August 2011

Dear Sunset Lane Families,

On behalf of the entire Sunset Lane staff, welcome to the 2011/2012 school year.  I hope that you built wonderful memories throughout the summer and are ready to get back to the business of learning. School begins on Monday, August 29, at 8:30 a.m. for all students. Students in grades 1 through 6 line up on their classroom numbers on the playground. Kindergarten Orientation will be held on Friday, August 26, at 9:00 in the MPR.  The kindergarten teachers will inform you of kindergarten procedures.

Our school hours are:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday:                              Wednesday and Conference Week**
Grades 1 – 6                  8:30 a.m. to   2:55 p.m.              8:30 a.m. to   1:10 p.m.
Kinder Early Birds        8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.               8:30 a.m. to  11:45 a.m. 
Kinder Late Birds         10:30 a.m. to   2:45 p.m.                         8:30 a.m. to  11:45 a.m.

Wednesday is designated as a restructured day throughout the FSD in order that teachers can attend trainings and required meetings to continue to build their instructional skills.                                                                                                             
Sunset Lane continues to have a fee based pre-school class on campus.  For information about the pre-school class or KidZone before and after school child care, please contact Child Development Services at (714) 447-2858 or visit the website at www.fsd.k12.us. Follow the District Links to Child Development Services.
                                                                                                                       
Playground supervision begins at 8:15 p.m.; students may not arrive at school before that time. When the bell rings at 8:25, teachers meet their students in grades one through at the class line and walk to class. Instruction begins promptly at 8:30.  Students arriving at school after 8:30 must come to the office for a tardy slip. Kindergarten arrival and dismissal procedures will be provided at orientation.

There is no supervision on the school grounds after school hours.  Children are to leave the campus and go directly home unless they are enrolled in an after-school program. If you are picking your child up after school, please be on time.  Students left unsupervised on the campus will be brought to the office and parents will be called.  We care about the safety of every child.

Please adhere to traffic rules to protect our children.

• Parent cars are not allowed in the school parking lot at any time on school days.
• Only cars with a valid and posted handicapped placard may enter the parking lot slowly and with extreme caution and exit through the south driveway.
• Do not block or turn around in the school driveways.
• The gray-painted curb is for quick drop-off and pick-up only during the following hours:

                    7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.                        12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m
            Pull up close to the curb and all the way to the south end of the school. Have your child ready to quickly exit the car on the curb side.  If your child is not waiting for you after school, please drive around the block and return.

In order to conserve resources while providing you with information about school events, please
listen for a phone call every Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. with weekly events and items of
interest. This year, the Sunset Lane Student Handbook and FSD Student Handbook are
available on line at the school and district website. The office will have a limited number of
hard copies on hand for your use.

Sunset Lane is a school with a long and proud history in the community; we set high academic, behavior and attendance standards within a nurturing and supportive environment.  This year, we will introduce to the school community Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), a systematic approach that links student behavior and academic achievement.

We invite you to become active participants in your child’s education and in the school community. On the first day of school, PTA will host a relaxing “Coffee Hour” in the MPR at the start of the school day. Please take that time to visit with your neighbors and make a new friend. At 9:30, join us on the playground for the first school-wide assembly of the year and learn more about PBIS. Back to School Night and our first PTA and Foundation meetings will be held on Thursday, September 8, 2011.

Sunset Lane’s teachers work hard as a team to determine the best class placement for every child, and requests for changes will not be considered during the first three weeks of school.

We look forward to a year of learning with all of you! Please stop by and introduce yourself!

Sincerely,
Paula K. Pitluk, Principal