Hoot Owl

The first day of school is Monday and it is always an excited time for the Craig Community. We will have the Bubble Bus in the front of the building to welcome our students to Craig, so feel free to join the excitement and take pictures.

Just as a reminder, parents will not be able to enter the building when dropping off students for school. Our staff is strategically placed around campus and in the building to ensure every student makes it to class. As an added safety measure, we will not allow parents in the building for lunch or random visits. We will limit access to the building to those who have gone through the Volunteer process or have been a approved for a visit. If you are interested in being a volunteer, please see additional information below.

Our Craig counseling team are here to help your students. Get to know our amazing team!

Students have the opportunity to purchase breakfast and lunch every day if they choose. Here are some need to know items regarding food purchases:

• Students must have money in their account to pay for the meals. You can add money to your child's account either by sending a check/cash into the front office or by adding money to MySchoolBucks via credit card online. To add money by card please click on this link
• If would like to apply for the Free and Reduced Lunch program click here.
• Students are also welcome to bring lunch from home as well. We do ask that if you are bringing lunch from home that you send it in the child's backpack in the morning. Lunch times can move around and it causes students stress when their lunch is not here on time. Additionally, we will not accept food for students from any kind of food delivery services (i.e. Door Dash..etc...)
• We do not have the ability to cook food, so please do not send items like mac and cheese, uncooked ramen, or any other food that needs to be prepared. If you would like for your student to have a hot lunch we recommend preparing it at home using a thermos.
• If you do NOT want your child purchasing meals or additional items please make sure to have a conversation with them and send a note to their teacher so that everyone is on the same page.

Arrival: In order to ensure student safety and supervision, doors will open at 8:50 am, we ask that no student arrive before that time.

It is very important that your child arrives on time to school to start their day of learning. However, if you arrive after 9:05 A.M., we do require parents to sign their child in as tardy in the office. A pass will be given to the child so that he/she can be admitted to class.

In the morning, car riders should be dropped off on the upper parking lot on the Craig campus and enter the building through door 1. Staff members are available to help your child out of the car on the upper lot. The lower lanes are reserved for buses. All students that arrive by bus will be instructed to enter door 2. Please DO NOT drop your child off in the front bus lane as this causes a very dangerous situation.

Dismissal: We will begin dismissal at 4:00 P.M. each day. In order to limit congestion in the hallway, we will use a staggered dismissal procedure in the building. Students will be escorted to their buses or parent pick-up location by the classroom teachers.

Car riders will be picked up using the upper circle drive. Car riders will wait with supervising staff members on the marked lanes within the circle drive during dismissal until their designated vehicle arrives at the pick-up spot. We ask that all parents picking up students have a sign with the student’s name(s) in their window. In order for this routine to run smoothly, parents will need to remain in their vehicles as they circulate through the circle drive.

Parents will not be able to park on Craig property at dismissal for safety purposes.

There are three options for walkers:

A) The student will be walked to the crosswalk or sidewalk to walk home alone.

B) The parent will meet the student outside door 2 in the grass by the cafeteria. NO cars will be allowed to park in teacher lot or at Mt.Zion.

C) The student will be walked to the crosswalk, once the teacher sees the parent the student will be allowed to cross.

Please do not park in the front bus lane as it causes a dangerous situation with the mixture of cars and buses.

ALL STUDENTS ARE TO BE PICKED UP ON TIME (4:00 P.M.) AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY.

If your kindergarten student rides the bus, a parent or guardian will be required to meet their student at the bus stop. The bus driver will not let the kindergartener off the bus if no one is there. An effort will be made to contact parents but in the event no contact is made, the student will be returned to Craig and the parent will need to meet their student here at the building.

Parkway Schools will be cell phone-free starting with the 25-26 school year, per a new Missouri law. Cell phones and personal devices, including smartwatches, laptops, and tablets, must be turned off and put away during the school day at all K-12 schools. For more in depth information on the cell phone policy: https://www.parkwayschools.net/families/cell-phone-policy

Happy New School Year from the Orchestra Program!

