August 2013

Dear Parents,

Welcome to another fun and exciting year in the Junior Elementary at Escuela del Sol!
We look forward to seeing some familiar faces and meeting new ones. I am excited to welcome
Ms. Jill to the Junior Elementary! Ms. Jill has worked at Escuela for many years and has been
teaching for the past 15 years. We are very fortunate to have such a wealth of experience and
knowledge at our fingertips. Jill and I look forward to guiding your children through the
wonderful world of Montessori education.

We will be sending out News from the Junior Elementary West room to your e-mail
throughout the year to keep you informed of the many wonderful happenings in your childs
room. We will provide a list of activities and events at school and reminders to keep us all on the
same page. You will also be able to access this and much more on the Escuela website:
www.escueladelsol.org. The user name is escuelafamily and the password is escuela2013. Go to
our community, then go to e-classrooms and scroll down to Junior Elementary West.

Teaching your child is a tremendous responsibility and we will do our best to insure that
each student has a safe and motivating learning experience in this upcoming year. However, we
cannot do this without the help of you, the parents. We are partners in the learning process.

We believe that parent-teacher relationships are necessary for maximum school
success. Throughout the year, we will communicate through the school website, notes, telephone
call, emails, progress reports and parent teacher conferences. We encourage you to contact us if
you have any questions or concerns at any time. You can call us at the school, send a written note
or contact us via email.

Important information

Daily Schedule:
Doors open 8:00
Class begins 8:15
Morning announcements 8:15-8:30
Morning work session 8:30-11:00
Recess 11:30-12:00
Lunch 12:00-12:30
Silent Reading 12:30-1:00
Afternoon work session 1:00-2:45
Afternoon clean-up 2:45-3:00
Dismissal 3:00-3:15
Aftercare begins 3:15-6:00










Weekly Schedule
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Class Begins
8:15

Class Begins
8:15

Class Begins
8:15

Class Begins
8:15

Class Begins
8:15

8:15-8:30
Announcements

8:15-8:30
Announcements

8:15-8:30
Announcements

8:15-8:30
Announcements

8:15-8:30
Announcements

8:30-11:00
Work Period
CEI 9:45-10:45
8:30-11:00
Work Period
CEI 9:45-10:45
8:30-11:00
Work Period
CEI 9:45-10:45
8:30-11:00
Work Period
CEI 9:45-10:45
8:30-10:00
Music with Ms.
Cathy and Work
Period
11:00-11:30
Read Aloud
11:00-11:30
Read Aloud
11:00-11:30
Read Aloud
11:00-11:30
Read Aloud
10:15 P.E.
at Wells Park
with Mr. Barney
11:30-12:00
Recess
11:30-12:00
Recess
11:30-12:00
Recess
11:30-12:00
Recess
12:00-12:30
Lunch
12:00-12:30
Lunch
12:00-12:30
Lunch
12:00-12:30
Lunch
12:00-12:30
Lunch
12:30-1:00
Recess with
Jr. El. East
12:30-1:00
Silent Reading
12:30-1:00
Silent Reading
12:30-1:00
Silent Reading
12:30-1:00
Silent Reading
1:00-1:30
Silent Reading
1:00-2:45
Afternoon Work
Period
1:00
Music with Ms.
Cathy and Work
Period
1:00-2:45
Afternoon Work
Period
1:00-3:00
Art with Ms.
Vashti
and Work Period
1:30-2:45
Afternoon Work
Period
2:45-3:00
Afternoon clean-
up
2:45-3:00
Afternoon clean-
up
2:45-3:00
Afternoon
clean-up
2:45-3:00
Afternoon
clean-up
2:45-3:00
Afternoon clean-
up
3:00-3:15
Dismissal
3:00-3:15
Dismissal
3:00-3:15
Dismissal
3:00-3:15
Dismissal
3:00-3:15
Dismissal

If you need to drop off or pick up your child during the school day, please sign him/her in
or out on the sign in/sign out sheet on the portal. Students must maintain regular and prompt
attendance to ensure success. If students arrive late, they miss out on learning activities that begin
immediately at 8:15.
Parent Volunteers

On the portal, near the parent mailboxes, you will find a signup sheet for parent volunteers. You
may be interested in one of the following:

Laundry Parents: Love Laundry?! You will take home the laundry each Friday for the month
that you sign-up for. Please return the laundry on Monday.

Art Parent: Love art? You will provide our classroom with art supplies such as play-doh,
colored pencils and watercolors.

Cleaning supplies Parent: Enjoy the taste of fresh water? You will provide our classroom with
Pur filters as needed as well as eco-friendly products such as hand and dish soap.

Tea Parent: Our students will have the option of having tea with their snack both in the morning
and in the afternoon. You will provide the classroom with an assortment of caffeine free tea on an
as needed basis.

Flower Parents: Do you buy or grow fresh flowers? When our class is doing flower arranging
work, please bring in hardy, easy to cut flowers.

A Few Reminders

Sign-in/out sheet: Please sign your child in and out every day. Its the state law and it helps us
keep track of your child. Thanks!

Snack: Please provide your child with a morning and afternoon snack. Your children are working
very hard throughout the day and often require a hardy snack before and after lunch.

Change of Clothing: If needed, please provide your child with one complete labeled change of
clothing in a labeled zip-loc bag.

Water bottle: Please provide your child with one labeled water bottle that can safely go through
the dishwasher.

Communication: Check the web site frequently; we will post reminders and notices there. You
may also check the bulletin board next to the parent mailboxes for daily reminders. Also, if you
need to contact us you can leave a note in our box, call the school and leave a message or e-mail
us at molly@edelsol.org and jill@edelsol.org. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

Parent mailbox: Please check your mailbox daily for finished work and information from the
office that needs to go home.

Fridays: All students will go to P.E. on Friday morning. Please have your child dress in
comfortable, weather appropriate clothing (such as a t-shirt and shorts) as well as sneakers on this
day.

Lunch: Please remember to label your childs lunch box and containers. Also, please do not send
nut products to school. Thanks!

Gate Code: Our gate code is 2013*. Please remember to shut and lock the inner Primary gate as
you enter the playground. We want your children to be safe and secure at Escuela. Thanks!

Toys: Please do not send toys to school. Toys can cause conflict and often get damaged or lost.
Thanks!

We believe it is very important to communicate between home and school and we will do
our best to keep you informed. Should you have any questions, comments or concerns at anytime
throughout the year, please contact us at the school at 242-3033 or by email at molly@edelsol.org
or jill@edelsol.org.

Sincerely,
Molly Heavilin and Jill McCallum