LABS LATELY FAMILY NEWSLETTER
August 18, 2024-Back to School-2024-2025
Welcome to the 24-25 School Year
We encourage you to join us in this exciting journey. Your involvement and support are crucial to your child's success, and we look forward to working together to make this year unforgettable. Together, we will inspire our students to achieve their personal best, celebrate their successes, and prepare them for a bright future.
Thank you for entrusting us with your child’s education. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!
Regards,
Danielle Clark
Principal
Kristy Smith
Assistant Principal
📖 🖊 👦🏽 👩🏻🏫
🔗 "One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world."
A DATE Change Necessary for Meet Your Teacher!
The Meet the Teacher Event for 1st-5th Graders is changed from Thursday, August 22nd to Monday, August 26th from 2-4pm due to the construction on Holly Springs Road and the closure to the school’s entrance. Construction crews are working diligently to complete the sidewalks and gutters surrounding our entrance. However, we are unable to predict the weather, supply chains, and work schedules. Therefore, we are going to change the date of our Meet the Teacher event to the following week to ensure the completion of the project. In addition, the middle school is having their Meet the Teacher and we hope this change will avoid parking congestion. There will be construction throughout the year as the widening project of Holly Springs Road continues. We will keep you updated as we learn of new developments to this project and how they affect our school community.
Please come according to the letter of your last name.
A-K: 2:00-2:45
L-Z: 3:15-4:00
PTA General Meeting: 2:45-3:15 in the gymnasium. Come and support our PTA!
NEW DATE - Meet The Teacher for 1st-5th Graders - Monday, August 26th from 2-4pm
Students will be able to bring school supplies to their classroom during meet the teacher. Transportation information, School Nurse, PTA Membership, Tennis Club Sign-Up, YMCA Before/After School Care Program, Carpool Tag Numbers, and School Spirit Wear will be available to families during Meet the Teacher.
Entrance Closed
Since our entrance is closed, we need to plan ahead and decided that due to this, we needed to move Meet the Teacher.
Mrs. Clark & Mrs. Smith Having a Little Summer Fun!
Our entrance is closed.
Use the Middle School Loop
Construction crews are working diligently and hope that the parking lot will be finished soon!
Teacher Assignment Example
An email will be sent to families on August 19th with class assignments.Your email announcement will contain this graphic.
Yearly teacher allotments are based on the number of students who show up within the first twenty days of school. It is important to know that we may need to change class assignments after the twentieth day of school due to increased or decreased student enrollment. Please note that enrollment changes will be the only reason for any change in a student’s classroom assignments.**
Teacher Assignment Notification Information for ALL 1st-5th Students
EMAILS will be sent to all parent/guardian contacts listed in Powerschools on MONDAY, AUGUST 19th by 4:30pm announcing your teacher/classroom placement for 2024-25! Your email announcement will contain the graphic below.
Please note that Kindergarten students will not receive teacher assignments. Teachers will use the staggered entry week to assess and we will finalize the teacher assignment prior to Meet the Teacher for Kindergarten on September 3, 2024 from 12:00-1:00pm. You will receive an email on Friday, August 30, 2024 by the close of the school workday (4:30) with your child’s teacher assignment.
All Things Kindergarten
Kindergarten Orientation: If you have a rising Kindergarten student and missed our Kindergarten Orientation, the slides and information is found HERE.
Kindergarten Meet the Teacher-Kindergarten Meet the teacher will be Tuesday, September 3, 2024 from 12:00-1:00pm.
Important Back to School Information
School Hours: Holly Ridge Elementary instructional school hours are 9:15 am to 3:45 pm. You may drop your child off as early as 8:45 am. The tardy bell rings at 9:15 am, and our instructional day begins promptly. If you arrive after the 9:15 am bell, please walk your student to the main entrance and sign your child in at the office. Vehicle drop-offs should only take place in our carpool loop.
Checking Children Out Early: If you need to pick your child up early for an appointment, please check them out before 3:15 pm. The end of the day is a very busy time for us, so it is important that we take care of early check-outs before 3:15 pm. We cannot check out any students from the office after this time. Please keep in mind that the middle school dismisses at 3:00 so plan accordingly as their carpool utilizes the Elementary parking lot.
