Rascal News

September 2022

Salem Heights Elementary

Message from Principal James

Greetings everyone!


It's almost time! We are now back in our building after a long summer of construction, and our staff are ready for students! Checkout the newsletter below for all that you need to know as we return to school, and as always...


Go Rascals!

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Important Dates

  • Sept 2 - 4:00pm Class Lists Posted
  • Sept 5 - Labor Day
  • Sept 6 - 4:30-5:00pm Kindergarten Orientation
  • Sept 6 - 5:30-6:30pm Back to School Night
  • Sept 7 - First Day of School Grades 1-5 (Late Start Wednesdays 8:50)
  • Sept 12 - Smooth Start Kinders A-L
  • Sept 13 - Smooth Start Kinders M-Z
  • Sept 13 - 6:00pm PTC Meeting (in the school library)
  • Sept 14 - First Day for all Kinders (Late Start Wednesdays 8:50)
  • Sept 16 - Lockdown Drill (drill only, not a real lockdown event)
  • Oct 12 - Fall Photo Day
  • Oct 14 - No School
  • Oct 26/27 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, No School
  • Oct 28 - No School

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First Day Info


Our first day of school, Wednesday September 7, is a late start day. School starts at 8:50.


Walking Your Child to Class

We are allowing parents/guardians to walk their students to class on the first day of school, but after that please plan to say goodbye at the door.

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HIGH IMPORTANCE: Student Pick up Plan 22-23

In the spirit of student safety and to ensure that we have the most up to date and thorough information, please click the button below to complete a Student Pick-up Plan form as soon as possible (thank you to families who have already submitted one!). You will be prompted to sign in to your Parentsquare account to access the form.


Each student requires a “Default Pick-up Plan”. This plan defines how your student will get home everyday after school unless we have prior notice via:


  • Phone call from parent/guardian
  • Written note from parent/guardian


Please Note: A verbal plan from your student will not be accepted. In this case, staff will send the student home in accordance with the default plan.

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School Schedule

School will be from 7:50am-2:20pm, with students allowed in for breakfast starting at 7:20am.


We will have a late start every Wednesday, 8:50am-2:20pm. This is a district-wide schedule that allows for weekly staff meetings.


This year we will be switching from 3 to 2 lunch periods:

Kinder, 1st, 2nd:

Recess 10:10-10:40

Lunch 10:40-11:00

3rd, 4th, 5th:

Recess 10:50-11:20

Lunch 11:20-11:40

(Please note: due to space and time restrictions, we can't currently allow parents to eat lunch with their students at the school)


Office hours are 7:00am-3:30pm.

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Class Lists

Class lists will be posted on front windows at Salem Heights Friday, September 2 at 4:00pm.


We will also reveal your child's teacher on ParentVue at that time, but we can only include teacher names online, not who their classmates will be.


ParentVue also gives you access to your student's grades, ID number, and updating your contact information without calling the school. You can download the ParentVue App below:

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Kinder Orientation & Start-Up Info

Incoming kinder families, please join us at this special meeting for parents and kindergarten students. We will talk about what a typical day is like, tour the school and share some ways you can help prepare your child to be ready for kindergarten.


Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Time: 4:30- 5:00pm

Place: Salem Heights Elementary Gym

Address: 3495 Liberty Rd S Salem, OR 97302


Your older Salem Heights students are welcome to attend, as our all school Back to School Night is the same evening at 5:30. We will need from 5:00 to 5:30 to continue preparation for our Back to School night. Please wait until 5:30 to visit your older childrens' classrooms. The office will be open for questions and to recieve paperwork during this time.

In the next few days kinder families should be receiving a letter from our teachers with information about how to schedule their kinder assessments, kinder start dates, and a few additional info forms their teacher will need.

You can also view the letter and forms below:

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Join us Tuesday, September 6th for back to school night!

5:30-6:30pm

Meet your child's teacher, see their classroom, and drop off school supplies so your student will have a smooth first day of school on September 7th.

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Label to Reduce our Lost and Found!

Last year we donated loads of Lost and Found items that were never claimed. Please take a few minutes to label your student's jackets, water bottles, and lunch box to ensure they find their way home to you.

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Managing School Communication Notifications

We know the number of district and school communications can be overwhelming. Our school tries to limit messaging to just what you need. Here is a quick tip to weed out non-essential ParentSquare communications:


In the ParentSquare App:

Start by opening the Menu

You can now adjust your notification preferences by school. Our recommenation is to turn on instant text notifications for your child's school and put the "Salem Keizer Public Schools" district notifications on digest to your email. Digest means you will recieve all notifications from the day between 6 and 6:30pm.


