Happy First Day Eve everybody! We are ready to go, and excited to see those smiling faces! Here are a couple helpful hints to make the first day go smoothly:
The Georgetown bus will leave St. George at 7:30am. Please be there waiting for Mr. Heslar, and let him pull out before you do. If you are in a hurry, I suggest you park on the opposite side of the church and walk your child to the bus.
The SMS bus will leave the Homeplace at 7:10. We will stop at Fussnecker and Sons, and we will also make a stop at the Marathon at the bridge on 52 to pick up students before arriving at the school.
Arrival
No student should be dropped off before 7:30 unless it is an emergency and arrangements were made ahead of time. Students may not be unsupervised in the building, and there is a possibility that could happen if someone shows up before the assigned time. PLEASE ABIDE BY THIS RULE. When dropping off, parents are welcome to pull up to the school and drop your child off, then drive away down the alley behind the Parish Hall. Mr. Hyde will be out front to greet everyone, and direct traffic. If you would like to walk your child in tomorrow, I suggest parking on the hill, or below 4th St and walking your child up the hill to his or her homeroom. For those of you new to this, I highly recommend making the drop off quickly, as hanging around always seems to cause a little angst. Take it from an old guy who's seen it done many times! Haha!
The tardy bell rings at 7:55.
THIS WEEK ONLY, we will be starting the day in homerooms. This will allow parents to help little ones into the building, and let students get their bearings in homeroom. Upon arrival, all students should report to homeroom. We will go over procedures, and discuss other school rules, odds and ends. Later in the morning, we will go to the church for morning prayer (where we will normally begin every day. Beginning next week, we will start Monday-Thursday in the church. More on that later)
Dismissal
I think we have the most efficient system for dismissal as possible, given our location. Those of you returning, it is the same as always. If you are new, I recommend hanging back a little and watching how people line up their cars at the end of the day. We will line cars up beginning at the Parish Hall, up the alley in front of the school. Then we will have two lines of cars facing directly up the hill to the school, as close to the sidewalk as possible, leaving room for an emergency lane on Market St. furthest from the church. Of course if this is intimidating, or you are in a hurry, you could also park below 4th St, and walk up to meet your child at dismissal. The corner of Market and 4th should be kept clear for buses making the turn. Please be mindful of that.
Preschool students will be walked out around 2:45. Parents who are picking up should come meet Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Betty to get your child. Kindergarten students will come out next at 2:47. Again, please make sure you meet Mrs. Miller to retrieve your child. The preschool and kindergarten bus riders will be walked down to the buses at this point. At 2:51 bus riders in grades 1-8 will be dismissed. They will walk immediately to their bus, and as soon as all bus riders are on the bus, the buses will pull out. Finally the Grade 1-8 car riders will be dismissed at approximately 2:53.
RULH bus riders will go to the elementary or high school and transfer buses to the one that takes them home.
Georgetown riders will return to St. George parking lot around 3:10. All cars should wait until Mr. Heslar leaves until they leave with their children. Please be mindful of children walking in the parking lot!
St. Michael bus riders will arrive at the Homeplace before 3:10. Parents should park in the back gravel lot. I will pull in sideways if room allows to open the door to the line of cars in the parking lot.
I predict we will have this down pat in a few days. Of course if you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me! Let's have a great week!