Christensen Elementary School
Attendance Email: christensen@fpschools.org
Email: christensen@fpschools.org
Website: christensen.fpschools.org
Location: 10232 Barnes Lane South, Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone: 253-298-3300
August 24 ~ Back-to-School Ice Cream Social @ 4:00-5:30pm
August 29 ~ FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! (1st - 5th grade)
August 30 ~ Full Day of School ~ 3:25pm Dismissal
Sept. 1 & 4 ~ NO SCHOOL ~ Labor Day Holiday
Sept. 5 ~ First Day of Kindergarten
Sept. 6 ~ Early Dismissal @ 1:55pm
Sept. 13 ~ Early Dismissal @ 1:55pm
Sept. 18 ~ Picture Day
Sept. 20 ~ Early Dismissal @ 1:55pm
Sept. 27 ~ Early Dismissal @ 1:55pm
Ged the Franklin Pierce Schools 23-24 Calendar in your language!
Happy New Year, Christensen Community!
We are excited to welcome our school community back for the 2023 - 2024 school year. Our annual back to school Ice Cream Social is on Thursday, August 24th from 4:00 - 5:30pm. We hope you will be able to come by school to meet your teachers, drop off any school supplies and enjoy an ice cream as we get excited to begin the new year. We will provide all general school supplies so there is no supply list that you need to go out and purchase. Your teacher will have these supplies available in your classroom all year.
We have some new educators joining our school team this year. Mrs. Dayna Hughes is our new Assistant Principal. We have new classroom teachers including Ms. Powell (third grade), Ms. Avary (fourth Grade) and Mr. Kelleher (fifth grade). We are also excited to welcome Mr. Battey and Mr. Orr to our specialist and student support team as well this year. And Angelic Pinero is coming to Christensen from Keithley to be our school nurse.
Thank you to our families that completed the spring survey in May last year. The information from that survey helps to make sure we are serving our school community and engaging you in the work of educating our students. Your participation in that survey told us that our parents feel a strong sense of belonging to the school community here at Christensen. We are looking forward to continuing these connections this coming year.
Student, family, and staff belonging is a focus as we enter this coming school year. Your child’s teacher will make this a focus starting day one. The entire staff will continue to make students and family belonging central to our work educating our students.
School starts on Tuesday, August 29th. We have changes to our student routines that you will want to be aware of. Each morning as students arrive, they may pick up breakfast in our school gym and take it to class to eat. All students should arrive and enter each day at the front of campus on Barnes Lane either by bus or parent drop off in our drop off lane. We have limited spots for parking and prefer that parents drop off with the adults in our drop off area starting at 8:40. We do not have supervision before 8:40 and ask that students do not arrive on campus before 8:40 each day. At the end of the day, we welcome parents picking up to walk to their child’s classroom starting now at 3:20. All family members coming to pick up should wait in the front of the school until the 3:20 bell rings before going to the classroom.
Finally, we are looking for parents interested in supporting their children and our school through our Parent Teacher Association. If you are interested in serving on our PTA this year, please contact me and I will answer your questions and connect you with other parents ready to engage in the important work our PTA does to make your child’s school the best it can be.
I am looking forward to making this the happiest of new years for your child and the entire Christensen Community!
Your principal,
Dr. Tim Enfield
Hello Christensen Elementary School families. We are excited to welcome you back to the new school year with our annual Ice Cream Social on Thursday, August 24 starting at 4:00. You can stop by anytime between 4:00 and 5:30pm to visit your child’s classroom and meet their teacher. All school supplies will again be provided by the Franklin Pierce School District. We will have information about volunteering and supporting our PTA. And of course, ice cream for everyone handed out by our new assistant principal, Mrs. Dayna Hughes.
Happy New Year!
Dr. Tim Enfield
Principal
When: Thursday, August 24th - 4:00 to 5:30pm
Where: Christensen Elementary
From the Health Room
Our goal is to keep healthy children learning in the classroom and to get ill children home. Our health-room is staffed daily by an LPN to provide first-aid to students who become ill or injured at school. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure their child does not have symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, and/or vomiting. before sending them to school. If your student has any of the above symptoms, please keep them home. If a student becomes ill at school, the parent or another emergency contact will be called to pick them up.
