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THURSDAY EXCHANGE NEWSLETTER

March 6, 2025

THURSDAY EXCHANGENEWSLETTERMarch 6, 2025

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Parents & Families,

Spring Break is here! We have made it through 3/4 or 75% of our school year! The first 3 nine weeks are behind us and we want to finish strong in our final nine weeks!


Here are a few reminders and suggestions for a safe and enjoyable Spring Break:

  • Prioritize Family Time: Encourage your children to disconnect from screens and engage in meaningful activities with loved ones.
  • Stay Active: Whether it's playing outdoors, going for walks, or trying a new sport, make time for physical activity.
  • Read for Pleasure: Encourage your children to explore new books and keep their minds engaged.
  • Travel Safely: If you're traveling, please prioritize safety and follow all necessary guidelines.
  • Review and Prepare: For older students, a little review of key concepts can help them stay on track when we return.

We encourage everyone to use this time to create lasting memories and enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

We look forward to welcoming our students back on Monday, March 17th, ready for the exciting events and learning opportunities that await us in the final months of the school year.


Important Arrival Reminders:

For the safety of all students, please follow these drop-off procedures:

  • Do not park on the church side—this creates a hazardous situation where children must walk through traffic.
  • All students must be dropped off in the designated drop-off lines—not in the parking lot.
  • Walking through the parking lot is unsafe with moving vehicles. Please use the drop-off lines to ensure a safe arrival for everyone.

Thank you for helping us keep our students safe! 💙


Weather Make-Up Days

Two weather make-up days have been added for Friday, April 4 and Friday, April 11 due to the bad weather days on January 9 and 10. Click here or see below to view the updated calendar.


Spring Break Soccer Camp at LMSW

A Spring Break soccer camp will be hosted by the South City Athletic Club at the LMSW grass field over spring break. Click here for details. Discount code for Life students: LIFEPLYR


Nominate an Outstanding Teacher or Staff Member

We love celebrating our amazing teachers and staff. The District is accepting nominations for teachers and staff to receive a LifeLeader Award at our annual end of year awards ceremony. Help us celebrate our amazing teachers and staff by submitting a nomination by March 31st: LifeLeader Nominations

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 2-8-Educational Diagnosticians’ Week

March 6-End of the 3rd Nine Weeks

March 7-No School for Students or Staff

March 10-14-Spring Break

March 13-Cici's Waxahachie Spirit Night

March 17-Beginning of the 4th Nine Weeks

March 18-Raising Canes Waxahachie Spirit Night, 4:00-11:00

March 20-Report Cards available to parents in Parent Portal

March 21-Staff Development, No School for Students

Calendar Updates

School on April 4th for Students & Staff

School on April 11th for Students & Staff

LIFELEADERS OF THE MONTH

TEACHER & STAFF MEMBER OF THE MONTH

Teacher of the Month-Adrienne Almaguer

Staff of the Month-Nadiah Ortiz

Arrival & Dismissal Adjustments

We want to inform you that The Oaks Church has began construction on a new park area. As a result, Life School will implement minor adjustments to arrival and dismissal procedures.

Please read below for further details, and thank you for your patience and cooperation during this time.


Construction Area

As indicated by the orange and black lines, construction at The Oaks Church will begin next week. During this time, families will not have access to park on The Oaks Church property and walk.

As a reminder, all students must be dropped off and picked up through our designated arrival and dismissal lines.


Front Arrival & Dismissal

As construction begins at The Oaks Church next week, we will be adjusting the exiting lanes at the front arrival and dismissal location. The construction area will block off three parking lanes and one exit lane.

Our arrival and dismissal staff will be on-site to help direct traffic and ensure a smooth process. Please follow their guidance to navigate to the correct exiting lanes.


Back Exiting Lanes-Light Blue Lines

As you may have noticed, a new exit lane has opened on the south side of the property. Families are welcome to use this lane for exiting only; however, please note that Life School staff and families are not permitted to use it as an entrance.

To ensure a smooth traffic flow, we kindly ask that families take turns merging onto Oaks Blvd with other exiting traffic from Life School.


We do not anticipate any major inconveniences with these adjustments, but we kindly ask all drivers to remain alert, be patient, and show kindness during arrival and dismissal.

