Ceres%Elementary%School% ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Office of the Principal August 1, 2013 Dear Ceres Families, I want to officially welcome all of you to the 2013-2014 school year! Summer has come and gone and we must now move forward with many exciting changes to follow. We have been very busy throughout our campus this summer with the integration of our East Whittier Early Childhood Pre-school. Everything is progressing smoothly to a great opening of school on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 . I am privileged to have the opportunity to return this school year as your Principal and I feel honored to work with our highly qualified and dedicated staff, our wonderful students, and all of the supportive parents. The elementary years are critical times of development for students and families and I look forward in working with all of you to make this school year successful. I am a lifelong educator and I am committed to students and families as well as a love for learning. Our Ceres campus has undergone a series of changes. We rearranged some classrooms to prepare for our Preschool needs, and we now have some wonderful and colorful beautification murals that you will notice throughout our school. This project would not be possible without our hard working PTA support and your fundraising contributions. Thank you ALL! You will also notice some facility changes and improvements to accommodate our entire student and staff needs. Also, please help me welcome our new faces on campus who will be working closely with our ‘Junior Seagulls’ in the Pre-school. We look forward to sharing many school memories together. This summer, our teachers have been preparing for the arrival of our Common Core Standards. They have attended Professional Development trainings and are prepared to implement many new strategies to differentiate the instruction for all of our student’s needs. Our teachers have been working hard in preparing their classrooms and lesson plans that promise to make for another exciting and productive year at Ceres. We give many thanks to our site custodian, Mr. Russ and the District’s entire maintenance crew who have been working diligently to prepare our campus for the start of the new school year. All we await for now, is our fabulous Seagull students. I’d like to invite you to soon visit our school’s website. This will serve as a resource tool for all upcoming events, student/parent handbook, important reminders and you can catch up with our monthly “Seagull News” newsletter. This school year we will encourage our entire Ceres community to demonstrate our Ceres pride by wearing our school colors on Fridays! We will incorporate many other school spirit events, and we will continue to use our Tele-parent message board for reminders of upcoming events and you can also check our monthly calendar. In closing, please enjoy the remaining days of summer. I look forward to seeing many new and familiar faces on our first day of school. Our vision of success begins August 14, 2013. Warmly, Mrs. Julie Gonzalez Ceres Elementary Principal Ceres%Elementary%School% ! Important Reminders & Procedures I. II. The first day of school is Wednesday, August 14, 2013. Parents you are welcomed to walk your child to his/her class on the first day of school ONLY. We understand that it is a special day and it will alleviate some anxiety from both parties!. Ceres school hours will be: (Kindergarten). 8:10 a.m.- 2:20 p.m. Tuesday dismissal is 1:20 p.m. (1 -5 grade), 8:10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Tuesday dismissal is 1:30 p.m. Classroom assignments will be posted on the day before the first day of school (Aug. 13 th , 2013 at 6 p.m.) Closed Campus Policy & Procedures st III. th As you are aware, student safety continues to be a high priority at Ceres School. Therefore, we will continue to implement our “Closed Campus” guidelines. In the interest of security and safety for students and staff, our campus will continue to be locked and fully secured. Please help us by following these guidelines and reviewing them with your child. PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW: • Only students may enter the school through the student entrance gate located on the north side of the cafeteria from 8:00 A.M. to 8:10 A.M. The gate will be locked at 8:10 A.M. and all students who are not on campus by that time will need to enter through the office and be marked tardy. STUDENTS ARRIVING TARDY MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT AND SIGNED IN. • Supervision is provided starting at 8:00 A.M. Please do not bring your child to school before that time since there is no supervision. • All parents/visitors must report directly to the school office. The office personnel will provide information and assistance in an effort to keep classroom interruptions to a minimum. The gates will be unlocked at1:30 p.m.-Tuesdays and 2:30 P.M. M/W/Th/F for student dismissal. Kinder students will dismiss in the kindergarten gate area • • MINIMIZING CLASSROOM INTERRUPTIONS • Every effort is made to minimize classroom interruptions. Please help us with the following guidelines: • Make sure your child is well prepared for school each day. Classrooms are not interrupted to deliver homework, lunches or messages. • Classroom treats/birthday celebrations need teacher approval (please notify teacher 24 hours in advance). With teacher approval, snacks will be given to students during recess. Note: Due to allergies, some snacks may be DENIED These procedures will be effective on Wednesday, August 14, 2013. Thank you for your cooperation, patience and flexibility.