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Principal's Message

Welcome to Thomas Kelly Elementary School

Dear Parent/ Guardian:

Welcome back, Thomas Kelly families.  The staff and I are very excited for the start of another year of learning with your students.  We want to get to know our new families and resume working with our returning families.

There are a few school events that you won’t want to miss.  First, our Popsicle Meet & Greet on August 13th in front of the school from 11:00-11:30 AM is a great opportunity for your student(s) to meet their teacher prior to the first day of school. This makes the first day of school less scary for your student(s) as they already had an opportunity to meet their teacher.

The first day of school is Thursday, August 15th. Please remember that this is an early out Thursday. The instructional day begins at 8:55. Dismissal is at 3:25 on M, T, W, F and dismissal is at 2:05 on Thursdays.

We will be opening the MP room at 8:00 for students to work on Lexia lessons, iReady lessons, Starfall, read or do their homework with assistance from our Instructional Assistants until 8:30 in a quiet, structured environment. This is a privilege. If students are not following the rules during this time, we will call home. If the behavior continues, they will not be able to come until breakfast. At 8:30 breakfast begins. At 8:45 to 8:55 there is morning walk on the upper grade playground until 8:55 for students in grades 1st through 5th grade. Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten students go straight to their classroom at 8:45.

For dismissal, Transitional Kindergarten through 1st grade get picked up in the main loop in front of the school. 2nd and 3rd grade students are picked up on the lower grade playground. 4th and 5th grade students are picked up at the side gate along Jan Drive. Older students go to the location of the youngest student in the family and get picked up together there.

Back to School Night is Thursday, August 22nd.  We will meet in the MP Room from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. for our Tittle 1 meeting. Teachers will do classroom presentations from 6:00 to 6:30 and 6:30 to 7:00 p.m.  This is an opportunity to meet your child’s teacher, learn about grade level standards, classroom practices and procedures, school and classroom behavior systems, and the reporting student progress system.  You’ll also learn about special grade level and school events.  This isn’t a time for individual conferences, but an opportunity to learn about the school and classroom. On Friday, August 23rd there is a minimum day with dismissal at 1:10.  

There will be many opportunities for parent engagement with opportunities to help with PTA events, on field trips, and in the classroom.  We will be talking about some of these at Back to School Night.  

If your children outgrew their Thomas Kelly shirts or sweatshirts or are new to Thomas Kelly, the Spirit Gear can be purchased at https://thomas-kelly-elementary-pta.square.site/s/shop. We will be encouraging students to wear their Spirit Gear every Friday.

Please be safe in our parking lots and streets around Thomas Kelly because each of you and your children are priceless to us. In the parking loop in front of the school, please do not drop off students before reaching the flagpole. Thank you for your support.

 

A variety of critical programs, grants, and funding, for ALL schools, is dependent on data related to income levels. School funding information is used to determine LCFF site funding, Title I eligibility and priority access to various programs (on-line tutoring, summer programs, etc.) for students from low-SES eligible families. This information is kept confidential and allows the district to provide additional resources to support all students. These resources include enrichment, intervention, additional staff, technology and supplemental materials, social emotional support, and more.

Families need to fill out the forms only once and it will populate to all their students. They don’t need to fill out separate forms for each child. 

You can complete this by:

  1. complete School Funding form in the Parent Portal (Q.)

  2. complete the information using this link to a simple jot form:  School Funding Jot Form

  3. Or fill out a hard copy form which will be available in the office and sent home. 

 

We are looking forward to another positive year ahead!

 

Josh Costa

Principal

7/30/2024

Josh Costa

Principal

(916) 867-2041