First Day of School Updates/Reminders

School starts Tuesday, September 8th!!! Everyone at VES is very excited!!! Here are some reminders and important information:

1. Construction will be going on in the new classroom building and in the new cafeteria until December. All construction workers have had background checks by the school district.

2. The construction fence will be up around parts of the school including the parking lot. Because we have lost some parking spaces due to construction, its more important than ever that parents and families follow parking lot guidelines. This includes not using the lane closes to the school. It is for staff and buses. Students should be dropped off using the lane closest to Territorial and use the crosswalk. Students should not cut through the cars to cross into school unless they are with an adult. During dismissal, if you end up behind a bus please wait for it to pull out instead of trying to go around it. If everyone can follows the guidelines, our students will be safe in the parking lot.

3. The new entrance to the school will not be ready for a few more weeks. Until then, everyone should come in through the old entrance.

4. Key Bank will allow their parking lot to be used for overflow parking Tuesday morning, but only for short term parking (less than 15 minutes). Thank you Key Bank for being a great neighbor and great friend to Veneta Elementary.

5. On Tuesday morning all students will go directly to their classrooms unless they are eating breakfast at school. We will have staff with clipboards with class lists. We have also had several teachers change rooms so there will be staff to help kids (and parents) find the right classroom.

6. School starts at 7:55. This means that if students are not in their seats by 7:55 they will be considered tardy. Students will be dismissed at 2:25 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. They will be dismissed at 12:45 on Wednesdays.

7. The office won’t have phones or computers until Friday. The school will be closed to the public on Friday, September 4th and Monday, September 7th. Also I’m checking my email each evening from home and will continue to do so through the weekend so if you have questions email me at ojohnson@fernridge.k12.or.us

Finally-As you may know, staff were not able to return to our building until 12:30 on Monday, August 31st. Since that moment, everyone has been working full steam getting ready for the first day of school. Everyone has been pulling together and we are so lucky to have the staff we have here at Veneta. In addition to setting up classrooms, everything that was packed away in the library, the offices, and the staff work rooms has to be unpacked and put back together. I really want to thank everyone for going above and beyond this week. From the classroom teachers to the custodians to educational assistants to our parent volunteers- its been a team effort.  I especially want to thank those who brought us treats over the last few days. They really helped us to keep going and were deeply appreciated.  It’s been a little chaotic, but we know that when it is all done we know it will have been more than worth it. Thank you again for your continued support of our school.