Welcome Back!

Hello Bobcat Families!

I hope this letter finds you rested and ready for a new school year. We are excited to begin working with your child(ren). Our teachers have been gearing up their classrooms and are excited to start. The changes that have come to Caldwell create opportunities to blend some new students from other buildings, so if you are new to Van Buren (or new to Caldwell School District), welcome!

Parents, you will get a monthly newsletter from me to keep you updated on our night events and activities at VB. Thank you for reading the information that is shared with you.

Here are some things that you need to know to get us started for the year:

1. Meet the Teacher and Class Lists
2. School start and end times
3. Drop off and pick up
4. Double check your child's bus route
5. Early Release Wednesday
6. Van Buren website is being updated
7. School Pictures

We are excited to see all of our families on Monday, August 12 from 5:00-7:00pm. Class lists will be posted on the front doors of the school as you enter. Please find your child's name that will be listed under their teacher and our friendly staff will help you find the classroom.

Knowing your child's teacher is an important piece of information that you will routinely be asked about. So thank you for remembering their name.

We will open its doors to students at 8:30 am. Staff are not on duty until then, and students cannot be dropped off prior to this time. It is a safety risk to have students unsupervised. All students will enter the front door this year and walk past the office to the cafeteria for breakfast, eat and then go outside to play until 8:50. Students line up with their teacher and then come inside to begin learning so please have your child at Van Buren by that time.

Class begins at 8:50 each day and students are tardy if they arrive after 8:55.

School releases at 3:30 each day. 2:00 on Wednesdays.

The west end of our parking lot is assigned for parent pick up. There are 3 moving lines and if you are in those lines, we will send your student to you. We have crosswalk duties that will get them to your car safely.

If you would like to walk up to the building to gather your child(ren) please find a parking spot (see map below).

Buses enter into the east entrance. Thank you for using the middle entrance to VB for pick up.

Please check your bus route. Even if your child has been on the same bus for the past several years, we would ask that you please check the Versatrans website to make sure your little ones are on the correct bus:

https://www.caldwellschools.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=459079&type=d&pREC_ID=2221051

We will continue to have early release on Wednesdays for staff collaboration about student growth and data. School will dismiss at 2:00 every Wednesday. Principal Harding will be sending out text reminders to help us all remember.

Individual Pictures are coming up on September 20. Retakes are November 6. Teachers will help remind you over Class Dojo and we will make schoolwide announcements.