Pine Valley Parent Post

We hope you had the BEST SUMMER EVER and made lots of wonderful memories with family and friends! ☀️💙

We are so excited to welcome our Top Tigers back for another amazing school year! We hope you are feeling refreshed, excited, and ready for all the learning, growing, and fun that awaits us at The Little Blue School! 🐯📚

🎉 MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

The FIRST DAY of SCHOOL is MONDAY AUGUST 24, 2026!

As we get ready to kick off a fantastic new year, we want to make sure our families have everything they need for a smooth and successful start.

Inside this newsletter, you'll find important updates and helpful information about:

🐯 Arrival & Dismissal Procedures

We can't wait to see our "hallways" filled with smiling faces again!

Let's make 2026–2027 our BEST YEAR YET! 💙💛

In order to enroll your child in our school system, you will need to complete the online registration through Infinite Campus and upload or provide the following documentation:

• Proof of parent/legal guardian's domicile in New Hanover County verified by current residential property tax statement, residential deed, recent residential mortgage statement, current residential lease or rental agreement, and/or current utility bill.
• Certified birth certificate or other acceptable proof of age
• Up-to-date immunization record
• NC Health Assessment (first time a student enters a North Carolina public school)
• Safe Schools Affidavit (grades 1-12)
• Parent/legal guardian photo ID (if available)
• Custody documentation (if applicable)
• Transcript from the prior school for any middle or high school students that have completed and received credit for high school level courses (if applicable).

To enroll your student with New Hanover County Schools, please click the NEW STUDENT ENROLLMENT button below to complete an online registration in Infinite Campus

**If you are not a new student, you will still need to log into Infinite Campus and enroll/register your child for the 2026-2027 school year and update any information.

If you have ANY questions, please contact our data manager, Lori Lewis (lori.lewis@nhcs.net).

Students can arrive as early as 7:15am. Please release your child once an adult(s) are outside and on duty to assist with supervision.

The tardy bell rings at 7:40am followed by announcements and instruction will begin in your child's classroom.

We begin our dismissal process at 2:30pm and begin releasing students at 2:35pm. Car riders will be dismissed from our car rider loop (by the library and larger parking lot). Van & Bus riders will be dismissed from the bus loop. Please be patient as we work through our afternoon process...especially the first few weeks of school. Our priority is student safety!

If your student is a walker, please work with your child's teacher. Walkers can report to either blacktop but must be discussed with the classroom teacher for a smooth transition. We ask that parents stand on the far back side of the blacktop to allow our classes to dismiss and get to their dismissal location. DO NOT crowd the students as they travel to their locations on campus. Also, please do not take your child out of line. A teacher will drop off your child to you.

Please know that if the teacher does not see you, the student will then follow their teacher for dismissal, and you will need to report to the office for check out.

How to Get a Bus

To request a bus stop, contact the front office at 910-350-2121. Students are assigned to a community stop nearest their home address and must be assigned a bus number before they can ride.

New bus stop requests must be made before the deadlines (ours was July 31st) in order to ride the bus on the first day of school. Late bus stop requests will not be processed until after the first two weeks of school. School bus transportation will not be available until a Bus Pass is issued to the student. Following the first two weeks of school, students will be notified of bus assignments by receiving a Bus Pass at the school. Bus requests take 3-5 days to process.

Rider Requirements

Riders must use the bus at least three times per week to remain eligible for bus transportation. Students should be at the bus stop 10 minutes before their scheduled pick-up time and allow time for delays due to traffic. Students may only get on or off at their assigned stop - any exception must first be approved by both the school and Transportation. Failure to follow rider requirements may result in a permanent De-Assignment from the bus. To track the bus, download the NEW Chipmunk Bus Tracking App.

Special Request Permission Forms

Any special request permission forms must be renewed for the 2026-2027 school year.

All Grade K through 2 students must be met at the stop by a parent/legal guardian or caregiver. Only K-2 students with a “Bus Stop Drop-Off Permission Form” on file may be left at the stop by themself or with a caregiver. Without this form on file, K through 2nd Grade riders will be returned to school. Remember...this must be filled out annually. Any forms on file from last year are voided.

Students repeatedly returned to school may be permanently de-assigned from transportation.

HOW TO TRACK YOUR BUS
The best way to track your bus is by downloading the NEW Chipmunk Bus Tracking App. The App provides secure, personalized bus information so you can see your student's bus in real time. It also notifies you of scheduled pickup and drop-off times, as well as any bus substitutions.

Please note: Only student contacts with an email address listed in your student's Infinite Campus account are eligible to enroll.
View this video for easy App instructions: NHCS Chipmunk Bus Tracking App

Chipmunk How-To Brochure (English)
Chipmunk How-To Brochure (Spanish)

For more information regarding transportation, click the link below.

If you are interested in volunteering at our school and/or plan to attend a field trip this year, you will need to complete the volunteer training and assessment.

All volunteers must complete the level one online assessment (even if you completed it last year) located at the bottom of the training site. You do not need to turn in a paper application.

Any parents/guardians that would like to attend a field trip this year must complete the level 1 training AND the level 2 background check. Processing times of the background check vary so it is always good to apply as soon as you can to ensure you are approved before the field trip. The background check is good for three years.

All of the volunteer information you need is located at the site below, including the online assessment, link to the level 2 background check and training materials. Please contact the school if you have any questions and we look forward to seeing you soon!

https://www.nhcs.net/community/all-hands-on-deck

Pine Valley will continue to have FREE breakfast and lunch for all students this school year!! Extras such as chips, ice cream and other goodies will be available for purchase.

Need an Easy Peasy payment option?

Create your free MySchoolBucks account to conveniently view your student's cafeteria purchases, check their balance, and secure pay for school meal or a la carte items from anywhere. This tool is available for families 24 hours per day. You can always bring in cash for your child. Please place it in an envelope marked clearly with your child's name, their ID #, their teacher's name and the money amount. We will make sure the cafeteria gets your money on your child's account

• Aug. 24th - 1st Dat of School (Kindergarten will have staggered start)
• Sept. 4th - Produce w/a Purpose Fundraiser Kickoff
• Sept. 7th - Holiday (No School for Staff and Students
• Week of Sept. 8th - Lunch w/a Loved One
• Sept. 9th - BOG3 (3rd grade students only)

Website: https://pinevalley.nhcs.net/
Location: 440 John S Mosby Drive, Wilmington, NC, USA
Phone: (910) 350-2121