Welcome Back, Prairie Families!!

8/01: 3:00pm Kindergarten Popsicles with Principal on the big playground (It is going to be HOT, so it will be a quick event!)

8/02: New Teachers Report

8/07: Welcome Back All Teachers!! Thanks to PTA for providing breakfast!

8/07-8/12: Teacher Professional Learning

8/09: Teacher Assignment goes live for families to view in Skyward

8/12: 4:30-6pm Ice Cream Social

8/13: First Day for Grades 1-6; Early Dismissal at 12:30 (Bring a lunch or eat school lunch. Students will have 30 minutes in cafeteria to eat.)

8/13-8/14: Kindergarten Individual Conferences (Sign up coming on 8/09) See Kindergarten Resource Guide linked below for more details.

8/15: First Day for Kindergarten; Coffee & Kleenex in Garden for parents after arrival

8/28: 5:30-6:15 & 6:30-7:15 Back to School Curriculum Night for parents only (Gr. 1-6)

We are thrilled to begin a new year of learning at Prairie Elementary! Prairie is such an amazing place to learn and grow for our students and teachers! Teachers will be coming back soon and your children will be our #1 focus as we engage in professional learning.

I am sure you have noticed, Prairie has been a construction zone all summer long! We are excited to wrap up all of the projects so we can welcome you back! Here are a few of the improvements made over the break:

• New Heating & Cooling units with ability for better temperature control in classrooms
• New ceiling tiles in every room
• Fresh wax coating applied to the gym floor
• Additional sound proofing materials added to music room ceiling tiles
• Sound system replacement
• Teacher Lounge makeover thanks to our community!

Come meet your child's teacher, browse the PTA tables to sign up for volunteer opportunities, buy spirit wear and socialize with new friends over a bowl of ice cream!

• This is a great opportunity to drop off your child's supplies for the year!
• School Supply Orders purchased through PTA will be delivered to classrooms.
• Click here to find the school supply lists on our website.

You will be able to view your child's classroom teacher in Skyward on Aug. 9th. Please be sure to follow the online verification process so you will have access to this important info!

Important: Go to Fee Management on the left to pay the instructional materials fee of $60. This helps support ELA & math hands-on materials as well as programs used for personalized learning online.

Steps to fill out forms:

• Click here to log into Skyward & find resources for families.
• If you do not have a Family Access account, you may contact your child’s school office to inquire about setting up account access.
• Under “Home” you will see “2024-2025 Student Annual Online Verification.”

There will be directions that walk you through the entire process.

• They include permission forms, a health history review, and a medication permission form. The process should take only about 5 minutes to complete.

Please try to complete these forms as soon as possible. It is a mandatory step for student materials checkout. Students cannot be assigned an iPad until the forms and fee payments are completed.

Daisy is back after taking a break during Mrs. Tadokoro's maternity leave last spring! Many thanks to our families who donated the funds 3 years ago for our school to adopt our facility therapy dog, Daisy!! Thanks to those who also donated food, treats, toys and funds to keep her well fed and happy! Daisy's fund has depleted, so we need more donations to help Mrs. Tadokoro and her family provide the best for our special friend.

You can donate funds to the school or bring items with you to the Ice Cream Social.

Here are some items Daisy needs:

• Costco Kirkland brand dog food
• toys
• treats

Click on this link to find out more about our Daisy.

Daisy is eager to return to work! She really misses serving your children!

On behalf of the PTA, we’d like to welcome you to the start of another great year at Prairie Elementary. We’re excited to get back to a school year filled with fantastic events and community activities. But most importantly, we’re eager to be back at Prairie supporting our kids and teachers so they can continue to attain excellence in education.

We look forward to seeing you on August 12th at the Ice Cream Social where you can sign up for a PTA membership, join the garden committee, lego league and other clubs, sign up for volunteer positions and purchase some Prairie Panther Spirit Wear!

Our weekly newsletters will be emailed to all Prairie families starting Sunday, August 11th.

Thank you for your support, and please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions at prairieelementary@gmail.com. Together, we’ll make this year another wonderful year for our children.

Sincerely,

Katie Gahagan and Alicia Koranda

Email: kristenjones@smsd.org
Website: prairie.smsd.org
Location: 6642 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS, USA
Phone: (913) 993-4400