Bit and bites from this morning's playdate (waitlist, teachers, after-school classes, etc.)

Thank you to all the families who came out to our New Family playdates!  It was wonderful to see all the new (and older) students making friends over the last two weekends.  We estimate that there were about 25 families who came out today, and about 25 last weekend as well.  That's a pretty good representation of the new Bees.

Here are a few thoughts on some of the items that came up this morning:


Waitlist - as of middle of last week, there is movement on the waitlist, especially in Montessori.  If you are on the waitlist, you might want to check your student's status online AND your email (to see if there is a message from SPS).  Also, if you think that there is something amiss, call them first thing on Monday morning to check the situation.  Be a squeaky wheel.  As of August 26, the waiting list shows:

K contemporary - 8 kids
K Montessori - 17
1st contemporary - 4
1st Montessori - 6

School Supplies - all families are requested to donate a selection of school supplies to the general fund.  This consists of $20 for kindergarteners (cash or check to 'Daniel Bagley Elementary') plus a few items of stuff like kleenex or post-its or whiteboard markers.  Check the list below - and on the main danielbagley.com page - to see what you should bring.   Bring in your supplies during the first week of school, or on Welcome Night, and you can give them to your child's teacher (they don't keep a list of who has brought stuff in or anything formal like that).

K/1 families: Please send the following items for collection in the first week if your last name begins with: 

A-H: 2 boxes of tissues, wet wipes, one 24 pack of Crayola brand colored pencils and sandwich sized Ziploc bags 

I-N: 2 packs of white board markers, and 1 pack of Pink Pearl erasers 

M-Z: 1 bottle of hand sanitizer, band-aids, 1 1/2” X 2” Post-its, gallon-sized freezer weight Ziplocs.

You should also bring a change of clothes in a gallon ziploc, labelled, that your student can leave in his/her locker for 'accidents'.

Students should have a full-size backpack, lunchbox and water bottle as well.

Which Teacher Do We Have? - if you are not on the waitlist, your class assignment will be mailed out to you on Monday August 29.  It's possible there is a bit of backlog between SPS and the Daniel Bagley admin staff, especially with so many people moving off of the waitlist in the last couple of days, so if you feel like you've been assigned to a teacher in the wrong program per the letter you receive, or don't get one by Wednesday, please be polite and patient with our wonderful admin staff, Randi & Sari & Ms. Ayer (252.5110).  Perhaps it was prepared and sealed before your reassignment at head office.

When Do We Meet Our Teacher? - Welcome Night, Tuesday September 6 for kindergarteners (& I think new first graders, since the classes are K-1 anyways).  Unfortunately, upper grade teachers will not be present due to the small number of new older kids.

When Can We Check Out the Bagley Playground?  Is There Another Playground Meetup? - come early on Welcome Night (5:30-6:30), bring a picnic, grab a nametag (you'll know your teacher by then, so we will try to color code these), connect with parents in your class, and check out the playground.  Fingers crossed that it will be open by then. Meet-the-Teachers starts at 6:30.

After-School Programs - besides Boys & Girls Club, which is childcare, the PTA offers a selection of cool after-school classes for kids in all grades.  These are usually advertised on the vlist, via kidmail and in the Buzz newsletter in the second or third week of school, and classes will start at the end of September or early October.  Typically these are an hour long, once a week, for 9-10 weeks, and cost about $100 for the semester.  A new batch is offered in the winter, and again in the spring.

There is a wide range of terrific offerings, including yoga, dance, ultimate frisbee, science, lego, mythology, ancient civilizations, art, music, world cultures, soccer, knitting, etc., although not all are offered for kindergarteners.  Take a look at last spring's classes as an example.

Notes:

• The Boys & Girls Club will not collect children from after-school classes (or at least they said they wouldn't, last year) so working parents will have to either arrange a 4:30 pickup from the program, or ask another trustworthy and helpful parent with a kid in that activity to collect your child, and walk them 15 yards across to Boys & Girls Club portable, and deposit them there.  Maybe we could find some volunteer parents to do this regularly for a batch of kids, if they are going to be at the class pickup anyways.
• Tuition scholarships are available; request these through the coordinators.
• Chess club and before-school spanish are offered separately, and won't start until October, so watch the vlist, kidmail and the Buzz for more info.
• There are a few extracurricular teams, too - last year, a few of us were involved in coaching the Bagley Bees ultimate frisbee team, which competed against other Seattle schools on the weekends in the spring.  Depends on parent interest.