Panda Press
Summer Newsletter for Paddock Road Elementary
July 12, 2019
Calendar Events
8-14-19 - First Day of School
9-3-19 - Instrumental Curriculum Night Westside Middle School 7PM
9-6-19 - School Picture Day
A Note From The Principal
Paddock Road Families,
I hope that everyone has enjoyed a relaxing summer. On behalf of the Paddock Road Staff, I would like to welcome everyone back to school. We are excited to begin the 2019-2020 school year. Several of our staff members have or will be participating in planning, training, and collaboration over the coming weeks to prepare for another great year. This dedication by our staff to be reflective practitioners shows their level of professionalism and commitment to our students.
This school year, I am excited to welcome a few new faces to our team. Please help me welcome Miss. Smith (Special Education), Mrs. Essen (Library), Mrs. Gollehon (Art), Mr. Wrice (Physical Education), and Mr. Lill (School Psychologist). Additionally, Mrs. Graves will once again join us to serve as our ELL teacher. Please see below for introductions from some of our new teachers!
Mrs. Mclean (Teacher Leader) and I are committed to serving the students and parents of Paddock Road Elementary School. We aim to build on our past success and focus on continuous school improvement. We are committed to maintaining a safe and productive learning environment. We believe that working together with our parents and families, we will provide the students of Paddock a first class education. Welcome Back!
Sincerely,
Scott Becker
Principal
Paddock Road Elementary
Meet & Greet
August 12, 2019 - Paddock Road Meet and Greet 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Please put Monday, August 12th on your calendars! This will be our
annual Meet and Greet at Paddock Road...Come to school and meet your new teacher and find your new classroom. Teacher assignment letters will go out prior to this date.
District Wide Employment Opportunities
Battle of the Books 2019-2020
Westside Community Council will once again sponsor the Battle of the Books for the 2019-2020 school year.
The event will be held Saturday, March 21, 2020 at Westside Middle School and is open to all 4th-6th graders in the district.
For more information including the list of next year’s books, please visit our website.
2019-2020 Student Calendar
Fifth Graders and Parents! Band Opportunity!
Sincerely,
The Elementary Instrumental Staff
Gail Carpenter-Johnson, Viktoria Matheson and Mike Freeman
2019-20 Supply List
2019-2020 Meal Prices
Elementary Breakfast: Paid: $1.50 Reduced: $.30
Middle School Breakfast: Paid: $1.75 Reduced:$.30
High School Breakfast: Paid: $1.90 Reduced $.30
Elementary Lunch: Paid: $2.40 Reduced: $.40
Middle School Lunch: Paid: $2.75 Reduced: $.40
High School Lunch: Paid: $3.00 $3.50 Reduced $.40
Adult Prices Lunch $3.65 Breakfast $2.35
Free & Reduced Lunch Application
If your child was receiving free or reduced lunch benefits last year, his/her status will remain in effect until September 14th. You will need to reapply for this school year. New forms for this year are available at www.heartlandapps.com
Join Us for Lunch!
It is always fun for family members to join their children for lunch. If you will be eating school lunch we ask that you call by 8:45 a.m. so we can add you to the lunch count. You will need to check in at the office before joining your child for lunch.
Adult lunches are $3.65.
General Helpful Information and School Rules
Updating School Information and Teacher Placement Letters
You should have already had your Back To School Updates done by now as that process was started back in May. If you have not done your update, please do so now. This includes all permission forms for Field Trips.
Completing this important task will prevent delays in back-to-school mailings, including teachers’ placement letters. Placement letters should arrive at the beginning of August.
Medication Administration Policy
The school district will not purchase, prescribe, or provide any medication for any student. To facilitate the safe administration of medications in school, parents are requested to use the appropriate medication permission form. Before any prescribed medications will be administered at school, the AUTHORIZATION FOR ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION AT SCHOOL FORM must be signed by both the physician and the parent. Prescription medications must be brought to school in the prescription bottle, labeled with the student’s name, the date, the medication name, the time, and the dose that is to be given. Most pharmacies will provide you with an extra-labeled bottle upon your request.
Non-prescription medications and ointments (i.e. cough syrup, cough drops, cold medicine, Vaseline, Tylenol/ Ibuprofen/Benadryl, Neosporin, lotions, etc.) must be brought to school in the original bottle/box/container, with the time and dose to be given noted on the signed AUTHORIZATION FOR ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION AT SCHOOL FORM. For the safety of all students, these medications must be kept in the locked cupboard in the health office. Please keep this information available for use in the event your child will need to take medication during school hours. Please arrange medication administration outside of school hours, whenever possible.
