August 19, 2019
Dear Parents:
Welcome to the new school year! We are all very excited to see you and your children in just a couple of weeks.
Several forms included in this packet must be completed and returned to the school office by Friday September 6th. New this year we will be billing all classroom and field trip fees through FACTS this year. The billing will occur on September 30th. All the fees are listed on the classroom supply list.
Immunizations: A new state law effective September 3, 2019 states that all students must have two doses MMR to be allowed into school. The new state law also removes the personal and philosophical option to exempt children from the MMR. For all other exemptions, a Certificate of Exemption signed by the student’s physician, must be on file. Student records will be checked for compliance with state immunization requirements. Your student must be in compliance by September 30, 2019. You will be notified if additional immunizations are needed. Students not in compliance by September 30th will not be permitted to return to school until they have received the required immunizations.
Parents who are new to our school this year have been invited to attend a garden party on Wednesday, August 28th in the church’s Contemplative Garden on the west side of the church parking lot. Our Parent Association has planned a lovely welcoming gathering from 5:30 – 7:00pm. Please let me know if you did not receive your invitation. We don’t want you to miss out on this event.
Middle School Orientation As Mrs. Sherman stated in her cover letter, middle school students will participate in a kick-start to the school year with a Middle School Orientation on Wednesday, August 28th. Students report to the gym at 9:00am, where there will be ice-breakers, activities, discussions about their leadership roles and strategies for a successful school year. Uniforms will not be required and students may dress appropriately for comfort. Students will be served pizza for lunch and are free to go at noon.
Pre-Kindertarten and Kindergarten Open House On Thursday, August 29th our littlest students and their parents are welcome to visit their new classrooms between 10:00am and 12:00pm. PreK and Kindergarten teachers and aides will be on hand to answer questions and ease any apprehension in preparation for the first day of school. Please join us!
Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten families – Please note that your student will have a 12:00 noon dismissal each day during the first week of school.
Drop off and Pick Up Procedure: To ensure the safety of all our students please note our drop off and pick up procedures.
The first day of school will be Tuesday, September 3rd with a 12:00 noon dismissal for all students. You may drop off your student beginning at 8:10. The remainder of that week’s schedule is
- Wednesday, September 4th 8:30-2:00 grades 1 – 8.
- Thursday and Friday, September 5th and 6th: 8:30-3:00 grades 1 – 8.
- Friday, Sept. 6, 8:45am: School Opening Mass for grades 1-8.
School hours for grades Kindergarten through Eight are 8:30am to 3:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. School is dismissed at 2:00 pm on Wednesdays for faculty meetings. Pre-Kindergarten hours are 8:30am – 12:30pm daily. There’s a few noon dismissal days throughout the school year please note those days and the dates that school is not in session on the school calendar. This information can also be found on the online calendar. Also please note our Dates to Remember, an overview of events throughout the year.
Students in grades K-8 are to wear their uniforms beginning on the first day of school. We will give you ample notice when students have non-uniform dress days. Our Uniform Policy is included in this mailing. Here are direct links to our uniform vendors Dennis Uniform and Land’s End (school code for Land’s End is 900130154)
Back to School Tailgate Party Come join in the fun on Friday September 6 from 5:00 to 8. More details can be found here.
Safe Environment Program – The Archdiocesan Safe Environment policy applies to all who provide volunteer services in Archdiocesan schools and parishes. Please see the policy in its entirety on the Archdiocesan website:
A volunteer is defined as:
Anyone over 18 years of age who:
- has ongoing, unsupervised contact with minors or vulnerable adults.
- drives on field trips.
- coaches or assists with CYO sports.
- chaperones the 5th grade Outdoor Education (OPI) trip.
- coaches or assists in any after-school sponsored activity such as Chess Club, Drama, Lego League, Speech Team, etc.
Updates of the background check and Safe Environment on-line course will be once every three years.
New school families, at a minimum must complete the background check. If you plan on having unsupervised contact with students or driving on field trips, you must attend a Safe Environment Class “Protecting God’s Children”. You can email or call Pat Covich in the school office if you have questions. There will be a training at St. Anne on October 17 at 6:30pm in Banchero Hall register here.
Volunteers There are numerous volunteer opportunities at St. Anne School and Parish, which will assist you with fulfilling your parent service hours. Attached is a Volunteer Information Sheet. Emails will be sent by the event chairs for volunteer opportunities throughout the school year.
Child Custody: St. Anne School must abide by the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act with regard to parents’ rights of access to their children’s school records. The school shall abide by the provisions of Washington State law regarding the right of access of the non-custodial parent to his or her child and their school records. It is the responsibility of the custodial parent to provide the principal with an official copy of the court ordered parenting plan.
