher does not receive them in time for dismissal. These should be a backup/reminder method of communication for these changes.
Uninterrupted class time is extremely important to both your student, their peers and their teacher. In order to honor this instruction time, calls or visits to the classroom during the school day will not be allowed. If you need to speak with your child's teacher please plan to arrive before school starts, speak with them after school is dismissed, or call and make an appointment.
GSD's policy does not allow cupcakes/sweets for birthdays. We would love to celebrate your child's birthday with non-edible treats such as pencils or a book donation to the media center or classroom.
In an effort to limit paper waste, lunch menus will no longer sent home. These menus are available on our website and on the Nutrislice app. They will also be available in the school lobby if you prefer to pick up a paper copy.
We are excitedly preparing ourselves for the addition of the new gymnasium at Chapman. We will communicate often about the progress of the build, but please do not hesitate to call if you have a question. I will do my best to answer any questions you may have!
Please like our Facebook page Chapman Elementary (SEARCH FOR @GSDChapman on Facebook or follow this link https://www.facebook.com/pg/GSDChapman/services/?ref=page_internal ) and follow us on Twitter @guizzettiland #GSDChapman. This is a great way to stay informed of school happenings throughout the year.
The theme for Chapman Elementary this year is “Count on Chapman!” We will be working with students, families and staff with “Count on me, Count on you” statements. This will be rolled into our Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) system as well. We will have an additional hashtag for Facebook and Twitter to follow- #CountOnChapman
Open House will be on Wednesday, August 29th from 6-7:30 PM. This will give you an opportunity to meet your teacher, sign up with the PTO, speak with Champions (before and after school program) and enter a raffle for a gift card to Rev it Up! You won’t want to miss it!
I hope that all of you had a wonderful summer. I can not wait to hear about all of your adventures!
Count On Me,
Leslie Guizzetti
Principal, Chapman Elementary
734-379-6380