Attendance at School
Your child’s educational achievement is directly related to his/her attendance in school. When your child must be absent, please send written communication into school within 2 days of their return in order for the absence to be excused. If we do not receive communication from you about the absence, it will be unexcused. Please refer to the WCPSS Student/Parent Handbook for a list of excused absence reasons. If you need to pick up your child early, please send a note to your child’s teacher that morning. To be considered present at school, students must be in attendance at least one-half of the school day. Half day is 12:30 PM.
2024-2025 Carpool Registration
All families will register to receive a NEW carpool tag this year. Old tags will NOT be used. You will be asked to have photo identification with you if a carpool tag is NOT displayed, slowing the flow of carpool. Please plan accordingly and register for a tag even if you plan to only pick your child up one time this year.
2024-2025 Walker Registration
Click below to register as a walker for the 24-25 school year.
Medication
Please remember that the school must have a completed 1702 Physician’s Order Form, signed by the doctor and parent on file to administer any type of medication. This form must be renewed each school year. We cannot sign in or dispense medications without an updated form. All medications must be accompanied by this form and signed in at the front office by a parent or designated adult prior to any medications being administered. Students may not transport any medication to and from school.
School Meals
View the breakfast & lunch menus here. Please note that menus are subject to change based on the availability of items. Download the “MealViewer To Go” app for convenient mobile access.
School Meal Prices
The Board approved a 25-cent price increase for school meals for the 2024-25 school year. At elementary schools, full-paid breakfast will be $1.75 and lunch will be $3.50. At middle and high schools, full-paid breakfast will be $2.00 and lunch will be $3.75. The price increase is necessary to cover rising costs of food, supplies, and wages and benefits for staff. Learn more.
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
To receive free or reduced-price meals for the 2024-25 school year, families must submit a meal benefits application online at MySchoolApps.com. For families who completed the 2023-24 meal benefits application, the benefit continues for your student's first 30 school days of the 2024-25 school year, but to receive benefits families must apply each year. For every student who turns in the free and reduced lunch application and qualifies, the school receives federal funds that benefit the students and teachers at the school.
Volunteer Process
Parents, guardians, and family members interested in serving as a school volunteer must complete the Wake County Volunteer Registration process through the new MyVolunteer system before serving in this capacity. You may register at home or online at any Wake County Public School and must re-register for this school year.
- On the MyVolunteer site, you will find disclosure and authorization forms, the WCPSS Volunteer Agreement, as well as a summary of rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You must review these documents and provide the requested information.
- Make sure you include your name and contact information when you begin the registration process. If you leave the CRC background site before completing your contact information, you will have to begin the process again.
- You must include your social security number to register to volunteer. If you do not have a social security number, please contact volunteers@wcpss.net or call 919-694-8233.
- You will be notified by the MyVolunteer system if you are approved to volunteer.
Click the link below to start your volunteer registration:
https://myvolunteer.com/wcpss/volunteer/login
For technical support, contact the CRC Customer Care Group at 877-272-0266 ext. 0 or customercare@mycrc.com.
Bus Notification
Starting this school year, parents of students who ride the bus now can receive up-to-the-minute notifications via text and/or email when their child’s bus is delayed. The system has been piloted in a number of schools this spring and has worked well, saving staff time and providing parents information quickly. To receive the notification messages, parents will need to make sure they have given permission to receive text and/or email notifications via SchoolMessenger. Text Message
If you have opted out and want to receive text messages, simply text YES to the number 67587.
Bus delays also can be viewed by clicking on the Live Bus Updates link on an individual school’s transportation page, or by visiting wcpss.net/busupdates. Parents also can still track their child’s bus using the Here Comes the Bus app. Learn more.
Please check out the following!
School Resource Contact Information
Office-919-577-1300
Fax-919-670-361
School Website: www.wcpss.net/hollyridgees
Principal: Danielle Clark, dclark2@wcpss.net
Assistant Principal: Kristy Smith, ksmith17@wcpss.net
School Secretary/Bookkeeper: Gracia Gartland, ggartland@wcpss.net
Front Office Receptionist: Stacy Waldron, swaldron@wcpss.net
Data Manager/ Attendance: Teresa Gomez, tgomez@wcpss.net