It's time to register for 4th and 5th grade orchestra for the 25-26 school year. Learn more about registration, instrument supply needs and more here:

https://mo01931486.schoolwires.net/Page/7384

Students in grades 3-5 in Parkway attend violin and orchestra classes twice weekly for 30 minutes each class and come to class as a homeroom.

All 4th graders are invited to participate in the orchestra program and students can choose from the violin, viola, cello or bass. Bass is a special permission instrument, so please connect with me before signing up to play the bass and renting an instrument.

5th graders who played in the 4th grade orchestra are invited to participate in the orchestra program and students should plan to play the same instrument they played in 4th grade. Please reach out if your child has an extenuating circumstance where that won't be possible. If your 5th grader is new to Parkway and has never had the opportunity to play in the orchestra in a previous school district, let's talk!

An instrument "outfit" includes the instrument, case, bow, rosin and shoulder rest (violin and viola only). Students also need a 1 inch binder and a package of heavy duty, non glare, sheet protectors for our music. More info and registration information can be found here:

https://mo01931486.schoolwires.net/Page/7384

Thank you for your support of the orchestra program!

Please email me with any questions.

Emma Abernathy

eabernathy3@parkwayschools.net

Since 2016, Craig Elementary has operated its own food pantry. We offer a free food program, “Moonlight’s Meals,” to care for our school families in need of assistance. Moonlight’s Meals is available once a week throughout the year. Our hope is to lighten the daily burden of feeding a family on a limited income. Craig School is one big family and we are committed to helping our families in and out of school.

To participate in Moonlight’s Meals simply email Mrs. Munroe at

amunroe@parkwayschools.net

Mrs. Munroe will answer any questions you have regarding Moonlight’s Meals,

give you food pick up information, or help arrange for your child to bring food

home from school.

It is time to replenish the food pantry shelves for Moonlight’s Meals. Please consider donating the following items to the Craig School Food Pantry: laundry detergent, dish soap, toothpaste, bar soap, liquid hand soap, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, deodorant, shaving cream, toothbrushes, foil, plastic wrap, ziplock bags, pasta, pasta sauces, peanut butter, jelly, canned fruit and vegetables, canned pasta meals, tuna, mac and cheese, crackers, mini muffins, granola bars, graham crackers, and juice.

Thank you for your generosity! If you have questions regarding our Craig Food

Pantry, please contact Mrs. Munroe, amunroe@parkwayschools.net

All parents who are new to Craig Elementary are welcome to attend our back to school Boo Hoo Social. This event is from 9:00 to 10:00am on the first day of school. Once you drop your student off at school, join us in the cafeteria for a greeting from Dr. Duckworth, an introduction to Craig PTO and time to socialize with other Craig families. Please enter through the cafeteria doors for this event.

Every year we ask that families take a few minutes to update your Family Profile on Infinite Campus. This is very important because it gives you an opportunity to update all of your contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses so that we have the best possible way to reach you. You can do this on either the website or the app.

To Update online:

Inside the Infinite Campus parent portal, you will see “More” on the lower left side. Click there and on the next screen, click on “Online Registration.” The next screen will display a box that reads, “Click here to complete the Annual Family Update.” Login to Infinite Campus here to get started.

To Update using the app:

On the Menu button, choose More and then Online Registration. Click there to begin.

Only one parent or guardian from the primary household needs to complete the update. Please complete the update before the first day of school. If you have any questions, or need an Infinite Campus portal account, please email ic-parenthelp@parkwayschools.net.

• August 18th- First Day of School, Boo-Hoo Social at Craig 9:00-10:00
• September 1 - No School - Labor Day

Email: mduckworth@parkwayschools.net
Website: https://www.parkwayschools.net/Domain/12
Location: Craig Elementary School, Craig Road, St. Louis, MO, USA
Phone: 314-415-6200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craigelementary/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
Twitter: @craigelementary