The big day is almost here! Your child will be a Kindergartener in the blink of an eye! We cannot wait to meet you all!!! Teacher Assignments will be emailed the week of August 7th, so keep an eye on your email that is listed in skyward to find out who your child’s teacher is 😊 Once you get this email, you will be able to use the information in it to schedule your first day of school visit via Skyward. All info for doing this is listed below.

Dear Families,

Please plan to join us for Kindergarten School Bus Orientation Day on Wednesday, August 9th, 2023! The first day on the bus can be a scary day for a kindergarten child. We hope to reduce any anxiety you or your child may be experiencing by offering this practice bus ride. By participating, each parent and child will have the opportunity to meet your child’s bus driver prior to the official start of school.

Please note:

● The separate letter in this mailing includes transportation information for your child(ren). In that letter you will find their bus number, bus stop, and the time that the bus will pick them up and drop them off on a regular school day.

● For our Kindergarten Bus Orientation, please stand at the bus stop with your child at 9:00 a.m. You may need to wait 15-20 minutes until the bus arrives at your stop on this date. (Please note: Your child will catch the bus at a different time during the regular school year, and that information is on the other letter in this mailing.)

● Parents, guardians, and grandparents are invited to ride the bus along with their kindergarten child. Each child may have no more than 2 adults accompany them on the bus. Please note that other siblings are NOT invited on this day.

● When you arrive at your school, the driver will stop the bus and give a brief talk on bus safety. No one will be exiting the bus at school on this day.

● The drivers will then return you to your child’s bus stop.

● If you have any questions, please contact the Transportation Dept. at 947-2413.

This orientation day is designed for the kindergarten parents to establish an understanding of the bus service that your child will experience on the first day of school. Please be at the bus stop at 9:00 a.m. ready for your ride!

Sincerely,

Mathew McKee

Director of Transportation

We are looking forward to beginning our school year on Wednesday, August 16th. We have planned out a first day that will enable our parents and students to meet their teachers and see their classroom. These are short visits within the classroom with your teacher and a limited number of other students with their parents. It is not necessary to arrive more than 5 minutes early for your time. The rest of the day will take place at home. Please complete the eLearning Activity Board. All squares are required as attendance. The eLearning segment of our day will help parents and students prepare everyone for a successful school year!

~ Students and parents will attend first day of school together. Your meet the teachers portion of the day will be 1 hour. You can bring all their supplies in together.

~After your meet the teacher session, students and parents will go on a scavenger hunt around the school to explore and meet more staff and find all the important places together. This will also be a time you can sign all mandatory forms, sign up to volunteer (so bring your ID), and get their school picture taken. Allow at least 1 additional hour to get all these things done.

After you receive the email of your child's teacher assignment email, please follow the steps below to prepare for the 1st day of school.

1. Login to Skyward using your parent login to schedule your 1 hour session. (There will be up to 5 students with up tp 2 parents each per session) Please make sure to complete by MONDAY August 14th.
2. To select your 1 hour session with your child's teacher, please follow these directions:

a. Login to Skyward using your username and password (not your child's) Note: Choose Family Access

b. Click on "conferences" tab to the left

c. Click on "all conferences" in the middle of the page

d. Click on "select time" Make sure you click a slot in HOMEROOM only.

e. Choose from the slots available. It should email you a confirmation.

3. On the first day of school, you will have an assignment to complete. View the eLearning Activity Board to complete at home on Wednesday, August 16th. Be on the lookout for more

directions from your teacher.

We look forward to meeting you and your child on the first day of school! We have an exciting school year ahead. If you have any questions, please free to call the main office at 942-7263.

~After you leave the ELC together, your child will complete the elearning portion of the day from home.

Woo-Hoo! We made it through the first day of K! Here are some things to talk about and be ready for the remainder of the year!

Talk to your child about if they will be eating breakfast at school. If your child is eating breakfast at school, please make sure their teacher is aware and it will be noted on their transportation tag. Breakfast is available to both bus and car riders every morning.

You all received 2 purple signs from your child's teacher. These MUST be presented both at the bus stop to the bus driver and at car rider pickup to get your child from school. Another great option to having the purple sign in your passenger side window in your car is to grab a pant hanger and hang it from your rearview mirror when driving up to pick up your child. These signs need to remain up and visible from when you enter the parking lot until you leave the parking lot. If you do not have your purple sign when picking up in the car rider line, you will be asked to park and come into the office with your ID to get your child. They will then be released to you after all other car riders are dismissed. Walkers will be dismissed from Door 2 after all car riders have been picked up. You do need your purple sign with you everyday to have your child dismissed to you. Walkers usually get dismissed around 3:20 once the car rider line is completed.

LATE START WEDNESDAYS! The first day of school is Wednesday August 16th. This WILL NOT be a Late Start Wednesday. Starting the following week on Wednesday August 23rd and EVERY Wednesday there after, School City of Hobart schools all have a late start. Below you will see this as well as all planned breaks and elearning days on the district calendar.

As we start school it is important for the safety of our children to be aware of our school buses.

The stop arm and blinking lights mean “STOP”. To disregard the stop arm is a misdemeanor and mandatory court appearance. The Hobart Police Department has shared that law allows the police to use the bus driver’s observations to issue a citation to the registered owner of the vehicle.

Our ultimate goal is a safe commute for children to and from school.

Parents or family members must be present at bus stop with their purple sign to get their kindergartner off the bus. Our transportation department uses the Here Comes the Bus app to communicate bus arrival times at bus stops. Please understand it is not unusual for our buses to run late the first couple weeks of school as students are getting to know their procedures. Thank you for your patience.

If your child isn't feeling well, please keep him or her at home. You must report the absence IN SKYWARD before 10:00AM. There is no need to call the school to let us know. If there are any questions about the absence, we will reach out to you.

The ELC strives to keep our parents and families informed about the events and happenings at our school. You can visit our webpage at https://www.hobart.k12.in.us/elc to find information about the ELC.

Make sure to follow along in your child's teacher's Facebook page if they have one to know the things going on in their classroom. We also keep our school Facebook page updated with current events for the whole school. Remember to like The Early Learning Center on Facebook to see snapshots of our day and find information.

We don't typically respond to comments and questions made directly on our Facebook pages. Please contact the office directly at 219-942-7263 for the most accurate information.

Our school will continue to send out newsletters through Skyward on a regular basis.

Email: sgutierrez@hobart.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.hobart.k12.in.us/elc
Location: 400 North Wilson Street, Hobart, IN, USA
Phone: 219-942-7263
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hobart.k12.in.us