The Weekly STAR: Welcome Back to School (August 2022)

Sandlapper's Vision

Sandlapper will prepare every student academically, socially, and emotionally to be creative leaders in a global society.

Dear Sandlapper Parents,

We welcome you to the 2022-2023 school year at Sandlapper! This will be an outstanding year and we look forward to working with you!

If you have registered your student(s), letters with class placement, a letter from Mrs. May, and a school supply list were mailed to you the week of August 1st. Please be sure to look for a letter from Sandlapper in your mailbox. If you registered after the first week of August, please log in to Parent Portal to view your child's teacher assignment.

We thank you in advance for following the procedures outlined below, as they are essential to ensuring the smooth functioning, safety, and success of our school. Contact the appropriate person for any unanswered questions:

COMMUNICATION - Connie May (Principal) cmay@richland2.org
ACADEMICS, and Grades 1, 3, 5 - Teresa Burns Roberts (Assistant Principal) teroberts@richland2.org
OPERATIONS & SAFETY and Grades Pre-K, Kindergarten, 2, 4 - Terence Isaac (Assistant Principal) tisaac@richland2.org
HEALTH & WELLNESS - Alice Carter (School Nurse) alcarter@richland2.org

In this digital age, it is easy to overlook important details. Remember that the best thing you can do to stay connected is to read every school communication carefully, and respond as quickly as possible when necessary.

Again, class placement letters will be mailed out in the first week of August. Please look for a letter from Sandlapper in your mailbox!

We are looking forward to seeing our Shining Stars who will be returning to campus on Wednesday, August 17th!

Sincerely,

Connie May, Principal

During the Back-To-School Meet and Greet, this is a time for you to meet your child’s teacher, drop off school supplies, and take care of school related business. We will not have an opportunity for individual conferences with teachers at that time. If you have questions or concerns, please schedule a time with your child’s teacher for a conference.

**To promote social distancing for safety, we are staggering arrival times for our Meet and Greet. Please try to arrive during your designated time according to the student’s last name.

A-E: 4:00-4:20 pm

F-J: 4:25-4:45 pm
K-O: 4:50-5:10 pm
P-T: 5:15-5:35 pm
U-Z: 5:40-6:00 pm

Additionally, please visit our cafeteria:
*Bus transportation, car rider information
*PTO/SIC: parent involvement opportunities
*Evening Stars Afterschool Program
*After-school programs
*Purchase a Sandlapper T-shirt

*Technology Infor with Ms. D, your TLC

***Our PTO has invited Food Trucks to join our Meet and Greet event! Food trucks will be located on the bus loop from 4:00-6:30 pm. Grab some dinner for your family! The following food trucks are scheduled: Wild Childz, Browns KA Bob B Q, Pelicans, Curbside Edition, Chuck-E-Cheez, Maineatz, Kirk's Kitchen, Nicole's Sweet Creations.

*** Students who have not completed Annual Registration have not been assigned a teacher and will not be able to be registered at school during Meet and Greet. Please log in to your Parent Portal to complete Annual Registration to be assigned a teacher before Open House.

We are preparing to blast off with ParentSquare for the 2022-2023 school year. ParentSquare is our new unified communications platform that will replace Blackboard. It offers a whole host of tools that allows district, school administrators, and teachers to more effectively communicate and engage with families and students. For a quick introduction to ParentSquare, watch the video below.

Here’s what you can do with ParentSquare:

Receive messages from the school via email, text, or app notification
Choose to receive information as it comes or all at once with a daily digest at 6 pm
Communicate in your preferred language
Direct message teachers and staff
Participate in group messages
Sign up for parent-teacher conferences

Sandlapper will be using this platform for all communication with you.

Visit the ParentSquare YouTube channel to learn more.

