Dear Elementary families,
We thank you for partnering with us to make your child's education the best it can be!
I wanted to reach out to touch base with you about a few things. Some of these I have addressed in previous emails, but I'm putting them all together in this one as reminders, or "in case you missed it."
First, I am so blessed to be able to share with you the initial tallies from our hurricane relief drive in Chapel yesterday. Because of our families' generous hearts, we brought in a total of $1703.69, as of yesterday afternoon! I know donations have continued to come in since then, so the final tally will be above that number. I am also proud to inform you that Elementary students brought in over $750 of that total! This will be an amazing blessing to those families affected by the hurricane. We are certainly following God's call to take care of the least of these! We will be sending 100% of these funds to Samaritan's Purse, earmarked specifically for hurricane relief. Barring any other emergency situations around the globe this school year, we will be giving our Chapel offering monies for the remainder of the year to the Ahicam school and orphanage in Guatemala, as we have in years past. If you are new to our school, you will be getting more information about that soon.
Secondly, we have started opening the north parking lot gate by the Kindred Hospital in the mornings and afternoons for your use. So far, everything seems to be going very smoothly with that, and a few families have emailed me to thank us for making that adjustment. By opening that gate, we hope it will further encourage you to use that north parking lot ("Lot B") instead of attempting to drop your Elementary student off at the traffic circle, which is designated only for Junior High and High School student drop off and pick up. Thank you for your cooperation!
A couple weeks ago, I sent out an email to act as an addendum to our Elementary Student Handbook, regarding boys' hair styles and length. In making some revisions to our dress code section of the handbook, we inadvertently deleted the section that dealt with boys' hair. So we are re-inserting that section by addendum this year, and we'll be careful to include it in next year's handbook. The regulation is that a boy's hair needs to be no longer than the top of his shirt collar and out of his eyes; there are also to be no mohawks or fauxhawks, or shaved designs in the cut. It is important for us to communicate that we don't set these regulations to be judgmental of a particular style you may prefer for your son's hair. We ask that you comply because we want a clean-cut appearance, and we are encouraging the optimal academic performance for your child. Hair should not be a distraction to the child or his classmates. We appreciate your cooperation!
Some of you have been asking about when our after-school programs and clubs are beginning. Generally, we try to delay the start of those programs until a couple weeks of school have passed, to give the students and parents a chance to adjust to school routines. Those programs will begin rolling out in the coming days and weeks. You should start seeing flyers sent home with your students about these programs, so be on the lookout for those! I do know the start dates for the following programs:
- Homework Club: Tuesdays 3:00-3:30, starting September 8 (Just let your child's teacher know you want them to join).
- 100 Mile Club (Grades 3, 4, and 5): Mondays 3:00-3:45, starting September 18. (Grades 1 and 2): Wednesdays 3:00-3:45, starting September 20. A flyer was sent home last week. If you need another, please contact Kendra Washa for Grades 1 and 2 (kwasha@ucacad.org) or Susan Diaz for upper grades (sdiaz@ucacad.org).
- Chess Club: Wednesdays 3:00-4:00, starting September 20. Flyers will go home next week.
- Mad Science: Mondays 3:00-4:00, starting October 2. Flyers will go home soon.
- STEM: Flyers were sent home last week to express interest. Students will be selected by the STEM team and parents will be notified. Applications are due in the Main Office (NOT to your child's teacher) no later than Monday, September 11. STEM will start the week of October 3.
Lastly, I want to reassure you that we are taking good care of your young ones in the midst of this heat wave. We have been able to keep them indoors for their playtimes, and we anticipate continuing that practice next week. Feel free to send your child with bottled water to help keep them hydrated throughout the day, but of course they will continue to have access to the drinking fountains on campus.
I hope you have all had a great experience with the start of school, and we look forward to working together with you towards a successful school year!
