Frontier Parent Newsletter

Dear Frontier Families,

As the leaves change and the air turns crisper, we’re excited to invite you to our Fall Family Game Night this Thursday, November 14th, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM! It will be a fun-filled evening with activities for the whole family—from rock painting and yard games to board and card games. We’ll also have our much-anticipated Dessert Auction, so bring your sweet tooth! Don’t forget to check the Lost and Found while you’re here; it’s a great time to reclaim any missing coats or sweaters before winter sets in.

Speaking of colder weather, please remember to send your child with a warm coat each day to keep them comfortable during recess and outdoor activities.

As a school community, I value your feedback tremendously. Parent input strengthens our team and helps us create the best environment possible for our students. Please take a few minutes to complete the District’s Parent Engagement Survey (linked in the newsletter) to share your insights, ideas, and perspectives. Your feedback is invaluable to us!

Finally, as we enter this season of gratitude and togetherness, I hope you enjoy special moments with your children and create lasting memories together.

If you have any questions, or concerns please contact me at rutan.katie@westada.org or by phone at (208) 350-4190.

Sincerely,

Katie Rutan

Principal

The link below will be in each parent newsletter. It is an opportunity for you to share feedback with me directly. You can enter your name in the form if you would like a follow-up phone call. The form is anonymous unless you would like to identify yourself for a follow-up. Thank you to those that have already provided feedback.

Parent Platform

If your child is taking a picture retake, be sure to send their previous picture packet with them. If your child is new or missed picture day, please be sure to have the completed picture packet ready for pictures tomorrow.

Fall is in the air, and that means it's time to break out your aprons and start baking! Whether you’re a baking pro or just love the smell of fresh goodies, there’s a way for everyone to get involved.

Election Day Bake Sale
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Our annual election day bake sale was a great hit. The voting patrons love it every year. Some were looking for specific items. We appreciate the support so much.

Fall Family Night Dessert Auction
Date: Thursday, November 14th
Fall is the perfect time to show off your pie-baking or cake-decorating skills! We need full-sized baked goods such as cakes, pies, and more for this silent auction. Bring your masterpieces to the office by 5:00 p.m. on November 14th, and help make this event a sweet success.

To donate baked goods or volunteer, please reach out to PTO at pto.frontierelementary@gmail.com. Thank you for supporting Frontier Elementary and making these events extra special!

Join us for a night of family fun at Frontier Elementary’s Fall Family Game Night on Thursday, November 14th from 5:30-7:00 p.m. This year’s event will be packed with activities for everyone! Get creative with rock painting, enjoy some friendly competition with yard games and board games, or cozy up in our reading forts in the library. Plus, don’t miss out on our fun-filled dinner conversation games, a chance to win in the book walk, and the highlight of the evening, our annual Dessert Auction.

And, of course, we’ll have pizza for a snack to keep everyone fueled for the fun!

It’s the perfect chance to relax, connect, and enjoy some quality family time. We can’t wait to see our Frontier families come together to make lasting memories. Come hungry for fun (and maybe a sweet treat or two)!

The West Ada School District, and Frontier, are committed to building positive relationships and experiences for our school children. The district is looking for input from our families on your feelings and engagement with Frontier Elementary. We hope that you take the time to complete the survey below. This allows us to hear from you and to support needs within our school. Thank you for giving us the time and feedback.

Parent Engagement Survey

As we transitioned this year from our school being fully funded for breakfast and lunch for all of our students, we were given a grace period for all students. Our grace period has now ended and student accounts will now be charged for any breakfast or lunch served. If you are looking to see if your family would benefit from support, please see the application below.

Free and Reduced Meals Application

Connect with your school through two-way, translated communication. Families receive a text in their preferred home language. They can respond in that language, and it is translated back into English for the teachers and staff to read. Our front office uses Talking Points to let you know about school events, no school days, late buses, etc.

