SFT Family Letter

July 2025 Santa Fe Trail Community, Welcome back to SFT, the place to be in 2025-2026! This letter has a lot of information about the upcoming school year, please read it carefully. Kindergarten and Pre-K families will receive an additional email about scheduling conferences to start the year. I look forward to seeing everyone as we start the year! ☺ Ms. Leiker SFT Principal Upcoming Dates Thursday, August 7 Class Placement You can log in to Skyward to see which teacher your child will have this year. No changes to class lists will be made at this time. Friday, August 8 8:00-9:00 a.m. Donut Miss Meeting Your Teacher / Supply Drop Off The PTA will provide donuts in the gym after your classroom visit! • Entrance will be through only the main front door beginning at 8:00 a.m. • At this event, students locate their classroom, meet their teacher, and drop off supplies. Afterwards, stop in the gym to socialize with a donut provided by the PTA for a few minutes. • If you cannot make this time, have students bring their supplies on the first day. • PTA signups will be in the gym starting at 8:00 a.m. • If you have questions for the teacher specifically about your child, please call or email the teacher at a different time. • This is for current families to meet your child’s teacher for this year. Please do not visit previous teachers at this event. • iPads will be available if you need to complete Online Verification Forms or the Child Nutrition Meal Program Application,. You could also pay the Instructional Resource Fee online or put money on a student’s account for meals. • You may drop off checks or cash for fees or meals in the drop box that will be available. Please put the student’s name and grade level on the outside of the envelope. • Treat this event as your child’s first day of school – take a first day picture with the teacher inside the school. Parents/visitors will not be allowed past the entrances of the school on the first day for arrival and dismissal for safety reasons. (The office will be accessible, if needed on school days.) Monday, August 11 First Day 1st-6th grade Early Dismissal at 12:30 p.m. Kindergarten and Pre-K Conferences 7:50 a.m. Doors open for students. For the safety of our students, parents will not be entering the building. Goodbyes will need to be given at the doors or exiting the car. Parents do not come into the building to take their children to the classroom during the year. We will have staff available to assist students in finding their classes. Bring supplies if you still have them. Students are encouraged to have water bottles in the classroom. School begins at 8:10. a.m. Breakfast will be available, and lunch will be served. A sign-up link will be emailed for an individual conference time. Tuesday, August 12 1 st – 6 th Grade Students Kindergarten and Pre-K Conferences Full day from 8:10-3:10 Individual scheduled conferences during the day. Wednesday, August 13 First Day Kindergarten and Pre-K Pre-K Hours Just for today: Kindergarten and Pre-K families may drop off their children at the North entrance #2 on the front of the building. Starting Thursday, they will use the front door. 7:50 a.m. Doors open for students. For the safety of our students, parents will have to stop at posted areas. Goodbyes will need to be given when exiting the car or before entering the building. Parents will not come into the building to take their children to the classroom during the year. We will have staff available to assist students in finding their classes. Bring supplies if you have them. Students are encouraged to have labeled water bottles. School begins at 8:10. Breakfast (starting at 7:50 through front door) will be available and lunch will be served. Please see arrival/dismissal information below AM 8:10-10:55 & PM 12:25-3:10 School Hours Office Opens 7:30 a.m. Breakfast Service Begins 7:50 a.m. First Bell (Halls Open) 7:50 a.m. Class Time (Grs. K-6) 8:10 a.m.-3:10 p.m. Pre-K (8:00-10:55 a.m.) or (12:25-3:10 p.m.) Office Closes 4:00 p.m. Telephone Numbers Santa Fe Trail Office 913-993-5000 Nurse Clark 913-993-5002 (available beginning Aug. 7 th) Attendance Line 913-993-5088 (available 24/7) SMSD and SFT Resources – links are updated Below are links to the district calendar, the ABCD daily specials schedule for K-6 th grade, our website and “X” handle. • 2025-2026 SMSD Calendar • ABCD Specials Calendar • SMSD Elementary School Student Handbook • SFT Supply List 25-26 • School Website: https://santafetrail.smsd.org/ On-line Verification Forms This is a reminder to login to Skyward Family Access and complete the online verification forms as soon as possible. The online verification forms are located on the left side of the screen on the tab that reads "2025-2026 Returning Student Annual Online Verification" in green. You need to complete this process for every student in your home. If you have any questions or can't get logged in, please feel free to call the school office at 913-993-5000. These must be complete to issue iPads to students and are required for Pre-K through 6th grade. Elementary Instructional Resource Fee for Grades K-6 Each K-6 child will have an Instructional Resource fee charged by the school district. Each child’s fee is $60. This