From La Entrada PTA

Dear La Entrada Community,

Wow! It has been a great first week of school! I want to congratulate all of our staff, students, and community for the hard work it takes to get school going. It hasn't been without its challenges (more students than expected, sweltering heat), but everyone has pitched in to make it work.

I hope that you were able to take advantage of PIN (Parent Information Night) last Thursday. If you had to miss PIN, please know that all of our teachers have email and voicemail, and they are more than happy to make sure your questions get answered.

Our next big get together will be our Family Picnic on September 23rd.

Here are some announcements/reminders:

Dogs on Campus:
I am a dog lover, and I have four dogs that are part of my family (a Brittany, a Bull Dog, and two Japanese Chins). However, at La Entrada we ask that people not bring their dogs onto campus during school hours (7:45am-3:45pm), or to school events (like our upcoming picnic). The reason for this is safety. Even the best trained dog can behave in an unexpected way when around 700 kids.

There may be a special time when a teacher invites furry friends for a visit, but please keep them off campus on a daily basis.

Drop off and Pick Up:
Our community has done a superb job with the drop off and pick up procedures. Please remember that we can only make a right turn out of our parking lot.

If you are picking up your student, it is always good to let them know where to look for you. It can be quite crowded when all the students get out, and it will keep things moving if students can find their parents quickly.

Upcoming DC trip meetings:
We have two upcoming meetings regarding our 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C.

Tuesday, August 31 at 7pm in the MUR: This meeting is geared toward parents who have not registered their child for the trip, but are interested in learning more before making a decision.

Wednesday, September 15 at 6pm in the MUR: This meeting will focus on organizing the fundraising and other practical aspects of the trip.

Coffee with the Principal:
Occasionally during the year, I hold "Coffee with the Principal" meetings. These are informal opportunities for our parents to come in and chat with me about anything. The PTA graciously provides some snacks, and we all sit in a big circle and talk about school issues. We have scheduled the following times:

October 25 at 1:30pm
January 10 at 7:00pm
March 7 at 9:15am

I am likely to schedule a few more, and I will let you know those dates as they get scheduled.

Schedule Changes (6th - 8th Graders)
No elective structure can guarantee that a student will get his/her first choice electives. This is true even when the elective choice is a language class.

This year, we have seen a decrease in the number of requests for a schedule change.
Our elective system, however, is not perfect. There are students who end up in classes that they did not indicate an interest in or that were not their top choice. I understand that this can be frustrating when it happens.

Mrs. Lowe has spent a large amount of her time this week working on schedule change request. She will continue to work on these in the hopes of getting through them as quickly as possible. Please know that not every request can be filled. There are times when classes are full or when classes won't work with someone's schedule.

Safety
I thought I would take some time (and hopefully not too much space) to communicate some safety guidelines that I think would be important for families to review with their children:

Bicycle Safety Tips