OB Weekly News 9-13

September

13- Early Dismissal, 1:15p.m.
17- Room Parent Mtg., 7p.m.
17- Chess Club Begins, 3:55-4:55p.m. 20- Picture Day!
25- Walk in the Park (during PE) 27- Quarterly Newsletter goes home

Announcements:

•Tardies- As everyone settles into the school year we’ve noticed that the number of tardies is increasing even with starting 10 minutes later this year, so I want to share some Tardy Tidbits

that you may not know...

Did you know...?

1. Tardies accumulate as minutes and when the minutes account for a full day, the student’s record shows as an absence.
   
2. School districts receive state money based on attendance and our attendance records are considered legal documents for that reason which means accuracy is important.
   
3. Staff coverage is provided at 8:30 and students are let into the building at 8:45 before school to provide enough time for students to make it to class.
   
4. Students are considered tardy when they are not in their classroom by the 8:55 bell since the classroom is where attendance is taken.
   
5. If a student is in the school but not in their classroom, they must go to the office for a tardy slip. We really hate to send students to the office when the bell rings but it has been the only way to provide consistency across the building and not take time from the teachers at the start of the day who might end up changing their official attendance records for up to 10 minutes as tardy students arrive.
   
6. Depending upon how many other students are also tardy they might even have to wait in line.
   
7. Our students have many great educational experiences during the day including daily PE and Spanish as well as other special classes. Classroom teachers are challenged to use every other available minute of the day for instruction on core content.
   
8. We have special classes that begin at 9a.m. for some grade levels so those classes have only 5 minutes to take care of attendance, lunch count, and get to their special class.
   

•Traffic Safety- If the upper parking lot is full at student drop-off or pick-up, do not try to pull in anyway. Cars should not block the crosswalk because the crossing guard is unable to cross students safely. Thank you for your cooperation.

•Character Plus Workshop- The Ladue School District is a CharacterPlus member. One benefit of being a member district is that our staff and parents can attend their workshops for free. Workshop topics include learning more about bully prevention, service learning, becoming character education certified, and much more. Stan Davis, an international authority on bully prevention, will be presenting Bully Prevention I and II on October 15 and 16. Please visit this website to register for this or other upcoming workshops http://characterplus.org/events.asp?page=162.

•Entertainment book- Last call....The entertainment book sale has ended. If you have not already done so, please turn in your check for $30 or your book. Have your child drop off your money or book in the office. For questions
contact sherriconnors@me.com. Thanks for supporting the OBPTO!

•Nurse Notes- The Clinic is in need of the following clothing please: underwear for boys and girls sizes 5, 6, and 7, elastic waist shorts or pants in sizes 5,6, and 7 too.

•Parent Presentation- Dr. Tim Jordan, a leading expert on girls, is offering a parent presentation in our community to all who are interested in learning more about preteen and teenage girls. The presentation is called DO THIS, NOT THAT....Advice for Parents of Adolescent Girls and will be held on Tuesday evening, October 1st @ 7:00 p.m. at the West County YMCA Auditorium. Cost is just $10 per person.

•School Board Briefs- Following is the link to the Board Briefs from the Ladue Schools Board of Education Work Session on September 9, 2013. Please feel free to share this link with interested family, friends and community members. http://boardbriefs.blogspot.com/