fee pays for consumable materials, textbooks, etc. You can pay this fee with cash, a check or use a credit card by going to SMSD.org, click the families tab, click E-Fund payments. You will need your child’s student ID number and there may be a $3 fee to use this service. Please talk to our secretary, Brigette Jones about payment options. (There is not a fee for our grant funded Pre-K students.) Student Nutrition Services 2025-2026 Breakfast and Lunch Prices: Breakfast Full Price Lunch Full Price Breakfast Reduced Price Lunch Reduced Price Elementary $1.55 $2.85 $0.30 $0.40 Secondary $1.65 $3.00 $0.30 $0.40 Staff $2.55 $4.30 N/A N/A Visitor $2.55 $4.30 N/A N/A SMSD School Meal Updates Visitors in Lunchroom after Labor Day For breakfast, families may check in at the office to join students down in the cafeteria any day of the week. We have limited seating during lunch times but can accommodate a few visitors on Mondays and Fridays when the gifted students do not come to our building. A sign-up sheet will be available on our website to come eat with your student during lunch. Lunchroom Sign-Up If you would like to take your child out for lunch or eat at the front picnic tables, you are welcomed to call the office when you arrive, and we will send them out to you any day of the week. Lunch Schedule 1 st Grade 11:05-11:35 2 nd Grade 11:15-11:45 5 th Grade 11:30-12:00 Pre-K & YMCA 11:45-12:15 Kindergarten 11:55-12:25 6 th Grade 12:10-12:40 3 rd Grade 12:30-1:00 SEEK 12:40-1:10 4 th Grade 12:45-1:15 Illness Keep your child home if there are complaints of severe sore throat, headache, or vomiting, or if the child has a temperature of 100.0 degrees or higher. Be sure the temperature is normal for 24 hours (unmedicated) before your child returns to school. If you have questions, Nurse Clark can be reached at 993-5002. Arrival Student arrival is from 7:50-8:10 a.m. through the front set of doors. (Buses use the south entrance.) ● Students may enter the building no sooner than 7:50 (unless they are in morning Y-Club). ● Students entering between 7:50 and the 8:00 bell, we sit with their grade level peers in the gym. ● Beginning at the 8:00 bell, students will proceed to their classrooms to be seated for the 8:10 start bell. ● Those arriving after 8:10 AM should be brought to the front door intercom to be checked in with their appointment slip (if they have one). ● Please use the crosswalks if students are dropped off in a parking lot. Dismissal Dismissal is at 3:10 for all grade levels. Dismissal arrangements should be in place and students picked up by 3:20. If a change must be made in dismissal (how a student will get home or who will be picking them up), please notify the office before 2:30. The end of the day is very busy, and classes may be in different locations. At the 3:10 dismissal bell: • Walkers will exit through the front entrance. • Car riders stay in their classroom until called by radio. • Y-Club students will proceed to the cafeteria. Traffic Pattern and Flow – Safety is our #1 Priority at SFT • Pull all the way through on the front drive to keep traffic flowing and off of 71st Street. We have several signs out front providing direction. Beginning at 7:50 AM, staff members are on duty to assist students out of cars and monitor students from the southern part of the circle drive to the building. • Follow the directions of the cross guard in the circle drive. • Refrain from leaving your car unattended in the front drive. If you must park, use the parking lot and then our adults will cross you and your family safely at the crosswalk. • All students must use the passenger side of the car to get out of the vehicle, this is the safest way. Please park in one of the lots if a driver’s side door must be opened for any reason. • For safety reasons, students should not get out of vehicles on the grassy areas north of the canopy. The grass is slippery when dry and even more dangerous when wet or icy. • Observe the signs on 71st Street in terms of allowance for legal turns/no parking. • Keep southern parking lot drive lanes clear so busses can get through and traveling staff members can exit. Communication between School and Home • Email and text messages are utilized to communicate important school information. Please be sure school has your correct email address and phone number. Please update emergency contacts if you haven’t in Skyward. • Please refer to the SMSD Elementary School Student Handbook and the SFT Family Handbook on the school website. Teachers have an online Smore website and often communicate using Skyward Family Access Portal. Other Items • No flips flops, slides, platform shoes, skate shoes, or sandals that do not secure on the foot or shoes that do not fit snugly to the foot are to be worn to school. This rule is in place as a safety precaution for your children. Students need appropriate footwear for recess each day. Students need tennis shoes for PE and should bring them, if they do not wear them, to school on PE days. Specials for K-6 grade students follow an A, B, C, D schedule. (linked above) • If your child will be riding a bicycle, take the time to discuss the hazards of riding on city streets. Children need to understand that they cannot count on the good judgment of