WEEKLY NEWS FROM KRIEGER SCHECHTER - 8.14.2017
36th Anniversary
It’s Krieger Schechter’s 36th birthday year! Stay tuned for details on a year of excitement, events and more as we celebrate KSDS’s “double-chai
birthday!

~ Launch the 36th celebration at our Welcome Back to School Shabbat Service and Dinner on September 8. For info and registration, click here

~ Watch the first Ravens game and 'Tailgate with a Purpose' on 9/10 For more info, click here

~ Click here for details on a year of excitement, events and more as we celebrate our 36th anniversary!

We are excited about the amazing 2017-2018 school year to come, and look forward to welcoming our KSDS community back to school!


If you are new to the Tov Lada'at weekly e-newsletter, click HERE to learn more about it.

This week's Tov is the "Back-to-School" edition includes important back-to-school information. If you read one e-mail this week, it should be this one; every parent is asked to carefully review the linked Beginning of School Year Parent Checklist for all required back-to-school forms, information and action items. Please read carefully, and make sure your student is fully prepared to start the school year.


Enjoy the rest of your summer.


B'Shalom,

Rabbi Moshe and the KSDS Administrative Staff

IMPORTANT - Includes links to required forms
and action items.
In order to keep this “Back-To-School” Tov edition more streamlined, we have created a separate, full parent checklist of all forms and action items that are required to be completed prior to the start of school. Click here for a Beginning of School Year KSDS Parent Checklist, with links to ALL forms and action items to be completed. Many of these items are mandatory, prior to the start of school; thank you for carefully reviewing the linked checklist (the checklist items are NOT listed separately in this Tov email).

1. First Day of School for Lower School: 
    Where To Go! - Tuesday, August 29, 2017

We can't wait to greet our families on the first day! Early arrival for Lower School students begins at 7:30am. Students should enter through the Berman entrance where they will be greeted by our early arrival staff.

  • Kindergarten and 1st graders will be escorted to the gym at 7:45am by our early arrival staff, where their teachers will greet them.
  • 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders will gather in the school lobby during morning arrival, and-- weather permitting--the courtyard will be open for some early morning physical activity and/or fresh air.
  • All Lower School students will come together for a morning flag ceremony at 8:05am in the school lobby. Students will be led to their classrooms by their teachers around 8:10am, and class officially begins at 8:15am.
2. First Day of School for Middle School:          
    Where To Go! - Tuesday, August 29, 2017

All students should arrive through the Berman entrance, as they will every morning of school. Early arrival begins at 7:30am in the school lobby.

By 7:45am, MS students will be directed to the following locations, with all of their bags and supplies:

  • 5th grade - English/Social Studies classrooms
  • 6th and 7th grades - Sanctuary
  • 8th grade - Room 252
3. Optional "Meet and Greet": 
    Monday, August 28 from 2-3pm

Students in Grades 1-4 and 6-8 will have the opportunity to visit their classrooms (Lower School), set up their lockers (Middle School) AND meet their teachers before the first day of school, and will also be able to drop off their classroom supplies. No need to RSVP, just come on by! (Kindergarten and Grade 5 students will be able to bring in their supplies and meet their teachers during their respective orientation programs on Monday morning, August 28.)


Since August 28 is the day before school starts, we will be able to offer only this one hour for "meet and greet" time. This is a time period to say hello in general and to drop off supplies. We ask that parents allow teachers to be available to talk with all students during this time; if you have a particular item that you would like to discuss with the teacher about your individual child, please email the teacher to arrange a different time to meet. Students who cannot attend during that hour will have ample opportunity to get settled in on the first day of school.

5.  5th Grade Orientation for Parents and Students:
     Monday, August 28 from 8:30-11:00am

Please see the information flyer here for more details. We look forward to welcoming all of our 5th grade students and parents! 5th graders should bring all of their school supplies with them to 5th Grade Orientation, and Dress Down clothing is fine for Orientation.


6.  Welcome New KSDS Faculty!

In addition to the new faculty members announced in June--Gigi Lepski (Art), Yali Lowenberg (LS General Studies), Alex Malischostak (MS Judaics), Andrea Mitton (MS English/Cooking/Sewing), and Nora Sokolow (MS Learning Specialist)--we are thrilled to welcome an additional new faculty member who joined the KSDS community this summer. Please join us in welcoming Stacey Weber, who will be working as a LS Reading Specialist in 1st and 3rd grades.

