July 31 Wilbur Words
JULY 31, 2023
To the BEST families in the State of Delaware:
I hope you had a relaxing summer…it’s almost time for school! Students will begin school on August 28. We are looking forward to a fantastic year full of learning and fun! This letter is meant to give you some quick information and reminders about the start of school. As you know if you are a returning Wilbur family, I’ll start emailing out Wilbur Words closer to the first day so that I can give lots more information about everything. :)
All Colonial elementary school students will still receive both breakfast and lunch in our school cafeteria at no cost to their parents. One important reminder is that, due to an increased number of student allergies throughout the building, we continue to have PEANUT FREE CAFETERIAS. Please ensure that your child does not bring to school food that contains peanuts or peanut butter. Thanks in advance for keeping all of our students safe and healthy!
We plan to do a ‘Find Your Classroom’ Evening on 8/24 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. so that students can feel comfortable knowing where to go on the first day of school. Then, our Open House and Curriculum Nights are scheduled at 6:00 p.m. on September 13 (Grades K-2) and 14 (Grades 3-5). More information will be emailed home about both of these events.
The district calendar is similar to last year in that professional development days are spread throughout the year with approximately one per month. Conference timing will also remain similar with two full days with no students set aside for student-led conferences both in November and March. The hours for elementary schools have not changed - arrival is at 8:45 a.m. and dismissal is at 3:35 p.m. The car line begins at 8:45 and students are able to enter the building at that time. (In our parent handbook on the website and linked below, there are detailed directions for arrival and dismissal procedures. Please take a look before the first day!) Before that, staff is not available for supervision of students, and students cannot be dropped off unless you are a part of YMCA before care in our Blue/Orange cafeteria. (302-836-YMCA) Kindergarten parents will be receiving a separate letter detailing specifics for car rider drop off for the first week of school. The timing will be different than for our regular car riders so you can get used to the system.
Bus and homeroom information will be EMAILED directly from the Transportation Department and should get to you a day or two before school starts. Prior to that time, the information is not finalized. For the first week of school, we ask that each Kindergarten student wear a label with their name and room number on it. We will continue to limit the paper we use to send home reminders and other school information. Instead, I will again be using email and TEXT ALERTS to give quick reminders, links to newsletters and flyers, and to send alerts about school closings. You do not need to sign up for these communications this year as the system will automatically pull parent/guardian information from our records. If you aren’t getting Wilbur Words emailed to you by the first day of school, please call us as your email address may be incorrect in the system.
For safety reasons, we will continue our policy of one consistent dismissal method for every student. We know emergencies arise, but the safest dismissal is when your child goes home the same way (bus or car) every day, including the first day of school. I also want to remind all parents that every minute truly does matter for your child’s achievement, and I am strongly urging all parents to avoid early dismissals and late arrivals except in the case of an emergency. Thank you in advance for scheduling appointments outside of school time whenever possible!
If your child was a car rider as their everyday dismissal method last year, we are assuming that they will remain a car rider this year, and you will keep the same PikMyKid number and car tags. If you have a Kindergarten student or are new to Wilbur and your child will be a car rider everyday, please contact us at Stephanie.Magorry@colonial.k12.de.us so that we can ensure your child is on our car rider list, and we can mail you the car tags you will need. The car line will begin with active dismissal at 3:30 p.m. and all students must be picked up by 3:45 p.m. If you plan to change your child’s dismissal plan from last school year, please email my secretary at AnneMarie.Guajardo@colonial.k12.de.us at this time. Please DO NOT wait until the first day of school to let us know. The sooner we know, the better prepared we will be.
Even on the first day of school, we will be operating our usual car line for arrival. For security reasons, parents are not able to walk their child to the classroom. We will have staff members all through the building and will make sure they get there safely! On their first day (either 8/28 A-L or 8/30 M-Z), all Kindergarten students will be led from the buses by staff members to the Multi-Purpose room, where their teachers will greet them and lead them to their rooms. For the first week of school ONLY, so that parents and students can learn the process, Kindergarten car riders will arrive between 9:00 and 9:15 and will be walked to their room by a staff member. Starting on 9/5, all car riders will be dropped off between 8:45 and 9:00.
We are ready to start inspiring your child to excellence on a daily basis….with the best parents, teachers, and students, there is no stopping us! Let the magic begin!
KINDERGARTEN PARENTS
If you didn't receive my "Kindergarten Only" newsletter earlier in the summer, please click here to get all the information you need about Kinderduction on August 21 and to access the form for registration! https://www.smore.com/69zkq