Dear Sheldon Families,

School picture day is coming up quickly! Sheldon's picture day will be THIS THURSDAY, September 23. Order information has been sent home and details regarding online ordering are below. Please be sure orders are sent in, with payment, this week!

Please ensure your children are coming to school with masks each day. It is a good idea to send a spare mask as well. We appreciate your support in ensuring students come to school prepared to learn and masks are essential to a safe learning environment. Additionally, please be sure your children are seated in the proper car seats, per Kansas law. If you need help with this, see the Family Resources section below!

As always, if you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to me!

Thank you for the privilege of serving you ~

Mrs. Gabrielle Tanner, Principal

Sheldon's Fall Individual Picture Day is on September 23! The flyer below provides details on the different packages that are available for order. You may order online, or pay by cash or check. If paying by cash, you must provide the EXACT amount. We will not be able to make change. If paying by check, please make the check out to Strawbridge Studios. Paying online is the easiest! We will collect orders and payments at the school beginning September 13 and ending on picture day, September 23. Paper order forms were sent home on Friday, September 10.

This link will allow you to sign up to receive updates via email regarding your child's school portraits. These updates include promotions, additional deals and the ability to order more pictures at a later time. When entering student information, be sure to enter the student's name as it is on file at the school.

Let us know if you have any questions!

If your child is a car rider, you should have received a tag to hang from your rearview mirror. This makes dismissal so much smoother and quicker when those are displayed! If you did not receive one, please reach out to your child's teacher. We would appreciate those being visible each day. Thank you!

At home visits you received information from your child's teacher regarding completing the ASQs. This is an important measure that we are required to complete each year. Teachers resent the links last week. Please be sure you are getting this completed. Let us know if you need the link again or need support completing this screener. Thank you!

Please be sure you are communicating with the office or your child's teacher when your child is sick or has been exposed to COVID-19. We are following all Shawnee County Health Department guidance when it comes to evaluating students being at school. We are keeping careful track of students who are identified as having COVID, as a close or household contact to ensure quarantine periods are being followed. Your communication is critical in ensuring we have the information we need to keep everyone safe and healthy! This page on the Topeka Public Schools website provides the most up-to-date COVID information for our families.

We continue to receive calls from neighbors that driveways and intersections are being blocked by our car line. Please be mindful as the line is forming that you are not stopping in front of a driveway or intersection. We are located in a compact neighborhood and we want to ensure our Sheldon neighbors are able to come and go from their homes and about their regular business without disruption. Additionally, it is unacceptable to argue, shout, or use foul language with neighbors when they are asking for their property to be respected and their posted signs to be followed. If you have issues or concerns, please address them directly with the school principal, Mrs. Tanner. Thank you for your immediate attention to this.

Just a couple of updates and reminders...

1. Please follow the established traffic flow for the car line. It is detailed later in this newsletter. Vehicles MUST turn right out of the parking lot.

2. Do not park on Sena St. to walk up and get your student. This causes a traffic jam with regular traffic and those trying to turn out of our parking lot.

2. Students must have harnesses on and be ready BEFORE the bus arrives. This allows the route to stay on time.

3. At this point, students who come to the bus without a mask will be asked to return home to get one. We can not continue to provide masks for those coming consistently without.

Here Comes the Bus is an app that will allow you to track your student's bus in real time. It is free on both the Android and Apple app stores. You will need your child's student ID number, which you can find in your account in TylerSIS. If you have trouble locating this, please give us a call and we will provide it. Directions for downloading and setting up the app are below:

Here Comes the Bus®

Now available to parents of (Topeka Public Schools) students

• View the real-time location of your child’s bus.

• Access the app from your smartphone, tablet or computer.

• Receive push notifications or email alerts.

• Send your child to the bus stop at just the right time, every time.

How to get started:

1. Download the Here Comes the Bus app* or visit herecomesthebus.com

2. Sign Up by going to the Here Comes the Bus website https://login.herecomesthebus.com/SignUpConfirm.aspx

3. Enter school code 29036 and click “Next” followed by “Confirm”

4. Complete the “User Profile” box

5. Under “My Students,” click “Add.” Enter your child’s last name and student ID number

6. Once you confirm your information, you’re ready to begin using Here Comes the Bus!

The school day at Sheldon runs until 4:00 with students being dismissed from 3:40-4:00. As you know as caretakers of toddlers, the transition to go home is a process! Classrooms are finishing their day, cleaning up activities, eating snacks, and packing to go home. It is very disruptive and difficult for us to dismiss children from school early, starting at 3:10. If you have to pick your child up for an appointment, please be sure it is communicated in advance and they are picked up before 3:10. We will be unable to release students after 3:10 until our bus and car line process begins at 3:40. Patterns of leaving early are tracked just as tardies are and will have an impact on student attendance. Thank you for your attention to this!

If your child takes medication at school, you will need to have your child's physician complete and sign a Request to Administer Medication form, which will need to be returned to Ms. Andrea in the clinic. Medication must be sent in the original packaging with the original label. If your child needs meal modifications due to religious or medical restrictions, please complete and return the attached forms.

Please be sure you send an extra set of clothes (bottom, top, underwear, socks) with your student in case of accidents. Make sure they are appropriate for the current weather.