others to protect them. The use of a bicycle safety helmet is strongly encouraged along with a bike lock. Skateboards, scooters, and rollerblades may not be brought to school. • We want to encourage you to consider leaving pets, particularly dogs, at home when coming up to the school. Some children have allergies or anxiety about dogs. When several students gather around, a dog may get spooked and not respond in its typical fashion. During drop off and dismissal, they must be on a leash and stay on the street side of the circle drive in the grassy area away from the crosswalk or in the grass along 71st . • Please call to report your child's absence before 8:30 a.m. using the attendance hotline (993-5088). If the school is not notified, parents will be contacted. Between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., absence information may be left on the attendance line (993-5088). Please make attendance a priority for all grade levels. • We encourage students to come to school each day and give their personal best. Please read the district attendance policy. • Our three guiding principles: “ABCs of SFT”: “A” is for Actively Engaged, “B” is for Be Safe, and “C” is for Caring. • If you have a question, need clarification, or have an issue with something that occurred in class, please contact the teacher first. Send an email or leave a voicemail for the teacher who will reply at plan time or after school. • Forgotten items may be brought to the front entrance and the office will notify the child’s teacher to have the student pick it up. Classroom Celebrations and Food Safety • SMSD has moved to a “no birthday treats” guideline. Please ask the nurse if you would like the Healthy Classrooms document if you need ideas on other ways to celebrate. • Classroom teachers will continue to recognize and celebrate children on their special day in special ways. • Three classroom parties are organized by room parents during the year. • Students are encouraged to have labeled water bottles in the classroom. Water only please in bottles. • No food or beverages will be provided or sold in competition with food service during the meal serving times. • Food may not be ordered for delivery during the school day for student consumption. Shawnee Mission K-12 Attendance Guidelines All students enrolled in the Shawnee Mission School District shall be required to attend school on a regular basis to provide students the opportunity to be successful. Daily attendance records shall be maintained for each student. Absences are at times unavoidable due to illness or family concerns. The Shawnee Mission K-12 guidelines represent an effort to be fair in dealing with absences and to encourage good attendance. Building principals are responsible for enforcing Kansas State Statutes and district attendance guidelines. The Shawnee Mission School Board has approved six (6) reasons for students to be excused from school. The reasons are as follows: • Personal illness. (Doctor/Dental/Medical appointments) The school may, with notice to the parent, require verification from a physician of absences due to reasons of health. • Serious illness or death of a member of the family. • Obligatory religious observances of the student’s own faith. • Emergency situation requiring immediate action. • Participation in a Kansas State High School Activities Association activity, a district-approved function, or a school-sponsored activity. • An absence that has been requested in writing and approved in advance by the building administration. Elementary attendance will be monitored from 8:10 until 3:10. Students are expected to attend school daily and arrive on time. • Students will be counted tardy AM if they arrive between 8:10 and 8:45 • Students will be counted tardy PM if they leave between 2:15 and 3:10. At the elementary school level, ten tardies will be counted as 1 unexcused absence. Excessive tardies will be combined with other unexcused absences for truancy purposes. If a student arrives late or leaves early for up to three hours or is gone for three hours during the day for an appointment described above it will be counted as a half-day excused absence. We encourage students to return to school as soon as possible from appointments during the school day. See the SMSD Student Handbook for more information on absences. If you have questions not answered above, please contact the office at 913-993-5000 or email our secretary: brigettejones@smsd.org We look forward to starting the year! MVP – My Volunteer Pal Volunteer Pals are utilized for a variety of in-school activities including: • Classroom or school volunteering, sharing career interests or special talents with students, tutoring, chaperones for Shawnee Mission School District approved field trips TWO-STEP SCREENING PROCESS for NEW VOLUNTEERS: 1. Attend an MVP training session (see dates below) at either the district office (Center for Academic Achievement) or at any SMSD school. Training sessions will last about an hour. 2. Complete the online background screening process. Volunteers will be given the link for background screening at the conclusion of the training. Check online for opportunities for MVP trainings in the district later this fall. We will schedule one at SFT soon.