Mrs. Loeung's Classroom Blog: August 2009

Drop-off
Students are welcome in the classrooms at 7:45 am and class starts promptly at 8:00 am. We are encouraging parents to use the far-east "Loop" (using the driveway by the post office) since we anticipate this will be the most efficient for families. There is a path for students to follow to the Grade School building. Middle School helpers will be placed strategically along the path to help young students navigate the path. Older siblings are also encouraged to assist their younger siblings in getting to the classroom. However, the first day of school is bound to be an exception! The front entrance is the second drop-off site that we anticipate most parents will utilize the first day of school. Undoubtedly, the parking lot will be extremely full. We appreciate your cooperation in getting your child to their classroom as quickly as possible and promptly exiting the parking lot to allow for another parent to drop off their child. Thank you!

Snack & Lunch
Our class will have morning snack and recess from 9:25 – 10:00 am each day. Lunch and afternoon recess are from 12:30 – 1:20 pm. Your child may bring a sack lunch from home or purchase a hot lunch from the school. For hot lunch, please send a lunch money check with your child to drop off at the office before school begins. This can be done within the first week of school to ensure that your child's lunch account is ready for use.

Music
Every intermediate student will have the opportunity to participate in either band or music (fondly referred to as “Funky Monkeys”). The first week of school will be an opportunity for students to decide their preferred music class. Students who prefer band will visit the band class. Likewise, students who know they prefer “Funky Monkeys” will go there. If your child is undecided, they will have the option to visit both classes and must decide their preference by Thursday, September 3nd. Administration will determine the final music schedule using students' preferred music class. All efforts will be made to accommodate your child's first preference as it fits with the overall schedule. However, there is a slight chance your student may not receive their first choice. This is due to the fact that we need to keep class sizes as balanced as possible for the sake (and sanity!) of our precious Funky Monkey teacher, Mrs. Swanson, and our brave band teacher, Mr. Killgore! We appreciate your cooperation and support in helping your child understand this process.

P.E.
We will have P.E. two (2) days each week for 40 minutes. Your child will need to bring appropriate footwear for P.E., but will not dress down.

Pick-up
School will be dismissed at 3:20 pm every day. Each family has been assigned a pick-up location in an effort to alleviate potential traffic issues. A list of assigned locations has been sent to parents via e-mail. The general idea is that you will pick up your child(ren) at the geographical location of the oldest sibling. We would appreciate your help in promptly picking up your student(s) in the assigned pick-up location and exiting the parking lot as quickly as possible, without coming into the school building. This will help keep the traffic flowing so that all parents are able to pick-up their children safely and efficiently. We are encouraging parents to pick-up their student(s) at the far-east end "Loop" (using the driveway by the post office) if possible. We anticipate this will be the most efficient pick-up option. Please let us know if you are planning to use the far-east pick-up location option and are not currently assigned to that site. We will gladly adjust the pick-up location to accommodate a far-east pick-up. Undoubtedly there will be details to work out throughout this new process and we appreciate your flexibility and patience through it all!

Can you believe the first day of school is right around the corner? I am anxious to get to know each of you! As the first members of the new Corbett Charter School, we will have an amazing opportunity to learn and grow in our first year together. I'll share a little about myself to get the ball rolling!

This will be my third year teaching at Corbett. I received my Masters of Arts in Teaching from George Fox University and my Bachelor of Arts from Lewis & Clark College. I am an outdoor/sports enthusiast and enjoy traveling as much as possible. I love mountain biking, hiking, camping, playing volleyball, and snowboarding. This summer I was able to combine my passion for traveling and sports by spending a month in Maui, Hawaii with my family. I went surfing and paddle boarding for the first time and my husband (Sam) and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by going scuba diving. Incredibly, I also had the chance to travel to Washington D.C. with some fellow teachers and we also met up in Maui. Believe or not, teachers do "play" together too. :) Needless to say, it was an amazing summer of “first” adventures!