Information from the Normandale Office
Birthday recognition
Although students do not bring birthday treats to school, teachers will, each in their own way, recognize that important milestone. Your classroom teacher will communicate with you about birthday recognition in the classroom. Please read the school policy as well.
Bus Transportation
Bus schedule information will be mailed to each home just prior to the start of school. Questions about bus transportation should be directed to Transportation Services at 952-848-4979.
Your patience and understanding during the first days of school are greatly appreciated, as bus times tend to be slightly inconsistent until necessary modifications can be made and established.
Illness
If your child is running a fever of 100 degrees or higher; please keep him/her at home for 24 hours after the temperature returns to normal. For vomiting or diarrhea, please keep your child at home for 24 hours after the last episode. For a rash, please check with your physician before sending your child to school.
When students become ill or are injured at school, the parents are contacted first. If neither parent can be reached, a call is made to others listed on the student’s emergency card. If no one listed on the emergency card can be reached, an adult named by the student will be called. Students will not be sent home unless accompanied by a responsible adult.
Joint/Non-Custodial Parents
Non-custodial parents or those who share custody should contact the school office to verify that your family information is up to date in the student database for the school district. Please contact your child’s teachers to receive copies of La Liaison and other school communications that come directly from the classroom.
Normandale School Directory
The Normandale Student Directory is now being compiled. If you are a returning family and (1) you have had a change of address or phone number OR (2) you do not wish to have your child’s name and phone number in the publication, please contact the school office by September 10th
Parent-Teacher Communication
Parent-teacher communication is extremely important to ensure your child’s success in school. Any questions or concerns you may have are best addressed by directly contacting your child’s teacher. To enable our teachers to focus their energy and efforts on providing uninterrupted instruction, we encourage you to call before or after the student day. E-mail is another effective means for general communications with staff members. If end-of-day procedures change, or if a student will be leaving during the school day for an appointment, please always send a note with your child for their teacher. Please do not leave time sensitive messages for your child on their teacher’s email; leave those messages with Karen Roach or Brittany Montgomery in the office @ 848-4100.
Parent Volunteer Opportunities
There are many volunteer opportunities for Normandale Elementary parents for the 2011-2012 school year. The room parents for each classroom coordinate parent participation in the respective classrooms. Volunteers are needed for room parties, field trips and various classroom projects. Please contact your child’s teacher or room parent for volunteer opportunities.
Volunteers who have not been trained in previous years should attend the mandatory training session on September 13th at 8:45 a.m.
Parent volunteers during the noon playground and lunchroom times provide valuable adult monitoring and also demonstrate to our students that school and parents are working together to make school a safe and enjoyable place for learning and fun. We welcome and need your support, so please consider helping during the lunch hour. You can sign up by contacting Karen or Brittany at 952-848-4100.
Parent Volunteer Sign-In Procedures
Your assistance in maintaining school security is important, so we ask all parent volunteers and visitors to sign-in at the school office. Please fill out and wear a name tag during the volunteer activity. We also now have in place a security pass card system on all perimeter doors that adjoin the Edina Community Center. In order to enter through these doors you must have an activated pass card. Should your volunteer activities require that you enter any of these shared areas, you will want to check out a pass card at the time you sign-in at the school office. We will have a very limited number of these pass cards for check out as not everyone who volunteers needs one. The card must be returned immediately when you sign-out. Unreturned cards will be deactivated and a fee will be charged for replacement if lost.
Security is an issue that we do not want to overlook or make any exceptions for, so please cooperate with us in our efforts to make Normandale a safe place for our children. Thank you for your help.
Play Breaks
There are no scheduled play breaks during the morning and afternoon school hours, however, individual teachers may include a playtime during the instructional day. Please check with your child’s teacher for his/her classroom procedures. Occasionally teachers may determine an indicated need for an unscheduled break from routine and provide students with much needed time to revitalize and rejuvenate in a relaxed indoor/outdoor setting.
Parent-Teacher Conferences and Progress Reports
Parent-teacher conferences will be held in fall and spring. Refer to the school calendar for specific dates and times.
Progress reports will be sent home with students in grades K - 5 at the end of each semester. Teachers are always available to discuss your child's social/emotional needs and academic progress.
Room parties
There are three parties held in each classroom during the school year: Fall, Winter and Friendship Day.
Room parents and teachers typically organize these parties. Additional parent volunteers play a large part in the success of the planned activities. If you would like to volunteer to assist at a party, please contact the room parents listed for your child’s room. Important policies related to parties:
- It is very important to work closely with the classroom teacher to coordinate these parties especially as it relates to planning food for the event so as not to inadvertently overlook allergies which could be life threatening.
- Homemade treats are not allowed in any instance.
- No balloons of any type (i.e. Mylar or latex) are allowed in the building
Safety Reminders
We depend on your help in order to provide optimum safety conditions for our students. Please note the following important information. When you come to the school, please park in the south parking lot. DO NOT PARK ON EITHER SIDE OF THE FRONTAGE ROAD IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL AND DO NOT MAKE A “U” TURN ON THE FRONTAGE ROAD. These violations cause serious safety concerns for our students and we will actively work with the police to monitor and remind violators. When your schedule includes picking up your child from school, please park in the south lot and come to the office and sign out your child. Drivers should not park and leave their vehicles in the drop off/pick up semi-circle in front of the school. Thank you for respecting these guidelines to ensure the safety of all of our students.