Talking Points Flyer - Ways to Access

I want to thank our parents for how well our families have always abided by our parking lot systems. We care about the safety of our students and getting them safely to their parents is part of the process of school safety.

Knowing we have new families, and it never hurts to review expectations, I want to ensure that everyone knows what our basic expectations are to support...

• An efficient pick-up and drop-off process
• A consistent flow of traffic
• And most of all... the safety of our students.

We have a small parking lot and our systems work very efficiently when we all work together to follow them. We can get most cars out of the parking lot within 5-7 minutes if we are working together.

I also want to share a big thank you to my staff that all come out at the end of the day to help ensure that students are safely transitioned and that we are efficiently helping our students get home. Please review the guidelines below for your once a year review! Thank you to all that put safety first!

To make sure your child is ready to get out as soon as you stop at the curb, make sure...

• Bags are packed
• Coats are on
• Shoes are tied
• Hugs have been given
• Plans for afternoon are clear
• Students know how to unbuckle from their car seat and open/close the PASSENGER SIDE door independently.

We need cars to stay in the right lane until they have unloaded/loaded and it is important to pull as far forward as possible...

• Mr. Thompson or another staff member will be waiving students along to our assigned pick up stations at the front of the building. Please be alert to this and move ahead if your student is being sent to a spot ahead of your vehicle.
• Please do not pull around cars and then move into the right lane. This is the cause of most near collisions and often ends up blocking BOTH lanes.

As soon as you stop AT THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING, students should independently...

• Unload/load...including being able to work the door and car seat buckle independently.
• This shouldn't take more than a few moments.

REMEMBER:

• All students should unload from the PASSENGER SIDE of your vehicle. Almost all of our near misses between vehicles and students are from kids exiting on the driver side near the through traffic lane!
• Students must wait until their pickup car is parked at the front curb and Mr. Thompson or a staff member as assigned them a specific loading number. We cannot have students walking through the parking lot or loading on the side of the building to get into their vehicle.

If your child needs more time or support we ask parents to use a parking spot in front of the school. Adults must walk their child across the parking lot to their cars.

It is very important that we are aware of any transportation changes that occur. If your child is being picked up, when they normally ride the bus or other changes to the normal method, please make sure your child's teacher and the front office is made aware. We also ask that you let us know before noon if there is a change to the schedule for that specific day. We need to hear of any changes from the parent/guardian by NOON in order to notify the appropriate adults. Students can sometimes get confused on changes, so unless we hear from a parent we use the primary method of transportation.

Front Office Secretary: schilli.michelle@westada.org

Classroom Teacher: Lastname.firstname@westada.org

You can now download Traversa App in order to see where your child's bus is on the route. This is a new feature the district has implemented this year. As more information comes out, I will communicate it's many features.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday

Tardy Bell: 9:10am

End of Day: 3:55pm

Late Start Wednesdays

Tardy Bell: 9:25

End of Day: 3:55 pm

Please have students picked up by 4:05. Our office closes at 4:15.

November 5 - No School - Collaboration

November 14 - Picture Retake Day

November 25-29 - No School - Thanksgiving Break

December 20 - End of First Semester

December 23-January 6 - No School - Winter Holiday Break

January 7 - School Resumes

We will once again be collecting box tops for Frontier. Box Tops has moved to a digital way to collect those tops for schools. The process is to download the app, then scan your receipts and all box tops will go to the school you designate. Frontier has always had high participation in this program and we appreciate the continued support.

Below is a link to information regarding our Title I program at Frontier Elementary. Title I is a vital part to our success and it is important for us to be able to share information about this program to our families.

Please join us for monthly PTO meetings.

When: The first Wednesday of every month at 4:15

Where: Frontier’s Library

pto.frontierelementary@gmail.com

We were pleased to see such a wonderful turnout at our last meeting. All parents are welcome.

Email: rutan.katie@westada.org
Website: https://www.westada.org/Domain/17
Location: 11851 Musket Drive, Boise, ID, USA
Phone: (208) 350-4190
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontierfalconssoar