Sheldon Update

Dear Sheldon Families,

Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! I am so excited to welcome all of our new and returning Sheldon Sharks! Staff have been back for a couple of weeks now, preparing classrooms, engaging in home visits, and planning for the best school year yet!

Each week, you will receive a newsletter from me highlighting all upcoming dates and events. The weekly newsletter will also include reminders and important information. Please make sure to read the newsletter each week so you stay informed! This is the number one way I communicate with all families. This newsletter will be sent via email, and posted on our Sheldon Facebook page.

Click here to access the 2023-2024 Family Handbook.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to me!

Thank you for the privilege of serving you ~

Mrs. Gabrielle Tanner, Principal

August 16th: Meet the Teacher Night @ 4:30-5:30

August 17th: First Day of School!!!

September 4th: NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

September 14th: Picture Day

September 20th: Family Fun Fitness Night @ Hummer

September 26th: Outdoor Health & Family Night @ Sheldon

The child nutrition form is a required form that all enrolled families need to complete. The district was awarded a grant that results in all students in Topeka Public Schools receiving free meals this school year. By filling out this form, you will NOT be charged any amount for meals this school year. This form benefits the TPS district because it helps us receive funding for many programs and technology to ensure student success. Please take time NOW to complete the form.

This form is for your whole family, so if you have multiple children at several schools, you only have to complete one form.

Topeka Public Schools Homepage

Click on "Free/Reduced Meal Application." This will take you to a Horizon Software page that indicates Topeka Public USD #501 at the top. Read through the "Welcome" page and click on "Start Application" at the bottom.

A requirement for early childhood programs is that all families complete the ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE2 for their student(s). Below you will find links to complete these online, available in both English and Spanish. Please choose the first option to complete BOTH surveys at the same time. You are able to save and come back to it if you need more time. It is important on the questions that ask about whether your child can do a certain task/skill that you actually ask/do those with your child. This gives us accurate information to support your student at school. Please complete these as soon as possible and let us know if you have any issues! Thank you!

ASQ - English

ASQ - Spanish

Thank you to the families who have delivered, sent or uploaded the required preschool documents!

If you have not done so, please submit your child's:

• birth certificate
• immunization records
• health assessment (physical)
• oral health form

The above documents can be submitted by , scanning and emailing them to kneufeld@tps501.org, faxing to the Sheldon office (785-271-3647), or delivering them to the Sheldon office.

We must have the required documents before the first day of school.

Monday through Thursday: 9:15 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Arrival begins: 9:15 a.m.

Arrival ends: 9:30 a.m. (students will be considered tardy after 9:30 a.m.)

Dismissal begins: 3:45 p.m.

Dismissal ends: 4:00 p.m. (all students must be picked up by 4:00 p.m.)

Late Start Fridays (every Friday): 10:15 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Arrival begins: 10:15 a.m.

Arrival ends: 10:30 a.m. (students will be considered tardy after 10:30 a.m.)

Dismissal begins: 3:45 p.m.

Dismissal ends: 4:00 p.m. (all students must be picked up by 4:00 p.m.)

Please see the Transportation section a little further down for important information about the car line!

If you haven't yet, please be sure you send TWO extra sets of clothes (bottom, top, underwear, socks) with your student on the first day of school, in case of accidents or just because sometimes preschool can be messy! Make sure they are appropriate for the current weather.

As a Head Start program, Sheldon provides all school supplies. The only items we ask your child bring are two sets of weather appropriate clothes (socks, underwear, bottom, top) in case of an accident or getting messy throughout the day. Additionally, while a backpack is not required, most students do bring one. If you need assistance with providing a backpack for your student, please reach out as we do have a few on hand!

We will be providing each student a water bottle to use throughout the day. There is no need to send one with your student.

At Sheldon Head Start, we provide breakfast, lunch, and snack to all students. As we are a Head Start program, nutrition guidelines are very strict and due to this outside food and drink is NOT allowed. We are very blessed to have our Head Chef, Mr. Jim, who has been providing home cooked meals to Sheldon students for over 25 years! This past year he surpassed TWO MILLION meals served! Please do not send your student with a lunch or a snack.

If your child takes medication at school, you will need to have your child's physician complete and sign a Request to Administer Medication form, which will need to be returned to Ms. Andrea in the clinic. Medication must be sent in the original packaging with the original label. If your child needs meal modifications due to religious or medical restrictions, please complete and return the attached forms.

Late Start is on FRIDAYS for this school year and the arrival time will be at 10:15. The first late start of the year will be our second day of school, August 18th.

***If your child will be dismissing in a way that is different than normal, please contact your child's classroom teacher.

Sheldon will be using a car line for arrival/dismissal again this year. It will take us a few days to get it down, but if you give us grace during that time, I ensure that we will be a well-oiled machine by the end of the second week of school! Our highest priority is student safety so we will take our time to ensure the safety of all. The number one thing I have learned over the years is that when everyone follows the rules, the system works, and works quickly!

