Bird's Word for September 5, 2024

Welcome Back to School!! We are so excited to have your child/ren at Falcon Heights Elementary this year. Our opening day found teachers and staff greeting students outside, in our halls and in classrooms to what promises to be a fantastic year as a school community. We are welcoming back many familiar faces as well as new friends who we are looking forward to getting to know better each and every day.

Please join me in welcoming our new staff members to the Falcon community:

Erin Bakke, Grade 2 teacher.

Maddie Schlossmacher, Occupational Therapist

Charlie Armitz, Mr. A - Building Substitute Teacher

Casey Selix, Reading Corp Member

Eh Ta Paw, Math Corp Member

Swey Madison, Custodian

Brandon Weldon, Custodian

Hayley Nordstrom, 5th grade Student Teacher

Jillayna Hoppe, 2nd Grade Student Teacher

Robin Motz, Speech Pathologist Intern

A special welcome to our new families and their students, we want you to know that you BELONG here. Together as a strong community that puts our children first we will succeed in all that we do. Thanks for being a part of Falcon Heights Elementary! See you at the Back to School Picnic!

Here is our contact information:

Attendance Line:

FH-attendance@isd623.org

651-646-0816

Angie McCoy, Health Assistant:

angela.mccoy@isd623.org

651-724-6556(Health Office main line)

Alaina Bohl, Licensed School Nurse:

alaina.bohl@isd623.org

651-724-6541

Attendance:

Please report all absences and attendance information to email/phone listed above. Absences should be reported by 9:50 AM. Regular and on-time attendance is crucial for children's learning!

Medications:

If there are medications that need to be given at school, please email the nurse for more information, or stop into the Health Office. All medications (including things like cough drops and Tylenol) need to be given through the Health Office. Please do NOT give medications to teachers. The Health Office staff needs to confirm health conditions, paperwork, medications, and expiration dates.

Extra Clothing:

Please include a change of clothes in your child's backpack. Bathroom accidents and messes on the playground sometimes happen, so it's important for students to have a change of clothes available when necessary. We do not have extra clothing available.

Immunizations: The Health Office must have current immunization information by 10/15/24 in order for students to continue attending school. Please submit documents to the Health Office or connect with us if you need assistance obtaining paperwork.

Happy first week of school! We are so excited for what is shaping up to be an amazing school year!

The new PTA board has been busy this summer with planning for the year. We’ve updated our website and we even joined Instagram (@falconheightspta). Give us a follow!

Please join us for the first PTA meeting of the year on Monday September 9, at 6:30pm in the Library (Media Center) or online via Zoom with a membership drive in front of the school immediately before the meeting at 6pm. We’d like to hear from you about what you want from the PTA and your ideas on how the PTA can support the school community. Become a member online or at the first meeting. Membership is $10 for the school year.

You can find the details of our meeting in the agenda for September 9th. Please take a moment to review the agenda and become a member. You must be a member to vote. We have three votes scheduled:

• Approval of the minutes of the June 3 meeting,

• Budget amendments for the 24-25 school year and

• the Standing Rules for the 24-25 school year.

If you have items for the Ask the Principal section of the agenda, please email falconheightspta@gmail.com by Noon on Friday September 6, so we are able to send those on to Principal Behnke before the meeting so she can prepare responses. If you have any new business items that you’d like to bring up, please email us at falconheightspta@gmail.com before the meeting.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. We look forward to working with you all this year!

Lindsay Matts-Benson, Maria Gjerdrum, Deidre Rice-Pardo and Katie DeGrio Channing

2024-2026 PTA Board

Roseville Area Schools has implemented a new transportation routing system to improve the efficiency of our bus schedules for picking up and dropping off students. While this system is designed to enhance our transportation services, we ask for your patience as we address and resolve any initial issues.

If you need to request a change to a bus stop or if you no longer require transportation services, please email us at transportation@isd623.org or call us at 651-635-1638. Please be prepared to provide the following information:

• Student Name
• Student ID
• Reason for the request (for example, relocation, change in transportation needs)

Please note that we are processing requests as quickly as possible; however, any changes to existing bus stops will not take effect until after the first week of school.

You will receive updates and information about any changes via email, so please ensure that your contact details are current. This includes verifying that your most recent telephone number and email address are on file to ensure you receive all necessary communications promptly.

The safety of our students is our highest priority, and we appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this transition.

Roseville Area Schools will continue to offer free meals for all students during the school day, including healthy breakfasts, lunches, and after-school "super" snacks. To ensure our meal programs remain effective and equitable, we are implementing some changes to our procedures, specifically regarding second meals and additional lunch servings.

Changes to Meal Procedures

Elementary Schools:

• Elementary students will no longer be able to purchase additional items such as entrées or sides. However, milk may still be purchased separately.
• We encourage students to make the most of our meal offerings by eating breakfast, utilizing the share cart, and enjoying the "all-you-care-to-eat" fresh fruit and vegetable options available with their lunch serving.

Secondary Schools:

• Secondary students may purchase additional entrées, sides, or milk if they have money in their meal account.
• To purchase additional items, students must check in at the designated cashier, receive a food tray, return to the serving line for the additional items, and check out at the designated register.
• Students with negative meal balances will not be permitted to purchase additional items.

We encourage all students to take advantage of the free breakfast and lunch offerings, which include unlimited fruits and vegetables and access to the share cart. Secondary students also have the opportunity to enjoy free super snacks at the end of each school day.

Thank you for your understanding as we make these adjustments to better serve our students.

All students will have access to a complete breakfast, lunch, and afterschool super snack at no cost. We ask ALL families to fill out the Application for Educational Benefits form (previously called Free/Reduced Meal Application) EVERY year. This form determines funding for your child’s school and provides direct benefits for your child if you qualify. Benefits include funding for:

• Waived fees for athletics, testing, and transportation for your child

• Reduced internet fees

• Social workers, paraprofessionals, and counselors

• Decreased student-to-instructor ratios

• Increased technology

• Early childhood education

To apply today, CLICK HERE!