Hello Trailside Families!

The school year is officially off to a strong start. A special thank you to Trailside Families for ensuring an efficient yet safe arrival and dismissal process. Not parking and leaving your car in the pickup lane and driving slow help dismissal flow nicely. Thank you!

As we move into September, I want to stress the importance of your child reading every day. You can help your child at home by having them read aloud to you or a sibling or having them summarize a story to you after they've read it. In elementary years, the more exposure your child has to new and repeated words, the faster they will retain them and build their vocabulary.

Finally, having your child attend school every day on time also supports academic and social success! Even missing 5 minutes of Reading or Math in the morning adds up to 25 mins/week or 100 mins/month or lost instruction.

Thank you Trailside Families for your continued support and teamwork!

Similar to last school year, if needed, parents will still be able to drop off students at 8AM. Students who arrive at this time should bring a book to read. Students who also need a school breakfast will still have this opportunity as well.

The "Stay Put" exercise is a safety protocol that helps maximize safety at school. It simply tells teachers and students to stay in the classroom. For example, if an adult or student slipped on a wet floor outside the bathroom right before lunch, rather than have multiple classes walk by that person while they are receiving help, we would utilize a "Stay Put" and have everyone stay in their classrooms until the event was over. These exercises are typically very short and cause little to no disruption to the school day. There are many other scenarios where a "Stay Put" could be used.

As you probably know, Trailside has welcomed the incredible Lifeskills program. We have 3 Lifeskills classrooms each with one teacher and multiple paraprofessionals for support. The students in these classrooms are amazing. Trailside staff have been having important proactive conversations with students if and when they hear big emotions from the hallway and a "Stay Put" is called. As Mrs. Locke, 1st Grade teacher, wrote in her book, "Don't be scared, be prepared".

Families interested in applying for free/reduced lunch can apply here:

https://www.asdk12.org/Page/13248

As our secure entryway is nearing completion, all adults entering the building during dropoff or an early pickup will be required to sign into the office.

Students are expected to walk to their classrooms in line with their teachers, by themselves (age appropriate) or escorted by a school staff member.

Thank you for your support in keeping Trailside safe for children.

One of our school initiatives is to promote positive student behavior. The Timberwolf Award is designed to do just that and is aligned to our building guidelines for success "PAWS". Students will be acknowledged for their awesome work and behavior. The bottom portion will be turned into the office and the top portion goes home for families.

If your child is going into Kindergarten this year, please plan on participating in Kindergarten Academy

Monday, August 19th, 9:30-11:30 a.m

Tuesday, August 20th, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Starting Thursday, Aug. 15, students can arrive at school for breakfast from 7:35-7:55am.

PLC Monday breakfast service is pushed 1 hour later, from 8:35-8:55am.

More information about meals and prices can be found here:

https://www.asdk12.org/Page/19907

Please call the office when excusing your student due to sickness, or pre-arranged absence (Travel, Etc.)

When leaving messages for the office, please make sure to leave the student's first and last name.

Please also leave a good contact name and number we can reach you at if we have questions regarding the message.

907-742-5500

Please click the link for this month's counselor's message:

https://secure.smore.com/n/jwzq2

Hello! Welcome to the start of the school year!

The kids call me “Nurse Donna” and I am happy to be a positive part of your child’s educational journey.

The purpose of the school nurse is to help all students be healthy, safe and ready to learn.

Please contact me ASAP if your child has any allergies or health concerns so that we may help keep them safe at school. Per ASD, NO medications are permitted in school or on students without approval from the school nurse, signed parent consent, AND written authorization from the prescribing medical authority.

While in school and on a consistent routine is best for the social and emotional wellbeing of children, sometimes staying home is best. To help make this decision, please refer to ASD’s guidance on “When to Keep Your Child Home from School” which can be found here: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/6622

Per state law, routine school health screenings are done annually by the school nurse for vision, hearing and height/weight measurement. If any concerns with screenings are detected, the school nurse will contact parent/guardian for further evaluation. If you do not want your child screened, please inform the school nurse in writing.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concerns or comments regarding your child’s physical, mental and/or emotional wellbeing and readiness for school; it is my job to work with you to help ensure your child feels safe, accepted and is ready to learn in the classroom.

While parents/guardians are welcome to call or stop in anytime, please know during the school day I am usually busy assisting students, therefore the best way to reach me is by email at wilson_donna@asdk12.org and I will usually respond to your email within 24 hours.

All parents, please check your parent connection and make sure all of your contact information is correct.

Please notify the office of any of the following changes:

• Custody/Legal Documents (as soon as possible)
• Address Changes
• Phone number updates
• If you are moving, please notify the office as soon as possible.

Please make sure when using Q Parent Connection to excuse your student, it has to be done in the system prior to 8:30 am. If not, you will get a Robo-Call from the district notifying you that your student was absent for the day. Please call the office if it is after 9:30 am and the office staff will get your student excused.

If you are traveling please contact the office so we can get your student excused, you will then see a "P" (Travel status and other pre-arranged absences) in Q- Parent Connection instead of "E" (Excused).

Make a difference at Trailside: Join the PTA!

Make a difference in your child's education & our school community!

Sign up now! Trailsidepta.givebacks.com/store (added bonus – sign up before Sept. 1 and be entered to win some cool Trailside swag!)

Afterschool Activities (ASA)

The Trailside PTA puts on a wide variety of ASA for our students throughout the year. Bookmark trailside.myptezcentral.com to reserve your spot! Have a fun skill or hobby and interested in heading up an ASA? Contact ASA Chair Lia Slemons at trailsideactivities@gmail.com.

First PTA meeting of the year
The first PTA Membership meeting of the year will be in mid-September. Exact date and time to come soon! Please join us to review and approve the budget for the upcoming school year and learn more about the opportunities for student enrichment and family engagement we are planning for the year. Questions or want to get involved? Contact TrailsidePTAPresident@gmail.com.

Yearbook cover contest:

Enter in our yearbook art contest! Two winners will be selected to be displayed on the front & back cover. All entries must include: the words "Trailside Timberwolves" the date "2024-2025" have the student's full name and teacher written in pencil on the back of the artwork Submit art on 8.5X11 sheet of white paper AND be in vertical orientation

Submit your photos for the yearbook!

Email photos to trailsideyearbook24@gmail.com Pictures must be taken at school events, activities, or in the classroom setting.

School picture day is Sept. 17, and we need a few parents to help. Signup at https://signup.com/go/pghdrpw

The 24/25 PTA Board

President: Fiona Brosnan
VP1: Carol Stratton
VP2: Grace Stout
Treasurer: Rachel Huisman
Secretary: Almut Tropp
Member at Large: Deanna Fossler
Afterschool Activities Chair: Lia Slemons