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Below are some topics we get frequent questions about. If what you're looking for isn't there, feel free to email me!
HOMEWORK Folders
Homework will start the third week of school, and will include 10 minutes of reading every night and 10 minutes of either word work or math. Homework folders will be filled and sent home on Monday and due on Friday. I suggest working on work work Monday and Wednesday nights and math Tuesday and Thursday's after the 10 minutes of reading.
Daily Communication fOLDERS
A red penguin folder will be used for school, parent, and teacher communication. It is important to check your child’s folder every day. Please place any money or notes inside the folder. If you are sending in money please put it in an envelope labeled with your child’s name and purpose (ex. field trip, pictures, or lunch money). We do not check backpacks, so please make sure to put everything that needs to get to us in the folder.
This folder will contain your child’s completed work and projects from the previous week each Monday. Please take time with your child to go through the work. Have them tell you about all of the wonderful things they have done at school! After you have reviewed the envelope contents, take the work out and return the empty folder to school on Tuesday. It is important that these folders be kept up with because we will use them all year.
This folder will contain your child’s completed work and projects from the previous week each Monday. Please take time with your child to go through the work. Have them tell you about all of the wonderful things they have done at school! After you have reviewed the envelope contents, take the work out and return the empty folder to school on Tuesday. It is important that these folders be kept up with because we will use them all year.
transportation
Your child will be given a bus, carpool, walker, or YMCA tag that will be zip tied to his/her backpack. Please make sure that stays on your child’s backpack. If there is ever a change in your child’s transportation, please send a note in their Daily Folder with the bus number and/or carpool number. We must have the change in writing. If there is an unexpected emergency, call in transportation changes to the office and send me an email. It is very important to discuss any changes with your child before coming to school so that he/she will know what to expect at the end of the day.
absences
If your child is absent, please call the school’s message line (919-290-2333) and leave a message stating the reason for the absence. Please send a detailed note with your child on the day he/she returns to school after being absent, even if you called the school. It will be considered an unexcused absence if your child returns to school without an appropriate note. WCPSS policy for sick children is available in the parent handbook. Please read this information carefully, and observe the precautions to reduce the spread of illness to others.
Early dismissal & tardies
If you are picking your child up early from school, please go to the office to sign them out. Per school policy and safety for all, students cannot be checked out after 3:15. If you are in the school volunteering, please go to the office to check your child out before 3:20.
If you arrive to school after 9:15am, please bring your child to the office for a tardy slip.
If you arrive to school after 9:15am, please bring your child to the office for a tardy slip.
Lunch
The cost of breakfast is $1.25 and lunch is $2.55 each day. Your child may purchase milk for $0.50 if they bring lunch from home. I suggest that you prepay on your child’s lunch account (www.MySchoolBucks.com), so that your child does not have to bring loose change to school on a daily basis. This works much better for first grade-aged children. They will be given a lunch card to use in the cafeteria everyday. A reminder sticker will be on your child's shirt when your account is low. Snack items are available in the lunch line. If your child has any food allergies or requires a special diet, you may want to consider packing your child’s lunch each day.
Feel free to join us for lunch. Before joining us for lunch, please keep in mind the following:
• Meet us at the cafeteria. It is hard for us to all stay in line if we see our parents before we get to lunch.
• Have your child sit in their own seat (please don't hold them on your lap). This helps reinforce the independence skills we are trying to teach.
• Your child needs to remain in their seat at all times.
• Say goodbye to your child in the cafeteria instead of walking back to the room with us (again, it is hard to stay in line while parents are walking with us).
Feel free to join us for lunch. Before joining us for lunch, please keep in mind the following:
• Meet us at the cafeteria. It is hard for us to all stay in line if we see our parents before we get to lunch.
• Have your child sit in their own seat (please don't hold them on your lap). This helps reinforce the independence skills we are trying to teach.
• Your child needs to remain in their seat at all times.
• Say goodbye to your child in the cafeteria instead of walking back to the room with us (again, it is hard to stay in line while parents are walking with us).
sNACK
We have snack time each afternoon. Your child should bring a healthy snack every day. If your child will be attending the YMCA program at Laurel Park after school, they may need to bring a second snack to eat there. Please make sure snacks are healthy and easy for your child to open. Candy and soda are not allowed.
cLOTHING
We highly recommend that your child regularly wear tennis shoes that are comfortable for jumping, climbing, running, etc. Flip-Flops, open backed shoes, and sandals have been hazards in the past and we discourage wearing them. Students must wear tennis shoes to participate in P.E. and recess.
