Family Bulletin: SLCS Elementary

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• Kindergarten Lottery Application deadline is Friday, December 19th! Make sure to get your child's application in by that date so that your child has a chance at being selected for the lottery.
• Kindergarten Exhibition. Math night is Wednesday, December 3rd at 6:00.
• Drama Program Performance. Come see our Drama Program do Aladdin on Friday, December 5th at 6:30 p.m.!
• Winter Concert. Come see our concert band perform their annual winter concert on Thursday, December 11th at 6:30 p.m.!
• 4th Grade Exhibition. The Unique Zoo Animal Exhibition is Tuesday, December 16th at 8:45 a.m.
• Holiday colors dress down day. Monday, December 22nd is our holiday color themed dress down day as we honor Christmas.
• Pajama dress down day. Tuesday, December 23rd is our pajama dress down day as we honor New Year's Eve.
• Long Winter Break! We will be off of school from December 24th to January 4th. Enjoy the long break!

Attendance- Contact the main office at 215-245-6055 ext. 600 or email attendancek6@schoollane.org

Transportation- Contact Ann Yost at 215-245-6055 ext. 620 or email ayost@schoollane.org

Access to the PowerSchool Parent Portal- powerschool@schoollane.org

Academics- Contact the homeroom or learning support teacher or supervisor

Discipline- Contact the homeroom teacher or administrator

With the winter weather months upon us, we wanted to send you a reminder regarding our Flexible Instruction Day plan in the event of a school closure due to bad weather or an emergency.

School Lane Charter School has been approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to use up to five Flexible Instruction Days (FIDs) each school year. These days can be counted as a day of school if in-person learning is canceled due to bad weather or an emergency. When a Flexible Instructional Day is declared, we will notify the community using our mass communication system (email, phone call, and text message). Posts will also be made on our school website and social media feeds.

Each student was given a green "FID Folder" in September. Please ensure that folder is kept in a safe place throughout the school year. Flexible Instructional Days will be "asynchronous," meaning students can complete their work anytime during the day.

· Grades K-2: Students receive green "FID Folders" containing paper assignments to cover five days. There are no digital components to FID expectations.

· Grades 3-6: Student assignments are delivered through Google Classroom. As a backup for online work, students in these grades also receive a set of "unplugged" paper assignments in their "FID Folder" in case of technology problems.

If a FID is anticipated, students in Grades 3 through 6 will be sent home with devices. If a student cannot access a School Lane device, they can use any internet-connected device to access materials. If that's not possible, they can submit an "unplugged" assignment instead.

On FID days, each teacher will be available for two hours of "Office Hours" using Google Meet to meet with students.

To be marked present for the day, students must submit their work (online or paper copies) to their teachers by the first day they return from a FID. Failure to do so will result in an absence recorded on the student's attendance record. If a parent or guardian submits an excuse note that meets the conditions for an excused absence, the absence will be updated accordingly.

Information about Flexible Instruction Days is available on our school website at www.schoollane.org/page/fid. There, you will find directions for accessing systems, copies of "unplugged" assignments, links to teachers' "Office Hours" and their schedules, and information on how to access support via phone, email, or a support ticket.

We are already in the thick of enrollment activities for the 2026-2027 school year! Upon enrolling new students, we typically ask families how they heard about School Lane. The most common response is word of mouth positive accounts from current School Lane families. We can’t thank you enough for that support in ensuring our enrollment remains strong!

Families wishing to enroll new students at SLCS for next year should apply as soon as possible as our waiting lists are dictated by the date and time completed applications are received. In person applications are now being accepted during school hours will be available through Thursday, January 29th.

To complete an application, applicants must bring the following items with them:

· Proof of Age – Ex: Student’s State issued birth certificate or Passport, etc.

· Two proofs of residency (two more will be required once the sibling is accepted)

o One (1) must be proof of home ownership or lease agreement (agreement of sale/lease, mortgage statement, property deed, statement of homeowner’s insurance)

o One (1) additional proof of residency may be: another utility bill, pay stub, driver's license, vehicle registration card or car insurance.

All proofs of residency must include the parent/guardian’s current address.

Please note that if you live in a multiple occupancy situation, please email admissions@schoollane.org for a copy of the Multiple Occupancy form which must be completed and notarized in order for your application to be finalized.

