Back To School

First Day Of School Note

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your assistance in starting the school year smoothly. It was so nice to spend the day with the children. We are looking forward to the remainder of the school year!

We expect that the children will be very tired when they get home. As they get used to going to school and the length of the school day, they will not be so tired.

Below, you will find pertinent information about kindergarten and school procedures:

Parent/Teacher Communication: Parent-teacher communication is vital for maximum school success. If you would like to speak to your child's teacher, please send a note or leave a message by calling 783-3537. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Teachers are available for conferences by appointment. If you would like a conference, please contact your child's teacher.

Orange Avenue Open House will take place in September . Mr Madancy will begin the evening with a presentation followed by classroom presentations.

The Take Home Folder has been provided by the Orange Avenue School PTA. Your child will use this folder to bring home any classroom notices, newsletters and student work. Please check the folder each night, and return it to school every day. Please put any papers, as well as any notes for the teacher, lunch money, etc in this folder when you return it to school the next day.

Emergency Cards and School Insurance Forms: Please complete the information on these forms and return them as soon as possible. We need two copies of the emergency card- one for the school office and one for the nurse. These forms should be returned on the second day of school or at most by the end of the first week.

Absences: Daily attendance records are kept at school. Please call the office before school begins if your child will not be in , 783-3537. Alternatively, you may call our nurse, Mrs. Kaminski at 783-3713. Upon return, a note must be provided. The note should explain the reason for the absence and include the following information: 1) date of absence, 2) full name of child, 3) specific reason for absence. If a parent knows in advance that a child will be absent, a written note should be presented prior to the absence. In all circumstances, a written note must be submitted even if the absence has been explained by phone call. Please refer to the Absentee Policy in your OAS handbook that came home the first day of school.

Lunch and Snack Money: All elementary students will be using a bar-coded card when purchasing lunch. The card works like a debit card. You put money in and your child may use that money. This method allows the school to accept payments to purchase meals and lunch milk in advance. It would be helpful to the kitchen staff if you are able to make a lump sum payment (example $10.00) but you may still pay daily: $.40: per day for milk and $1.50 per day for lunch. The cash will remain in your child's account until it is used. Deposits are done in three ways:
1. LUNCHES ONLY - Money deposited in lunch only cannot be used for any other purpose.
2. LUNCHES and A LA CARTE - You may want to divide the deposit between lunches and ice cream, and milk money (a Ia account). This allows you to control the amount of money your child spends on lunches, milk, and ice cream.
3. A LA CARTE - Putting your entire deposit into an a la carte account entitles the child to purchase both lunches and snacks. For each $15.00 deposit, $1.50 in $.50: bonus coupons will be issued to the student. These coupons may be used for ice cream or snacks or three coupons may be used together to purchase a student lunch. Checks should be made payable to Milford Food Services. Deposit slips are awilable in the school kitchen. If you have any questions, please call the Food Services Office at 783-3610.

Class Newsletters: Each kindergarten teacher will periodically send a classroom newsletter to help keep you up to date with classroom activities.

Homework: Your child will receive periodic homework assignments and family projects by your child's teacher. These assignments are designed to be fun ways of extending learning into a home environment. Your child's teacher will describe these assignments to you. Thank you again for your cooperation. Please remember you can contact me at any time if you have concerns or questions.

Toys from Home: Bringing toys from home is discouraged for many reasons. Toys may become lost or broken and they can cause unecessary interuptions in our day. Please remind your child to leave their toys at home. In closing, we encourage you to save this letter for future reference. If you have any questions, please contact your child's teacher.

Yours sincerely,

The Kindergarten Teachers at OAS