Important Information
2021-2022 Start of School
Welcome Mustangs. Since we are not able to have an Open House, we would like to give you some important initial information that you may be wondering about!
First Day for Students: The first school day for students will be August 31st. Our first graders will have a “soft start” from 8:45-2:00, and those families have been communicated with. If, for any reason, you did not receive the letter explaining the schedule, please call the office (541.966.3000) to learn what time and day your 1st grader will attend soft start for the first week. For grades 2nd – 5th, your school day is from 8:00-2:30.
School Supplies – A list can be found on the district webpage under Parent Resources.
Classroom/Teacher Assignments: For grades 2nd – 5th, classroom assignments will be posted on the cafeteria windows by the end of the day on August 27th and can be seen from outside the building. 1st grade classroom/teacher assignments will be solidified after soft start by the end of the day on September 3rd.
School Hours: School hours for district elementary buildings will be from 8:00-2:30. In order to provide adequate supervision, please do not bring or have your children be at school before 7:30. On late start Mondays, students attend from 9:00-2:30.
Delivery/Pick-Up: If your student walks, please know that we have adults outside and sidewalk monitors for student safety. If your student is parent drop-off/pick-up, please follow the traffic flow and only deliver and retrieve your children in that designated area which is behind the school, at the park on SW 44th Street. Be assured that we have adults outside the building in all areas starting at 7:30 for arrival and dismissal. Bussers need to communicate with Mid Columbia Bus Company. Before your child is allowed to ride the bus, you must complete the bus registration form found on the District Webpage under Parent Resources. To ensure safety, it is very important that we all use the designated walk, bus, and parent drop-off/pick-up locations.
COVID Protocols: When students are in the building, masks are required for everyone (vaccinated or not) in our building. But we get to have our kids face-to-face, so we are thrilled. Every Mustang staff and students’ well-being and safety comes first in all decisions that we make. We respect that there are many different opinions about masks, but of utmost importance is to keep our doors open and our kids safe. At this time, when we are outside, the masks can come off, and we will have mask breaks throughout the day. Inside classrooms, students will remain 3’ apart with masks on, and they will have the same seating chart in all classes as to limit exposure and allow for accurate contact tracing. We will implement as many prevention key practices as possible, including masks, hand hygiene, cohorting, cleaning, disinfecting, isolation and quarantine when necessary.
Designated Entry and Exit Doors – In order to limit exposure, each grade will have a designated door that is the ONLY door that they enter and exit from. Most will use the side door of their homeroom teacher’s classroom to enter and exit and these will be marked clearly for the students when they arrive the first week. For 2nd grade, Ms. Spriet and Mrs. Erwin’s students will enter and exit on the East end of the building, and Mrs. Deutz and Mrs. Keeler’s 4th graders will enter and exit on the West end of the building.
Handbook: Please read the updated handbook on the school website. It provides a lot of information and is a great resource to answer many questions. Your student will bring home a sheet to sign that you have read and understand the handbook after their first day of school, so that is something that you can be doing early.
School Calendar: Please refer to the Pendleton School District 2021-2022 School Calendar for first/last days of school, school improvement Mondays, conferences, holidays, vacations and no school days. This will be very helpful for you as you consider family appointments, vacations, etc.
Breakfast/Lunch – During the 2021-2022 school year, all meals will be provided for free. Even though meals are free, we ask that you fill out the Free and Reduced application if you qualify. There are additional benefits and resources for qualifying families.
Volunteering – Due to COVID guidelines and the safety of all, volunteers are discouraged from being in the building. Please contact the school for current restrictions. Volunteers within the building or on field trips MUST complete a background check with Pendleton School District. Background checks are current for one school year and can take up to one month to process. In addition, volunteers must follow current guidelines for distancing, mask wearing, and must be vaccinated.
Medications – Most medication schedules should be arranged so that medicine can be given at home. ANY medication to be given at school (prescription or over the counter) on a regular basis must be accompanied by a “Medication Permission and Administration Form” completed and signed by the parent. These forms are available in the school office. Medication must be brought to the school by a parent or guardian. Students are not to transport medication unless designated in medical protocol with school based nurse.
Parties:
Celebrating student birthdays: Parents must contact the classroom teacher 24 hours prior to the event. If bringing snacks or treats, ONLY STORE-BOUGHT ITEMS ARE ALLOWED. Due to COVID, we would prefer not to have items brought in at all, and parents are only allowed in the main office. They won’t be able to come for a school party at this time.
School organized parties: Classroom parties held during the year are at the individual teacher’s discretion. Teachers will send information home about class parties and guidelines for pre-approval. When providing treats and/or rewards to students, school personnel and parents are encouraged to cut back on sugary or fatty selections and to provide more healthy alternative choices for students.
In an effort to avoid hurt feelings, we discourage distributing party invitations at school.
There will be lots of information coming home with your students the first day/week since we are unable to have an Open House so please be looking for more communication from the school and homeroom teachers. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to call or stop by the school office (with your mask). We are so happy to get our students back face-to-face and promise you that we will take excellent care of them.
Respectfully,
Sherri Kilgore, Principal
