WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Congratulations to our staff for preparing such beautiful learning environments for our children!
Welcome to all of our new students and friends!
WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS
…
Our deep gratitude for the thoughtful, generous, and dedicated families that support our work at Mountain Laurel. It is probably not possible to publicly acknowledge every gift of time, talent or resources that contributes to the success of our programs and the beauty of our environments. Thanks to all who helped in our gardens, took care of our classroom pets, and worked to prepare materials and our classrooms to make the start of school a joyful experience for us all.
To ensure proper supervision of all
children, we stress the importance of arriving at the appropriate times in the
morning. Elementary children may
not be dropped off until
Please take extreme caution in our parking lot at all times. Especially at arrival and dismissal times, you may only park in designated parking spaces. Do not park anywhere in the drive-through lanes or block the flow of traffic in any way. Under no circumstances should you pass an occupied car that is not in a parking space – a child may jump out unexpectedly at any moment! When walking in our parking lot with your toddler or primary-age child, you must hold their hand! Remind your elementary child every morning to stop and watch for cars before exiting the car and to walk at all times! Please review these rules with anyone (babysitters, grandparents, etc.) transporting your child to/from school.
SAFETY FIRST!
Mountain Laurel is part of the property association with our neighbors up the hill. We must prevent a potentially dangerous situation of blocking Biggs Drive during arrival and depareture times. We have repainted the stop line at the bottom of the hill to indicate where cars should stop if our driveway is backed-up. Before proceeding up the hill, please be sure that you can get all the way into our driveway. If the driveway is not clear, wait at the bottom of the hill. Please don't pass any cars ahead of you. This procedure may create a line in front of the apartments, but it shouldn't create an inconvenience for these residents, if everyone is considerate. Also, please be sure to stop at the stop sign at the bottom of our driveway and make sure the the road is clear before pulling out. Tell everyone who picks up or drops off your child about all of our arrival and dismissal policies!
CAR SEATS
When you need to drop off your child's car seat, please mark it with your child's name and send a note into the office that the car seat is here. Make sure that the person picking up your child is responsible for retrieving the car seat.
DRESS SHOES ARE PRETTY, BUT ...
They are not safe for the running, skipping, and climbing our children love to do outside. Please only send your child in athletic shoes or hiking boots for outdoor play. Rain and snow boots are required when weather dictates. Sandals, dress shoes, and cowboy boots are strictly forbidden and will prevent your child from participating in outdoor activities at school.
NUTRITIOUS LUNCHES FUEL ENERGETIC
CHILDREN
Children tend not to eat large meals, especially at lunch, so make sure their lunches are nutritious and appealing. It is important to include a source of protein as well as fresh fruit or vegetables. Please keep sweets to a minimum – no more than one small dessert item. For elementary children (Ms. Nixon's and Ms. Semmes' students), provide only 100% juice, milk, or water in your child’s lunch. (No sodas or Kool-Aid type drinks, please!) Primary children (Mrs. Baumgart's and Mrs. Irre's students) who stay for lunch will be provided with milk and water at school, so please do not send a beverage from home (this includes yogurt drinks). Also for primary lunch children, please do not include "Gogurt" type yogurt sticks in their lunch. They are simply too messy for young children to handle. Low sugar yogurt packaged in cups and that can be eaten with a spoon is a much better option for school. All children should bring their lunch in a fully enclosed, insulated lunch box or bag that can easily fit inside their backpacks. Don't forget your place mat!
IN CONCLUSION ...
There are so many rules and policies that have to be stated and restated so that our systems can run smoothly and safely. I want to personally apologize for the "bossy" nature of this newsletter, or if I or another staff member seems abrupt as we advise parents (typically in the parking lot) of the many seemingly picky regulations that contribute greatly to everyone's safety and peace of mind. I will make every effort to clarify our policies as questions arise and will try to make any accommodation possible to support an individual family's needs, so please don't hesitate to call ). Sincerely, Elaine Glier
CALENDAR REMINDERS
September
4 (Tues.) - First Day of School for Elementary. REGULAR HOURS - 8:15 AM to 3:20 PM
4 (Tues.) - First Day of School for Farm School. REGULAR HOURS - 8:00 AM - 3:45 PM
(Bus departs Front Royal @ 7:45 AM and returns @ 4 PM)
4-7 (Tues.-Fri.) 10 AM-12 PM - First Week of School for NEW Primary Students. ONLY 2 HOURS!
10 (Mon.) - All Primary Children Attend School - REGULAR HOURS: Primary Morning - 8:30-Noon; Primary Full-Day - 8:30-3 PM
Before-School Care Begins @ 7:45 AM; Lunch and After-School Care Begin
10 (Mon.) - First Day of School for Toddler Community. REGULAR HOURS: 8:20 AM-11:45 AM
11 (Tues.) 7 PM - Elementary Parent Night. Mandatory for all Elementary Parents.
13 (Thurs.) 6 PM - Orientation and Potluck Dinner @ Sunny Slope for all Farm School parents.
15 (Sat.) 11:30 AM-2 PM - PTO Back-to-School Picnic at Andrew Guest State Park (see attached flyer)
18 (Tues.) 7 PM - PTO Council Meeting in Front Royal Campus Studio. All parents urged to attend.
20 (Weds.) 9 AM - Overview of Highlights from PTO Council Meeting in Front Royal Campus Resource Room.
21 ( Fri.) 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM - First Day of Montessori Beginnings.