We will give medications prescribed by state approved medical providers. We must have a new medication order signed by your provider each school year. The state allows for students to be administered only oral medications at school (including inhalers). The two exceptions in this law are for insulin and epi-pen use. The school is unable to give your student ear drops, eye drops, or apply lotions or ointments. All medications, even over-the-counter products such as pain relievers and cough drops, require an order from an approved medical provider.
Please do not send medication to school with your child, as it is illegal for them to carry it on school grounds. Parents must deliver medications to the school.
If you have any questions, please contact Nurse Angelic at 253-298-3308.
Bus Procedures
Bus Information
To learn more about your child's bus route including pickup and drop off times, please visit E-Link and use the following login information:
Username: guest
Password: guest
Please be patient during the first days of school. The buses may be running late. We have a very helpful transportation department, so if you have any questions or issues about something that happened on the bus, at the bus stop, or regarding a late bus, please call the Transportation office directly at 253-298-3865.
Sign up for Bus Bulletin for timely bus notifications: www.busbulletin.com/parents
If you wish your child to ride a bus other than his or her normal bus or to get off at a different bus stop, you must send a note with the bus numbers and different stop listed. The same holds true if you want your child to walk rather than ride the bus. Sending a note with your request will cut down on the amount of phone calls our busy office receives each day. Without a note or phone call, we will not allow students to walk or change their regular bus or bus stop.
Please be aware that any bus-riding kindergarten student that is not met at the bus stop after school will be returned to Christensen for parent pick-up. It is very important to meet your students at the bus stop on time!
Student Drop-off and Pick-Up
Student safety is important to us here at Christensen. Here are some reminders we need all families to follow when dropping off and picking up students.
Drop-Off
Students can be dropped off after 8:40 each day using our drop off lane in the front of the school. You will see the cones and signs outlining the area for drop off each morning.
All students wanting to eat breakfast will pick up their breakfast by going through the gym as they enter campus each morning. They will bring their breakfast to class to eat.
Pick-Up
Pick up by car can happen after all the buses have pulled out. As you pull into the crescent in front of the school a staff member will call for your student to come out from the gym and get into your car with you. Cars must wait until all buses have left for the day.
Parents can go to their child’s classroom door at 3:20 this year. This makes sure that teachers have time to finish lessons and instructions with all students before dismissing students. If you need to pick them up earlier, please come to the office and we will call them up.
We ask that you wait in front of the school until the 3:20 bell rings before going to the classroom each day.
Please be sure that any family and friends picking up your child are listed on their school file. Any change in pick up routine must be communicated with the office before noon each day.
Please contact our school office with any questions. 253-298-3300
We are happy to have Quality School Portraits do our school pictures this year! Picture day is scheduled for Monday, September 18th. Your child will bring home a picture order envelope during the first few days of school. Please look it over carefully and select the picture package you would like to order. You may pay for your order with cash (must have the exact amount - the school and the photographer are not able to make change) or a check enclosed in the envelope, or you may pre-order online with a credit card at www.qualityschoolportraits.com and follow the instructions there. Use the code CHRI. QSP asks that students do not wear green on picture day! If your child misses picture day, we will have a retake day on November 6th so your child will be included in the yearbook.
Franklin Pierce Schools offers free lunch and breakfast to all students.
FPS provides meal alternatives for students with medical needs. Please contact your school nurse to obtain the necessary form. We will work with kitchen staff to make sure your student has a nutritious meal each day that is safe for them to eat.
Franklin Pierce Schools has a resource center for our families. You will find information and help for all sorts of situations and needs - food, diapers, formula, community referrals, and more. Click here to access the Family Resource Center website.
Children ages 3-5 who reside within the Franklin Pierce School District are eligible for free developmental screening. Hearing, vision, kindergarten readiness, speech and language, motor skills, and behavior are checked. Screenings take place regularly. See their web page here. To schedule an appointment, call the Early Learning Center Child Find hotline at 253-298-4658.
Christensen hosts a before and after school care program on-site for our students. The care is provided by Right at School. Right at School provides a safe environment to learn, to play, and to grow. Click here for more information and to register.