We sure are appreciative of our city's home construction and road crews! However, the construction on Gage and in the lot next to Sheldon off Sena is making the car line a little trickier this school year. It is CRITICAL that the car line procedures are followed to ensure a safe arrival and dismissal for all students, families, and staff. The map below highlights the traffic flow for the car line. Please remember that we are located in a fairly compact neighborhood. We want to ensure we are respectful of all Sheldon's neighbors by following speed limit and other traffic signs and by not blocking driveways or intersections.

The car line will begin at 9:15 (10:15 on Fridays). Any student arriving after 9:30 will need to check in at the main office as the car line will have ended. The dismissal car line will begin at 3:45. Any adult arriving to pick up a child after 4:00 will need to check them out at the main office as the car line will have ended.

To use the car line:

• Turn West onto 12th St. from Gage
• Turn Right onto Mission Ave.
• Turn Left onto Sena St.
• DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAYS OR INTERSECTIONS
• The car line is a right turn in, right turn out ONLY and this will be strictly enforced. This keeps our car line from completely blocking two lane traffic.

As the line moves, cars will pull RIGHT into the parking lot. Adults will not exit their vehicle. Staff will greet students at the vehicle and then escort them into the building where additional staff members will escort them to their classrooms. Once the student exits, the vehicle may continue to follow the painted arrows to complete the loop through the parking lot. Vehicles will make a RIGHT turn out of the parking lot onto Sena St. If you have a situation that requires you stop to exit the vehicle or you need to have a conversation with a staff member, please pull to the right out of the car line so that it can continue to flow smoothly.

At dismissal, staff will not buckle students. If your child is unable to buckle themselves, please pull along the fence line, park, and assist your child. Please do not hold up the car line with this process.

At home visits, teachers provided families with a labeled bus harness if they are a bus rider OR a labeled lanyard for students who are OT (Other Transportation - car line/walker). Please make sure your student is ready for the bus with their harness on under any jacket they may be wearing. OT students need to have their lanyard around their neck as they exit the vehicle in the car line. This will help us transition students to their classrooms quickly and more importantly, safely!

If your child is a bus rider, please follow the directions below to download and use the Here Comes the Bus app. The school code, as stated in the directions, is 29036. If you need your student's ID number, you can find that in your Synergy ParentVue account (where you registered your child for the school year). The second picture below shows where you will find it.

Sheldon Head Start follows the Topeka Public Schools Academic Calendar. The only exceptions are a later start date and earlier end date. The first day of school for Sheldon students is Thursday, August 17th. The last day of school for Sheldon students will be May 14th.

Our Sheldon Head Start Facebook page is active! We use this as a way to communicate with families and share many pictures. Please follow the page to stay updated!

@SheldonChildDevelopmentCenterHeadStart

It is important that your child attend school each day to have a consistent educational program. Of course, illness or other family emergencies can cause absences. If your child will be absent please let us know by contacting the office at 785-438-4530. Head Start requires all students to be in attendance at least 90% of the time.

The Topeka Public School Procedures are as follows:

1. Absences are excused for student illness or family emergencies. If your child is going to be absent, you should call the office before 9:15 a.m. It is each parent’s responsibility to be sure the office has been notified of the reason for absence. Advanced notice is appreciated.
2. A phone call attempt will be made on every child that does not arrive at school by 9:45am.
3. After 2 days of unexcused absences, staff will conduct a home visit or make other direct contact with child’s family, determine what assistance is needed to remedy the problem.
4. Unexcused absences can result in a truancy report being filed.
5. Each absence after 10 excused absences may result in the need for a doctor’s release note to be considered an excused absence.
6. Although Kansas law does not require students to be in school prior to the age of 7, ANY child enrolled in public school does fall into the state truancy policies. Truancy reports will be made to the district truancy officer for any student with excessive absences and/or tardies.

Check out this article on WHY attendance matters!

Policy Council is an opportunity for parents to be part of program decision-making. Policy Council gives parents an opportunity to have a voice and learn about program leadership. Policy Council members vote on Grant Approvals, Program Budget Approvals, Staffing, Publics Relations, and Policies & Procedures.

The Sheldon Policy Council meets monthly for 1 hour and asks for a one year commitment. More information will be shared at Home Visits.

Take a look at the Topeka Resources Checklist. This is very helpful for planning! This is a list of possible resources to help you stretch your dollars and avoid economic emergencies. Place a check beside the ones you are using or have used.

You can find the link to the 2021 Community Resources Council Resource Directory here. This directory provides contact information for a variety of community resources.

If in need of resources, you can also contact the United Way by dialing 211.

See the following links for Food Pantry resources available to families.

English and Spanish

Website: https://sheldon.topekapublicschools.net/
Location: 1155 SW Seabrook Ave.
Phone: 785-438-4530
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheldonChildDevelopmentCenterHeadStart