Dear Sanborn Families,

Your Sunday Bulldog Bulletin is in your inbox, which must mean school is fast approaching. The staff are excited to have you all back together to celebrate our theme for the year, "You Belong Here." At Sanborn, we believe in the power of community, and "You Belong Here" is a message that reflects our commitment to ensuring every student and family feels connected and valued.

Ms. McGonigle and I are eager to take on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We are committed to working with you to create a supportive, inclusive, and thriving environment for our students.

Thank you for being an essential part of our Bulldog family. We look forward to a fantastic year filled with growth, connection, and shared success.

Here’s to an amazing school year ahead!

Ms. Fawcett

Welcome to our first school-wide activity to begin our belonging journey! We are going to create a school wide Padlet in which each student and staff member shares the correct pronunciation of their names, rhymes and what it is not.

Why This Matters:

Learning how to pronounce everyone’s name correctly is a key part of building a community where everyone feels respected and valued. This activity helps us all get it right from the start.

Steps to Create and Upload Your Child's Name Video on Padlet

Step 1: Open the Padlet Link
Click the link: Padlet Link. This is where you’ll upload the video of your child under their grade level.

Step 2: Record or Upload Your Video
On the Padlet board under your child's grade, click the “+” button to create a new post.

• In the title, write your child's name.
• You can either record the video directly in Padlet or use your phone, tablet, or computer to record a 10-second video. Ask your child to:
  • Say their name slowly and clearly.
  • Provide a rhyme to help others remember the correct pronunciation (e.g., “My name is Rae, it rhymes with day”).
  • Mention common mispronunciations (e.g., “It’s not Re-ah or Ry”).
    Tip: Practice a few times to get comfortable before recording!

Step 3: Organize Your Post
After uploading:

• Ensure your video plays correctly.
• In the post description, you can also type the rhyme or add any extra pronunciation tips.

Step 4: Watch and Learn
Take time to watch classmates’ videos. The more you practice, the more confident you’ll be in pronouncing everyone’s names correctly.

Important Notes:

• Be Respectful: This activity is about creating a welcoming environment. Please be respectful and supportive of everyone’s names and pronunciations.
• Need Help? If you’re having trouble recording or uploading your video, ask your teacher or a classmate for assistance.

Thank you for participating and helping us create a community where everyone feels like they belong!

At Sanborn, we believe that everyone—students, staff, and families—plays an essential role in building a supportive and inclusive community. That’s why we’re excited to invite you to become involved in one of two vital groups that help shape the experience at our school: the School Council and the Cultural Climate Committee (C-3).

You Belong Here! By joining one of these groups, you’ll have the opportunity to lend your voice, share your perspectives, and contribute to making Sanborn a place where everyone feels valued.

School Council: This group advises on school policies, supports student achievement, and helps develop initiatives that impact the entire Sanborn community.

Cultural Climate Committee (C-3): The C-3 focuses on ensuring that our school culture is welcoming, inclusive, and representative of our diverse community. Together, we’ll work on practices that highlight our collective commitment to belonging and respect.

If you’re interested in getting involved or learning more, please reach out to Ms. Fawcett. We’d love to have your input and ideas as we strive to make Sanborn a place where everyone knows: You Belong Here.

This school year we will be using a system called PickUp Patrol to help us track

dismissals. PickUp Patrol (PUP) provides you with a convenient way to make changes to your

child’s dismissal plans and help ensure that our students are accurately dismissed each day.

How It Works:

1. Your child’s regular dismissal plan will be entered into ASPEN. This is called their

Default Plan.

2. Whenever your child is following a plan other than their Default Plan you’ll submit the

change using the PickUp Patrol app.

Examples of a plan change:

● Your child has a doctor's appointment and will be leaving early.

● Your child normally rides the bus but is getting picked up today.

● Your child will be arriving late.

● Your child is getting picked up by someone other than yourself.

3. When the change is submitted, the school will be notified and we’ll relay the change to

your child.

