In The Laidlaw Loop

We are SO EXCITED for Wednesday. Our staff is busy, busy making final preparations. There are many timely and important updates in today's In The Laidlaw Loop. Thank you for taking a few minutes to read through them.

See you all, SOON!

Renee

One of the D101 Handbook updates worth a separate call-out and additional information is that of the Personal Electronic Device Policy. Please read THIS detailed message on the policy change.

Additionally, please find the updated D101 Acceptable Use Policy HERE . We will send a hard copy of this policy home with students in Friday Folders on Friday, August 23, which will need to be signed both both the parent and student, and returned to school.

We deeply appreciate your partnership and support of this policy change as we strive to keep our classrooms safe and focused on learning.

Are you interested in learning more about navigating the world of technology usage with your child(ren)? If so, please watch next week for a standalone message containing a Parent-to-Parent Guide on this very timely topic!

This summer, the administrative team spent considerable time updating the Elementary School Handbook. Please do spend some time reviewing some of the important information regarding attendance, academics, behavior/discipline, technology, etc. The handbook can be found via the link above.

As parents, one of the trickiest decisions that we have to make is tied to the question of, “Should I get my child a smart device?”. This question can be fraught because there are so many different variables to take into account, “Are they ready for this?” “Will they be left out because they are the only person without a device?” “How can I keep them safe?” These same questions have been on the minds of parents and school personnel across the district. Last year, parents representing each D101 school teamed up with school administrators to find out what experts recommend when it comes to allowing students to have their own smart devices and engage with social media.

In order to become familiar with what current research indicates, and what best practices exist regarding children and smart devices and social media, our panel brought in guest speakers, engaged in academic reading, and worked together to create a document which could serve as a blueprint for parents to help make an informed decision about what is best for their child. While you will be hearing more specifics about this document at our back to school curriculum meetings, we wanted to share this with you now while you may have some capacity to take it in before you are inundated with back-to-school documents. You'll also receive tidbits from the guide throughout the year in the principal updates.

Huge shout out to the parent representatives from all four of our schools: Christina Mehta, Amanda Luther, Kate Deprosperis, Monique Rucker, Katherine Dubose, Emily Elmore, Amanda Taglia, Carey Spignese, Laura Peck, and Danielle Abbott for partnering with the district to help put this together.

Families should have received class list assignments by now. If your family did not receive this information, please reach out to Renee Epstein.

Join me in welcoming our new staff to Laidlaw:

Mrs. Kathy Stillo, 1st Grade

Ms. Caroline Smith: 5th Grade

Ms. Marion Messino: Laidlaw music teacher

Mr. Luke Skokna: Laidlaw PE teacher

Mrs. Coco O'Shaughnessy: social worker

Ms. Tierra Williams, classroom assistant

Mrs. Tess Lebed, classroom assistant

Mrs. Tara Hunek, classroom assistant

*There will NOT be a school supply drop off event this year prior to school starting. Instead, all school supply boxes will be delivered to your child's classroom at Laidlaw. If you did not order a school supply box through the PTO, please send your child with their school supplies on the first day of school. If your child can not fit all of their supplies into their backpack at once, feel free to bring school supplies over the course of the first few days of school.

*Your student will meet their teacher on the first day of school. All Laidlaw staff will be outside at lineup to greet students that first morning. All Laidlaw staff will be wearing matching "The Laidlaw Way" t-shirts to help students and families easily identify our Laidlaw staff members. Additionally, all classroom teachers will be holding up a sign with their name on it so that families can easily identify where their student should line up.

Please view the arrival and dismissal details below. As we did last year, Maple Ave (between Forest and Hampton) will be closed to traffic at arrival and dismissal times.

For families who drop off on Hampton: There will be dedicated staff members stationed on Hampton Ave to help the car drop off line. Please adhere to the signs and pull all the way up to the designated drop off area near the staff parking entrance on Hampton.

1st Grade Families: Please do not park your car and get out of your car right in front of school. This area must remain clear for our school bus. Should you wish to walk your student up to school and wait with your student, please park several blocks down and walk up to the front entrance with your student. Kindly, do not get out of your car right in front of school.

Bell Schedule

Nothing has changed from last year regarding the bell schedule.

Regular School Hours

8:40 – 11:40 a.m. and 12:30 – 3:30 p.m: Grades 1-5

8:40 – 11:40 a.m :Kindergarten (A.M.)

12:30 – 3:30 p.m.: Kindergarten (P.M.)

Bell Schedule

8:30 a.m.: Bell to line up

8:35 a.m.: Bell to enter school

8:40 a.m.: Tardy Bell

11:40 a.m.:Morning Dismissal Bell/Lunch Bell

12:25 p.m.: Bell to line up and enter school/end of lunch

12:30 p.m.:Tardy Bell

3:30 p.m.:Afternoon Dismissal Bell

I am pleased to share several after school enrichment (optional, paid) opportunities for our Laidlaw students that are run by 3rd party vendors. Here is our fall schedule. Registrations are open. If you have questions about any of our enrichment programming, please reach out to the 3rd party vendors directly. Thank You.

Monday -

1st-3rd graders STEAM Academy (new this year)

4th-5th graders STEAM Academy (new this year)

Musical Theatre

Tuesday-

Art Class

Wednesday-

Sticky Fingers (cooking class)

Thursday-

Art Class

Friday-

Sticky Fingers (cooking class)

Golf (new this year): Elementary Golf School is offering an exciting junior golf program at Laidlaw School, designed to expose golf to juniors of all ability levels. This program is created and taught by PGA Professionals, to include lesson plans that are fun, safe, and educational. Youngsters will be given the opportunity to experiment with playing a variety of different shots. Our program teaches basic fundamentals, with plenty of variation for practicing and playing. We will not only teach the shots, but also the etiquette, behavior and finer points of the rules of the game. Our instructors will be able to adjust the level of complexity to each child’s individual level of progress.