The online application will open on Friday, January 30, 2026 at 10:00 am. Please note that submission of the online application will put the student on the waiting list after all completed in person applications from November 15, 2025 through January 29, 2026

Kindergarten Applications

Student enrollment for kindergarten is by lottery. Students must be 5 years old by September 1 the year they are enrolling in kindergarten to be eligible for application and enrollment. You must submit an application prior to December 19, 2025 to be considered part of the lottery for the school year beginning the following August. Children’s names are placed on the waitlist via randomized lottery at a public meeting via Zoom held at 6:00pm. After the Kindergarten lottery any additional new applicants will be placed at the bottom of the list by order of time and date of the submitted application.

Sibling Applications

Beginning on Monday, December 1st, sibling applications will be accepted in person each school day between the hours of 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM at both campuses. Families interested in enrolling a sibling of a current School Lane student for the 2026-2027 school year in Grades K-12 should apply at this time. Siblings of current students are given first priority for any openings. A sibling is defined as one of two or more individuals having at least one common parent.

If you have any questions please email admissions@schoollane.org

Despite what you may have heard, all students (and all people) pretty much learn the same way. The same things are happening in our brain as we process new information and store it into our memory to be able to use it later. When we have learned something before and we have to remember it to use it again, all of our brains go through the same process as well. As a result, scientific research has proven that there are effective ways to study and also ways that are definitely not effective. Here is a list of Do's and Don'ts when it comes to helping your child study at home:

DO's for Home Study

• DO: Test Without Looking First: Instead of re-reading notes or textbooks, have your child close the book and try to recall what they learned. For younger kids (K-2), this might be "Tell me three things you remember about butterflies." For older kids (3-6), they can write down everything they remember about a math concept before checking their notes. This "retrieval practice" strengthens memory far more than re-reading.
• DO: Use Flashcards the Right Way: Make flashcards, but don't just flip through them once. Have your child go through the whole stack, put aside the ones they got right, then come back to those "easy" ones later. Research shows we forget the things we think we know best. Mix up the order each time - don't let them memorize the sequence.
• DO: Spread It Out: Instead of cramming the night before a test, help your child study a little bit several days in a row. Even 10 minutes of math facts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday beats 30 minutes on Sunday night. This "spaced practice" helps information stick in long-term memory.
• DO: Mix Up Practice Problems: When practicing math, don't do all the addition problems, then all subtraction. Mix them up so your child has to think about which operation to use. This applies to any subject - mixing different types of problems or concepts forces deeper thinking.

DON'Ts for Home Study

• DON'T: Let Them Just Highlight and Re-read: These feel productive but create false confidence. Your child thinks they know the material because it looks familiar, but they haven't actually tested whether they can recall it independently. If they insist on highlighting, make them close the book afterward and explain the highlighted concepts from memory.
• DON'T: Accept "I Already Know This": When your child says they already know their spelling words or math facts, that's exactly when they need to practice retrieving them. Have them prove it by testing themselves without looking. Often what feels "known" is actually just familiar.
• DON'T: Let Them Study Everything at Once: Avoid marathon study sessions where they try to review everything for a test in one sitting. Breaking it into shorter sessions over several days is much more effective for actual learning.

• Arrival: If you are driving your child to school, you should bring them to carline. If carline is closed, your child is late and should be dropped off at the main office. Late minutes count towards truancy.
• Early Dismissals: We will not approve early dismissals or transportation changes after 2:30 p.m. In order for an early dismissal or late arrival to be excused, a note from the doctor/dentist must be provided.
• Gym uniform: For pants/shorts on gym days, students are required to wear plain gray or black sweatpants or black shorts. Sweatpants must be traditional cut. This means no leggings.
• Healthy Snack: For snack, students must abide by the healthy food policy. There should be no food that is heavy in sugar. Examples of acceptable snacks: fruit cups, popcorn, whole wheat chips and salsa, hummus dip & veggies, soft pretzels, low-fat string cheese.
• Birthdays: You are welcome to bring in a healthy snack for your child's class on their birthday. It cannot be an item that is heavy in sugar such as cupcakes, donuts, or cookies.

The extensive study linked here proved what is probably obvious to all of us: sleep is important for learning. The research shows that 8 hours of sleep was most strongly associated with higher academic performance. In other words, students who enough sleep regularly perform better than those that don't get enough sleep when all else is equal. And of course, one of the largest factors negatively impacting sleep is.....screen time. One of the best things we can do as parents for our children is limit screen time and have a strong night time routine that allows for plenty of rest!