Gateway Newsletter- September

The first few days of school have been amazing! Our students are learning all the routines, procedures, and expectations of our school. A huge thank you to you, parents, for helping us make this beginning of the year so efficient! We are focusing on building our classroom communities this month! Please continue to communicate with your child's teacher to ensure a successful year!

The Luckiest Principal Ever,

Jamie Stanley

SCHOOL DAY HOURS:

8:10 am - Students May Arrive

8:25 am - School Day Begins

3:22 pm - Dismissal

PICKUP AND DROP OFF PROCEDURES:

School starts at 8:25 am and ends at 3:22 pm.

Morning Drop Off:

• Students may be dropped off 15 minutes prior to the start of school at 8:10 am in the BACK parking lot ONLY. Please do NOT park in the bus circle parking lot. Students should wait in the car until a staff member comes outside. Please pull all the way up to drop off your child(ren).

After School Pickup:

• School dismisses at 3:22 pm daily. If you cannot pick up your child at 3:22 pm, please make arrangements with your child's teacher and the office. We are unable to provide after school care.

• Parents of walkers: Please stay in the sectioned cone area. We will bring your child to you.

• If your child will not be riding the bus or is going home with a friend, you must send a note to the school or call the school by 3:00 p.m. Unless we have a written note from a parent or a phone call, we will always send students home in their normal manner.

• If your child is going to an alternate drop off from their normal bus ride, BOTH parents (the child who is going someplace different, and the parent of the child that is accepting them on that day), MUST send in a note. The bus garage will not drop students off at the alternate spot without notes from both parents.

We kindly remind you to stop by the office to:

• sign-in / sign-out your child whenever he/she is late or leaving early

• check in and receive a visitor pass for your visit to the classroom, when speaking with the teacher and/or brining something to a classroom

Y5s

We are continuing to work on learning the routines and expectations. We are learning to get along with others and how to be a helpful friend. We will be starting phonemic awareness and working on counting to 20.

K

Kindergarten students will continue to learn the routines and expectations of the building and classroom as we start to move through September. We will be focused heavily on continuing to develop our classroom community. As we build on our work stamina each week, more academics will be added in. This includes working on building our phonemic awareness and phonics skills as well as focusing on counting strategies and learning what attributes are.

1st

What an incredible first week! We spent our first few days together building our classroom family, establishing our daily routines, and practicing key procedures so our classroom runs smoothly. Creating a safe, supportive, and connected environment is our top priority, and the students have already done a fantastic job learning how we learn and grow together. With our strong foundation now set, we are so excited to officially dive into our academic curriculum in september!

2nd

Second grade is having a great start to our year! We are starting to begin our learning while still focusing on school and classroom routines. In math we are learning to identify coins and their values as well as adding coins. In phonics we are reviewing the sounds of vowels, open and closed syllables, and consonant digraphs and trigraphs. In September we will begin our first social studies unit about how communities work together. Second grade teachers are so excited to begin the year with this amazing group of learners!

P.E.

In PE this month we are learning how to move our bodies in a safe way in the gym. We look for open space, keep our eyes up, and move our bodies with a purpose. We will also be learning how to work together in a group to accomplish a task, such as a relay. We are sure to have a great September in PE with our SOARING students!

Art

In Art this month, our Kindergarten students will be exploring creative ways to manipulate paper through ripping, helping them develop fine motor skills. Kindergarten will also create rainbow artwork focusing on the foundational Elements of Art: Color and Line. First and second grade artists will begin the year with a colorful fall still life study inspired by the work of Paul Cézanne, focusing on observation, composition, and the use of shape and color to create engaging artwork.

Music

Sept 25: Homecoming Parade (Details will come soon)

October 2: School Picture Day

October

October 16: No School

October 19: No School

School anxiety can show up in different ways—ranging from morning stomach aches to complete refusal to get out of the car. It often masks itself as irritability, acting out, or extreme withdrawal, making it tricky to pinpoint at first. Some tips to help your child overcome school anxiety are:

*Have a consistent morning and evening routine.

*Keep yourself calm and relaxed.

*Have a conversation with the teacher and/or school counselor.

*Have your child bring in one small item from home.

*Teach and role model problem solving skills.

A few calming strategies to work with your child are deep breathing exercises, countdown from 10 to 1, do something active and focus on positive thoughts.

Additional Resources include:

https://childmind.org/article/back-school-anxiety/

https://parentguidance.org

www.worrywisekids.org