This means you know any text notification will be immediately relevant to your school and child, and prevents those messages from become "white noise".


Whatever level of communication you choose, urgent notifications of weather or safety hazards will always be immediately pushed through, never delayed.

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Visitors & Volunteers

After almost 3 years, we can finally welcome back classroom volunteers!!! We are so excited to have parents and families back in our school!


  • Volunteers must have an approved background check with the district. These take approximately 2 weeks to process and last for 5 years. Use the link below to submit your background check.


  • Whether visiting or volunteering, please arrange a time before-hand with the school, and check in (and out) at the office to pick up a name tag before going to the classroom.


  • Walking Your Child to Class: we are allowing parents/guardians to walk their students to class on the first day of school, but after that please plan to say goodbye at the door.


  • Due to space and time restrictions, we can’t currently allow parents to eat lunch with their student.


  • You are encouraged to schedule a time with your child's teacher when you have a concern about your child’s educational program.

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GET TO KNOW YOUR PTC!

Join us in the Salem Heights library for an in-person Parent Teacher Club meeting Tuesday, September 13th, at 6:00pm.


You can also join the meeting virtually using the button below.

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Bondwork Construction

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You have probably noticed that our school is undergoing the first phase of bond-work constrution this summer! It may look a mess, but our team has assured us that all work needed to start the school year will be completed on time! There will be some continued work on the new driveway/parking area, but it will not hinder our ability to start the year.


This summer's work includes adding a new bus lane and parking lots (in yellow above), changing out our currect portable classrooms for a new modular building (in green above), seizmic improvements (in pink above), and some front entry renovations.


Our hope was that all phases would be completed this summer and into the fall, but due to the unavailablity of contractors the second phase has been delayed until summer of 2023. Next summer, the interior work in blue, purple and orange above will take place.

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School Supply List

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View our list here or download a printable version below.


If your family is in need of help with school supplies please contact our office by phone, email, or through ParentSquare.

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Bus Rider Registration

If you live in the area that qualifies for bussing (further than one mile from the school), please register your student now to guarantee them a spot.


You can do this when you update your student's registration information in ParentVue. Toward the end of the registration process you will be able to select whether your student will ride the bus. You can either use the App, or login through our district website: https://salkeiz.k12.or.us/parentvue-studentvue/


If you have any questions please call our office at 503-399-3187.

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Free School Meals for All Students!

At Salem Heights breakfast and lunch are free for all students through the end of the school year.


Students wanting only milk will be allowed to take one, as long as they also take a fruit and veggetable of their choice.


This year we will be switching from 3 to 2 lunch periods:


Kinder, 1st, 2nd:

Recess 10:10-10:40

Lunch 10:40-11:20

3rd, 4th, 5th:

Recess 10:50-11:20

Lunch 11:20-11:40


(Please note: due to space and time restrictions, we can't currently allow parents to eat lunch with their students at the school)

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After School Care

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Last Years' Yearbooks (21-22 School Year)

We were able to purchase a yearbook for every student who was attending the school last year. Thank you to all the families who donated to make this happen!


Our school handles yearbooks a little differently- because we have so many fun events during the last month of school we print during the summer to ensure photos of those memories are included. We plan to distribute yearbooks for returning students during the first week of school.

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Please Update Your Registration

It is very important that parents keep their information current.

Even if your contact information hasn't changed, it is important to review your child's registration. Many items, like emergency contacts and their info, change from year to year. The district also makes updates to required information as our systems change. Please take a few minutes to make sure your child's information is up to date.


You can update your registration through our district's online portal: https://salkeiz.k12.or.us/parentvue-studentvue/

Parents using this portal for the first time may need an access code. Please call the office at 503-399-3187 and we can provide that informtion to you


You can also do so though the ParentVue app:

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KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR 2022-2023

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!


Students must be five years old on or before September 10


Register at your neighborhood school


What you need to bring with you:

Proof of age (birth certificate)

Proof of residence (utility bill, lease agreement)

Immunization records

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HOW DO I STAY CONNECTED?

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Salem-Heights-Rascals-109823547351844


Follow us on our school website: https://salemheights.salkeiz.k12.or.us/


Check your email inbox. Update your email in Parent Vue if it's not accurate.

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Thanks for checking out Rascal News!

See you in September!