First Week of School (August 17, 18, 19, 2022)

Parents are welcome to walk students to the classroom door during arrival for the 1st week of school (August 17-19). All visitors must have a driver's license to enter the building. Once a parent leaves the building, another parent will be allowed in. Please understand the wait time to enter Sandlapper may be longer based on the number of parents waiting to enter the building. Our school day begins promptly at 7:40 am. Students will be marked tardy after 7:50 am.

Car Riders

Each day we assist over 300 car riders during arrival and dismissal. Sandlapper's most important concern is the safety of all children. To ensure safe and smooth movement of traffic while on campus, please assist with the following:

Morning Arrival:

Arrival/ car rider unloading begins at 7:10 AM.
Students must wait for adult supervision before allowing students to exit vehicles. Adults are outside from 7:10 AM to 7:40 AM.
Observe the 10 mph speed limit.
Follow the blue line, closest to the curb.
Pull up as far as possible before stopping to unload so that other parents can do the same. This helps us to unload more cars, moving the car rider line more quickly.
Students may only exit from the passenger side of the vehicle. If needed, park in a visitor space.
No parking is permitted along the curb. If stopping/parking is needed, park in a visitor space.
Please do not park in the first two parking areas to walk students to the door. Our teachers park in those areas and it is important they are able to access their parking spaces in order to get to their classrooms on time. We encourage you to use the car line to drop off your students. After the first week of school, it only takes 5 minutes from the front gate to the drop-off area where adults are stationed to assist students in getting out of the car.

Afternoon Dismissal:

Have your child's name visible on the Sandlapper Place Card on your dashboard until your child is in the car.
Follow the blue line, closest to the curb.
Pull up as far as possible before stopping to unload/ pick up so that other parents can do the same. This helps us to load more cars, moving the car rider line more quickly.
Children are instructed to stand in designated spaces to look for their cars.
Adults on duty will direct students to the area on the sidewalk they should go to for pickup.
Students will only be loaded on the passenger side of the car. If you must load from the driver's side, park in a visitor space.
If you must come into the building, park in a Visitor parking space.
Students remaining after 2:55 PM will need to be signed out in the front office.
Parents or relatives may not walk up to pick up students during dismissal. How a student is designated to get home will be the way the student is sent home. This is a safety procedure in place for our students. For example, if a student is designated a car rider, the student will be dismissed to a car, not to individuals walking up to the car line. We understand that sometimes you may have appointments, please be sure to plan accordingly. Early dismissal ends at 2:00 PM. Again, this procedure is for the safety of our students and the staff on duty.
If a student is picked up late the following applies:
The safety of our students is our highest priority. Students who attend Sandlapper are to be picked up by 2:55 pm each day. When students are not picked up on time, we cannot leave them alone and must provide supervision for them. Therefore, when a student isn’t picked up on time, someone else must provide this extra supervision.

In the future, you will be charged $5 for every increment of 1-15 minutes you are late picking up your child. Adults will be charged for each child, as it applies.

Visitors

Visitors are welcome into the school building.

Visitors include, but are not limited to, parents/guardians, contract service providers, and delivery persons.

Front Office:

No more than 2 visitors in the front office at one time.
Sign students in/ out of school using the Lobby Guard computer in the atrium.
Leave items to be delivered to your student in the grade level bins located in the Atrium. These will be checked and delivered to students throughout the day. Leave labeled items with the child's name and teacher.

Classrooms:

Visits must be prescheduled with the teacher or Administration.
No more than 2 visitors in a classroom at one time.
Classroom visits are limited to 20 minutes.

Breakfast/ Lunch:

Visitors are not permitted to eat breakfast or lunch with students at this time.

Bus Transportation

All kindergartners must have a bus form and a kindergarten bus escort form

filled out. Bus drivers will not drop off kindergartners at the bus stop if an adult on the escort form is not there. Please be sure you have identification for the bus driver.

Morning Arrival:

Bus arrival on campus begins at 7:10 AM.
Students are seated in the hallways close to their classrooms.

