Dear Caregivers,

Anticipation is in the air, and we are so excited for the first day on Tuesday! Our staff has worked so hard to create warm and welcoming learning environments and get our shared spaces ready to go. Kick Off was a huge success! Thank you to PTA and our volunteers for all of their efforts in organizing such a great event. Want to learn more about PTA? Join us on August 24th! Seeing all of our returning Geckos who have grown so much over the summer and the smiling faces of our new Geckos has me even more excited for day one! I wanted to share just a few reminders and highlights from the student handbook before we get school underway.

Birthdays
We are always excited to celebrate student birthdays with classmates, and birthdays are also highlighted school wide during daily announcements! While treats are completely optional, we strongly encourage non-food items like stickers, special pencils, or books if you choose to send something. Since several students have food allergies, non-food treats keep everyone safe and included. If you choose to bring a food item, it must be individually wrapped and will be distributed as students head home rather than eaten in class. Please check with your child’s teacher to see if there are food allergies in the classroom to be aware of and provide an alternative. Unwrapped items, such as donuts in boxes, packages of cookies or cupcakes, cannot be distributed unless bagged individually and will be returned home. Additionally, if you plan to send birthday party invitations to school, every student in the homeroom class must receive one. While reviewing upcoming school announcements, I noticed we have quite a few Gecko birthdays this week! Thank you for helping us follow these guidelines to keep our community safe and happy.

Lunch
We do not have visitors for lunch for the first two weeks of school as we are teaching cafeteria routines. Parents can join students starting August 31st. If you are joining your child for lunch, please note that we do not have space inside the cafeteria. After you sign into the office as a visitor with your ID, you can pick up your Gecko from the cafeteria and use one of the picnic tables in the front of the school. If it is raining, you may use a bench in the main hallway. Students are only allowed to eat with their parents/guardians and may not have another student from their class or another class join them. Please make sure that you are finished in time so that your child can join their class by lining up at the end of lunch. This helps all students transition more smoothly from the cafeteria back to class.

Office Reminders
Please remember same day dismissal changes must go through the office. Teachers may not see an email that day, so by going through the office (not email), we can make sure everyone gets where they need to be safely. If you are picking up your child for an appointment, please allow plenty of time so that we can call for your child. It may take a few minutes-as our classrooms are busy places and may not be in their room when you come. Please do not check out your students after 2:40 PM. Attendance is taken every day at 9:45! Your child must be on campus at that time to be counted present. Students arriving after 7:40 will be marked as tardy, If your chid is absent please email gullett@austinisd.org within 48 hours.

Drop Off and Pick Up
On the first day you can walk your Gecko to the classroom door and on Day 2 Hug Zones begin. Our car line opens at 7:15. For the first day, teachers will open their doors a bit early at 7:15 to welcome students, and beginning Wednesday teachers will greet students at their door at 7:30. Students arriving prior to 7:30 can wait in the cafeteria. Hug zones are located near the classrooms-please remember that parents are not able to go into the classroom in the morning. Please remember to review our one pager of arrival and dismissal procedures and our detailed arrival and dismissal procedures found here.

Communication
Communication is a critical part of the school/family relationship. During the school week, teachers will return emails within 24-48 hours. It is not an expectation that teachers will reply to emails over the weekend or holidays. Teachers will send weekly newsletters home to inform parents of classroom curriculum and upcoming events and reminders. A monthly newsletter from the school will also be sent, and Konstella will have lots of updates and reminders and includes our campus calendar. Also, please do not message any staff individually on Konstella. Your messages are likely to be missed as this is not something any of us check regularly and staff can only communicate with caregivers via school email. Please only use school email to reach out to teachers, admin or office staff. Note: Our gmail often sends caregiver emails to spam initially, so please resend or call if you have not received a response.

It is a big lift to get a school up and running efficiently as we get used to where everyone goes and how they get there. Please be extra patient as we work hard to get students where they need to be safely in these first few days. It might take us a bit longer the first week, but I have no doubt that things will be running smoothly soon. If you have any questions about anything please ask! Your child’s teacher will be quite busy with students during the day, so if your question needs a more immediate answer, please call the office so we can help.

I wish you all the best of luck getting your kiddos settled into bed this week! Between the excitement of school starting and the fact that it stays daylight out until about midnight, getting children to sleep in the evenings will be no easy feat! We are thrilled to see you all this week and look forward to an amazing school year!

Kindly,
Tammy Thompson
Proud Principal, Gullett Elementary

Resources:
Student handbook