Arrangements
Please send a note to your child’s teacher if you are picking up your child early in the day or have a change in transportation arrangements and call the office in the morning to let the secretary know your plans to pick up early. It is difficult to notify the students and teachers during the school day especially last minute calls after 3:00 p.m. Thanks for your help!
Use of Telephone
All after school arrangements need to be made by children and parents before arriving at school on any given day. Students will not be able to use the phone to make after school arrangements. Phone calls during the day will not be transferred to students.
Cell Phone Procedures
Students are discouraged from bringing cellphones to school. While students are permitted to bring phones with them to school, phones may not be on a student’s person between the school’s start and dismissal times. During school hours, phones must be either checked in with staff for safekeeping or kept in the student’s book bag.
Student Drop-Off/Dismissal Procedures:
Student Drop-off/Dismissal Procedures:
In an effort to keep all of our students, families, and visitors safe, please review the procedures for student drop-off and dismissal.
While in the drive, please wait to have students enter/exit vehicles until you have reached any of the designated spots marked by cones.
- When parked in a pick-up spot designated by cones, please stay with your vehicle at all times.
- If a pick-up spot designated by cones is open, please pull up to the farthest available spot.
- Thank you for being courteous to one another and and being mindful of cars pulling out of pick-up spots.
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Please note that there is NO Off STREET PARKING along the West side of Paddock Road. This side of the street is marked with “No Parking” signs. There are no designated crosswalks directly across from the school, and we are asking that students/families are not walking across the street to cars parked in this location. I have asked staff to leave additional parking spots open on the South side of the drive so that parents may utilize these if they are wanting to drop off students and walk them into the building or wait for students who may be coming out later during dismissal.
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Those picking up students after school may also want to consider using the parking lot located on the backside of the school. This area is supervised by staff after school and student safety patrol is present as well. This option tends to have considerably less traffic and may be useful for some.
Morning Drop-off—We ask for all students to be dropped off in the front of the building. We will not have a Safety Patrol or Supervisor on duty in the back of Paddock for morning drop-off. Students will be asked to wait with their grade levels on the concrete areas near the front doors. Staff supervision will be present at 8:15 a.m. Students will be let into the building at 8:30 a.m.
Afternoon Pick-up—We will have Safety Patrol and staff supervision for after school pick-up in the back of the building.
Thank you for your continuing support in making Paddock Road a safe and productive environment for all.
A Note From Our Counselor
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome back! I hope you were able to enjoy some family time this summer and feel refreshed as we head into a new school year. I look forward to working with you and your child during this new year and hope you will consider me a resource when you have concerns about your child. As your school counselor, I provide support for students and families in several ways:
· Classroom counseling - all students participate in classroom group guidance lessons. Topics covered may include self-awareness, other awareness, group cooperation, decision making/problem solving, self-control, and career.
· Small groups are available for students who have a similar concern. Examples of small group topics include friendship, grief, managing emotions, and handling stress.
· Individual counseling involves working one on one with a student about the child’s concerns. Students may be referred by parents, teachers, or self-referrals.
· Consultation - meeting with parents, teachers or community resources to problem solve issues related to a child.
I am also a contact person for several community programs that may be of interest to you. Please note that the following programs are in place again this year at Paddock Road:
● Children’s Behavioral Health is a resource for families whose child attends a Westside School. Children’s recognizes the benefits of treating not just the child and adolescent, but their families as well. Two visits are part of the Westside/Children’s contract and are at no expense to the family.
● Westside Clothing Closet is a resource to help families (adult and children) with clothing needs year round.
● Operation School Bell is a resource in the community that offers clothing and other items to children as needed. The clothing is new, and the service is confidential and free to families that meet qualifications. There is a cap on the number of students that can be referred from each school.
● Westside Coat Closet is another resource that can provide a professionally cleaned, gently used jacket or coat to children. Some coats are also available for adults. The Coat Closet is open year round.
● The Omaha Food Bank offers The Backpack Program to students at our school. The Backpack Program provides healthy meals for children for the weekend. The food is delivered to the school for children to bring home in a bag on Fridays.
● District Food Pantry is a resource for families in need of food during the school year and summer.
● Holiday Assistance During the winter holiday season there will be more opportunities for assistance. We have several churches and organizations that help our Paddock families with gifts during the Holiday season.
I encourage you to contact me if you are interested in these services, or with any questions.
Sarah Lieske, NCC, LMHP
Paddock Road School Counselor
402-408-8836