Mohegan Update 8/30
August 30, 2024
Wow, what a great opening week! It has been wonderful seeing so many smiling faces in the classrooms. The students seem excited to be back in school with their friends. I know the teachers are thrilled to start a new year with unlimited potential. Remember there is no school on Monday in observance of Labor Day.
I want to thank the PTO for all their support during opening week. Between Chalk the Walk, the Kindergarten Playdate, the first day of school signs and balloons, the staff lunch and cupcakes, and the popcorn for kids, it has been a very busy week. Thank you for all that you do.
BUS ROUTES
Bus routes are beginning to become more routine. Thank you again for your patience.
CHANGES TO DISMISSAL
Please be sure to send in a note or call the school to notify us of any changes in dismissal. Please do not email the teachers during the day as they are busy teaching and they may not check their emails. A phone call will always result in confirmation from an adult.
LATE ARRIVALS
Parent drop off ends at 9:00am. Any child arriving to school after 9:00am MUST be accompanied by an adult and buzz-in at the main doors. A staff member will assist in signing your child in.
PICK UP AND DROP OFF ROUTINES
As a reminder, Pre-K begins on Tuesday. Therefore, there will be more cars entering and exiting the pick up and drop off lines in the morning and the afternoon. Please be aware that K-4 and Pre-K drop offs have different routines. For safety purposes, please do not pass cars as they are loading and unloading students.
PRE-K PROCEDURES
Our Pre-K Program will start on Tuesday. All AM Pre-K parents will park their car near the Media Center entrance in the back of the building and walk their child to the door. Parents will then re-enter the K-4 drop off line. Please do not pass cars as they are loading and unloading students. If parents are picking up their children from the AM program, they will follow the white line and loop around to the cafeteria doors. Again, please do not pass cars as they are loading and unloading students.
If you are in the Pm pre-K program, you will follow the white line and loop around to the cafeteria doors. You will bring your child to the door and meet the teacher. Please do not pass cars as they are loading and unloading students. If you are picking up from the PM Pre-K program, you will follow straight at the basketball hoop (do not use the white lined loop) and park near the Media Center door. Once you get your child, you will merge into the K-4 line and exit the school driveway. Please do not pass cars as they are loading and unloading students.
EARLY PICK UP
If an emergency occurs and you must pick up your child early, please pick up your child by 3:30 at the front entrance. Anyone picking up a child MUST show an ID. If you try to pick up your child after 3:30, we will ask you go around to the pick up line which will start at 3:45.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is very important and we ask that if you are planning a family vacation that you utilize your school calendar when planning your trip. Work will not be handed out ahead of time for family vacations. Work will be completed when the child returns to school. Parents can excuse up to 9 absences themselves. Any absences beyond 9 must be approved by a medical professional (Doctor, PA, Dentist, etc).
DISTRICT CALENDAR
The district calendar is on the district website under the District Info tab. Please use this calendar as you plan your year. We ask that families coordinate their family vacations around the school calendar so students do not miss school and fall behind. A link to the calendar is also here.
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH
Shelton Public Schools are returning to its regular food service program. This means that breakfast and lunch will be available for sale daily. Parents may apply for Free or Reduced lunch prices based on their income. Prices are listed below:
Breakfast - $2.00
Reduced Breakfast - $0.30
Lunch - $3.45
Reduced Lunch - $0.40
If you would like a hard copy of the application, please contact the secretaries in the main office.
We will begin selling novelty items such as ice cream and bags of chips from the cafeteria in a few weeks. Students who owe money on their lunch accounts will not be able to purchase these novelty items. The cafeteria workers have been informed that if a child brings money for novelty items, their debt must be paid first.
PAPERWORK
Please return to school the Census form, the photo opt out form, the technology agreement and the bus opt out form (if applicable). We ask these forms be submitted to the office by Friday, September 6th.
SUMMER WORK
Students were asked to complete the Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge and Shelton’s Summer Math Challenge. All paperwork needs to be submitted to school by Friday, September 6th for a special reward.
