Welcome Back! (September 1st - September 4th)

Hi Everyone!

It was so nice meeting all of you at one-on-one visits! I have quite a few updates to share with you - please take a minute to read them.

Important Information:

• Please send your child with an extra water bottle to store in their locker in case they lose (or forget) their water bottle one day because the fountains will not be on. (Just the water bottle filing stations).

• Please send a towel or old yoga mat for your child to use outside for some outdoor learning opportunities, when weather permits.

• Please return your pink form in your child's take-home folder this week.

• Instead of an agenda, your child will use an 11 x 17 paper calendar this month, we will gradually move to google calendar for assignments.

• Have you signed up for remind? If not, sign here: https://www.remind.com/join/msburris4

• Do you have access to your child's seesaw journal? If not, click here: https://app.seesaw.me/s/993-290-038

Arrival: In order to keep large groups of students to a minimum there will be a couple changes to arrival. When students arrive at school they will walk into school and go directly to their classroom. Students being dropped off by parents will enter through either Door 9 or Door 8. These are the doors off the playground that students typically enter from or the door near the 4th grade classrooms. They should use the one closest to their classroom, if possible. It is okay for siblings to walk in the same door together. As in years past, supervision will begin at 7:35, the first bell rings at 7:45. Dropping off between 7:35 and 7:45 is okay. If you are arriving late (after 7:50), students will need to be dropped off at the front door and parents will need to bring the buzzer. Parents, however, are not allowed in the building at this time. Students should wear face coverings when they enter the building. The drop-off area along Sullivan Ave is considered a "Hug and Go" zone. This means that parents here would not walk with their students to the school building but rather drop students off at the sidewalk. If you would like to walk with your students to the door they will enter you will need to park along Ann St. Thank you for utilizing crosswalks and sidewalks during this time as it can be very busy and everyone's safety is very important to us. The parking lots are used for buses, daycares, 4K parents, or other authorized vehicles only. Thank you for cooperating with us.

-Students who ride the bus will walk towards the playground and follow the procedures listed above.

-There will be many adults helping out the first few days while students are learning the routines.

Dismissal: To minimize large groups being together in the hallway we will be staggering our afternoon release time by a few minutes. 4K through 4th grade will be released at 3:10. Parents picking up in grades Kindergarten through 4th grade will meet their students on the blacktop of the playground. Parents will need to park along Ann or Sullivan and walk to meet their child/ren. Please be mindful of social distancing at this time. It can be helpful to establish the same area on the black top where you will meet your child/ren every day. Cars should not utilize the parking lots as that is bus zone. Thank you for utilizing sidewalks and crosswalks at dismissal as it can be a very busy time.

Daily Health Screening: Please click this link for daily health screening. Parents should go through each of these questions with each child before the start of each school day.

This link you may also find helpful as it includes detailed information regarding the Stronger Together information.

• Here is our updated class schedule. 4th grade dismissal time will remain at 3:10. Kids will leave out of the 3rd-4th grade doors. (Same as last year) They also will be able to enter those doors, starting at 7:35 each morning, to avoid contact with other students. If you drop off after 7:50, please use NDLC's front doors.

Upcoming Events:

September 1st: First day of School!

September 7th: No School

September 24th: Virtual Family Night

September 25th: No School

September 30th: Picture Day

Curriculum Updates:

Reading: We will start the year falling back in love with reading. We are going to talk about habits we have as readers and how we can learn to choose books that we never want to put down. Students might choose to bring books they love from home, or something else that makes reading more enjoyable from home -- stay tuned.

Writing: We are going to dive into writing looking at all the ways people write, why they write, and where they write. Your child will come home Tuesday asking you if you're a writer, they will also ask if they can bring a sample of your writing in...it can be a recipe, a grocery list, a card, a letter, an email, a text conversation. Really anything you have written or typed is an example of being a writer. Be ready to send a written artifact with your child Wednesday morning.

Math: We will be starting the year working with numbers from 0 to 1,00,000. We will focus on reading numbers correctly (no "and" after saying one hundred), rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000. We will also be practicing with numbers that are greater than and less than others. It would be helpful if you point out the ways you use numbers at home (recipes, building, sewing, sorting, etc).

If you have any questions, please reach out! 

Have a great weekend,

Carly Burris

4th Grade Teacher

New Directions Learning Community

Kaukauna, WI