Dear Parent/Guardian,

We have now marked a week off of our calendar and we hope that your family has fallen back into the routine of the school year. We are excited to see some familiar faces as well as many new faces!

Every two weeks I will be sending all families the Blackbird and Shay parent e-letter. I am hopeful that this communication tool will keep you more closely informed of the events and offerings at our schools. Please let the secretaries know if you are not receiving a newsletter via email.

Below are a few important reminders as we begin our second week.

1. Elementary building doors will be locked until 7:40 am each morning. Students arriving before 7:40 am will need to wait outside the main office doors, this area is not supervised until 7:40.

2. There are no student microwaves in the elementary and middle school lunch rooms. Students bringing packed lunches from home should plan accordingly.

3. The use of personal electronics are not allowed at school from 7:40 am - 3:00 pm. Examples include iPads, tablets, cell phones, and smart watches.

We pride ourselves on promoting healthy eating practices and active play (recess). Our normal lunch block is 55 minutes. This block of time is broken into two chunks consisting of lunch and recess.

During lunch students must remain in the cafeteria for 20 minutes before they can go outside for recess. During lunch classroom teachers are present in the lunch room to help students navigate the cafeteria and promote healthy eating. If students are not finished eating and need more time they can remain in the cafeteria to do so. Lunches are scheduled to allow students extra time to eat if needed. If you notice your child is not eating during lunch please let their teacher know and we will help to make sure our students are making healthy choices.

Recess consists of 35 minutes of supervised play. During this time students have access to our fields, basketball courts, and playground.

Please note that school starts promptly at 8:00am and ends at 3:00pm. Students should not be entering Blackbird prior to 7:40am. Staff are busy preparing for their day and children may be unsupervised. We do offer breakfast (for a fee) and parents may take advantage of this opportunity. Students needing to dropped off before 7:40am will need to attend our daycare. Please see that you drop and pick up your child/children off at the correct times as we want to keep everyone safe.

For daycare arrangements please contact: Tami Keller 231.526.4602

*If you have items to drop off after 8am, please leave them in the office with the child’s name & teacher on it. The Secretary will send a message to the teacher, and the student can pick it up at a convenient time. This helps to prevent interruptions to teachers and other students in the classroom.

My office is now located at Shay main office. I will be sending out more information in next weeks newsletter but in the mean time please don't hesitate to email me at jdrader@harborps.org or call me at 526-4528.

It's going to be a great year!

Joelle Drader, counselor

Please have students use the designated crosswalk when crossing Lake Street BEFORE and AFTER school.

Please use caution when dropping/picking up your child. Children are not always paying attention, so please be on the lookout!

Also, please be aware of the student Drop off/Pick up areas. These areas become very congested during the morning and afternoon. Please be courteous of other cars and do not use those designated areas for parking.

Please see the attached Free and Reduced Lunch Application for the 2019-20 School Year. Many families qualify and may not know it. Please return completed applications to school. All applications are treated with the utmost of confidentiality.

19-20 Free & Reduced Lunch App.pdf

If you plan on volunteering at any of our schools, please fill out our annual volunteer release form.

2019-20 Volunteer Release Form

Blackbird Office 526-4600

Blackbird Attendance Line 526-4660

Blackbird Childcare Center 526-4602

Shay Office 526-4500

Shay Attendance line 526-4550

Bus Garage 526-5601

Superintendent's Office 526-4545

Food Service 526-4736

2019-20 HSPS Community Calendar Final.pdf

Excusing Students and Reporting Illness

Please call the Attendance Lines at 526-4660 (BB) and 526-4550 (Shay) to report your child's absence. Please include in your message your name, the best number to reach you, your student's name, grade, and the reason for the absence. If your student is absent because of illness, please describe the symptoms. If it is a doctor's confirmed case of strep, influenza or other infectious disease, please include in your message. We are required by the state to report illness to our local health department.

The fall season will be Tue and Thur, Sept 24-Oct 17

Info and registration is online at harborsoccer.weebly.com