UM PRIMARY SCHOOL IMPORTANT INFORMATION
FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE 2008-2009 SCHOOL YEAR

It is very important that we make the opening of school as comfortable as possible for you and your child.  Originally we had scheduled our Open House for August 28th and we had made special arrangements for the first two days of school for our kindergarten students and parents.  Due to schedule conflicts and availability of our staff during our in-service days we needed to reschedule our Open House and rearrange our kindergarten orientation and kindergarten students’ start to the 2008-2009 school year.  We are hoping that getting this information out to our parents and guardians will help you plan and with your help make for a wonderful transition from summer vacation to back to school.  The following is the revised information for both of these important events:

Open House Information
for Kindergarten, Grade 1, 2, and Learning Support Classes:

We will be holding an Open House for all students, accompanied by their parent/guardian, to come and visit the Primary School on:

Tuesday, September 2nd from 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM 

 At that time, you will have the opportunity to take a tour of the school, find your child’s classroom, meet your child’s teacher, and to hand in papers that were sent home in the August mailing for parent/guardians to fill out.  Our Transportation Department will have buses in our parking lot to familiarize your child with safety procedures for riding the bus.  Our Food Services/Cafeteria personnel will be available to answer questions and show the children how our lunch service runs.

Grade 1, 2, Miss McKeon’s Speech & Language Classroom, and the Autistic Support Classroom will begin the 2008-2009 school year on Wednesday, September 3rd.  Our school day begins at 8:40 AM and ends at 2:55 PM.  Children may enter the building at 8:25 AM.   Bus service will be available and we strongly encourage children who have been assigned buses to use the bus service to make for a smooth transition.  We will have extra staff on hand on the first few days of school to assist the children in finding their classrooms. 

A special orientation program has been developed for the first day of school for kindergarten students.  Our orientation program will include opportunities for you and your child to meet the teacher, some classmates, and other school personnel.  You will be able to participate in an abbreviated instructional day and take a tour of the building on

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

**There will be no bus transportation available for kindergarten students on Wednesday, September 3rd.**

********Parents/guardians will need to provide transportation to and from our orientation program.*********

Kindergarten students must be accompanied by their parents/guardians and will attend as follows:

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

9:30 –10:45 AM            Kindergarten students with last names that begin with A-L only
1:00 – 2:15 PM             Kindergarten students with last names that begin with M-Z only

Since this will be a very special sharing time for you, your child, and your child’s teacher, we ask that no more than two adults accompany the child on orientation day.  Other siblings and small children should not be brought to this program.  As the teachers will be instructing the children, this is not a time for parent-teacher conferences.  Special appointments may be set up for such meetings.

Your kindergarten child’s first regular day of school will begin on Thursday, September 4, 2008.  The hours are 8:40 AM to 2:55 PM.  Bus service will be available and we strongly encourage children who have been assigned buses to use the bus service to make for a smooth transition.  We will have extra staff on hand on the first few days of school to assist the children in finding their classrooms.