Principal's Message

I hope you've had a restful and fun-filled summer! As we kick off the new school year, I want to extend a warm welcome to all our students, parents, and staff. I’m excited to embark on another year of growth, learning, and community together.

 

PTO: I would like to thank our PTO, parents and students for a successful Laps for Learning campaign in the spring! The staff and students had a blast!! PTO is vital to providing wonderful opportunities for our students! PTO sponsors all K-4 fieldtrips, books for our classrooms and libraries, and multiple rewards teachers give to students. We appreciate all of the time and effort these volunteers give to our school community. Please consider being a part of this amazing organization!! Please contact Jenifer Stegaman, the PTO president, for more information.

 

Attendance:  Attendance has become an important focus over the past few years. It is important students are here to experience the best educational setting. I am pleased to report that the elementary school reduced its chronic attendance rate from 11% in 2023/24 to under 5% in 2024/25. Chronic absenteeism applies to students who miss at least 10% of the school year, or over 110 hours. According to HB 166, students with a nonmedical excuse or without legitimate excuse are only allowed to miss 65 hours of school. Once 65 hours has been attained, a student is identified with excessive absenteeism and a doctor’s note will be required to excuse further absences. Please refer to the handbook for details regarding this policy. The handbook is located on the elementary webpage.

 

Arrival and Dismissal: Drop-off for elementary students will be the same as last year. Parents can drop off using the west parking lot and students will enter through the AG entrance, or students may be dropped off at the bell tower entrance. Please do not let students out of cars until 8:25, as that is when the doors open.

Elementary pick up will remain in the west parking lot and parents will be expected to park and pick up their students from the staff on duty. We will continue using pick up cards this year. Please be kind to staff on duty who are enforcing this policy. Our intent is to simply ensure your child’s safe departure from school.

 All students will have 3 pick-up cards with their individual names on them. A new set of cards will be available for pick up in the student’s homeroom class at the Back to School Fair. Anyone picking up a student MUST show the card with the student’s name on it to the staff member on duty. If there is not a card presented to staff, then the student will be brought into the office. The pick-up person will be verified by the principal or secretary and the student will need to be signed out. We appreciate your support as we are trying to make our school more safe and secure. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please contact Mrs. Wagner.

 

Electronic Devices: No electronic devices of any kind will be allowed on at school. If students enter the building with phones or smart watches, they will be required to be turned off and placed in their bookbags until the end of the day. Young students are easily distracted and we want to ensure your child gets the most out of their educational opportunity.

 

Stay Connected: Stay in the loop by checking our school website, following us on social media, and subscribing to your student’s class dojo group.  This is the best way to stay updated on important news, events, and reminders.

 

Football Games:  We are ready for another thrilling season of Bearcat football!! We want to ensure all students can enjoy the game and cheer our team in a safe manner, therefore footballs are prohibited to be brought into the stadium by fans.

 

Important Dates for elementary to kick off the school year:

            August 25: Back to School Fair

            August 26-27: Kindergarten Readiness Assessment

            August 27: First day of school for 1-4^th grade students

            August 28: First day for kindergarten girls

            August 29: First day for kindergarten boys

            September 1: Labor day- no school

            September 2: All kindergarten students

            October 1: 2 hr delay for teacher professional development

            October 27: No school- teacher professional development

            November 20: 1 hr early release- parent/teacher conferences

            November 24-25: No school- parent/teacher conferences

            November 26-28: Thanksgiving Break

           

I am so excited for the year ahead and can’t wait to see our students thrive both inside and outside the classroom. Let’s make this school year the best one yet! Please keep the lines of communication open. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. My door is always open. Feel free to contact me via phone at (419) 647-4113 ext 3101 or via email at wagners@svbearcats.org.

Wishing you all a fantastic start to the year!

Susie Wagner