Monday, August 13, 2012

August means school starts soon!

The countdown is on! We are open and getting ready to begin school on Monday August 27th. We are excited to see everyone again and welcome our new families and students. Again- please do let us know ASAP if your student is not attending this year. We have a very active waiting list and would like to be sure everyone can come to the first day of school. Thanks. Anyone who has expressed interest in summer work trade- now is the time. There are many area that need attending to, including the garden, the libraries, the kitchen, Sarah's classroom, Katie's classroom (formerly the Magic room), and the completion of our new aftercare space (formerly Katie's room). If you are not available during daytime hours please call or email and we can arrange access at your convenience. Speaking of Aftercare, this year Kindergarten will be released at 2:10 and there will be Kindergarten only aftercare available from 2:10-3:10. Regular aftercare will begin at 3:10 starting the first day of school. All families MUST pay down their aftercare bill in order to use the program in the fall. It has come to my attention that the reminder letters didn't go out with the final bills, so this is your reminder. If your balance is over $100 you must pay at least half of your bill and make immediate payment arrangements on the first day of school. We cannot carry large balances- our budget and our district will not allow it. Please read your aftercare contracts carefully. And for those of you who have dutifully made monthly payments- we sincerely thank you. Another update to note is that, due to budget cuts, we will have some unfortunate reductions in our supplementary staff hours. This means that parent volunteerism will be more important than ever to keep things running day to day. There will be a list of volunteer jobs available on the first day of school and we ask everyone to commit a minimum of 2 hours a month to Trillium. For working families there are many options that are flexible and can even happen from your home. We are working on additional aftercare discounts for families that will sign a monthly commitment agreement. Look for details in your paperwork packet on the first day of school. Lastly, the first day of school will include our annual meet & greet lunch potluck. Families are invited to join us for lunch at 12:45. Paperwork packets will be available for pick up and staff members will be here to answer any questions. We hope you can join us.