Happy New Year! We hope you had an enjoyable break and holiday season. As we begin 2017 and approach the beginning of the 2nd half of the year, we want to share with you some of the resolutions we have made for the new year:

1. Focus on Organization: January brings a new opportunity to get organized. And for our students, this means devoting a little more time in homeroom getting prepared for the day. All grades will start the day with a renewed focus on lab agendas (see below), goal setting, and /or morning procedures. We believe that spending this time getting ready for the day will translate to smoother operations throughout the day. And don't forget, being prepared also means that students are wearing appropriate uniforms (including only navy sweaters and jackets during the day) and have the supplies they need (binder, paper, and pencil).  Also, boots are not allowed in school; students wearing boots to school must change into appropriate footwear before school starts.  And parents, your New Year's resolution is to label ALL outerwear and water bottles, legibly.  

2. Lab Agenda Reboot: Over the break, we reformatted the agendas for students in grades 1-5. They now include am/pm homerooms, recess, and more personalized goal-setting. Parents should review the lab agendas with their children each night! And, a parent signature is required only if that section is highlighted. Note, there is a teacher/parent comment section on the back, as well. Please keep your eyes on this section for info coming home related to your child, and you may also use it to communicate directly with your child's teachers. Be sure to indicate who the comments are directed to in your notes.

3. Promptness: As you know, school starts at 8:15 am and ends at 3:45 pm. Up until now, we have had a fairly lenient late policy, but have recently noticed that our car-rider and walk-up students are arriving well after 8:15 am and hoping to "squeeze in". Given the importance of homeroom time (see #1), we are starting to more strictly enforce the cut offs in the interest of getting all children to their classrooms on time. Late arrivals are very disruptive to the other students AND students arriving late are missing important organizational and instructional time. While we know that things come up unexpectedly and circumstances are not always in your control, please recommit with us to arriving on time. The specific changes include: 

a) the walker doors will be closed at 8:15 am, and

b) cars may not join the car-rider line after 8:15 am.

 Anyone arriving after 8:15 am must park in the gravel lot and walk his/her child to the front office. DO NOT drop students on 9th street (or anywhere) and have them walk themselves in because late students MUST be signed in by a parent. In the afternoons, we keep the car-rider line open until there are no additional cars waiting. Typically, this means the line will close at 4:00 pm, however sometimes it moves more quickly than others. If you arrive after the car-rider line has closed, you must park in the gravel lot and walk up to the student entrance to pick up your child.

We look forward to sharing details of some additional second semester adjustments in the coming weeks and to having your support as we work to fulfill our new year's resolutions! Thank you again for being part of Charlotte Lab School.