Letter from the EC Principal
Dear ANCS Elementary Families,
This cooler weather is a welcome relief from the extreme heat we have experienced over the first month of school. However, with this weather, our lost and found is filling up quickly. Please encourage your child to look through the lost and found. We also ask that you label your child’s jackets, sweaters, water bottles, lunch boxes, etc. If they get left behind and have a name on them, we will get them to the owner. Otherwise, items go to the lost and found, and tend to stay on the lost side of things. We would love for students to be reunited with their belongings!
Dismissal is a busy 15 to 20 minutes part of our day. We depend on everyone to make this time a safe and orderly transition from school to home. Inside the building, students and teachers are listening for dismissal numbers and students know to make their way outside as soon as they hear their number called over the walkie talkie. Outside, adults are ensuring students are safely making it to their car or adult who is here to pick them up. We need your help by keeping the sidewalks clear and by keeping your child with you if you are choosing to stay on the front yard to visit with friends. Dismissal is not the time for running around the front yard. It is distracting to the adults in charge and to the students trying to get to their adult who is here to pick them up in the afternoon. Finally, please remember that dismissal runs from 2:40-3:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday and from 1:30-1:50 on Wednesday. Students will be checked into after school if they are not picked up by those times. Thank you for your help with this.
If you haven’t already, you will soon be receiving communication from your child’s teachers regarding signing up for a conference time. Our fall conference window opens on September 15th. Make sure you sign up for a time, as this conference is a mandatory part of our reporting system, but more importantly, it is one of the best ways to support our home-school partnership. The purpose of this first conference is to mainly focus on social/emotional aspects of your child’s year so far. Additionally, MAP scores will be discussed and a conference guide will be shared with you. We look forward to seeing you all (in person or virtually) over the next several weeks.
As you prepare for your conference, I would like to offer some suggestions for you to consider that may enhance the experience and assure you gain the information you desire.
- Be on time for your conference. Teachers have very full conference schedules, often fitting them in during the school day. Thirty minutes is usually the time allotted for each conference. Please let teachers know as soon as possible if your schedule changes and you are unable to make your scheduled time.
- Talk with your child before the conference. You will receive a student reflection during the conference, but it can be helpful to get a sense of how your child feels about his/her own progress so far this school year. Of course, we encourage you to have conversations regularly with your child about school. You can ask questions such as, “What has been challenging so far this school year?” or “What do you think you need to focus on more as the year continues?” Your child’s responses can add a lot to the conference dialogue.
- Take notes during the conference. In addition to having a copy of the conference guide, taking notes will help you have a follow-up conversation with your child and/or a family member that was unable to make it to the conference.
- Ask questions and share information. If you have specific questions regarding your child’s academic or social growth, please ask them. It can be helpful to email questions to the teachers ahead of time to assure specific information is readily available to address them. Similarly, because teachers need your help and input, it is helpful to hear your observations and experiences, as they will enrich the teachers’ understanding of your child and provide them with more strategies to support him/her/them at school.
- Request additional staff be present if you wish. We work hard to ensure that special education and academic assistance teachers are available to attend the conferences of the students they serve. If you would like anyone else to attend your conference, please let the teachers know that as soon as possible so schedules are more likely to be coordinated.
- Ask clarifying questions. We all have your child’s best interest at heart, but the language of education can sometimes be confusing. If you are unclear about what is being shared, ask for additional information or clarification. If you get home and realize you forgot to ask something, just contact the teachers, they will be happy to clarify any information.
We hope that each of you will leave your conference informed and confident about your child’s classroom and school experience thus far. As always, I am happy to answer any questions you have. I hope to see you all at the first annual Music Fest this Friday at the middle campus!
Wishing you well,
Lara
Lara Zelski
Lara Zelski began working at ANCS in 2007. Previously, she worked at the Howard School and taught art, Spanish, reading and math. She taught 6th, 4th, and 2nd in DeKalb County. She taught 4th and 5th grade in Decatur and then moved to Title One reading and math instruction for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. She taught 5th grade at the ANCS elementary campus for two years.