Your cooperation helps ensure a smooth and safe process for everyone. Thank you for your support!

Arrival Map

Dismissal Map

Attendance Reminders

For the full policy, please refer to the Student & Parent Handbook.

Arrival & Tardies

  • Students should arrive between 7:15 a.m. and 7:40 a.m.
  • Tardies begin at 7:45 a.m.
  • Students arriving after this time will be marked with an unexcused tardy unless appropriate documentation is provided.
  • Frequent tardiness can interfere with learning and impact attendance records, which may lead to disciplinary measures. Please ensure students arrive on time each day.

Absence Cutoff

  • Students not on campus at 10:00 a.m. will be recorded as absent.
Early Releases

  • Dismissal begins at 4:00 p.m.
  • Students checked out before that time will be marked with an unexcused early release unless appropriate documentation is provided.
  • Frequent early checkouts can interfere with learning and impact attendance records, which may lead to disciplinary measures. Please limit early departures when possible.

Documentation for Absences, Tardies & Early Releases

  • A parent note alone does not excuse an absence, tardy, or early release.
  • A note from a provider (e.g., doctor, dentist, therapist) specifying the excused dates is required. Any dates not specified in the note will be considered unexcused.

  • Providing falsified documentation for attendance purposes is a serious violation and will not be tolerated. Any attempt to submit a forged doctor’s note will result in the absence remaining unexcused and may lead to further disciplinary action. Additionally, such matters may be escalated to the appropriate authorities for review.
  • For non-illness-related absences, refer to the handbook for specific documentation requirements.

Nurse-Directed Absences

  • If a student is sent home by the nurse with instructions not to return until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours without medication, parents must still report the absences for it to be excused.

Reporting Absences

  • Report absences and submit documentation using the “Report an Absence” button in the Thursday Exchange newsletter or on the Life School Red Oak website under the Parent section.
  • Absences can also be reported via email at attendance.lsro@lifeschools.net.
  • Documentation may also be submitted to the front office.
  • Please use only one designated method to submit absence information.

Tracking Attendance

  • Parents can monitor attendance records through the Parent Portal, which can help to maintain compliance with the attendance policy.
  • Please allow up to three school days for records to be updated, as workload demands may occasionally cause delays.

We would like to recognize LSRO staff for all the amazing things that they do each day for our students. If you have someone that you would like to brag about, please fill out this form and we will share the Shout Outs through the weekly Thursday Exchange.


Want to submit a staff shout out? Click here: Staff Shout-Outs!!!! (Google Form)

Life Habits

Every day we have Life Habits time that is focused on building social, emotional and behavioral skills. Each week we will post Life Habits conversation starters in our newsletter that are aligned with the Life Habits lessons from the week. We will also have signs in the pick up line for you to access the questions of the week. We hope you enjoy hearing about what your child is learning at school.

DEVELOPING LEADERS AT LSRO

Weekly I Will Statements

During morning announcements, we will focus on one LifeLeader Attribute each week and learn what we need to do to develop each attribute so that we can become effective leaders in our school and in our community. We encourage students and families to memorize these statements together and talk about how the attribute is exhibited at home, school and work. We will share the I Will statement in the weekly newsletter and on our campus Facebook page. We look forward to hearing how students are exhibiting the attributes at school and home. Click here to view all 15 LifeLeader attributes.

BREAKFAST & LUNCH

All households need to complete the Free and Reduced Price School Meal Application each school year, even if your child does not purchase school meals. The application is available throughout the school year and available to complete again should your family have a change in income or additional family members in the household.

Click here to view the breakfast and lunch menus.

Breakfast is served each day from 7:15-7:45.

PARTNERS FOR LIFE

Make sure you sign up to be a part of our Partners for Life parent organization to receive the most up to date opportunities to engage on campus. After you sign up, be sure to become a fan of our campus.

STAFF BIRTHDAYS

Mindy Sumpter-March 7th

Jamie Barron-March 8th

Christina Rodriguez-March 25th

Martha Gonzales-March 25th


To view staff favorites, click here.

LIFE SCHOOL & LSRO IMPORTANT LINKS

Previous Thursday Exchange Newsletters

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