Our staff has worked hard to prepare for an exciting year and we are very eager to welcome each student back to school on Monday, August 26
th
. As a reminder, the first bell rings at 7:15 and that is when students enter the school building. The second bell rings at 7:40 and at that time all students need to be present in their actual classroom in order to be considered on time. Students who arrive to their classroom after 7:40 are considered tardy on regular school days. Due to heavy traffic the first 3 days of school we will not mark students tardy as we will be learning new routines and these first few days it takes more time for everyone to adjust to the morning routine.
Buses depart in the afternoon between 2:25 and 2:35. We ask parents to use either our Car Rider Line, Buses, ACES, or Vans for dismissal. We do not allow parents to park and then walk up to our car rider line area to retrieve kids nor do we allow for afternoon pick up from our hallways during the dismissal process. This is to ensure that all students safely get to their expected afternoon location. Thank you for helping us keep all students safe and for cooperating with us as we dismiss close to 800 students in a very short period of time. All changes to afternoon transportation plans should be sent to school using a handwritten note to your child’s teacher.
There are many wonderful traditions of excellence that we will continue this school year, and I am very encouraged by all the excitement that is surrounding the opening of school! As is tradition, you are welcome to park and walk your child into school and to their classroom on the first day. Because we have many parents who park and walk into school on this first day it is
important that I warn you that parking will be at a premium and I ask that everyone be very alert of other drivers and walkers who are crossing streets that morning. We encourage all our families to begin using our car rider line and/or the bus system as soon as they are comfortable doing so following the first day of school tradition. The Town of Oak Ridge has graciously once again this year arranged to have police officers directing traffic the first 10 days of school at the intersection of Linville Road and Hwy 150 and also at the entrance to the Twelve Oaks neighborhood where you enter our car rider line. We are very thankful to the Town of Oak Ridge for all the continued support that is offered to our school! This is an amazing community and I speak on behalf of our entire staff when I say that we are honored to be your school and serve your family this school year.
I encourage you to volunteer in our school and register as a volunteer using this
required link
. We also encourage you to stay connected through our weekly PTO newsletter, by reading the weekly classroom newsletter that your teacher will email each week, by liking our
Facebook page
(both the
PTO Facebook
and
School Facebook
pages), by following us on
Twitter
(search
@oakridgecolts
), by taking our Connect Ed phone calls on Sunday nights, and finally by checking our
school’s website
where the calendar is updated regularly. It is my goal to be an active partner with each of you this school year. Please always feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. We appreciate you choosing Oak Ridge Elementary and look forward to a wonderful school year!
Mrs. Francisco