Pine Avenue Elementary School

Alma Public Schools

August 4, 2022

Dear Parents and Pine Avenue Students,

Welcome to the 2022-23 school year at Pine Avenue Elementary!  We are excited to get the school year started!  Hopefully you were able to enjoy your summer and that you and your child are looking forward to a new school year.  We are pleased to welcome you to Alma Public Schools and are committed to providing a positive environment where each student will be able to learn and grow, academically, socially, and physically!

Open house is scheduled from 1:00-3:00pm and from 5:00-7:00pm on Thursday, August 18th.  This is a wonderful opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and become familiar with our school.  Research shows that when parents are involved in their child’s education, children are more successful at school.  It is our goal to form a partnership with each of you to enhance a positive learning environment for your child to be successful.  One form of communication to help you to stay up to date on all the happenings of our school is to like our Facebook page, Pine Avenue Elementary School.  Our first day of school is Tuesday, August 23, 2022.

Many of you have asked about supplies your child needs to bring to school.  All of the items your child needs to participate in our school programs will be available to them in the classroom, so there is nothing your child has to have to come to school.  Teachers have included lists in their letters of possible items for you to bring.  These are not necessary for you to purchase.  However, if you wish to contribute to the classroom supplies, these additions will be appreciated by all.  Although we will not be utilizing community materials, these materials may be distributed for individual use throughout the school year.

With school beginning soon, we want to ensure that everyone is aware of our building start and end times for the 2022-2023 school year.  These times are the same as last year.  Please make sure to be aware of the drop off and pick up times at the beginning and end of each day.  Below is the school information including contact information, as well as important times to remember.

Contact Info: Pine Avenue Elementary  Alma Public Schools 1025 N. Pine Avenue Phone: 989-466-7651 Fax: 989-466-5038 Transportation Office: 989-463-3116

Daily Schedule: School name Office Hours: 7:30 - 4:00 Drop off Supervision begins at 7:35am School Begins: 8:03am Lunch: 4th grade - 11:15-12:00             5th grade - 12:05-12:50 Dismissal: 3:10pm After School Supervision ends at 3:20pm

You will also be receiving a mailing from your child’s teacher with more information about their classroom, included in this packet.

We are excited to announce our teachers for this fall!  This year, we have some new faces and we are excited they are joining our wonderful staff!

4th Grade: Mrs. Adams            Mrs. Lowe Mrs. Adkins             Mrs. Stephens Mrs. Ferguson        Miss Wilson	5th Grade: Mrs. Engel                Mrs. Oswald Mrs. Fornusek          Mr. Taylor Mr. Kemler                Mr. Stevenson
Special Education: Ms. Hoyt, Ms. Loonsfoot, Mrs. Nevins Title 1: Mrs. Case, Mrs. Hohlbein	Specials: Mrs. Salisbury, Mr. Studebaker,  Mrs. Terres Literacy Coach: Mrs. Irvin MTSS Coordinator: Ms. Sowders

Useful Information
Morning Drop-Off	Students When students arrive at school, they will go to the playground. Supervision on the playground begins at 7:35 am. Doors officially open and students are let into the building at 8:03am.   Pine Ave - Students report to classrooms/lockers. In the case of inclement weather, grade levels will be divided into two separate groups.  One will gather in the school library and the other in the gymnasium.   Parents Parents will be expected to remain in their vehicle during drop off/pick up.  Staff members will be present to meet and guide students in/out of the building. Parents are prohibited from walking their students into the building or down the hallways for the purposes of dropping off. Parents will only be permitted to enter the building under extenuating circumstances that must be approved by the building secretary or principal (dropping off paperwork, medication, etc.)
Late Arrival/Early Pick-Up	Parents will need to call the school upon their arrival to inform the office.   A staff member will meet the parent and student at the door to sign in/out.
Breakfast	Breakfast will be served in the classroom.
Lunch	Lunch will be served in the cafeteria on a rotational basis.  Three classes from each grade will go out first to the playground for 20 minutes while the other three eat and then they will switch. School lunches are available to all students.  However, students are welcome to bring lunches from home.
Afternoon Pick Up	Parents will be expected to remain in their vehicle during drop off/pick up.  Staff members will be present to guide students into the vehicles.

Morning Drop-Off Procedures

Using the entrance off of Pine Avenue, enter the right hand side of the driveway to drop off your student. To ensure the safety of our students, vehicles are NOT permitted to use the left lane in the student drop-off driveway. To maximize the amount of students who can be dropped off at once, please pull forward as directed by Pine Avenue staff members.  **This is a fire/emergency lane and must be open at all times. This traffic has also become congested and potentially dangerous.

Exit the student drop-off driveway through the exit off of Washington Avenue.  

To ensure a steady flow of traffic, we encourage parents to use southbound Pine Avenue for entering and exiting the drop-off driveways to minimize intersecting traffic. 

One alternate option to driving through the student drop-off driveway: 

You may park along southbound Pine Avenue next to the playground fencing, where your student can walk on the sidewalk to the school after being dropped off. This option will allow you to avoid needing to enter into the drive-through drop-off. 

*Students are NOT permitted to cross the parking lot alone to get to vehicles except at the crosswalk in front of the school entrance. A staff member will accompany students across the line of vehicles waiting for students if someone is unable to meet them at the overhang. 

Afternoon Pick-Up Procedures

Using the entrance off of Pine Avenue, enter the right hand side of the driveway to pick up your student. To ensure the safety of our students, vehicles are NOT permitted to use the left lane in the student pick-up driveway. This policy will likely slow the pick-up process down somewhat, but exists to maintain student safety.  To maximize the amount of students who can be picked up at once, please pull forward as directed by Pine Avenue staff members.  **This is a fire/emergency lane and must be open at all times. This traffic has also become congested and potentially dangerous.

Exit the student drop-off driveway through the exit off of Washington Avenue.  

To ensure a steady flow of traffic, we encourage parents to use southbound Pine Avenue for entering and exiting the drop-off driveways to minimize intersecting traffic. 

One alternate option to driving through the student drop-off driveway: 

You may park along southbound Pine Avenue next to the playground fencing, where your student can walk on the sidewalk to meet you. This option will allow you to avoid needing to enter into the drive-through drop-off. 

*Parents are NOT permitted to exit their vehicle, nor walk up to the building/into the building to pick up their child unless under extenuating circumstances.

Please call the office if you have any questions about these procedures.  Thank you for your cooperation! We appreciate your assistance in maintaining student safety.

We look forward to a great year with you and your child!  Please make sure to enjoy the last few weeks of summer and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the main office at 989-466-7651. 

Sincerely,

Angie Adams, Principal

Pine Avenue Elementary