Dear Sheldon Families,

Happy Tuesday! We hope you enjoyed the 3 day weekend with your families! Stay safe and warm on this extremely cold snow day!

Please be sure students are wearing a weather appropriate coat to school. Per district policy, we do go out for (shortened) outside times as long as the feels like temperature is above 20 degrees.

If you have further questions after reading, please do not hesitate to reach out!

Thank you for the privilege of serving you ~

Mrs. Gabrielle Tanner, Principal

Our next staff meeting is Thursday, February 27th. I can't wait to share more shout-outs with staff!

This form will be live for the rest of the school year. Feel free to submit your shout-outs and then we will print them, read them out loud at our monthly staff meeting, and provide the printed note to that staff member. Thank you for taking a moment to highlight the hard work our staff does daily!

February is African-American Heritage Month

February 19: 100th Day of School

February 20: Board of Education Meeting @ 5:30

February 22: School Bus Driver Appreciation Day

February 24: Discovery Center Field Trip - Downstairs Classrooms

February 25: Story Time with Boomer Bear

February 26-March 1: National Public Schools Week

February 26: National Tell a Fairy Tale Day

February 26: Advisors Excel Story Time

February 27: Story Time with Boomer Bear

Our downstairs classrooms will go on their field trip to the Discovery Center on Monday, February 24th. We do this field trip on Mondays because the Discovery Center is closed to the public and we have the place all to ourselves! However, this does mean that while parents are welcome to attend, they must provide their own transportation and pay their own entrance fees. Siblings are NOT able to come on this field trip since it is closed to the public on this day. We will load buses shortly before 10:00 AM so it is CRITICAL that students arrive to school on time so that they can have breakfast and be ready to go. All students must have a signed permission slip for this trip. Students without this will not be allowed to attend, so please be sure that has been turned in to your child's classroom teacher.

For those students going to Kindergarten next year, your home school is based on your current home address within the 501 attendance boundaries. The exceptions to this are Williams Science & Fine Arts Magnet and Scott Dual Language Magnet. See the flyers below for information on how to apply for Scott Dual Language or Williams Science and Fine Arts by April 1. To request a transfer from your assigned home school to another district elementary school, fill out the transfer request form by March 31. For questions call 785-295-3055.

Read Across America Week is coming up the week of March 3rd. We will do several activities throughout the week here at school to celebrate literacy. We invite you to participate with us at home as well! Next weeks students will be bringing home a Read Week BINGO page. Do the activities with your student, mark off the box, and send it back to school when you have a BINGO! All students who bring the completed paper back will receive a book to take home with them. They will also all be entered into a drawing for a gift card! So you can start planning your reading fun, the BINGO sheets are included below. Happy reading!

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Wednesday, March 12th from 4:00-8:00 and Thursday, March 13th from 8:00-8:00. There will be NO SCHOOL on March 13th & March 14th. You will be hearing from your child's teacher soon to sign up for a time frame that works best within your schedule. Teachers will then use that information to create a finalized schedule. Once that has been done your student's teacher will send a confirmation of the date and time for your conference. The

conferences will be held in person in your child's classroom. We look forward to meeting with you

and sharing your child's progress!

Nurse Andrea will be completing hearing and vision screenings on all students over the next 4-6 weeks, beginning next week. If your child wears glasses, please make sure they are wearing them to school!

Monday-Thursday: 9:15 AM - 4:00 PM

• Arrival begins: 9:00 AM (drop off through car line)
• School starts: 9:15 AM
• Arrival ends: 9:15 AM (Students will be considered tardy after 9:15 AM. Students arriving after 9:15 AM will need to sign in at the main office)
• Dismissal begins: 3:45 PM (pick up in the car line)
• Dismissal ends: 4:00 PM (all students must be picked up by 4:00 PM)

Late Start Fridays (every Friday): 10:15 AM - 4:00 PM

• Arrival begins: 10:15 AM (drop off through car line)
• School starts: 10:15 AM
• Arrival ends: 10:30 AM (Students will be considered tardy after 10:30 AM. Students arriving after 10:30 AM will need to sign in at the main office)
• Dismissal begins: 3:45 PM (pick up in the car line)
• Dismissal ends: 4:00 PM (all students must be picked up by 4:00 PM)

Late Start is on FRIDAYS for this school year and the arrival time will be at 10:15. This is for every Friday that school is in session.

Each week the Sheldon staff reviews one of our Head Start Policies & Procedures and felt it was important that families stay up to date on these as well. This quarter our focus is on Family Service and Parent Involvement. If you ever have any questions regarding our policies and procedures, please reach out!

