OLIVE-MARY STITT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

BACK TO SCHOOL

Welcome to Olive-Mary Stitt Elementary School for the 2016-2017 school year! We hope you have enjoyed a fun summer. The new school year is fast approaching and with it comes much excitement and activity, including the opening of our new spaces consisting of five classrooms, a double gym, a reconfigured commons area, and a new playground. We are excited about the new opportunities that will come with this additional space and would like to thank all of our families that were with us last year for your patience and cooperation during the construction project. We hope that you will find it was well worth it!

This letter is aimed at presenting important information to assist you in having a great start to the year. Please make sure you read through all of the information as some of our procedures and have changed now that construction is complete. During the first weeks of school more orientation information will be shared with you via email and your child’s teacher. If you have any individual questions or specific areas of concern that are not addressed in this letter, please feel free to contact us. Enjoy the final days of summer break, and we look forward to working collaboratively with you during the course of the upcoming school year!

Best regards,

Becky FitzPatrick        Erin Davis

Principal        Assistant Principal

Frequently Asked Questions 

​Whether you’re new to OMS or a seasoned veteran we want to share a quick guide to some of the most frequently asked questions. If you have other questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email your child’s teacher, Judi Campagna or Brenda Lettieri in the front office, Principal Becky FitzPatrick or Assistant Principal Erin Davis.

When does school start? School begins with a full day on Monday, August 29, 2016. PTA

volunteers will be available to assist families on the first day of school. Please look for these helpful folks in their red aprons. If you will be driving your child to school, please allow yourself

extra time, as all of our parents will be learning or reacclimating to our drop-off/pick-up procedures. If the weather is nice, please consider walking with your child to school.

When will I find out what class my child will be in this year? Class assignment letters will be

emailed from the district office to all District 25 elementary school families on Monday, August 22nd.

How will my child get his/her school supplies? If you ordered school supply packs through our PTA, these supplies will be delivered directly to teacher’s classrooms in time for the Meet & Greet on Thursday, August 25. If you need to purchase school supplies, please reference our grade level SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTS on our website and drop off the supplies at the Meet & Greet.

How will I know what is happening at school? Please be sure to check out and bookmark our new OMS website. Throughout the year, important pictures and information about school events and upcoming dates, along with our PTA newsletter, will be posted on the OMS blog. The school will send out an email every Friday noting new posts to the blog. You may also check it out by clicking on the blog button of our website or follow us on Twitter at @AHSD25Olive.

When may I arrive in the morning and what are the school hours? Students may enter the building at 8:55 am. Students may not arrive before this time. To ensure proper supervision and safety, students are NOT allowed to play on the playground equipment before school. This is a procedure that was in place prior to construction last year. Doors to the school will open at 8:55 am and students will line up inside the building, outside of their classroom doors. Students will NOT line up on the blacktop before school.

• •Grades 1-5: 9:05 am – 3:35 am
• •AM Kindergarten: 9:05 am – 11:50 am
• •PM Kindergarten: 12:50 pm – 3:35 pm

Where does my child enter school in the morning and exit in the afternoon? Students will use the kindergarten classroom doors, kindergarten hallway doors, and front doors to enter and exit the building each day.

• Kindergarten students: Kindergarten classroom doors (Doors 8 & 9), located off of the blacktop on the east side of the school
• 1st, 3rd, & 4th grade students: Front doors of the school (Door 1)
• 2nd & 5th grade students: Kindergarten hallway door (Door 7), located off of the blacktop on the east side of the school.

How do I report an absence? If your child is unable to attend school on a specific day, please

call the absence hotline at 847.506.6999, mailbox # 7800 by 8 am. You may call this voice mail

number 24 hours a day, so you may phone in as soon as you know that an absence will occur.

This procedure not only helps us fulfill necessary attendance obligations as required by Illinois

law, but it also helps us to monitor the safety of our students en route to school. All absences

must be reported on the absence hotline or by a call to our front office 847.398.4282

(after 8 am), not by a call or email to your child’s teacher, as teachers may not have

time to check their messages before school starts. If we do not receive notification of

your child’s absence, a phone call will be made to your home, to your work number, to your cell

phone number, or to the person listed on the child’s emergency form to verify the absence.

