Spring Mills Shark Nation Notes
September 8, 2023
Welcome Back!
PTA Meeting: Thursday 9/14
Early Release: Tuesday 9/19 - 2:37 pm dismissal
School Picture Day Wednesday October 4th
Student Count Day Wednesday October 4th
We made it through our first week! Thank you to all of you for sharing your kiddos with us this year. It's been a tiring but fun few days full of lots of new learning. I'm sure your kids are exhausted after this week, so rest them up! :)
Arrival and Dismissal are going fairly well for this early in the year. We have some specifics listed here, and also some reminders below. Please share all of this with anyone who may be picking up your child.
Again, I'd like to encourage all families who can use our school bus transportation to do so. It would really help with traffic congestion at the end of the day.
Arrival Procedures:
We will continue what we did last year - the front loop will be for car rider drop off only. The side loop will be for buses to drop off only.
The front loop is a drop and go line! Adults are not to exit the vehicle. Please seat your students on the curb side of the vehicle and have them ready to go! If you need to exit the vehicle, please park in the lot and walk up with your child.
The building will not open until 9:10am this year, when the first bell rings. Students will not be permitted to enter before 9:10 am. Please keep in mind that we do not have supervision for students prior to this time, so please do not drop your child off early.
Dismissal Procedures are listed below. Although we have had to shift a bit with regard to lining up, things are still moving pretty smoothly and we are able to get everyone loaded within 15 minutes of the bell. Some things that will help dismissal be even better:
Side Loop: Students whose last name begins with A - L
Front Loop: Students whose last name begins with M-Z
1. You need to have your green name card for pick up. We printed these off for every family, and it's important that you have this to pick up your child. If you do not have it, it may cause you a longer wait time to pick up. If you walk up, you can hold the name card out for us. If you are in a car, please fasten it to your passenger side driver.
2. If you are walking up, please stay back by the cones and don't gather around the door/stairs.
3. We are only loading kids into cars between the traffic cones on the loops. This will hopefully move things along faster as we won't have kids walking around the sidewalk to get into vehicles.
4. PLEASE DO NOT PASS CARS WHILE IN THE PICKUP LINE. I cannot emphasize this enough. I have already witnessed some dangerous behavior as a result of this. We are always concerned with safety first.
5. PLEASE ONLY CROSS AT THE DESIGNATED CROSS WALK AREAS PAINTED WITH WHITE STRIPES. Do not walk out into the lot through cars at the curb. This is not safe.
6. Side loop lot is closed to car line up until our buses have arrived.
Our buses will continue to park in the lot behind the guard rail/fence on the basketball court. Please do not park any bikes or golf carts on the courts.
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Finally, please take a moment to visit the link to the Free and Reduced Lunch Application.
While breakfast and lunch is free this year, this paperwork helps us receive necessary funding for our schools. Thank you for taking the time to see if you may qualify!
Thank you for your continued partnership! Looking forward to Week#2!
Sarah Bentley, SM Principal
Medication Drop Off
Identification Required
HVS SAFETY AND SECURITY
For the safety and well-being of our students, Huron Valley Schools have a firm expectation when it comes to identifying the visitors we have inside the buildings. When you are coming in the building during instruction hours, you must show your ID and state the reason for your visit. Even if we have seen you several times and even if we know you very well, we are still required to ask you for your ID. We ask that you PLEASE be prepared with your identification each and every time you come in to the building during school hours. Please share this expectation with anyone on your student's emergency contact list. We truly appreciate your support of these requirements.
Circle Drive Reminders - Please share with other family members who may pick up your student.
Thank you to everyone following the guidelines making the circle drive a smoother experience for your community! Please see reminder below and share these rules with other family members who may pick up your student at times.
Arrival/Dismissal - updated information
- Our building doors open at 9:10 am. Please do not drop off early, as there isn't adult supervision outside of the building. You may only use the front loop for drop off
- Upper El Centrum doors close at 9:15am If your child arrives later than this, please use the front doors of the building.
- Safety first! Drivers will need to remain in their lane until all students have been unloaded; you are not allowed to pass other cars if your children unloaded first.
- Also for safety reasons, drivers and other adults must remain in the car during pick up and drop-off. If your child requires help getting in or out of their vehicle please park in the parking lot and walk to the doors to get your child/pick your child up.
- Always have your green name sign clipped to your passenger visor during afternoon pick up - this keeps things moving quickly for the entire Spring Mills community. Please let your child's teacher or the office know if you did not receive a sign and we will send them home with your child.
- When possible, please move your child's seat to the passenger side of the vehicle. Children should not be exiting out into traffic, but rather on the curb side.
- The school day ends at 4:08 pm. Please do not arrive before 4pm. DO NOT EXIT your vehicle from the circle to meet students.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!
Early Dismissal Protocol
If you must sign your child out early we request that you do so prior to 3:30pm to avoid the end of day pack up and dismissal procedures.
Protocol for picking your student(s) up early:
You do not need to notify or call the office in advance. Students are called to the office after their parent/guardian arrives. Please enter the front vestibule of the school and press the call button into the office. We will then call your child from class and have you sign them out. Please share this protocol with any of your Emergency Contacts that may be picking up your children.
Attendance Procedures
You can call our 24-HOUR ATTENDANCE LINE AT 248-684-8086 for all attendance related calls. Please state your child's first and last name and reason for absence.
Attendance is an important component in a student’s education. If we do not hear from you regarding your student's absence, it is our policy to call to verify your student’s absence.
ILLNESS
Please do not send your child back to school until they have been vomit-free, diarrhea-free, or fever-free for 24 hours.
EXTENDED ABSENCES AND VACATIONS
If your child(ren) will be absent for an extended period of time, please make sure to complete a pre-arranged absence form available from the office or on our website under Parent Resources.
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Spring Mills Elementary
Together We Can, Together We Will!
Email: Sarah.Bentley@HVS.org
Website: https://www.hvs.org/o/springmills
Location: 3150 Harvey Lake Road, Highland Charter Township, MI, USA
Phone: 248-684-8130
Twitter: @_Springmills