Sheldon will be using a car line for arrival/dismissal again this year. It will take us a few days to get it down, but if you give us grace during that time, I ensure that we will be a well-oiled machine by the end of the second week of school! Our highest priority is student safety so we will take our time to ensure the safety of all. The number one thing I have learned over the years is that when everyone follows the rules, the system works, and works quickly!

The maps below highlight the traffic flow for the car line and for families who walk up. Please remember that we are located in a fairly compact neighborhood. We want to ensure we are respectful of all Sheldon's neighbors by following speed limit and other traffic signs and by not blocking driveways.

The car line will begin at 9:10 (10:10 on Fridays). Any student arriving after 9:30 will need to check in at the main office as the car line will have ended. The dismissal car line will begin at 3:40. Any adult arriving to pick up a child after 4:00 will need to check them out at the main office as the car line will have ended.

School staff will not buckle students into their car seats. If your chid is unable to buckle themselves, please pull over to the right or against the fence line to assist them so that the car line can continue flowing smoothly.

The picture above shows the proper way to enter the neighborhood to join the car line. If headed northbound on Gage, please turn left onto Sena St., continue toward Sheldon, and turn right into the parking lot on Sena St., just past Seabrook. If headed southbound on Gage, please turn right onto Munson Ave., continue toward Sheldon, turn left onto Seabrook, wait for a break in traffic to turn right onto Sena, and then turn right into the parking lot. All traffic must turn right out of the parking lot onto Sena St. and then proceed on the most convenient path.

When approaching the parking lot on Sena, just past Seabrook, vehicles will turn RIGHT into the parking lot and follow the painted arrows to loop through the parking lot. Adults will not exit their vehicle. Staff will greet students at the vehicle, ensure they have a mask, and then escort them into the building where additional staff members will escort them to their classrooms. Once the student exits, the vehicle may continue to follow the painted arrows to complete the loop through the parking lot. Vehicles will make a RIGHT turn out of the parking lot onto Sena St. If you have a situation that requires you stop to exit the vehicle or you need to have a conversation with a staff member, please pull to the right out of the car line so that it can continue to flow smoothly.

Families who are walking up will not walk up to the front entrance. Instead, please enter school grounds through the small gate located in front of the school, on the south end of Seabrook. Proceed up the ramp, down the stairs and through the small gate into the parking lot. Follow along the perimeter of the building (stay out of car traffic!) until you reach the door. Staff will do a mask check and sign in the student. Students will then be escorted to their classrooms. Adults are asked to follow the same path to exit school grounds.

Footsteps2Brilliance (F2B) is a Pre-K through 3rd grade literacy solution that utilizes mobile technology to connect school, home, and the community for academic success. Its innovative Mobile Technology Platform allows comprehensive literacy apps to be accessed online or offline from any mobile device (Apple or Android) or traditional computer. Families can use this resource at home, even without an internet connection, once the app has been downloaded. Take a look at these informational flyers and this short video in English or Spanish for details!

Above are two different QR codes with some great information pertaining to car seat safety and drug abuse within the home and how it relates to children. You can download many free QR readers to your phone and when you scan the code it will take you directly to the websites.

We have seen in the news recently about many children and caregivers not surviving car accidents because they were not properly restrained. Unintentional accidents is the leading cause of death among children. We have a great resource we use to obtain car seats - if you need assistance with this, please reach out! Also, please remember that the car seat needs to be properly restrained within the vehicle, and you must have the proper number of seatbelts per people in the car.

After alcohol, marijuana use is the most commonly used psychotropic drug (drugabuse.gov). In Kansas, it is illegal to drive under the influence of a combination of alcohol and any drug(s) to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely driving a vehicle (Kansas State Legislature).

Please let us know if you need any referrals as we work together to keep children healthy and safe. Family Services: 438-4538.

The Topeka Public Schools Board of Education voted on August 5th to follow the CDC Universal masking guidelines to start the school year. This means that masks will be required indoors for all staff, students, and visitors regardless of vaccination status. Masks will not be required during outside times. Please be sure you send your student to school with a clean face mask each day. This is part of their required dress code and we appreciate your assistance with ensuring we are providing a safe environment for our students! We will also be continuing with frequent handwashing/sanitation, disinfection protocols, and maintaining a social distance of 3 feet. Follow this link to view the entire "TPS Safe to Return to School Plan".

Late Start has moved back to FRIDAYS for this school year and the arival time will be at 10:10. The first late start of the year will be our second day of school, August 20th.

You can find the 2021-2022 Academic Calendar HERE.

Family Service and Guidance Center is hosting a 12 session series for parents of an autistic child. The flyer is attached here.

September is Baby Safety Awareness Month! Child injury is predictable and preventable. 2019 Kansas Vital Statistics data shows that unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4, with most of these injuries being preventable. Please see this link and the pictures below for information and resources.

Are you receiving the amount you should for Child Tax Credit? This tool will help you determine what your payment should be.

The Sheldon Food & Clothing Bank is still up and running! If your family has any needs, reach out to your Family Advocate or call 438-4538.

You can find the link to the 2021 Community Resources Council Resource Directory here. This directory provides contact information for a variety of community resources.

See the following links for Food Pantry resources available to families.

English and Spanish

Website: https://sheldon.topekapublicschools.net/
Location: 1155 SW Seabrook Ave.
Phone: 785-438-4530
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SheldonChildDevelopmentCenterHeadStart