For more information, or to register for the after-school golf program at Laidlaw School, please visit www.elementarygolfschool.com or call (630) 853-6348.

We are still working with First Student to finalize bus routes and times for this school year. Cricket Walker (our building admin assistant) will share that information as soon as it is available. If your child will be new to utilizing the bus this year, please reach out to Cricket Walker at ewalker@d101.org to ensure we can add your child to the list.

All students in 1st-5th grade will eat lunch in the gym and have recess outside (grades will rotate between Laidlaw Park and the blacktop).

11:40:

Grades 1, & 2 eat in the gym

Grades 3, 4 & 5 outside for recess

12:05:

Grades 1 & 2 outside for recess

Grades 3, 4 & 5 eat in the gym

We are so excited to resume lunch in a similar fashion that we did last year. Students who choose to stay at Laidlaw for lunch will eat between 11:40 am-12:25 pm; part of this time will be spent eating in the gym, and part will be spent playing during lunch recess. 1st and 2nd graders will eat first; 3rd, 4th, and 5th will eat second. Families have the choice to have their student(s) come home for lunch (11:40 am-12:25 pm). Students who go home for lunch may not return to school until 12:25 pm. Please CLICK HERE to complete a quick Google Form to let us know your lunch plans. This form will not “lock” you into a permanent choice, as we understand plans may change, but it does give us a starting point for developing accurate lunch attendance records. The safety of your children is always our highest priority. To ensure safety, it is important that there are minimal changes to the lunch schedule once it is set moving forward. Please complete this form by Wednesday, August 14th.

Additionally, are you interested in volunteering for recess duty this year? We greatly appreciate the help. If so please CLICK HERE.

11:40:

Grades 1st and 2nd grade eat in the gym

Grades 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade outside for recess

12:05:

Grades 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade outside for recess

Grades 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade eat in the gym

For all returning families, you likely recall that we implemented some new safety/security procedures at the start of the 2022-23 school year, which continue to remain in place. New and veteran families, please read the following information carefully and we appreciate your partnership in maintaining a safe school environment for everyone.

• Entrances: You will notice clear signage on all external doors indicating that ALL visitors (any person who is not a current Laidlaw student or active staff member with a key) MUST enter and check in through the main office. Even if your child spots YOU knocking on a Laidlaw door, we explicitly teach all students and reinforce with our staff the need to point to the signage, point to the main office, and NOT open any external doors, even for known/trusted adults.

• Staff Identification: All District 101 staff members will wear lanyards, clearly indicating for students, staff, and all that they are registered members of our D101 staff and thus able to enter/exit buildings and supervise students. All visitors (including parent volunteers in classrooms, in the library, etc.) will need to wear our visitor lanyards at all times within the building.

• Visitor Procedures: All visitors will be required to enter through the main office, check in with our Administrative Assistant (Mrs. Walker), and trade their government-issued ID card (Driver’s License) for a “Visitor” lanyard; they will be required to check out again, as well, to return the lanyard and retrieve their ID. This will serve as a visual marker of safety and purpose for any adults not within our D101 staff, so that our students, staff, and community have a clear understanding that any “other” adults are safe and authorized to be within our space.

• Visitor Purpose and Destination: We will also ask that visitors to the building remain only in the spaces for which their entry is authorized, without wandering through the building or entering any additional spaces. This will help all of us understand the purpose, role, and need for our volunteers, and to maintain safe entry/exit procedures for all “other” adults.

Again, we appreciate you following these established procedures as we work to ensure our buildings are as safe as possible.

If your child will need any medication administered at school, please feel free to drop it off anytime during school hours on Monday, August 19, Tuesday, August 20 or during school hours, beginning Wednesday, August 23. We do need a doctor’s order to administer medication at school. If you have any questions about medication drop-off, please contact Amber Knoll, our Laidlaw school nurse. Laidlaw will NOT be hosting a medication and forms drop off event this year prior to the school year starting.

If you would like more information about the Right At School before and after care program, please see the included flyer or visit their website at https://rightatschool.com/.

Please find the 2024-25 calendar HERE

Wednesday, August 21: First Day of School (FULL DAY!)

Friday, August 23: PTO Welcome Back Ice Cream Social (details coming in PTO email)

Thursday, August 29: Curriculum Night/Meet The Teacher (details coming soon)

Monday, September 4: NO SCHOOL--LABOR DAY

Pleasantdale D107 has invited any D101 family to join them for this presentation:

Fall Laidlaw Spirit Wear sale opens Friday, August 9th - order at https://snflrswag.com/collections/laidlaw

Register at https://raceroster.com/events/2024/91220/laidlaw-elementary-school-5k-and-fun-runs?fbclid=IwY2xjawEh_1dleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXEb8ws2TtDMOIyYEATwFdgpClb60O7x_6oO-LIQJBM5OKsQ0DwDhQcCrg_aem_NM0WYU7NSatwFUs1x8HQPA

Stock the Staff Lounge

Let’s fill the Laidlaw lounge with snacks and treats to fuel teachers and staff this fall. Click here for a list of suggested items. Easily order online for delivery direct to The Luthers OR shop & drop off items on their porch at 3845 Lawn Avenue. All items should be delivered by Wednesday, August 14.

Kindergarten Meet Up - Monday August 19, 6:30pm at Laidlaw Park

All incoming K students & families are invited to catch up with old friends and meet new ones before the first day of school.

Please RSVP here.