In-District families who have submitted enrollment paperwork for starting in August 2024 will be invited to preview the classroom, meet classmates, and meet their teachers before school begins! Look for an email from the teachers on August 1st, once incoming family contact information is shared with us from the office! Much of our welcome/orientation letter is actually posted below because we know that many families might be eager for details about next year.
TK Enrollment Information:
Please note that enrollment priority is given to families living within the HUSD School District Boundaries and two forms of residential proof must be submitted along with enrollment paperwork. Out of District Families may request to be placed on the waiting list in the event that space may open up. Families interested in enrolling should read about required documentation and fill out the enrollment forms on our District website.
Private family tours are now being offered by appointment. Please schedule a visit by contacting the front office.
Front Office Contact Information:
Suzi Heron
(707) 874-1205
[email protected]
Private family tours are now being offered by appointment. Please schedule a visit by contacting the front office.
Front Office Contact Information:
Suzi Heron
(707) 874-1205
[email protected]
July 22, 2024
Orientation Information:
Moving to an elementary school is a big step for students and families, especially if this is your first and/or only child! Here is some important information that may help orient you:
Welcome Tea: Please join us on Wednesday, August 14th from 2:00-3:00pm in the Buckeye Room. This will take place the DAY BEFORE school starts and may help alleviate some of the first day jitters. We hope all incoming families can join since it’s a great way for your child to check out their new classrooms, meet their teachers, and connect with other incoming students and families!
Amazon Wishlist- I may ask for donations of items throughout the year if I notice supplies running low, or if I need special items for projects. Click on the link if you’d like to purchase a gift for the classroom and it will ship right to us. Thank you in advance for any donations!
Outdoor Gear: Since we spend so much time playing outside and sometimes participate in messy art projects, your child may come home dirty. Please dress them in “adventure clothes” for school that you don’t mind getting stained or dirty. Rain gear is highly recommended and encouraged on rainy days since we’ll still explore outside in the rain! Your child will need rain boots (and I highly suggest a back up pair), rain pants/bibs, and a rain shell/jacket! I’ve been happy with Oaki brand for my son’s rain suit, but you can also get affordable rain gear from REI. I’ve also heard really good things about Reima rain bibs with an accompanying jacket. In addition, having one warm winter jacket (down or synthetic down is ideal) will be important for the colder seasons as well. I’ll talk more about outdoor gear and bring samples of what I have found to work well for my own child to our back-to-school night meeting. For warmer months, a sun hat that can live in the backpack is needed too since our play yard has very limited shade! PLEASE LABEL personal belongings with your child’s name to keep items from getting mixed up in the daily shuffle. Comfortable shoes for playing and hiking are necessary and I recommend closed-toed sandals/shoes because of all the wood chips and sticks in the forest. Simple slip-on shoes or water play shoes (like Keens or Crocs/Native shoes) make great school shoes in the hot summer months and allow students to put them on independently! Please reach out to us if you are unable to provide any of these materials, we may have extras in the classroom or access to funding sources that can help families burdened by this request.
Extra Clothing: In your child’s backpack, please place an extra set or two of underwear, socks, leggings/pants, and a shirt. An additional stash of clothes can also be left inside your child’s cubby inside the classroom. Bonus points for wet bags that can be reused for sending home any soiled clothing. Inevitably students will have accidents or may get dirty outside and want to change. We’ll send home soiled clothing, but we’ll need a little stash of clothes you won’t miss to pull from. I could also use a stash of plastic bags for soiled clothes if you have any to donate!
Snacks + Water: Plan to send your child to school daily with plenty of snacks and a clean + filled reusable water bottle. We have a bottle refill station on campus where water bottles can be refilled with cold filtered water. If you haven’t already purchased a lunch box or reusable snack container, I highly recommend bento style or Planet Box lunchboxes that have room to divide out snacks without all the extra single use packaging or plastic zip locks to help reduce waste. I’ll also plan to send home an old flier developed by the wellness committee with helpful ideas for healthy snacks and birthday treats!