4. Register: In the next few days/weeks you will receive a registration email from PickUp

Patrol with a link to set up your account. The web app is free for parents and you can

use it from your phone or computer. When you receive the registration email, log in

right away to confirm your child’s default plan (The link expires in 48 hours).

Soon after the start of the school year, you will receive an email from PickUp Patrol asking you to confirm your child's default plan.

For the first few days of school, teachers will be using the information in your back to school forms on Aspen. If there is a change, please send in a note with your child before PickUp Patrol is activated.

If you have any questions, please first check the PUP Parent Guide. If you still need help,

contact us here in the office.

We are excited to introduce a new website in time for the start of the 2024-25 school year! As part of our commitment to enhancing communication and engagement with our community, the new platform will offer easier navigation, a cleaner look, and enhanced accessibility.

APS will be moving to the new site in the coming days. During the transition period, there may be times when the website will direct to the old version or redirect to the new one. The district’s website address will remain the same: www.aps1.net. The new site will also offer an integrated mobile app for both Android and iPhones.

If you are accessing links from a principals’ newsletter and having difficulty, please log onto www.aps1.net to search for the content or try again a bit later.

We are excited to introduce these improvements and appreciate your patience as we continue to add new features and content.

In my July Newsletter, I shared the Staff Updates of our new ETF Kendall Bianco, our second grade teacher Danielle Hart, and Allie Navarro our new PE teacher.

Pinal Patel is an instructional assistant who will join us from Bancroft.

August 28th Grades 1-5 first day of school

August 28th & 29th Kindergarten Screening by appointment

August 30th No School

September 2nd No School

September 3rd Kindergarten first day of school

September 11th Back to School Family Fun Night/ Open House K-5

5:00 - 6:30 on the playground

Andover Public Schools is asking our returning families to verify/update certain pieces of information via a secure online portal called Family Connection. This information includes emergency contacts, medical information, demographics, technology usage agreement, as well as acknowledging other district policies. We hope that this online system will streamline our communication and reduce the amount of paperwork you need to complete. It is important that this is completed before the first day of school, so we have the latest information for your student in case of emergency and so we know how your child is being dismissed on the 1st day of school. Please complete this process even if your students are newly registered.

This system is accessible through the Aspen Family Portal. The Aspen login screen has changed over the summer. Please review the New Aspen and Schoology Sign in information if you have not yet logged in over the summer.

If you need a password reset, please visit our Password Self-Service tool. All other account questions, please email infosys@andoverma.us.

Once you have logged into Aspen, click on the link under the Announcements on the Home page that reads ‘Family Connection – Back to School Forms’. You will be redirected to the Family Connection "Verification Form" page which contains directions on how to complete and submit the forms.

Please review the Sanborn Family Guide above with detailed information about Sanborn School. Below I have highlighted some of the specific guidelines that are important to be aware of at the beginning of the year.

8:30 am: School office opens

8:45 am: School drop off

9:00 am: School day begins

After 9:00 am: Children are tardy and must be accompanied by a parent into the office

After 2:00 pm: Unless it's an emergency, no dismissal changes

Students must be dismissed before 3:00

3:30 pm: School ends

Parent drop-off starts at 8:45. When entering the driveway, take a right and drive around the perimeter of the staff parking lot. This allows for minimal backup on Lovejoy in the morning. Pull as far forward in the driveway as you can go. Please park your car in the lot if your child needs more time to get out of the car - this will help to avoid back ups. Students will line up at their wing entrance.

Parent pick-up procedures will be the same as in the past. Cars park in the rear of the school. There should be eight rows of cars across the lot if you are the first to arrive, and cars park behind each other facing the same direction. Please follow the posted rules on the large sign for exiting your vehicle, picking up your child, and returning to your car. Sanborn staff will guide traffic and all vehicles in leaving. If you are planning to stay to play on the playground at the end of the day please greet your child and accompany them to the playground.

We will continue to offer breakfast for students in the morning. It will be served before school from 8:45-8:55. If your child would like breakfast, they will need to enter the building through the front door and go directly to the cafeteria at 8:45. If they finish breakfast, students should return to the playground with their class. All students will have lunch in the cafeteria. Lunches will need to be ordered in advance- this is important so that they know how many lunches to prepare.

