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Inside the Pride Lower School News - Volume 184

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Keeping you plugged into the exciting things happening at the Lower School

Published August 27, 2023

Volume 184

 

Sherry Randolph - Early Learning & Lower School Principal

 

The Principal’s Piece: A Note From Mrs. Randolph

To stay informed of what’s happening in your child’s classroom, please login into Blackbaud each week. You will be able to see information such as weekly classroom announcements, upcoming events, weekly academic focus, grades, attendance, etc. This is your key to staying informed. I encourage you to login each week. Information will be updated each Sunday at 5pm. For more information on navigating Blackbaud, please click the link below.

Blackbaud 101

Purchasing Class Pictures

If you would like to purchase a class picture of your child's class, please print the order form below and return to the school with payment of $14.98 made to Lifetouch by Tuesday, September 12.

Please Note:

  • The class pictures will be sent home in your child's purple folder, separately from any individual pictures you may have purchased.  

  • For families with more than one student, a separate order form needs to be submitted for each student.

Class Picture Order Form

Upcoming Events

  • August 28th - HOUSE COLOR DAY for 1st-3rd (Students are encouraged to wear a House color shirt, regular dress code bottoms are required, no hats) 

  • August 31st - FAVORITE FOOTBALL TEAM DRESS DOWN DAY (Students may wear their favorite football team jersey or t-shirt, No hats except for TCS hats)

  • September 1st - REMOTE LEARNING DAY - No School

  • September 4th - SCHOOL HOLIDAY - No School

Last Week in Chapel

We had a great time in Chapel this week continuing our series all about Church and the amazing things that happen when we gather together to worship God. In last week’s lesson, the students learned about water baptism through the story of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. We discussed how baptism is a picture of what God has done in our lives. Baptism shows everyone that you have made a decision to follow God, that God is in your heart, and that He has forgiven your sins.

Whatchagaddaknow: “Baptism is a picture of what God has done in me!”

Homecoming Week: September 18th-22nd

  • Monday: Character Day

  • Tuesday: Group Matching Day (Match your friends with the same theme)

  • Wednesday: Extracurricular Day (Dress your sport or hobby)

  • Thursday: Wild West vs West Coast Day

  • Friday: TCS Spirit Day

Elementary Clubs

Our students love to participate in our elementary clubs. These clubs are designed for 1st-5th grade students and meet after school dismisses. Check out the main page of Inside the Pride for more information.

Important Dismissal Information For PreK4 and Kindergarten Parents/Students Only

Have you registered for PickUp Patrol? Have you confirmed your child’s default dismissal plan?

Getting started:

REGISTER: You will receive a registration email with a link to set up your account. The web app is free to parents and you can use it from your smartphone or computer. 

For easy access, follow the instructions in your registration email for how to add it to your phone’s home screen (PUP is not accessed through the app stores).

If you are already registered (had a student here last year), you can log in to PUP and set your child's default plan.

ENTER DEFAULT PLANS: Once you register, log into your PickUp Patrol account by Monday, August 7 to confirm your child’s default dismissal plan. It’s important that you complete this step so that we can accurately dismiss your children. 

How it works:

Your child's regular dismissal plan is entered into the system. This is called their Default Plan. Then whenever you have a change to the Default Plan, you’ll submit it through the PUP app. When the change is submitted, the school will be notified.

PLEASE NOTE:  Changes must be submitted by 12:00pm on the day of the change.  You will not be able to make changes after the 12:00pm deadline.

Important Dismissal Information for Main Campus Students (1st-3rd)

Parents, We have partnered with the company safeDISMISSAL.COM to facilitate our dismissal process for our Early Learning campus (PreK-3 through Kinder) and our Main Campus (1st - 8th grades). One of the many wonderful features of this dismissal process is that your children will remain comfortably and safely in their classroom until the moment they meet you in the "car loading zone". 

Here are a few tips to follow during our dismissal process: 

  • Please make sure to have your ‘pick-up’ card displayed in your front window when entering the dismissal line. Please keep your card displayed until your child has been loaded into your car. 

  • Please stay in-line (no passing) during dismissal as the children will be instructed to walk to specific spots for loading. 

  • To reduce your wait time, please keep up with the car in front of you.  Stay attentive and focused on the car line.

  • If your student does not arrive at the loading spot before you do, you may be instructed to move to a "waiting" area where your child will be notified again. We ask you to move to this area so that we do not hold up the remaining dismissal line.  

  • Please note:  Your child is assigned to be picked up at a particular spot according to the order of cars in line each day.  Please follow the car in front of you until the line stops, regardless of where you might or might not see your child.  Stopping before the line has filled will cause the sequence to be thrown off and delay the line.  We will get your child to the proper spot should they have gone to the wrong place.

Finally, we ask for your patience the first couple of weeks of school as everyone gets accustomed to the process.  It will get faster/better each day!

The administrators and teachers are committed to making this process beneficial to all parties. Please visit www.safeDISMISSAL.com for more information.  Below are a couple of helpful resources to further explain the process.

SafeDismissal Parent INTRO Video

SafeDismissal Parents Info Sheet

ADMINISTRATIVE Contacts

If you have any questions throughout the summer, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are happy to help! Please see the guide below to reach the most appropriate personnel.

  • LS Director of Student Life - Ashley Moore (ashley.moore@tcslions.org)

    • Mrs. Moore can assist you with general questions regarding the school calendar, uniforms, supply lists, etc.

  • LS Academic Dean - Leslie Cook (leslie.cook@tcslions.org)

    • Mrs. Cook can assist you with any academic-related needs for PreK-.3rd grade