School Meal Program: Students are all automatically enrolled in our fully funded school meal program. Both breakfast and lunch are available on campus, and sometimes include ingredients from our organic school garden! Many students bring lunch daily and prefer eating their food from home, so plan to look over the school menu with your child and identify which meals you think your child will actually eat at school to ensure they won’t refuse school options and be hungry for the remainder of the day. We will send home monthly copies of the school menus to post on your refrigerator and students will indicate whether they want a home lunch or school lunch each morning as they enter the classroom.
TK Afternoons: Please note that the TK “academic day” with Ms. Allie and Ms. Melina will end daily at noon after dining, with an option for early pick up at 12:30pm when lunch recess is wrapping up. HUSD will provide a free extended day/aftercare for TK students staffed by the TK aides along with an additional aide as needed based on ratios. This program is offered as a way of mirroring the school day of our other grades while providing important and necessary childcare in our community for working parents. The extended day with TK aftercare starts with “rest time” on little mats (sleeping not required), an afternoon snack and then free play/forest play and/or other enrichment opportunities before the 3:05 pm dismissal. Students are welcome to bring a lovey or blanket from home to keep in their cubby if it may aid in their rest/quiet time. 12:30 departure students will need to be signed out by a parent/guardian daily in the Buckeye classroom. At this time we are not asking parents to commit to an early or late pick up as it tends to be fluid and change throughout the school year based on your child’s school readiness and your need for childcare.
School Hours/Early Dismissal Days: TK begins daily at 8:30am and ends at 12:30pm after lunch recess. For students who stay for the full day program, the TK extended day begins during lunch recess, staffed by the TK aides, and continues through to the 3:05pm dismissal that mirrors the rest of our campus. *Please note that the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL and ALL THURSDAYS are early dismissal days for ALL students at 1:10pm. These early dismissal days provide time for faculty meetings, committee work, and other important professional development on site.
After School Care: This fee based program begins after the school dismissal (3:05pm/1:10pm on Thursdays) in the Salmon Creek Falls building and library. This is a District offering for families who may need it. Students who need all day care, extending as late as 5:30pm, are walked from the classroom to the aftercare program by an aide where they sign in and place their belongings in the foyer. Please note that this after school care program is multi-age and serves students TK-8th when considering what after school care options will be best suited for your child and your family. The TK school day is going to feel like a long day for your child even if they have been used to long days at full day preschool. There’s something about the larger school experience that is more taxing. If you are able to pick up your child after school with flexibility around work schedules, please do so, your child will be craving that special time after school when they are most tender and exhausted! If you think your child will be a good fit for a multi-age program look for information directly from HUSD for applying for the after school care program.
Communication: Once school is up and running, you can expect a weekly recap email from us with a brief summary of what we’ve been learning about, important things to note, upcoming dates to calendar and anything else you might need to be aware of. We will create a collaborative Google Doc to share family contact information among new families along with a private shared Photo Album to share photos with you all in the weekly recap email.
Preparing Your Child:
Transitioning to an elementary school site is a BIG jump for students and families. There’s more students, parents, and communication coming from lots of different people! To aid in your child’s transition, please plan to visit our classroom prior to the first morning, either by attending our welcome tea, or simply visiting the campus after hours or on weekends to walk around and talk about the upcoming change for your child.
The following are some suggestions for supporting this transition:
Morning Goodbyes:
Prepare yourself for drop-off, it will not be easy to walk away if your child is crying. We often find that parents have a harder time saying goodbye than the child, and parents who tend to linger often make their child feel more anxious. Keeping it short and sweet with a predictable goodbye routine while reminding your child of who will be picking them up keeps things simple. Some parents may want to drop off and say goodbye at the door while other parents may want to stay for a soft transition until I ring a bell, indicating that it’s a good time to say goodbye so we can start our day. If you need assistance because your child is feeling upset, we’ll be there to support you!
Afternoon Pickup: Whether you are picking up at 12:30pm or 3:00pm, please plan to retrieve your child at the end of their school day unless they take the bus or attend the paid after school care program. Families picking up at the end of the day are welcome to arrive as early as 2:50pm in an effort to avoid some of the end of day congestion in our small parking lot! Along with parents/guardians, older siblings are also permitted and encouraged to pick up younger siblings and help shepard them to the front of the school for curbside pick up. TK staff will be supervising the dismissal INSIDE the classroom with any remaining students. Exceptions will be made for the drive-through curbside pickup option for parents with sleeping babies in the car and we will be notified through the walkie system and a staff member will walk your child up to you!
