Weekly Parent Update

We hope this Weekly Parent Update finds you and your family doing well. We missed our Bobcats and are excited to get back into the swing of things. We hope you had a wonderful holiday and week off.

Here is a look at what is happening this week and upcoming month!

​State law addresses the dispensing of any form of medication by school personnel. Medication means any prescription or over-the-counter medication including but not limited to vitamins, food supplements, eye, ear and nose drops, inhalants, medicated ointments or lotions, aspirin, cough drops and antacids. For school personnel to administer any medication, the parent must provide a written request and the student’s physician must give written instructions if prescription (the prescription container on prescribed medication is sufficient). 

 

All medications must be in the original container, with parent’s special instructions and physician’s instructions. All medications must be given to office staff by an adult for safekeeping. It is unlawful for students to transport medications of any kind. This includes medication such as cough drops, eye drops, nasal sprays, etc.

We focus on the three A’s at Sandy Grade: academics, attitude and attendance. We have put a large focus on attitude this year as we work to cultivate a culture of working together to do our part. It is our hope that our community helps embrace the value in teaching our children lifelong positive habits that support success. It really does start with showing up to school ready to learn, being willing to work through tough conversations in a healthy way using Kelso’s Wheel (ask your kids what this is) and learning how to manage our emotions through daily tasks. Thank you to all the parents and families who make it a top priority to make sure their kids are in school every day. The more consistent our students are in school, the more quickly they learn how to problem solve, communicate with peers and use the tools they are learning each day and apply them to real life circumstances. We also appreciate and would like to thank our community and local businesses who have worked together with us by creating a culture of kindness through supporting one another!

Over the next few weeks I will be spoiling our staff with goodies in the staff lounge to let them know how appreciated they are. If you or your child would like to work together to write a note to their teacher/custodians/lunch ladies/Educational Assistants/Secretaries, etc. feel free to drop them off in the office at any time!

Title 1 funding is based on the percentage of their student enrollment that qualifies as being low-income. Low-income students are the children that are on free or reduced lunch. Parents have the option to complete an application for free or reduced lunch at any time throughout the school year; however, they have to complete the paperwork on an annual basis. To qualify, the family must meet income requirements based on the number of members in the family.

 

Historically speaking, Title 1 federal funding began in 1965 when the Elementary and Secondary Act was passed. Since then, Title 1 has played a major role in funding education. Title 1 was created to allow all students an equal opportunity to receive the highest quality education possible. It was designed to remove factors such as low income and poverty. Through Title 1, school districts can hire teachers to lower student-teacher ratio, provide tutoring for struggling students, create school computer labs, fund parent involvement activities, purchase instructional materials, host professional development for teachers, create pre-kindergarten classes, and hire teacher assistants.

 

In essence, the more students Sandy Grade has that qualify and receive free or reduced lunches helps Sandy Grade with Title I funding. This funding goes to supporting reading and math groups, curriculum, books and yearly family events! For families who are already participating in the SNAP Benefits Program through the State of Oregon, you will automatically qualify for our free and reduced lunches. Student and family confidentiality is of utmost importance to us. Any information that you provide is used solely for the purpose of this application and will never be shared.

Finally, we hope you have a great week and please reach out to us if we can help in any way.

Thank you,

Cassiday Hopkins 

SGS Website: https://sgs.oregontrailschools.com/

SGS Merch Store: https://brewcrewprinting.com/sandy-grade