Bus Loading/ Unloading Procedures:

1. AM Route: Students need to be waiting at the identified bus stop. If a driver has to wait for students, it delays the route. Students at the first bus stop will be seated in the back. As the driver picks up additional students, they will fill up towards the front. This is to limit students passing each other.

2. PM Route Students scheduled for the last bus stop will be seated at the back of the bus, while the driver seats students assigned to earlier stops towards the front. This is to limit students passing each other.

Note:

PreK and Kindergarten students will be seated in the 1st two rows.
No more than 2 students per seat.

Students must submit a Bus Registration Form before they will be able to ride the bus. Return forms to Teresa Burns Roberts at teroberts@richland2.org. Review the Sandlapper Bus Route Schedule to view your student's bus stop and anticipated pick-up/drop-off times.

Day Care/After School Care Programs

Evening Stars After School Program

In our preparation for the school year, we would like to remind our families of our Evening Stars After School Program. Are you in need of child care for the 2022-2023 school year?

Evening Stars After School Program has openings available. Spots we are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, don't wait!

Evening Stars is a tuition-based program, that provides your student(s) with an afternoon snack, homework assistance, and both academic and fun-filled activities.

Registration - $50 per student Daily rate is $16.

A 10% discount is given for families who have 2 children enrolled. ($10.80 per day per student.)

If you are interested in enrollment, please contact Tzarina Salomon at tsalomon@richland2.org

Transportation Changes

If you have a change of transportation, please contact your child’s teacher. If you need a change in transportation the day of, please contact your child’s teacher and Kathy Beaudoin (kbeaudoin@richland2.org.) prior to 1:45pm on the requested day. Changes in transportation will not be received after 1:45 pm. If you would like to check your student out early, please be sure it is prior to 2:00 pm.

Breakfast and Lunch

The Meal Value Plan (MVP) is a federal program that allows school districts to provide breakfast and lunch to qualifying students at reduced prices or for free! It's commonly known as the free/reduced meals program. Families that become MVPs save money on meals AND school fees!

During the pandemic, the USDA provided public school districts with waivers to provide free breakfasts and lunches for all students. The waivers ended in June 2022. Starting with the 2022-2023 school year, the school district will be required to charge for student meals (breakfast and lunch) unless a student's family qualifies to receive free or reduced-price meals.

Families are encouraged to complete the online meal applications for the 2022-2023 school year which determines eligibility for other benefits, including P-EBT funding and waived/reduced school fees. Families may begin the online meal applications. Click HERE. Student breakfast is $1.50, Student lunch (elementary): $2.90.

Breakfast times: 7:10 am-7:35 am. Breakfast will end promptly at 7:35 am.

Note:

1 breakfast option daily
2 lunch options daily (1 hot and 1 cold)
Students may opt to bring their own lunch from home.
Breakfast and Lunch Menus are updated monthly.

Water Stations

Students should bring a water bottle daily. Water stations are available for students to fill their

water bottles as needed. Students can also fill their water bottles from classroom sinks, which

use the same water supply as hallway water fountains. Students will not be permitted to drink directly from water fountains at this time.

We encourage water during the day instead of sugary drinks.

Medications

Prescribed medications are being accepted for school administration, such as: Epi-pens, Auvi Q, Inhalers, and medications for seizures, ADHD, etc. No supplemental, over the counter medications, please.

Medications administered at school require the following:

Medication Permission Form signed by your child's pediatrician.
Must notify the nurse to schedule delivery to school.
Medication must be delivered by an adult (not sent with students in their backpacks).

Medications must be brought in the following way:

Zip lock bag with child's name, grade, and teacher name written on the bag.
Medication Permission Form folded inside. (Md and Parent signatures)
Medication labeled with prescription and unopened.
Note: Medications that need to be counted, will be done so with the nurse prior to the parent leaving the atrium. Please plan your time accordingly.

If you have any questions please email Alice Carter alcarter@richland2.org. Health room phone number: 803.691.4045 ext. 29009 or ext. 29010