Please provide the following information when calling in a student’s absence:

• •Student’s name and grade
• •Teacher’s name/section number
• Reason for absence
• •Duration of absence – morning, afternoon, or for the entire day

What are the arrival/dismissal procedures? Our highest priority is to ensure that students arrive to school in a safe and organized way, so we need everyone to correctly follow our arrival/dismissal procedures. Our drop-off/pick-up traffic pattern is pretty similar to what we had in place last year. We recognize that it takes cooperation, patience, and strict adherence on the part of everyone to ensure a safe environment for all children. Please review these procedures with your children and caregivers prior to the first day of school. Please also allocate enough time each morning and afternoon to safely follow the same procedures. Together we can create a safe and inviting environment at OMS.

General Precautions:

• Be your child’s best example. Please be courteous to each other and to the adults helping to supervise our students. Please follow safety guidelines at all times.
• Student supervision begins at 8:50 am. Students should not arrive before this time.
• Use crosswalks to cross streets and loading zone areas. Follow all directions from the crossing guards and staff members in the loading zone.
• Devote extra time and be extra cautious on inclement weather days.
• Cell phone use while driving is prohibited in school zones, including our drop-off/pick-up area.

DRIVING TO SCHOOL - Parents driving their child(ren) to school may only drop off students on the north side of the school. At the request of our neighbors, the village has agreed to post the following signs prohibiting student drop-off and pick-up in the following areas. Please help us be respectful of our neighbors by dropping-off and picking-up only on the north side.

• “Student Drop-off and Pick-up Prohibited along Belmont Avenue” signs are going to be posted between 1145-1203 N. Belmont, and 1221-1225 N. Belmont
• “Student Drop-off and Pick-up Prohibited along Clarendon & Pine Avenues” signs are going to be posted between 1202 N. Belmont and 316 E. Clarendon.
•  “Student Drop-off and Pick-up Prohibited along Pine Avenue” signs are going to be posted between 1219-1221 N. Pine.

OMS Arrival/Dismissal Map

AM DROP OFF

1.     Enter the drop-off area at the east side of the lot. Vehicles will need to take turns turning left and right into the drop-off line.

2.     All students must be dropped off in the designated loading zone areas. Since we will be back to using our lot to park cars, STUDENTS MAY ONLY ENTER & EXIT CARS ALONG THE STRAIGHTAWAY ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LOT.

3.     Please pull your car as far forward into the loading zone as traffic allows.

4.     Have all school materials including backpack and lunch ready before student exits the vehicle.

5.     Students may unload from the PASSENGER SIDE of the vehicle only. The driver should remain in the vehicle at all times.

6.     Students may exit cars beginning at 8:50 am.

7.     Please exit the drop off area as quickly as possible – this is a continuously moving line.

8.     Vehicles may ONLY TURN RIGHT onto Olive Street as they exit the drop-off area. There will no longer be a traffic officer at our entrance/exit. The officer was put in place only during our construction.

PM PICK-UP

1.     When you arrive, drive your vehicle all the way down to the east end of the straightaway.

2.     As space becomes available, please continue to pull your vehicle forward to close any gaps.

3.     Students will be dismissed from the same doors through which they entered the school and they may only enter vehicles on the PASSENGER SIDE. The driver should remain in the vehicle at all times.

4.     Please exit the drop off area as quickly as possible – this is a continuously moving line.

5.    Vehicles may ONLY TURN RIGHT onto Olive Street as they exit the drop-off area. There will no longer be a traffic officer at our entrance/exit.

PARKING AT OMS - Parents may park in the OMS lot or in the Orchard Church lot, across Olive street. Parents must accompany their children across Olive Street using the designated crosswalk and following directions from the crossing guard and staff in the loading zone area.

