Back to School at Steck

Dear Steck Families,

I hope you enjoyed the summer break and had some time to do something fun. My family and I had an awesome summer and made some great memories! We are preparing to send our oldest child to college and our youngest will be a junior in high school this year. Wow - time flies!

I am excited to welcome many new families to Steck this year! We also have some new staff and returning staff in new positions. Mrs. Micheles is an additional Student Services Coordinator for Steck. Mrs. Micheles will be at Steck part time and work closely with Ms. Vande Guchte, myself, and all staff. We are lucky to have incredible people joining us at Steck! You can check out our staff list here.

Steck will communicate with families each week through email. We share important information throughout the year and don't want you to miss anything. In general, we will send email messages on Fridays. Time sensitive information will be sent as needed. Please continue to check your email account and your child’s backpack for important information from school. As a reminder, you are able to receive text messages regarding information from your child’s school and the district. To receive text messages, you must have a designated phone number listed in ParentVUE for SMS messages. Please see the SMS Messaging Setup Instructions.

I’d like to remind you of some important back to school information. It’s a lot to read but I hope you find it helpful.

Upcoming Events:

Thursday, August 15

New-to-Steck Parent/Student Orientation (grades 1-5) click here

Friday, August 16

Kindergarten Lunch with Principal click here

Transportation information posted online @ 7:00 p.m. in ParentVUE

Monday, August 19

Meet the Teacher 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Wednesday, August 21

Kindergarten Classroom Orientation

Thursday, August 22

First day of school 9:05 a.m.-3:35 p.m. ALL GRADES

Kindergarten students will enter through door #7 at the back of the school. Grades 1-5 will find their teacher/class on the blacktop.

Tuesday, August 27

Curriculum Night 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, August 28

First late start Wednesday of the school year. School starts 10 minutes late each Wednesday of the school year. The day ends at the normal time of 3:35 p.m.

I look forward to a fantastic start to the school year. We have so many great opportunities ahead of us this year.

Enjoy the last days of summer!

Sincerely,

Dr. Pohlmann

Principal

Our theme is Eagle Pride.

Our school colors are navy blue and white.

Our four expectations are “I will be respectful, be responsible, be safe, and be ready”. We will focus on these expectations throughout the year.

The Steck website has been updated with information for this school year. Please use our website as a resource to gain valuable information. There you can find the event calendar, handbooks, lunch schedule, academic information, PTA information, the school supply list, and much more.

School hours are 9:05-3:35 Monday through Friday with late start (9:15) on Wednesdays. Doors open at 8:50 Monday through Friday (9:00 on Wednesdays due to late start). It is important for students to be on time and ready to start their school day.

School supply lists can be found on our website (or here). If you ordered a school supply kit from the PTA, we have delivered it to your child's classroom.

If your child qualifies for bus transportation, you can view route information in ParentVUE after 7:00 p.m. on August 16. Directions can be found here for mobile app and here for desktop. Do not assume your child's bus route number or times are the same from previous years. Route numbers and times are redone each summer. The criteria for bus transportation is how far you live from the school. You do not need to sign up for the bus; it is automatic if you are bus eligible.

The first day of school for all grades K-5 is Thursday, August 22. This is a full day (9:05 a.m. - 3:35 p.m.). All classes in grades 1-5 will meet behind the school. Look for your child's teacher's sign.

Kindergarten students will meet in the MPR. Parents can drop off kindergarten students at door #7. Students that ride a school bus in the morning will be escorted to the back of the school to find their teacher. Staff will be outside starting at 8:50 and will lead classes into the school at 9:05. Students in grades K and 1 are required to wear their name necklace provided at Meet the Teacher or Kindergarten Orientation.

Click here to view a video Steck Staff put together on how to help us out with morning drop off procedures.

Meet the Teacher is August 19 from 8:30-9:30 a.m.! This event will allow for a quick drop off of school supplies and a chance to meet the teacher. Due to our summer floor replacement project, Meet the Teacher will be outdoors this year. Students and families can meet the teacher outside and are welcome to drop off supplies inside the building near the classroom. Supplies can be dropped off at Meet the Teacher or on the first day of school - whatever works best for you. Classrooms will be closed on Meet the Teacher. Individual supplies do not need to be labeled for Meet the Teacher since classes will take care of labeling and sorting in our first days of school. If you cannot attend Meet the Teacher, your child should bring supplies on the first day of school. If you ordered a school supply kit from the Steck PTA, it will be in your child's classroom at Meet the Teacher. Please note that this date is the first day back to school for teachers. We will have teacher meetings immediately following Meet the Teacher so it will end promptly at 9:30 a.m.

Check out this map for grade level locations. Please note these door numbers which will be open at Meet the Teacher (door # 1, 4, 5, and 6).

Click here for the event calendar for the school year. This is also posted on our website. Sometimes event dates or times change. If event details change, I will update you through email and update this calendar.

The lunch and recess schedule is here. This is also posted on our website. If your child brings lunch from home, please include silverware, napkin, etc. We do not supply this for home lunch. Home lunch should be brought to school in the morning and not delivered at lunch time.

Students have the option to bring lunch from home or purchase lunch at school. We do not accept lunch deliveries from outside vendors or planned home lunch deliveries during the school day. UberEats, DoorDash, etc., fast food/restaurant drop off by parent/adult, and planned lunch delivery from home are not accepted. If a child forgets to bring a lunch, s/he will be offered a meal from our hot lunch menu. It's always helpful for students to know which food from home is for lunch and which food is for snack. You can read more about the district's food service on their website (click here). You can find meal menus on this site or on the IPSD app on your phone. For the safety and security of our school, we do not allow visitors in the lunchroom. Teachers will share information with families at the start of the year about snacks. Snacks are optional and provided by the home; the school does not provide snacks. Water bottles with water can be brought to school and kept in the classroom. Other drinks should be left at home (excluding lunch time).

In consultation with District Safety & Security Personnel, we have developed the updated procedures summarized below:

·You do not need to email the teacher about dropping off a forgotten item. This interrupts teaching and learning.

·Students are expected to bring lunch with them in the morning or order hot lunch. If your child forgets their lunch, it must be brought to school before 11:00. If a student doesn’t have a lunch by 11:00, they will select a hot lunch.

·Forgotten items may be dropped off on the cart outside of door #1. Parents do not need to ring the bell. Items should be clearly marked with name and class using the provided materials. Items will be retrieved by staff from the cart throughout the morning.

·Please note, we do not interrupt class for forgotten items. Lunches will go to the lunchroom. Other items will be picked up as time allows.

·“Forgotten Item” drop-off ends at 11:00.

Cell phones and smart watches are to be turned off and stored in backpacks during the school day. Teachers will remind students of this expectation as needed.

We show our school pride on Fridays by wearing school colors or Steck wear. T-Shirt and sweatshirt orders are due August 30. Order forms and payment (cash or check) should be sent to the school office. An order form will be sent home in backpack mail the first week of school.