17-18 FSE Parent Welcome Letter

July 2017

Dear FSE Families,

Welcome back to the 17-18 school year at Flagstone Elementary!  We are excited to see everyone soon and hear about all the fun places and things that happened over the summer.  We have several updates and information included in this communication so get your calendars ready!  

Please welcome our new Assistant Principal!  Click here for her introduction letter.

Calendar of Events

• 17-18 PTO and School Events Year at a Glance Calendar; This is our list so far, please read all Thursday Blast info as things may change.
• Click here for the 17-18 Conventional Calendar
• Flagstone Elementary School Website:  Please refer to the master calendar at the bottom of the front page for updated information.
• August 10th: First Day of School: 9:10-4:00
• FSE Fall Picture Day: August 14th
• FSE PTO Meeting: August 16th 7:00pm in the Learning Commons
• Back to School Night: Thursday, August 24th from 6-7pm, there will be two sessions and more information will be coming.  We want to ensure that all parents can attend so if you have to bring younger siblings please make every effort to keep them entertained so others can hear the classroom presentations.
• Spirit Night at Freddy’s:  Come support fundraising for our school and have dinner at Freddy’s before coming to Back to School Night on August 24th. A portion of all sales goes to our FSE PTO.

FSE Information

FSE Ongoing Communication

Weekly Thursday Links:  You will get an email each week with the following information.  If you are not getting the Thursday email please contact Kellie McKenzie in the office to ensure your email is correct. Here email is: Kellie.mckenzie@dcsdk12.org

Principal Blog:  This is updated each Thursday night

Follow us on Twitter at #oneflagstone

Follow us on Facebook

Beginning of School Events

• Tuesday, August 8th from 3:00-4:00 pm Meet and Greet and Ice Cream Social.  We believe that it is essential for students to have the opportunity to meet their teachers and visit their classrooms prior to the first day of school.
• Please join us for ice cream at 3pm then visit your classroom.  If weather permits ice cream will be by the flagpole, if not it will be in the dining room.
• Please come at 3:00 with your school supplies (if you need access to the supply list please see this link) and meet your teacher.  If you ordered supplies through the school they will be in your new classroom.
• Drop off any any medication students will need during the school day in the office with our health assistant, Cindy Rychlick
• Grade Level Locations in the building
• Kindergarten: Between the Blue and Berry Pods
• 1st and 2nd Grade Classrooms: Blue Pod
• 3rd and 4th Grade Classrooms: Berry Pod
• 5th and 6th Grade Classrooms: Green Pod

First Day of School: Thursday, August 10th: Full Day!

• Students will meet their teacher on the blacktop on the first day of school.  Your child’s teacher will have a sign with their name.  At 9:10 teachers will take the students into the classroom.
• Please follow our arrival and dismissal policy to ensure student safety as you drop your child off at school  each day.
• On the second day of school students will enter the building using our rolling start protocol.  Please see procedures here.

Class Placement

We are finalizing class lists right now and you will be able to see what teacher your child has in parent portal on Friday, July 28th.  Click here to access Parent Portal, you will find your child’s teacher under the schedule tab.   This year due to enrollment numbers in several grade levels we will have one first and second grade combined class taught by Brittany Zellmer and one fifth and sixth grade combined class taught by Tamara Jaimes.  The reason for creating these classes is driven by our enrollment which then drives our staffing.  The probability of combination classes will continue to be something we must consider as more and more schools move into our neighborhoods, allowing parents choices between several schools for their children.  While choice is a great thing for parents to find the right fit for their children, it becomes a challenge for our neighborhood schools to have stable enrollment from year to year.  This instability is driving the decision to create these two combination classes for the 17-18 school year.

I understand that when parents hear that their child is in a combination class there are many questions as to why their child was selected, so I want to explain that to everyone here.  Our teachers strive to differentiate and personalize for all students and teach in small groups all day long at each child’s ability level.   In multiage classrooms exactly the same thing happens, the teacher focuses on the pace and the stage of development of learning, a strategy that we have been working on at FSE for the last three years with personalization, goal setting and student ownership in their learning.  All classrooms have a range of about 2 to 3 years instructionally and this class is no different.  We have decreased the range (from low to high academically)  in these classes so the teachers can focus on the content of two grades. All students in each combined class will still receive their current grade level curriculum and will be ready for the next grade.

If your child was selected to participate in this classroom some of the traits we considered were maturity level, academic ability, ability to work independently, their drive to seek new knowledge and the makeup of the peers in the classroom.  I know it can be concerning when a placement for your child is not of the traditional type, however, Brittany and Tamara are skilled at small group instruction at high levels.  We were very purposeful with our class selections and feel this will be a great year for your child.  If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Express Check In:  July 28th to August 15th

• All students must register through Online Express Check In Click here to login.  You will use Online Express Check In to update your contact information, pay school fees and sign up for volunteer opportunities.  All students must register via Online Express Check In by August 15th.  For assistance please contact one of the individuals below:
• FSE Registrar: Kellie McKenzie at kellie.mckenzie@dcsdk12.org
• FSE Administrative Assistant: Jennifer Talley at jennifer.talley@dcsdk12.org
• Student Data and Information Services Summer Hotline: 303-387-0016
• IT Support Center: 303-387-0001

Preschool Start Times

• Our preschool will be moving to the same start times as our K-6 students.  Your preschool team will be in touch with parents with more information regarding this since arrival and dismissal will look a little different for preschool students.

See you soon!

Kelli Smith

FSE Principal