7.  New Parent Orientation, New Parent Renweb Account Setup, Welcome New Students

We invite all new KSDS parents (kindergarten and older grades) to attend a New Parent Orientation on Wednesday August 23 from 7-8:30pm in the Esterson Auditorium.


All new parents are asked to set up their Renweb (KSDS’ student information system) account prior to coming to New Parent Orientation because some time will be spent at orientation demonstrating how to navigate parent aspects of Renweb. Instructions for setting up your parent Renweb account can be found here.


In addition to welcoming all of our new kindergarten families, we also welcome our families with students new to KSDS who are entering Grades 1-8. Welcome to the KSDS community!

  • Grade 1:  Ilan Beck, Daniella Medved, Sebastian Oakes, and Hayden Pearlstein
  • Grade 2:  Pelle Fleischman and Jake Keller
  • Grade 3:  Cameron Faircloth, Katelyn Grossman, and Avital Shalva
  • Grade 4:  Theo Fleischman and Ethan Rapoport
  • Grade 5:  Allison Lutwin
  • Grade 6:  Paola Mirkin and Lev Shalva
  • Grade 7:  Isaac Benjamin

8.  Reminder about Birthday Parties, etc. and Shabbat

IMPORTANT - while this is not a new policy, we are reminding families of this important rule in our school: All school families are asked to keep the religious practices of other families (and the school) in mind when scheduling parties. Parties should not be scheduled on Shabbat or Jewish Holidays, and party food choices should take into account the Kashrut practices of all families. Please note that the ending time for Shabbat shifts as the year progresses and that some holiday observances fall on weekends. Please refer to a Jewish calendar for Shabbat ending times and any weekend holiday observance days. This policy helps make our school community the warm, inclusive place that it is. 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Please Note:  Read this section carefully, because some dates and times have changed since the school calendar was released last spring.


Wednesday, August 23

  • New Parent Orientation, 7-8:30 pm, Esterson Auditorium

Sunday, August 27

  • Grade 3 Play Date, 11 am-12:30 pm (pool party at Sachs home)

  • Grade 4 Play Date,11 am-12:30 pm (pool party at Levine home)

  • Grade 2 Play Date, 1:30-3 pm (KSDS Playground)

  • Kindergarten Play Date, 3-4:30 pm (KSDS Playground)

  • Grade 1 Play Date, 4:30-6 pm (KSDS Playground)

Monday, August 28

  • Kindergarten Orientation, 8:30am-12:15pm

  • Grade 5 Parent and Student Orientation, 8:30-11am

  • New Student Boot Camp, Noon-2pm (for New Lateral Entry Students only)

  • Optional K-8 Meet and Greet, 2-3pm

Tuesday, August 29

  • FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Thursday, August 31

  • Grade 8 Field Trip to Hershey Park--8:30am-6pm

Monday, September 4

  • KSDS Closed--Labor Day

Tuesday, September 5

  • School Photos

  • MS Back to School Night, 7-9pm

Friday, September 8

  • School Photos

  • KSDS Parent Association Meeting, 8:15-9:15am

  • KSDS Back to School Shabbat Dinner, 6 - 8 pm

Tuesday, September 12

  • LS Back to School Night, 7-9 pm

Wednesday, September 13

  • Grade 1 Shofar Factory (Students Only), 1:30-2:30pm

Friday, September 15

  • Grade 7 Better Together Field Trip, 9-11am

Saturday, September 16

  • K Parent Social, 8-9pm

Tuesday, September 19

  • Grade 8 High School Meeting, 7-8pm, Esterson Auditorium

Wednesday, September 20

  • KSDS Closed--Erev Rosh HaShanah

Thursday, September 21

  • KSDS Closed--Rosh HaShanah

Friday, September 22

  • KSDS Closed--Rosh HaShanah

Tuesday, September 26

  • Grade 8 High School Fair, 7-9pm, Garden Lounge

Thursday, September 28

  • Dress Down Day

Friday, September 29

  • KSDS Closed--Erev Yom Kippur

Monday, Oct 30

  • 36th Day of School