August 21, 2022
PARENT COMMUNICATOR
Summerville Elementary
Back to School for the 2022/2023 School Year
Dear Summerville Elementary Parents,
School begins this week! We are so excited to start the 2022/2023 school year with you and your student. We are looking forward to a fantastic year together. As of this past Friday, class lists are out, school supplies lists are distributed, and classrooms are nearly ready to be full of students this week. We can sense that it is going to be a great start to a fantastic school year!
To kick the school year off, we have some dates for you to keep in mind. Please see the information below about events and start times this week. The most important date to keep in mind on the calendar is school starts on Tuesday, August 23! We will see you and your student at 8:15 am.
Back to School Dates
- Monday, August 22 - Kinder/TK Meet the Teacher, 1:00-2:00 pm, A1, A2, & A3
- Monday, August 22 - 6th - 8th Grade Back to School Night, 6:30-8:00 pm, Upper Campus
- Tuesday, August 23 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, 8:15 am
- Friday, August 26 - Regular School Day, school will release at 2:30 pm
More information will be sent out about specific back-to-school events beginning next week. Please contact our school office if you have any questions. For a complete list of planned dates for this school year, please see the following link: http://www.sumel.k12.ca.us/upcoming_events.
Friday Early Release Schedule
Summerville Elementary holds early release Fridays for teachers and school staff to complete planning and professional development throughout the year. On Early Release Fridays, school will release at 1:30 pm.
Please note: Friday, August 26, the first Friday of the school year, is NOT an early release. Friday, August 26, is a regular schedule. We will begin our Friday Early Release Schedule on Friday, September 2. Reminder messages will be sent this week and next week. All other Fridays are scheduled as Early Release. Please see our 22/23 School Year Calendar posted on our school website for more dates and information.
Kindergarten Parent Information
Kinder parents, we are so happy that your student will be joining our school this year. Our kinder program has a long-established tradition of providing a nurturing and wholesome environment for our students as they begin their educational journey. Hands down, it is the most amazing program in the county!
As a reminder, TK and K parents, we will host our Kinder and TK meet the teacher event tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm in your student's classroom. Come and meet your student’s teacher, learn about our kinder routine, and see where your student will be learning this year. Your student’s teacher will have lots more information for you at the meet and greet. You will not want to miss the opportunity.
Kinder parents, as a reminder, your student will be released from school at 12:30 pm for the first two weeks of school. This early release time for our youngest students allows them to adjust to the new school routine and allows our teachers time to learn about the students and structure the program to best meet their needs. Your student’s teacher will have more information for you at the Meet and Greet event tomorrow.
Parent Classroom Volunteers
This year, we will be utilizing parent volunteers in the classroom. Special training will be conducted for volunteers later in September. Please look for more information from your student’s teacher in the coming weeks. All volunteers will be required to complete a training course as well as complete a health screening before helping in the classroom.
Student Cell Phone Policy
As educators, we believe that technology can be an important tool for learning and for life. Just like hammers and wrenches in a toolbox, each tool has an appropriate use, time, and place. Cell phones, tablets, and other electronic devices are powerful tools that can help us learn more, and these tools are no different than other tools like hammers and wrenches; they have a correct time, use, and place in schools. As such, we have developed a very clear and direct policy with personal devices at our school.
- All Kinder through third-grade students should not have devices at school. These devices are expensive and delicate. The last thing we want is an important piece of personal technology to get broken or lost. If you need to contact your student, please reach out to our front office staff. They will be glad to assist.
- For all fourth through eighth-grade students, all devices should be “out of sight and out of mind.” This means that students who have devices with them should keep them in their backpacks, purses, or bags for the entire school day (students with devices in pockets will be asked to put them away). Devices should not be used during the school day. The school day includes before school, during class, recess, breaks, after school, and during ASP.
This policy has been developed to help keep our school environment distraction-free. All technology used during the day will be through school-issued devices (we have plenty of Chromebooks, iPads, and other devices to go around. And our teachers will help students learn how to use them as tools during the right times during the school day). If you need to contact your students, or if your student needs to contact you, this can be coordinated through our school office.
Please note: All wireless headphones and other phone accessories should remain at home (we hate to see these awesome pieces of technology lost or broken). More information about cell phones and cell phone usage will be provided at our back-to-school events. Please contact our administration team if you have any questions.
Parent Communication - ParentSquare
This week, we will be transitioning all of our parent communications to our new communication system called ParentSquare. This system is designed to send parents school communication through a method that will work best for them (text, email, or app). Look for a welcome email from ParentSquare today (sorry for sending multiple messages in one day, but we are so excited to start the school year!). Please note that if you do not receive the welcome message, or if you do not receive an additional message from the school by the end of the week, please contact our front office. We want all of our parents to receive school updates and information promptly and conveniently. Staying in communication with you is so important. ParentSquare allows us to quickly send information out and allows parents to receive messages in a way that makes sense for each family. For more information about the system, please visit the following link: https://bit.ly/SumElParentSquareGettingStarted.
All parents with a phone number and email address will receive a welcome email from the system this week. Please look for it on your phone or email inbox. Please note that our school will be phasing out our REMIND and SchoolMessenger communication systems at the end of August. Parents can reach out to our assistant principal, Heather Shepherd, for more information or help with our new communication system: hshepherd@sumel.org.
ASP 2022/2023
New this year: Did you know that our ASP program will be offering a special morning program during the 2022/2023 school year? This special AM program will begin at 7:00 am and is designed to help students get connected to the school during the early morning hours. Enrollment in this program is limited and currently at capacity, but if this option interests you and would help support your students, please reach out to ASP Program Director Alanna Norans for more information: anorans@sumel.org. We are currently assessing the possibility of expanding seats in the program.
Our after-school program is a fantastic way to help your students connect further to the school outside of the school day. We encourage you to reach out to our program director for more information.
2022/2023 School Year
We look forward to a return to normal this school year, and we are excited that your student will be joining us. Our office is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
As a reminder, the first Day of School is Tuesday, August 23, 8:15 am, just two days away! We are so excited to start the school year!
Please reach out to our school office if you have any questions. See you and your student on campus this week! We are excited to start this school year with you!
Together we can make a difference. And, together, we are making a difference every day!
~ Ben Howell, Superintendent and Principal
Summerville Elementary School