WALKING TO SCHOOL - Students will still be able to walk to school from the south via Pine and Belmont. Crossing guards will be located at Arlington Heights Rd./Olive St., Olive St./Belmont Ave., Belmont Ave./Oakton St., Belmont Ave./Thomas St., Dunton/Oakton, and Dryden Ave./Olive St.

Can my child ride his/her bike to school? Yes, there will be bike racks located on the blacktop, on the east side of the school. Students may only ride their bikes to school unaccompanied by a parent if they have participated in our Bike Rodeo and are in grades 3-5. This year’s Bike Rodeo is scheduled for Wednesday, September 7, 3:35-4:45 pm.

How do I check in at the office if I will be helping out in a classroom or attending an event during the day? All visitors must ring the bell at our front door so that our office staff may verbally greet them before allowing them in the building. Per our district visitor identification procedures, when you visit OMS you must present a driver’s license or government issued identification card that we will screen through criminal offense databases. The process only takes a few seconds but helps increase the safety for our students and staff. We appreciate your cooperation with this procedure.

When is the main office open? The office is currently open 8 am - 4 pm, Monday through

Thursday, and 8 am - noon on Friday. Especially around lunchtime, it is always best to call ahead to make sure that someone will be available when you arrive. School year office hours are 8 am - 4 pm, Monday through Friday.

May I pick my child up at lunch to eat at home? Yes, our lunch hour is 12:10 - 1:10 pm. Students should arrive back at school just in time to rejoin their class at 1:10 pm. You must send in a note to your child’s teacher indicating you will be picking up your child at lunch. Please do not email this information as some teachers will be unable to check their email before lunch. All parents must come into the main office to sign their child out AND to check them back into school.

How are parents alerted of weather and other emergency information? District 25 has an instant alert system that allows parents to be notified of snow days, weather emergencies, or other situations that may affect students and parents of District 25. Contact information is gathered from the student database system. Please contact the main office if you need to update your phone number or email address.

How should I communicate with my child’s teacher? All teachers have preferences, but welcome email and phone communication. Email often works best as it allows teachers to read and respond when they are not with students. Please send a note into your child’s teacher to notify him/her of any changes to your child’s pickup routine. If you have a question about your child’s performance in the classroom it is best to call/email the teacher directly to set up a meeting. Thank you for collaborating with us on behalf of your child!

What do I do if I need my child dismissed for an appointment during the school day? Parents should make every attempt to schedule appointments after school hours. When

absolutely necessary, students may be dismissed from school with a note signed by a parent.

Students should give the note to classroom teachers first thing in the morning. Parents need to

come into the school to sign their child out for the appointment.

How does recess/playground supervision work? Playground supervision is NOT provided before school or after school hours. To ensure students are properly supervised and arrive safely at school, they are not allowed to play on the playground equipment before school. Students should not arrive to school before 8:55 AM, nor stay without parent supervision after 3:35 PM. Students will be outside for recess unless the windchill is below 0ºF or if it is raining.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for all types of weather. Layering clothes is always a safe bet, as the weather tends to change throughout the day.

Why is there still construction fencing up around the school? Although the building is ready to go, our fields will have new sod that will need time to take root. These areas will likely be fenced off until the spring so the new grass is in great shape for spring activities. Students walking to school from Belmont or Pine will need to walk on the sidewalk down to Greens Park and back toward the school until the fencing that is protecting the sod is removed in the spring.

What is the OMS PTA? PTA stands for Parent Teacher Association. It is comprised of OMS parents that volunteer their time to oversee many activities, including fundraisers, family activities, and various projects around the school. All of the funds the PTA raises go toward providing the school with items (such as technology, recess games, and learning materials) and programs (such as author visits and assemblies) that help enrich our students’ educational experience. The PTA encourages all parents to get involved by joining a committee and volunteering to help. For more information, to volunteer, or join the PTA, please visit the OMS PTA web page or email olivepta@gmail.com.

Important Upcoming Dates

OMS Staff

We are very excited to welcome back familiar OMS staff, along with a few new faces. Our newly

hired staff are experienced and eager to meet the OMS community. We welcome them to the Olive nest!