Panda Post

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! Our teachers and staff are as thrilled as I am to see our students in August. This Panda Post contains a plethora of information that will help you prepare for the school year and understand some of our processes and procedures. Thank you, in advance, for helping us provide a safe place for learning for all our children.

We appreciate all our parent and community support as we work to ensure we support the GCPS’s Blueprint for the future. We will work to implement Empathy, Equity, Effectiveness, and Excellence in all that we do. We are committed to providing your child with the highest quality instruction and developing relationships that allow your child to feel valued and loved.

I hope you will stay connected and genuinely feel a part of our school community.

You can stay informed in multiple ways: our website, our School Messenger, and of course, my monthly newsletter, The Panda Post. All communication from the school will come via email or be posted on our website. Please make sure we have updated phone numbers and emails! For those anxiously waiting, a letter will go home during the week of July 18 with the name of your child's teacher. Class supply lists will be on the back of the letter and on our school website.

As always, if you ever have a question or a concern, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Enjoy the rest of your summer; we will see you soon!

Dr. Paula Thompson

Your Proud Principal, Arcado Elementary

These times are aligned with the cluster so that you can visit the Middle and High School during a designated time. Please adhere to these times so we can manage parking.

8:00-11:00 Last Names A-L

12:30- 3:30- Last Names M--Z

Be sure to arrive during your scheduled time (by the student's last name)

Open House Tips:

After you visit Transportation, Cafeteria, and PTA stations, go to your child's homeroom class. You will drop off your child's supplies and confirm transportation.

While in the cafeteria, be sure to purchase spirit wear and ask about After School Care.

Make sure you have gone onto My Payment Plus to sign off on the paperwork and pay dues.

Please complete the transportation form needed for registration. This information is critical in ensuring your children get home via the correct transportation. You can only choose one primary transportation choice. You may download, print, and bring it to school on the day of Meet Your Teacher or send it directly to Beth.Remmes@gcpsk12.org.

The official first day of school is August 3rd for all students; however, the district has planned for a staggered return to the building. This means that some grade levels will be learning from home digitally until the return date in person.

• August 3, 2022 - Students in grades K & 1 and students with special needs who are served in a small-group homeroom will start in person on August 3rd while all other students participate in digital learning at home.

• August 4, 2022 - Students in grades 2-5 will start in-person learning.

This staggered return to the building will help us support our youngest learners as they navigate the first days of school. Your child’s teacher will communicate the expectations for students learning at home during Open House.

Again, the first day of school is August 3, and your student will participate in digital learning per this schedule:

August 3- 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades - digital learning

If your student needs a device to access our digital learning, you may pick up the Chromebook we have assigned to your student during Open House. The device must be returned on the first day of in-person learning for proper charging and storage in the classroom.

You will receive a letter in July with the name of your child's teacher on the mailing label. You can also find this information on the Parent Portal after July 23rd.

Note: If your student has incomplete paperwork with our registrar, your student may not be added to a class until the records are complete.

Parents will be able to walk their Kindergarten children to class on the first day of school. Please join Dr. Thompson to talk about the adjustment to Kindergarten right after you walk your child to class.

Wednesday, August 3rd @ 8:15 in the Arcado Media Center

This is our protocol for anyone entering our building:

• All visitors must ring the bell at the front of the school and state their reason for visiting. Please remain in front of the doorbell so our office staff can see you.

• All visitors must be on the child’s list in the student information system.

• All visitors must sign in at the Welcome Desk and present their driver’s license to the clerk.

• All visitors must display the visitor sticker on their chests at all times. The stickers must be visible to our staff.

• Please note we follow this protocol for the safety of everyone in our building.

Families will be able to eat lunch with their students this year. However, we do not allow visitors until after the first month of school so that we can establish procedures with our students. Please know that space is limited and that priority must be given to students.

Only items from home should be brought to school for lunch. We do not allow fast food for a variety of reasons. Students should bring items that they can easily open and that do not require refrigeration or microwaving.

For our youngest learners, we would appreciate it if you could practice opening containers at home! This will help greatly during lunch.

Arcado's Title 1 Document Review period will be posted on the website from July 27th thru August 5th.

We are happy to provide After-school care for students at Arcado through a program titled, Right At School. We will start providing this care the week of September 6, 2022. Childcare will be provided from 2:45- 6:00.

Right at School is hosting a virtual Family Information Nights to provide an overview of its program, answer questions and learn more about the Gwinnett County community. The zoom link info is below.

Tuesday, July 19th @ 12 PM

https://www.rightatschool.com/districts/gwinnett-county-ga/

Register today! https://www.rightatschool.com/program-finder/

Please consider joining the PTA and volunteering in some capacity for the good of our school community. You will be able to sign up at Open House on August 1st. We are blessed by a new supportive PTA, and this is just one of the many things that makes Arcado so special. We would love to have you as part of our team!