Willett Whaler

August 21, 2022

Dear Families,

We want to welcome all students and families to the 2022-2023 school year. We are very excited to have all of our Willett friends and staff returning and look forward to a wonderful, fun filled year of learning.

Start Dates:

• Grades 1-4 students begin on Monday, August 29, 2022.

• Kindergarteners at Willett will have orientation on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Last names A-K orientation will be at 10:00-11:00. Last names L-Z will be at 1:00-2:00 pm.

• Kindergarten students begin school on Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

Arrival and dismissal:

• Doors open for arrival at 8:30 a.m. School begins promptly at 8:45. If your child is planning on getting breakfast in school, they should be in the school building by 8:40, at the latest.
• Dismissal is at 3:25 p.m.
• On the early dismissal days, the school day will end at 12:25 p.m.
• Our first concern is your child’s safety. You will be asked to confirm how you will pick up your child from school this year or if they will be riding a bus or attending ABACUS. It is important if you make any changes to your child’s typical dismissal procedure to notify the school in writing. Without a note, children will continue with their regularly established dismissal. In the case of an emergency a phone request or walk in may be honored.
• Please do not park and walk to the building with your child for drop off. If your child is being brought via your vehicle, they need to be dropped off using the Riverbank drop off line only.
• Please NO cell phone use while dropping off or picking up your children.

Transported via vehicle by Family/Other

Arrival

• All students transported by vehicle will be dropped off in front of the gym on Riverbank Road.
• We unload approximately five to six vehicles at a time.
• Several staff will be there to guide your child from your car to inside the school.
• Students need to exit your vehicle from the sidewalk side. No student may exit the vehicle from the roadside. This is for everyone’s safety.
• Please remain inside your car during drop off. Staff will help students as needed.
• If your child uses a booster seat, please have them practice how to unclip themselves once it is their turn to exit the vehicle.

Dismissal

• Grades K-4 will be dismissed for car pick up in front of the gym on Riverbank Road.
• Please place a sign with your child’s first and last name written in large, bold letters on your passenger side window or visor and flip it down when you approach. There will be a staff member on the sidewalk calling students from the gym based upon the students’ names on the sign/placard. We will be providing you with placards shortly into the year.
  
• Please do not pass another car in the queue, make a u-turn or stop and leave your vehicle.
  
• Always stay in your vehicle. All students are carefully monitored and assisted by adults the entire time.
  
• If your child needs helps being clipped into their seatbelt or a booster seat, please pull slightly forward to the large tree (about 30 feet) where there is more space for you to pull your car over so that you can help them.
  
• Students need to enter your vehicle from the sidewalk side. No student may enter the vehicle from the roadside. This is for everyone’s safety.
  

The line looks daunting but we do have an excellent, safe and efficient system for getting students dismissed quickly to their vehicles. Please be patient. The line gets quicker after the first few weeks of school.

Walkers

Arrival

• Please enter through door 9 located near the center of the playground/blacktop area in the back of the school.
• There is NO supervision before 8:30am. Door 9 will be opened at the bell at 8:30 a.m.
• Please do not leave students unattended, before 8:30, on the blacktop area.

Dismissal-

• Students will exit through door 9 located near the center of the playground/blacktop area in the back of the school. Door will open at the 3:25 bell. Please make sure somewhere is there to promptly meet the child, as needed.

Bus Students

Arrival and dismissal-

• Bus students will be met by staff at the front circle drop off at arrival and supervised during arrival unloading and reloading at dismissal.

Bus routes

When the bus routes are ready, they may be viewed on the district’s website http://www.attleboroschools.com. A reminder that the first 2 – 3 weeks of the bus route, times may be off by 5-15 minutes or more as everyone adjusts to more traffic on the roads when school begins as well as those families who take that extra minute to give a good-bye hug or words of positive encouragement.

Please be at your stop at least 10 minutes before the estimated time of pick up/drop off every day. Once three full weeks have gone by, you will have a more realistic, regular time that the bus arrives/drops off at the designated bus stop. Thank you for your patience at the beginning of the year.

If your child normally takes the bus but will need to be picked up instead, please notify the classroom teacher in writing. See below.

Early Dismissal Pick up

If you are picking up your child early for an appointment, please notify the classroom teacher in writing. Please pull in front of the school, park along the curb and ring the bell. Your child will be directed to meet you at the door once you arrive. We ask that all early dismissals are planned for before 3:00 p.m.

Breakfast and Lunch

As stated in Superintendent Sawyer's letter, Massachusetts has extended free school meals for another year. This means that breakfast and lunch will continue to be served at no cost to all students. Please note that even though meals will be free for all, it remains essential for families to complete the household Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals for the 2022-2023 school year. We strongly encourage ALL families to submit this form as it allows us to determine eligibility for P-EBT benefits and waive or reduce transportation, athletics, and other fees. Documenting qualifying families also significantly impacts state funding for our district, so completing the form is a direct way to support our schools. The breakfast and lunch menu will be on the district’s website (For Parents/ Food Services/ Lunch Menus) and posted each month. Whitsons, our food service provider, has its own website listed on the menu for those who need ingredients and carb counts.

We ask that lunches from home are nut free when possible. Safety precautions will be followed if nut products are packed in a lunch. Please pack a napkin or paper towel for your child for a snack and one for lunch. Children that bring lunches from home will be putting their empty bags and wrappers into their lunchbox for disposal at home.

Snacks

Classrooms will remain nut safe during snack time, all snacks should be nut free. A snack should be sent with your child every day.

Recess

Recess will be outdoors whenever possible. During the colder months, please keep in mind that the students will still go outside unless the "feels like" temperature is below 25 degrees, or if there is rain, ice or otherwise dangerous conditions. Dress warmly when needed!

Extra Clothes

Please send a seasonally appropriate change of clothes that will stay in your child’s backpack for needed changes that won’t require a visit to the nurse to borrow clothes. This is for ALL grades as occasionally, we will have a child spill something on them in lunch or Art and need a change of clothes in addition to bathroom accidents that may occur.

School Technology Devices:

• Entering K- No devices will be assigned to individual kindergarteners. No devices will be brought home by K students. There will be devices available inside of the classroom for use at school, as determined by the teacher.
• Entering 1- No devices will be assigned to individual first graders. No devices will be brought home by grade 1 students. There will be devices available inside of the classroom for use at school, as determined by the teacher
• Entering Grades 2-4- Every grade 2, 3 and 4 student who currently has a device (chromebook), will continue to use that device for school purposes, as determined by the teacher. We ask that you please send it fully charged into school daily. Incoming grade 2 students and other students new to the school in grades 3 or 4, will be assigned a device.

ID Badges:

All children will be issued an ID badge and lanyard early in the school year. The ID will be in your child’s backpack or looped through the strap when they leave school each day. Please work with your child to establish a routine to remember their ID every day. They need their badge for breakfast and lunch, so its very important for them to keep it safe and not lose it.

Communication:

Please make sure you go through your child’s backpack on the first day and every day.

Keep checking your email for updates and additional information.

We send out the Willett Whaler Smore newsletter via email blast approximately every other week, on Sundays.

Again, we look forward to working together with our students and families to ensure a safe, engaging and productive school year. Please reach out to us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Cateon, Principal

Christine Brierly, Assistant Principal