A complete outline of the compliance requirements will be in your Family Handbook, which will be distributed at Back to School Night.
Student Emergency Release Form is to be completed and returned no later than the first day of school. If any of the information changes throughout the school year, please immediately advise the school office.
Important: If your child will be picked up before normal dismissal time, we require advanced, written or verbal notice from you indicating time of pick up and the name of the person (including those on your Emergency Release Form) picking up your child.
Field Trips: Walking field trips are done throughout the school year and encompass an area of one mile or less on Queen Anne hill. Please complete and return the Walking Field Trip Permission form.
Field trips that require the use of public or private automobile transportation will have the following requirements:
- Students must have a signed Archdiocesan Field Trip Permission slip (sent home by your student’s teacher) in order to participate.
- Drivers must submit to a background check & show no felony, DUI or reckless driving conviction.
- Drivers must complete the Safe Environment class, “Protecting God’s Children” and must stay current with the on-line updates (every three years).
- Drivers must have a current Archdiocesan Driver Information Sheet on file with the school verifying that your car insurance, driver’s license and registration are up to date. It is up to you to notify the office when license and insurance renewal dates have been fulfilled and when a new vehicle has been added to your insurance policy. Click here to download the form.
- Children not enrolled in the school may not accompany the class on field trips. This includes siblings.
- Drivers are not permitted to make additional stops when traveling to and from the field trip destination.
- Drivers are not permitted to talk or text on their cell phones when traveling to and from the field trip destination and while chaperoning.
- Drivers must comply with the Washington State booster seat law. See details in the Family Handbook.
Hot Lunch: Queen Ann Catering will be on-site to provide their hot lunch program beginning Wednesday, September 4th. The September menu and order form is available here and on the school’s website. Any questions concerning their program must be directed to ann@queenanncatering.com at 206/282-9595.
Medication: State law does not permit us to dispense medication to our students unless the following guidelines are met by you: If your child needs access to prescription or over the counter medication during school hours, you must first obtain an authorization form for administration of oral medication, which is to be completed by the child’s parent/guardian and physician/dentist. Washington State law requires that this form be returned to the office before any prescription or non-prescription medication can be administered at school. All medication which the school has been authorized to administer must be in its prescription container or original packaging in the case of over the counter medication. The authorization form may be found here or in the school office. Family Handbook, online, or from the school office.
Milk: Milk will be available beginning Wednesday, September 5th please fill out this online form if your student would like milk for the school year. There will be no milk fee this year.
SCRIP: The sign up for our passive fundraiser SCRIP can be found here.
Communication to Families Every Tuesday and Sunday we distribute school-wide communication pieces to all of our school families via your school gmail account. Tuesday’s communication comes from our principal, Mary Sherman. In it, she recaps the highlights of school events that took place the prior week; she’ll invite you to participate in upcoming activities such as Move-A-Thon, Back to School Night, parent education nights, just to name a few. Student successes are also featured in her letter. Sunday’s communication comes from Jennifer, taking a look at the week ahead, all school event reminders and opportunities to register for the myriad of activities that take place in and outside of our school.
These weekly publications are the primary basis of parent/school communication and we strongly suggest that you read all content. They are also linked on our school’s website. Watch for the first editions to be sent the first week of school.
If you wish to include an item in the Sunday Week Ahead, the deadline for submission to Jennifer Hazzard is Wednesdays by 3:00. We cannot include any personal advertising.
Playground The playground is open at 8:10 a.m. daily. There is no adult supervision before that time. Students may not be dropped off at school earlier than 8:10 a.m. unless they have a confirmed, prearranged appointment with their teacher. After school, the playground and big toy are off limits to all students until after 3:30. The gym is off limits to all students unless they are enrolled in an after school activity.
Student Emergency Contact Information. The student database software PowerSchool made major changes to the guardian contact page. A printed copy of your student’s emergency contacts will be sent home to every family at the start of the school year. Please be on the lookout for that form. It is very important that we have correct, up to date emergency contact information on file for your family.
Visitors (parents and others) EVERY person entering the school for any reason who is not employed by St. Anne School or Church is required to enter the school through the front door on Lee Street, check in at the front office and obtain a Visitor’s badge. Our students and staff expect to see visitors wearing the badge as an indication that person is authorized to be in our school and is not an intruder.
Parish Directory It’s time for a new St. Anne Parish Directory. Photographers will be here October 8-12 and 15-19. On-site appointments will be Tuesday through Friday 1pm-8pm and Saturdays 11am-7 pm. We’ll let you know when sign ups begin.
If you have questions with any of the forms or any other general questions, please feel free to call me or Pat Covich (206/282-3538, ext. 100) or e-mail: jhazzard@stannesea.org.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Hazzard