Orientation Information:
Moving to an elementary school is a big step for students and families, especially if this is your first and/or only child! Here is some important information that may help orient you:
Welcome Tea: Please join us on Wednesday, August 14th from 2:00-3:00pm in the Buckeye Room. This will take place the DAY BEFORE school starts and may help alleviate some of the first day jitters. We hope all incoming families can join since it’s a great way for your child to check out their new classrooms, meet their teachers, and connect with other incoming students and families!
Amazon Wishlist- I may ask for donations of items throughout the year if I notice supplies running low, or if I need special items for projects. Click on the link if you’d like to purchase a gift for the classroom and it will ship right to us. Thank you in advance for any donations!
Outdoor Gear: Since we spend so much time playing outside and sometimes participate in messy art projects, your child may come home dirty. Please dress them in “adventure clothes” for school that you don’t mind getting stained or dirty. Rain gear is highly recommended and encouraged on rainy days since we’ll still explore outside in the rain! Your child will need rain boots (and I highly suggest a back up pair), rain pants/bibs, and a rain shell/jacket! I’ve been happy with Oaki brand for my son’s rain suit, but you can also get affordable rain gear from REI. I’ve also heard really good things about Reima rain bibs with an accompanying jacket. In addition, having one warm winter jacket (down or synthetic down is ideal) will be important for the colder seasons as well. I’ll talk more about outdoor gear and bring samples of what I have found to work well for my own child to our back-to-school night meeting. For warmer months, a sun hat that can live in the backpack is needed too since our play yard has very limited shade! PLEASE LABEL personal belongings with your child’s name to keep items from getting mixed up in the daily shuffle. Comfortable shoes for playing and hiking are necessary and I recommend closed-toed sandals/shoes because of all the wood chips and sticks in the forest. Simple slip-on shoes or water play shoes (like Keens or Crocs/Native shoes) make great school shoes in the hot summer months and allow students to put them on independently! Please reach out to us if you are unable to provide any of these materials, we may have extras in the classroom or access to funding sources that can help families burdened by this request.
Extra Clothing: In your child’s backpack, please place an extra set or two of underwear, socks, leggings/pants, and a shirt. An additional stash of clothes can also be left inside your child’s cubby inside the classroom. Bonus points for wet bags that can be reused for sending home any soiled clothing. Inevitably students will have accidents or may get dirty outside and want to change. We’ll send home soiled clothing, but we’ll need a little stash of clothes you won’t miss to pull from. I could also use a stash of plastic bags for soiled clothes if you have any to donate!
Snacks + Water: Plan to send your child to school daily with plenty of snacks and a clean + filled reusable water bottle. We have a bottle refill station on campus where water bottles can be refilled with cold filtered water. If you haven’t already purchased a lunch box or reusable snack container, I highly recommend bento style or Planet Box lunchboxes that have room to divide out snacks without all the extra single use packaging or plastic zip locks to help reduce waste. I’ll also plan to send home an old flier developed by the wellness committee with helpful ideas for healthy snacks and birthday treats!
School Meal Program: Students are all automatically enrolled in our fully funded school meal program. Both breakfast and lunch are available on campus, and sometimes include ingredients from our organic school garden! Many students bring lunch daily and prefer eating their food from home, so plan to look over the school menu with your child and identify which meals you think your child will actually eat at school to ensure they won’t refuse school options and be hungry for the remainder of the day. We will send home monthly copies of the school menus to post on your refrigerator and students will indicate whether they want a home lunch or school lunch each morning as they enter the classroom.
TK Afternoons: Please note that the TK “academic day” with Ms. Allie and Ms. Melina will end daily at noon after dining, with an option for early pick up at 12:30pm when lunch recess is wrapping up. HUSD will provide a free extended day/aftercare for TK students staffed by the TK aides along with an additional aide as needed based on ratios. This program is offered as a way of mirroring the school day of our other grades while providing important and necessary childcare in our community for working parents. The extended day with TK aftercare starts with “rest time” on little mats (sleeping not required), an afternoon snack and then free play/forest play and/or other enrichment opportunities before the 3:05 pm dismissal. Students are welcome to bring a lovey or blanket from home to keep in their cubby if it may aid in their rest/quiet time. 12:30 departure students will need to be signed out by a parent/guardian daily in the Buckeye classroom. At this time we are not asking parents to commit to an early or late pick up as it tends to be fluid and change throughout the school year based on your child’s school readiness and your need for childcare.