Parent Meetings/Policy Council

POLICY: 1301.3

Parent meetings will be organized to encourage parental involvement in on-site decision-making, education for parents, and the development of the curriculum.

PROCEDURE:

1. Each year, parents and community members will be elected by the parent body to serve as members of the program on the Policy Council. These individuals will hold their positions for the entirety of the school year. If the member intends to serve for another year, she /he must stand for re-election. The policy council, and policy committee at the delegate level, must include in its bylaws how many one-year terms, not to exceed five terms, a person may serve.
2. Parent meetings will be scheduled at times that are most convenient for the majority of parents. Feedback regarding these timings will be solicited at the start of the program year.
3. A sign-in sheet will be available at each parent meeting, along with a record of the topics discussed.

Parent Participation

POLICY: 1302.50

Staff will actively encourage and support parent involvement in Head Start program activities.

PROCEDURE:

1. Staff will communicate with parents regarding the components of the Head Start program and opportunities for involvement at the beginning of the program year and during parent meetings, with particular emphasis on encouraging male participation.
2. Parents are invited to visit Head Start classrooms during program hours to observe and engage in group activities with their children.
3. The program provides parents with the opportunity to volunteer, and it prioritizes them for employment when qualifications are comparable.
4. It is important to note that parent participation is voluntary and is not a requirement for a child's enrollment in the program.

This handbook includes important information about Sheldon Head Start including our mission and vision, policies and procedures.

Please take time to review this handbook.

Sheldon Head Start follows the Topeka Public Schools Academic Calendar. The only exceptions are a later start date and earlier end date. The first day of school for Sheldon students is Wednesday, August 21st. The last day of school for Sheldon students will be May 16th.

Our Sheldon Head Start Facebook page is active! We use this as a way to communicate with families and share many pictures. Please follow the page to stay updated!

@SheldonChildDevelopmentCenterHeadStart

Regular school attendance is one of the most important factors that determine school success. The habit of attending school every single day begins with the preschool year(s).

Daily Absence Information

• Parents/guardians should notify the school each day a student is absent by 9:15 a.m, by calling (785) 438-4530. If leaving a voicemail, please provide the student's name, classroom teacher and reason for absence. If the parent/guardian fails to notify the school, the school will attempt to contact the parent/guardian. The communication can be in a variety of methods, such as electronic communication, telephone call or in person. Home visits will be conducted if there has been no contact made after two days.
• All absences, including those excused, will count against a student’s attendance.
• The school encourages parents to schedule doctor and dental appointments after school hours, or on days when school is not in session.
• Parents/guardians may be required to submit supporting documentation in order to excuse the absence of their student if student absenteeism is excessive.
• Preschool absences are recorded in Synergy, the district's student information system. The expectation is that students attend school at least 90% of the time. If the student falls below 90% (excused or unexcused) a letter will be sent home. If this issue does not improve an official attendance plan will be put into place and/or a meeting with the school principal will be scheduled.

The Kansas State law specifically says that a student is truant if they have missed 3 unexcused days in a row, 5 unexcused days in a semester, or 7 unexcused days in a school year. Truancy may result in a report being filed with DCF.

Examples of Excused Absences:

• Personal illness or medical appointment
• Illness of an immediate family member
• Death in the immediate family or other emergency beyond the control of the family
• Religious holidays of the student’s religious faith
• Participation in a district approved or school sponsored activity or event
• Required court appearance or subpoena by a law enforcement agency
• Family vacation/Out of town (that have been pre-approved by the school principal)

Examples of Unexcused Absences:

• No contact by parent/guardian
• Oversleeping
• Personal grooming appointments (hair, nails, etc)
• Shopping/errands
• Suspension from school
• Family vacation/ Out of town that have not been pre-approved
• Missing the bus/ride

Check out this website for free or affordable mental health resources and supports.

Check out this excellent packet of community resources available, provided by the City of Topeka.

Take a look at the Topeka Resources Checklist. This is very helpful for planning! This is a list of possible resources to help you stretch your dollars and avoid economic emergencies. Place a check beside the ones you are using or have used.

You can find the link to the 2021 Community Resources Council Resource Directory here. This directory provides contact information for a variety of community resources.

If in need of resources, you can also contact the United Way by dialing 211.

See the following links for Food Pantry resources available to families.

English and Spanish

Website: https://sheldon.topekapublicschools.net/
Location: 1155 SW Seabrook Ave.
Phone: 785-438-4530
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheldonChildDevelopmentCenterHeadStart