SGS Weekly Parent Update
Growing ALL Kids: Academics, Attitude, and Attendance
August 31, 2017
Check out the important announcements and upcoming events here in the building.
Ice Cream Social-August 31st
We will be hosting our annual Ice Cream Social on Thursday, August 31st at 5:00 pm. This time is for you to find out which class your child will be in, to meet your child’s teacher, see the classroom, and drop off classroom supplies for the current school year.
Please note that this event is for our Head Start and Preschool Promise classrooms in addition to our K-5 rooms.
We hope to see you there!
First Day of School-Tuesday, September 5th
Not sure on which classroom your child is in? Make sure to attend our Ice Cream Social on August 31st from 5:00 to 6:30 pm to find out plus you can meet them in person and drop off school supplies.
Morning Assembly
Each morning, we meet as a school in the gym at 7:40 am for Morning Assembly. Students are welcome to come into the gym as early as 7:20 am. During this time, students are seated by class and reading quietly until 7:40 am all while being safe, respectful, responsible and kind. Morning announcements and important topics are discussed at 7:40 am so please make sure your student is on time. We want to help ensure all of our students start of the morning on a positive note.
End of Day Transportation
Please remember to call the office at least an hour before school gets out if your child has special end of day transportation plans. Ms. Tracy and Ms. Brenda works tirelessly to make sure that each student knows how they are getting home and that messages are passed to students so they know as well. In order to guarantee your child is placed on the bus or held for pick up, please make sure the office has adequate notice of changes and updates to your student’s afterschool plans. We appreciate all of your help with this.
Breakfast and Lunch Details
Just a friendly reminder that breakfast is FREE for all students attending Sandy Grade School. Breakfast runs from 7:20 am to 7:40 am every morning in the cafeteria. In addition, any student that qualifies for a reduced lunch price will now get lunch for FREE and not have to pay anything. We encourage each family to fill out a Free and Reduced Meals form so we can help make sure all of our students are taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to call, e-mail, or stop by the front office. Free and Reduced Meals forms will come home in first day packets or can be picked up in hard copy form at the office . The forms are also posted on the Oregon Trail School District’s website if that is easier for families.
Early Release-September 13th
It is that time of year….Early Release time. Each Wednesday beginning Wednesday, September 13th until the end of May, Sandy Grade School will be participating in an Early Release schedule where students are dismissed an hour from school. The time without students is used for professional development for staff in the areas of instruction, curriculum planning, coordinating interventions, and improving their craft of teaching. This time is a win-win for the students and staff at Sandy Grade as it has a direct impact on the quality of instruction given to our students on a daily basis as our teachers are kept up to date on best practices.
If you have any questions about the exact release times, please check out our website under our bell schedule drop down menu.
Back to School Night-Academic Team Meetings-September 14th
On Thursday, September 14th from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, teachers are hosting classroom presentations for parents on grade level expectations, curriculum used in the classroom, and ways that you can help support your child. Each grade level presentation will be occurring during the entire evening event so parents are able to attend all sessions even if they have students in another grade level. It is encouraged that younger siblings and/or students do not attend so parents/guardians can fully participate in the sessions. This session is vital in helping parents and students understand what the end of year target is for students at Sandy Grade School.
Preschool Promise will be having their Fall Parent Orientation at this time as well. Specific paperwork and flyers about this event will be sent home for all Preschool Promise families during the first week of school.
School Pictures-September 21st
Students will have the opportunity to have their picture taken for school photos on Thursday, September 21st. Picture packets will be sent home during the week of September 11th.
Pictures can be pre-ordered online (follow link here) using the school code AFKDSQFA
If you have any questions about the process, ordering, or what to expect, please connect with your student’s teacher or call the office.
School Spirit-Wear Blue Fridays
We are all about Bobcat Spirit here! As a way to promote and increase student pride and spirit, we encourage staff and students to wear blue on Fridays. If your student has a Sandy Grade School shirt, this would be a great time to wear it as they show a little pride. If they don’t, it is ok…just wear blue! In case we don’t have school on Friday, we will always be sporting our school colors on the last school day of the week. Join us in supporting the bobcat pride!
Volunteering!!
All Oregon Trail schools welcome volunteers to support our staff in providing quality education opportunities. If you have the desire and time – we have a number of options for you to contribute to student success. To volunteer at any school in the Oregon Trail School District, please complete our required online application:
http://oregontrailschools.com/connect/volunteer-info/
Please remember that volunteer application needs to be completed each school year. We highly recommend that you do this at the start of each year so you are cleared for any exciting and upcoming events.
Communication
Fostering a strong connection between home and school is of the utmost importance to us. One way in which we approach this is by working hard to make sure you know what is going on in the school environment. Here are some of the ways we communicate with families:
· Weekly Parent Updates on Friday - posted on website and e-mailed to parents
· Daily website updates, including our calendar
· Facebook under Sandy Grade School - Oregon Trail School District
· Twitter @SandyGrade_OTSD
· E-mails through Constant Contact - please help us with this by providing a current e-mail address
· ParentVUE - online gradebook to check for missing work and assignment scores
Please know that we try as much as possible to post information online instead of sending home hard copy documents to help conserve costs and minimize the impact on the environment. However, we do try to make an effort to print items for families when possible.
Finally, it is a pleasure working with your child. We are happy to have them here and we are excited about their academic growth! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or e-mail us.
Warmly,
Dr. Rachael George
Principal