School Hours/Early Dismissal Days: TK begins daily at 8:30am and ends at 12:30pm after lunch recess. For students who stay for the full day program, the TK extended day begins during lunch recess, staffed by the TK aides, and continues through to the 3:05pm dismissal that mirrors the rest of our campus. *Please note that the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL and ALL THURSDAYS are early dismissal days for ALL students at 1:10pm. These early dismissal days provide time for faculty meetings, committee work, and other important professional development on site.
After School Care: This fee based program begins after the school dismissal (3:05pm/1:10pm on Thursdays) in the Salmon Creek Falls building and library. This is a District offering for families who may need it. Students who need all day care, extending as late as 5:30pm, are walked from the classroom to the aftercare program by an aide where they sign in and place their belongings in the foyer. Please note that this after school care program is multi-age and serves students TK-8th when considering what after school care options will be best suited for your child and your family. The TK school day is going to feel like a long day for your child even if they have been used to long days at full day preschool. There’s something about the larger school experience that is more taxing. If you are able to pick up your child after school with flexibility around work schedules, please do so, your child will be craving that special time after school when they are most tender and exhausted! If you think your child will be a good fit for a multi-age program look for information directly from HUSD for applying for the after school care program.
Communication: Once school is up and running, you can expect a weekly recap email from us with a brief summary of what we’ve been learning about, important things to note, upcoming dates to calendar and anything else you might need to be aware of. We will create a collaborative Google Doc to share family contact information among new families along with a private shared Photo Album to share photos with you all in the weekly recap email.
Preparing Your Child:
Transitioning to an elementary school site is a BIG jump for students and families. There’s more students, parents, and communication coming from lots of different people! To aid in your child’s transition, please plan to visit our classroom prior to the first morning, either by attending our welcome tea, or simply visiting the campus after hours or on weekends to walk around and talk about the upcoming change for your child.
The following are some suggestions for supporting this transition:
- Read stories about going to school. Talk about what they think TK will be like. What are they excited about? What are they nervous about?
- During the month leading up to TK, begin thinking about and implementing routines that will help your child be prepared for the school day. Routines provide a sense of safety for children and give them a solid foundation to begin each day with. Bedtime routines and eating routines are some of the most important for young children.
- While we don’t expect all children to have mastery of the following skills, practicing now really helps set your child up for success: Please practice the following skills:
- Putting on and taking off their own clothing
- Opening and closing their lunch sack or lunch containers
- Toileting and wiping
- Hand washing
- Packing and unpacking their backpack
Morning Goodbyes:
Prepare yourself for drop-off, it will not be easy to walk away if your child is crying. We often find that parents have a harder time saying goodbye than the child, and parents who tend to linger often make their child feel more anxious. Keeping it short and sweet with a predictable goodbye routine while reminding your child of who will be picking them up keeps things simple. Some parents may want to drop off and say goodbye at the door while other parents may want to stay for a soft transition until I ring a bell, indicating that it’s a good time to say goodbye so we can start our day. If you need assistance because your child is feeling upset, we’ll be there to support you!
Afternoon Pickup: Whether you are picking up at 12:30pm or 3:00pm, please plan to retrieve your child at the end of their school day unless they take the bus or attend the paid after school care program. Families picking up at the end of the day are welcome to arrive as early as 2:50pm in an effort to avoid some of the end of day congestion in our small parking lot! Along with parents/guardians, older siblings are also permitted and encouraged to pick up younger siblings and help shepard them to the front of the school for curbside pick up. TK staff will be supervising the dismissal INSIDE the classroom with any remaining students. Exceptions will be made for the drive-through curbside pickup option for parents with sleeping babies in the car and we will be notified through the walkie system and a staff member will walk your child up to you!
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