INFINITE CAMPUS (IC) ISSUE
The Shelton BOE IT department was recently informed of an issue some parents are having adding funds via their Infinite Campus parent portal accounts. The "Pay" button is sometimes not showing up properly for some users. The current workaround is to clear the browser cache and then reload the website, try a different browser, or update/reinstall the app if one is being used. Infinite Campus is already aware and is working on the issue. They will be applying an update on Saturday evening to address it. Thank you for your patience.
FROM THE NURSE
The Shelton BOE has approved each school to keep a stock of non-prescription medications and treatments to be administered to students by the school nurse via a standing order approved and executed by the School Medical Advisor in the event of need (examples: antiseptic wash, petroleum jelly, diphenhydramine, calamine lotion, etc). A form was sent out with this information and lists the non-prescription medications and treatments. Parents/Guardian should ONLY sign and return the form if they DO NOT approve of these non-prescription medications and treatments to be administered, in the event of need. This excludes the administration of emergency medications (epinephrine and naloxone) and prescribed medication for a specific student by their personal physician. Many parents are signing this form, thinking they are allowing our nurse to give these treatments. However, the signature is only necessary if you do not want these treatments for your child.
EARLY DISMISSAL TIMES
Our first scheduled early dismissal day is coming up on Friday, September 27th. Here are the times for arrival and dismissal.
K-4 - 9:00am - 1:50pm
Pre-K AM - 9:00am - 11:05am
Pre-K PM - 11:45am - 1:50pm
Please plan accordingly.
PTO NEWS
If you took photos at the kindergarten play date please text them to Nancy Pires at 203-767-2565 so they may be entered into the yearbook.
Thank you to all who joined us for chalk the walk to welcome our Kindergarteners. Also, a big thank you to all our generous families who donated items for stock the lounge. We could still use a few more items if anyone is able. We are especially in need of Lysol wipes and tissues for specials classrooms. Please label all items PTO. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084DA9AC23A1F49-back#/
PTO will be sponsoring "Wacky Wednesday" on the first Wednesday of every month. On Wednesday, Sept 4th students are encouraged to wear their Mohegan spirit wear or any green shirt. Flyer is attached.
Picnic: Let's celebrate being back in school! Please join us for our annual Back-to School Picnic on Friday Sept. 13th. This is a fun event for the whole family. Please see flyer attached and Cheddar Up link to RSVP. We can't wait to see everyone there! https://back-to-school-picnic-social-friday-9-13-24.cheddarup.com
Surprise your child with a Mohegan Birthday Yard sign. Flyer is attached
Lunch Duty signup: PTO is accepting volunteers to help out in kindergarten and First Grade lunch waves. https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0F4BACA72AA1FBC34-50905826-mohegan
FunRun: FREE T-Shirts for all students. If you have not sent PTO your child’s T-shirt size please email Nancy your child’s name, grade and size to finspin7@hotmail.com.
We are still looking for business sponsors
Do you own a business or work for a business?? Have your business info printed on this year's FunRun t-shirt!! Our FunRun funds field trips, cultural events, and this year we'll begin fundraising for updates on our school playground.
Sponsor form attached.
Join us for our first PTO meeting of the year on Tuesday, September 10th at 6:30 in the Media Center at Mohegan. We hope you can join us
COMMUNITY NEWS
There are no fliers for community news this week.
Have a wonderful weekend. See everyone on Tuesday!
Mr. John Coppola
Mohegan School Principal
Important Dates and Times
IMPORTANT DATES:
September 2nd - No School (Labor Day)
September 3rd - Pre-K First Day of School
September 10th - PTO meeting 6:30pm in the Media Center
September 13th - PTO Back to School Picnic (5:30-7:30)
September 27th - Early Dismissal Day
Septmeber 23-27 - PTO Book Fair
October 2nd - Back to School Night
October 8th - Picture Day