PINS were e-mailed out to families. PIN numbers stay the same year to year, so the only new ones are for kindergarten and new students.

Notification will come from Ms. Fawcett a week or so after the start of school when grade 3-5 students can begin to ride bikes to school. All students must wear helmets to school and no motorized bikes or scooters are allowed. Anyone not following these procedures will lose the privileges.

A fire drill will be conducted within the first three days of school.

An ALICE drill will be conducted early in the fall.

When an ALICE drill is performed, a notification from the school will go out AFTER the drill is complete. The staff do an amazing job preparing students for these drills.

We are all working to manage the age of technology and are looking for support between school and home. Many children have new smart devices and the elementary schools have some guidance.

A kind reminder to our families that cell phones must be turned off and in students’ backpacks at the start of the school day. Smartwatches may be worn as regular watches, however, students are not allowed to text, communicate with others, use applications, take pictures or videos, or access social media services and websites.

Should parents/guardians urgently need to reach their child during the school day, we ask that you call the main office. Students are also allowed to come to the main office if they need to contact someone at home. If a cell phone or watch becomes a significant distraction, school administrators will reach out to parents/guardians. The Andover Public Schools is not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or broken devices.

To promote healthy digital habits during the school day, the resources below may be helpful to use. We appreciate your partnership as we work to keep interruptions to the school day at a minimum.

Resource for Apple Watches:

How to set a Schooltime schedule

• Open the Watch app on your iPhone. Tap All Watches, then tap your child's watch.

• Tap Done, then tap Schooltime.

• Turn on Schooltime, then tap Edit Schedule.

• Choose the days and times when you want Schooltime to be active.

• Tap Add Time if you want to set up more than one schedule in a day.

Resource for Gizmo Watches:

How to set up Schoolmode

• Open the. GizmoHub app.

• Tap the. School mode switch. turn on or off . If necessary, set up a School Mode schedule.

In School Devices

K-3 Devices will stay in school.

4-5 Devices can be brought home if directed by the classroom teacher to complete an assignment. Otherwise, they will remain in school.

Also, as a reminder, CORI Forms need to be filled out every school year to volunteer and participate in school activities, such as chaperoning a field trip. If you would like to fill it out at home before coming over, here is the link to print the form: CORI FORM

• We have volunteer opportunities that support just a few hours of involvement and others that are more ongoing, sign up here! If you have any questions on the scope of a role, please email pto@sanbornpto.net.
• Room Parent sign ups are open -- please go here to volunteer for this fun and important role in your child's classroom! Room Parents act as the primary point of contact with the teacher for the purpose of party planning and classroom needs. Room Parents collect classroom funds from parents; plan 3-4 parties per year; purchase teacher gifts; and recruit other parents to volunteer. Fifth Grade Room Parents will work closely with the Fifth Grade Coordinators and do not need to collect classroom funds (we will use a central dues collection).
• The PTO is growing our Bulldog Community Partnership Program for the 2024-2025 school year. We are looking for business and organization sponsors for our events and activities. If your business would like to support our school while increasing your brand awareness, please contact us here for more information.
• Join us on Wednesday, September 25th at 7pm in the Sanborn Library for our first PTO meeting of the year! We'll discuss our plans for the school year, ways you can help, and answer any questions you have! Babysitters will be available in the gym during the meeting. Following the meeting, we'll head over to Casa Blanca downtown for a little social time together!
• A few ways to stay up to date on the latest news and offerings from the PTO:
• The Bulldog Spirit is the monthly newsletter from the Sanborn PTO where they communicate about our school events, fundraisers, enrichment activities, etc. Sign up here.
• Bookmark the PTO website!
• For real-time updates during the school year, follow the Sanborn Community on social media: Facebook, Instagram
• Join your child's grade-level Facebook group - this group is just for kids in your child’s grade. Here you can connect, ask grade-specific questions, etc.
• Kindergarten
• First grade
• Second grade
• Third grade
• Fourth grade
• Fifth grade