August 2024
Dear Parents and Guardians of William F. Cooke, Jr. Elementary Students,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! We hope that you are enjoying your summer vacation. You and your family are invited to meet your child’s teacher at our Cooke Walkthrough event on August 22nd from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Class lists will be posted in the school lobby that afternoon beginning at 3:30 p.m. Please do not call the school for your child’s classroom assignment. Please note that class lists are a work in progress and will be finalized on 8/22/24.
All car rider families will get an updated car tag assigned (2024-2025) and new car tags will be issued to all incoming Kindergarten families. These will be available to be picked up in our office starting on 8/12 or during our Cooke Walkthrough event. If you have not had a car tag in the past, but need one for this coming year, email Desiree.Nabors@redclay.k12.de.us. All NEW tags must be picked up no later than the first day of school so that everyone is prepared for the school year to begin on 8/26.
This year K-3 students will keep Chromebooks at school, while Grades 4 & 5 will transport theirs to and from home daily. Only parents/guardians of 4th and 5th grade students will need to sign the Technology Usage Agreement and submit payment for the Chromebook Protection Plan Fee in cash ($20) or online at www.paypams.com. This can be completed during our Cooke Walkthrough Night. An upcoming Cardinal Connection, our family newsletter, will have the electronic link to sign the Technology Usage Agreement online. Families are encouraged to bring any supplies from the Elementary School Supply List to this event, rather than having students transport on their first days of school. See the list below.
The Red Clay Nutrition Department is committed to providing access to nutritious, delicious meals to as many students as possible. For this school year, all Red Clay elementary students are able to receive a free school breakfast each and every day school is in session. School lunches will still have a fee of $1.50 per lunch, unless a student qualifies for a free or reduced price meal. To find out if your student(s) could qualify for a free or reduced priced lunch, complete a quick 5-minute application here: https://linqconnect.com.
All students will be issued a lanyard and badge. All students will wear this daily and use this to badge on and off of the bus in the AM and PM and also to get breakfast and lunch. These lanyards and badges will be available to pick up from your child's homeroom at our Cooke Walkthrough event.
For students in Grades 1-5, your child’s first day of school is August 26th. Kindergarten students have a “Split Start”. Kindergarten students with the last names A-L will have their first days on August 26th and 27th (and will not attend on 8/28 & 8/29) and Kindergarten students with last names beginning with M-Z will start on August 28th and 29th (and will not attend on 8/26 & 8/27).
There is no school on Friday, August 30th and Monday, September 2nd in observance of Labor Day, for all students.
Please take note of our school hours:
8:45 a.m. – Car rider drop-off begins
- Please stay in the line along the curb next to the sidewalk.
- Staff members will open car doors.
- Students should exit from the passenger side of your vehicle.
- Use the car line and do not park and walk your child to the sidewalk to ensure everyone’s safety in our busy parking lot.
- You may not pass cars that are still unloading children.
- All cars will stay in line to exit the lot.
- Car riders will have an opportunity to get a “Grab-n-Go” breakfast from their assigned hallway cafe cart.
Bus riders enter the building.
Bus riders will have an opportunity to get a “Grab-n-Go” breakfast from their assigned hallway cafe cart.
9:05 a.m.- Instructional day begins.
Students are considered tardy after 9:05 a.m.
3:45 p.m.- Car rider and bus rider dismissal begins.
- Please follow the lines and remain in your vehicle.
- A staff member will bring your child to you.
- Each family is assigned a car tag number.
- All families must pick up their car tags from our main office prior to the 1st day of school.
- This number must be displayed on the rear-view mirror of your vehicle.
4:00- 4:05 p.m.- Buses depart.
The staff at Cooke maximize the instructional time during the day. We ask that you limit late arrivals and early dismissals. Students are considered late after 9:05 a.m.. While early dismissals are discouraged, the latest time that early dismissals will be honored is 3:00 p.m..
Other items of note:
● Kindergarten teachers will be in the Library to greet Kindergarten students on the first day of school (A-L 8/26 and M-Z on 8/28).
· ALL Kindergarten bus riders and car riders will be guided by a staff member into the building.
● Transportation will send communication before the start of school with transportation information.
● Please note that all early dismissals must take place before 3:00 p.m. and no transportation changes will occur after 3:00 p.m. We encourage you to choose whether your child will be a car rider or a bus rider for the school year and discourage changes except in case of pre-arranged schedules or emergencies.
● Please see the non-mandatory Elementary School Supply List on our website and Facebook page (see below).
● We will keep our Cooke community posted with important information on our Cooke Elementary Facebook page, Twitter (X) account: @CookeCardinal, and through our Cardinal Connection newsletter that is emailed to families. Weekly communication will begin when school starts.
We look forward to meeting all of our students on August 22nd at the Cooke Walkthrough event! It’s going to be a fantastic year!
In Partnership,
Roberta Jacobs
Principal
