Elementary School Parent Bulletin – February 25, 2007

IMPORTANT DATES:

Wednesday, February 27	New Student Orientation EC-Gr.5: 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday, February 27	New Student/ Parent BBQ; 11:00 a.m.
Thursday, February 28	First Day of School for Students
Tuesday, March 4	EC/KG Candidate Screening Begins
Monday, March 10	After School Activities Begin
Wednesday, March 19	PTA Welcome Brunch for New Families; 10:00 a.m.
Thurs. & Fri., March 20, 21	FDR Holiday; No School

Welcome back and a very special welcome to the families of our new students!

NEW STUDENT/PARENT ORIENTATION:

We look forward to meeting our new students at the New Student Orientations for all new EC – Grade 5 students on Wednesday, February 27, at 8:30 a.m. in the Little Theater located inside the Media Center. At this orientation, new students will meet their teachers and learn about classroom expectations and the curriculum. Students and parents will also have an opportunity to have their questions answered. A BBQ will follow at 11:00. We look forward to seeing our new students and their families there!

BE PREPARED FOR WARM WEATHER:

Please apply sunscreen to your child before leaving home in the morning, and send a hat to be worm when your child is outside. We want to promote healthy habits when playing outside in the sun.

Fifth graders may wear either their elementary uniform or the middle school uniform. This should make it more practical to shop as your fifth grader grows.

SWIMMING CLASSES THIS SEMESTER:

All first through fifth graders will have eight weeks of swimming lessons this semester. Students who had Lucha Villar for PE first semester will have swimming classes from February 28 to April 11. Students who had Robert Smal for PE first semester will have swimming classes from April 16 to June 4.

Lucha Villar, now our Aquatics Director, will oversee the supervision of all swimming classes. Our classes will be taught by certified, English-speaking swimming instructors. Robert Smal will teach all PE classes for the second semester.

Students need to bring a swimming suit, cap, towel, and flip flops to each swimming class. All students must wear the FDR swimming suit and cap. FDR bathing suits and caps can be purchased at the Uniform Shop. (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; phone 702-4511 Ext. 4146)

LABELING OF CLOTHING:

We remind parents that it is essential to LABEL all students’ clothing and belongings so they may be returned to the owner when found.

LANGUAGE ARTS STAFF DEVELOPMENT:

All of our EC and ES teachers and teacher assistants had the wonderful opportunity to participate in four days of workshops with Language Arts specialist and author, Dr. Bonnie Campbell Hill. Bonnie has worked extensively with school systems in the United States, as well as many international schools around the world. Our teachers are excited to begin implementing the ideas and practices learned in this workshop, as this is the beginning of a three-year process of adopting the use of Developmental Continuums. We will be offering parent workshops in the future. Please check out Bonnie’s website at www.bonniecampbellhill.com.