Welcome to the Primary School

Dear Primary School Families,

Welcome to a new school year! We are so excited to welcome our students and families back to our primary school community. The beginning of a school year is filled with new experiences, new friendships, and countless opportunities for growth—and we are honored to be part of your child’s journey.

At our school, we believe that children learn best when school and home work together as partners. You are your child’s first and most important teacher, and we value the knowledge, experiences, and perspectives you bring to our partnership. When families and educators communicate, celebrate growth, and work together to support children, students are better positioned to thrive.

Growing the Whole Child

Our goal is not simply to help children become strong readers and mathematicians. We want to help them grow as confident, curious, kind, capable, and resilient people.

Throughout the year, we will intentionally support the whole child by developing:

• Social and emotional skills — learning to identify feelings, solve problems, build friendships, and manage challenges.

• Foundational academic skills — developing strong early literacy, language, writing, and mathematical thinking.

• Independence and confidence — learning to make choices, take responsibility, and persevere when something feels difficult.

• Communication and collaboration — learning to listen, share ideas, work with others, and advocate for themselves.

• Curiosity and creativity — asking questions, exploring the world, creating, imagining, and discovering.

Play Is How Young Children Learn

Play will continue to be an important part of learning in our primary school. Play is not separate from learning—it is one of the most powerful ways young children learn.

Through play, children practice language, problem-solving, cooperation, creativity, self-regulation, and decision-making. They learn to take risks, try new ideas, make mistakes, and try again. Whether they are building with blocks, creating a story, exploring outdoors, pretending, drawing, or playing a game with friends, children are developing important skills that support their academic and social growth.

We will balance purposeful play and exploration with explicit instruction in the foundational skills children need to become successful readers, writers, mathematicians, and lifelong learners.

Thank you for trusting us with your children. We are looking forward to a wonderful year of connection, play, learning, and growth!

Please join us August 27 from 2-3:30 for Cowboy Day. It is a chance to see the classrooms and meet the teachers.

With gratitude,

Sarah Walker

Principal,

Chimacum Creek Primary School

Arrive between 8:05and 8:20, Dismissal 2:55

Please plan on arriving between 8:05 and 8:20 if you are walking or driving by car. Parent drop off is located in front of school.

Students will come in through the garden gate and head straight to the cafeteria for breakfast (free for all kids) when they arrive. Staff will be there to help you. Teachers will join at 8:20 to bring their children to the classroom.

• If you are running late, that's ok, please check in at the main office and we will walk them into class.
• The same is true if your child has an appointment or you need to pick up early, please come to the main office for help.

At the end of the day, teachers will walk students to the bus or to wait for you in the pick up area. Please let your child know who to expect at the end of the school day.

Coming to school, and attending on time have a HUGE positive impact on educational outcomes for kids. Additionally, kids succeed when they feel connected to their peers.

In general, students who attend 90% of school days feel more connected, and reach greater academic success. That means a students should not miss more than 10 days in a semester. Please plan on attending school every day unless your child is ill.

If a problem arises where your child needs to miss school for an extended period of time, please let me know so we can make a plan to support.