School starts tomorrow – Thursday, September 8 – for children in grades 1 -8. Welcome back! Here’s some useful info about drop-off procedures as we get ready for the new school year. Kindergarten drop-off info for Monday, September 12, is also included below.
Grades 1 – 3 (Thursday, September 8)
Breakfast (8:00 a.m.): Children arriving for breakfast should go to the Lower School’s side entrance, which is off of the teacher parking lot on Pershing Road. Mr. Neal will be on duty in the hallway outside the Lower School cafeteria/gym and will make sure children get to the cafeteria. Children will be dismissed from breakfast to the schoolyard to line up with their classes.
Regular Drop-Off (8:20 a.m.): Students in grades 1 – 3 should go to the Lower School playground area to find their teachers and line up. Everyone will enter the building at 8:30.
Grades 4 – 8 (Thursday, September 8)
Breakfast (8:00 a.m.): Children arriving for breakfast should go to the Upper School cafeteria. They can come into the building via the main front doors on Centre St. or via the Lower School side entrance in the teacher parking lot on Pershing Road and cross through the “bridge” to the lower level of the Upper School.
Regular Drop-Off (8:20 a.m.): Students in grades 4 – 8 should go to the Upper School outdoor area behind the building to find their teachers and line up. Teachers will retrieve their students at 8:30 to enter the building.
Rain plans: If it’s raining, students in grades 1–3 will gather in the Lower School cafeteria/gym instead of outside. Students grades 4– 8 will gather in the auditorium. Students attending breakfast beginning at 8:00 a.m. should proceed to the appropriate cafeteria as usual. Breakfast students in grades 1 – 3 will stay in the cafeteria. Students in grades 4 – 8 will go to the auditorium after breakfast.
K0, K1 & K2 (Monday, September 12): 🙂
8:20 a.m.: Drop-off occurs in front of the Lower School, at the kindergarten classroom/play area. The kindergarten teachers and para-professionals will be outdoors to welcome the children and their families. Kindergartners must be dropped of in the front outdoor space (not in the classrooms) for the first week or two of school. The kindergarten teachers will let you know when classroom drop-off is permitted, at which point kindergartners may be taken to their classrooms at 8:20 a.m.
It is important to respect our drop-off rules – even thought it can be tough on caregivers! – so please help our teachers make the kindergarten transition as easy as possible for all students. Some children may have a difficult time, and having an upset child clinging to a parent in the classroom often sets off a chain reaction among other children who may have been doing fine until noticing someone else clinging to mom, dad, or another caregiver. Years of experience have taught us that letting the children enter the classroom together as a group, without their caregivers, makes this process easier on everyone. If your child is anxious or upset at the transition, a teacher or paraprofessional will be able to comfort him or her and help her adjust – and rest assured that you will soon be welcome to drop off in the classroom!