Wake County Policy prohibits wearing short or tight garments, bare midriff shirts, and strapless shirts. Please read your Student/Parent Handbook and the Laurel Park Handbook for additional Dress Code information.
Wake County Policy prohibits wearing short or tight garments, bare midriff shirts, and strapless shirts. Please read your Student/Parent Handbook and the Laurel Park Handbook for additional Dress Code information.
medications
All medication will be administered in the office. The office can only administer prescription or over the counter medicines with a completed Physician’s Order Form for Medication (WCPSS form 1702). Do not send these types of medication with your child to school. Parents must deliver medications to the office with the appropriate documentation. In addition, children are not permitted to bring cough drops, Tylenol, lip balm, etc. to school for safety reasons. If you want additional information please see Laurel Park’s Handbook.
volunteering
There will be many opportunities over the year for you to join us at school. Please help us by following some simple guidelines while you are with us.
Per Wake County Policy all visitors/volunteers must sign in at the office and obtain a badge.
- Before volunteering, you must register on a school computer in the media center and be approved by WCPSS.
- We love having parent volunteers to assist with different parts of the day!
- Your child is still part of the class and needs to be doing what the class is doing even if relatives are present.
- Please do not hold your child on your lap/pick them up while at school. Independence is an important goal and it helps to reinforce this if we insist that they are the ones responsible for themselves.
- If your child is not ready for you to join us (cries when it is time for you to leave, cries when you need to work with other children, cannot attend to work while you are here) we will suggest you take a break from joining us and try again in a few weeks. It is difficult for some children to have a parent in the room and not have their full attention. Sometimes they just need time to become comfortable and self-sufficient in their classrooms.
Per Wake County Policy all visitors/volunteers must sign in at the office and obtain a badge.
Birthdays
We all love celebrating birthdays! A school birthday party doesn’t need to involve cupcakes or other unhealthy foods. Laurel Park Elementary promotes healthy eating habits and exercise choices. Many children have food allergies and other health conditions that impact bringing food into our classroom. There are many ways to celebrate besides food. Some other options are: come read a special book to the class, eat lunch with the class, prepare an art project, give small treat bags filled with non-food items (such as stickers, a puzzle, pencils), donate an item to our recess bag, etc. Please contact me regarding your celebration idea for your child.
Parties in the classroom are not allowed by Wake County policy. Birthday party invitations will not be given out at school unless all children in the class are invited to attend. In addition, we cannot provide you with any contact information including phone numbers, email addresses, or home addresses. You may obtain this information if you purchase a directory from the PTA.
Parties in the classroom are not allowed by Wake County policy. Birthday party invitations will not be given out at school unless all children in the class are invited to attend. In addition, we cannot provide you with any contact information including phone numbers, email addresses, or home addresses. You may obtain this information if you purchase a directory from the PTA.
Class Schedule
Arrival 8:45- 9:15
9:00 School Wide Announcements
9:15 Tardy Bell
9:30 - 10:00 Morning Meeting
10:00 - 11:30 Daily Five
11:30-12:00 Writing
12:00 - 12:30 Lunch (Table G)
12:30-1:00 Recess
1:00-2:00 Math
2:00 - 2:30 Science & Social Studies
2:30-2:50 Positivity Project & Snack
2:50-3:35 Afternoon Meeting
3:40 Walker/YMCA Dismissal
3:45 Carpool/Cab/Bus/Daycare Van Dismissal
9:00 School Wide Announcements
9:15 Tardy Bell
9:30 - 10:00 Morning Meeting
10:00 - 11:30 Daily Five
11:30-12:00 Writing
12:00 - 12:30 Lunch (Table G)
12:30-1:00 Recess
1:00-2:00 Math
2:00 - 2:30 Science & Social Studies
2:30-2:50 Positivity Project & Snack
2:50-3:35 Afternoon Meeting
3:40 Walker/YMCA Dismissal
3:45 Carpool/Cab/Bus/Daycare Van Dismissal
FIELD TRIPS
-Field trip payment is due 30 calendar days before the trip.
-All bagged lunches need to be completely disposable ( i.e. no tupperware).
-It is helpful if all students wear red on field trip days.
-All bagged lunches need to be completely disposable ( i.e. no tupperware).
-It is helpful if all students wear red on field trip days.
Can't find the "Ms. Romstadt's Routines" packet from the beginning of the year? No worries, print out another one here!