Welcome Back

Dear Integrated Arts Academy Students and Families,

I trust that your family has had a restful and rejuvenating summer filled with great activities and experiences. I hope you are eager for the 2019-2020 school year to begin on Wednesday, August 28th, and that your student is equally as eager to return for an exciting and challenging year full of new learning opportunities.  I am excited to welcome our students and to begin making connections with them, and families, over the course of this school year. Our entire staff looks forward to our ongoing partnership with families as we continue to support student learning and the vision of our arts magnet school this school year. We are all looking forward to an outstanding school year!

Here is information on key dates and procedures to support the start of this year:

• Kindergarten Meet and Greet is Friday, August 23rd, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Little Rosie’s Park.  This is a great opportunity to meet our Kindergarten teachers and for making initial connections with your incoming kindergarten student.

• Kindergarten Start of School Year Open House is Tuesday, August 27th, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. All kindergarten students and parents are invited to visit student classrooms and learn more about the coming year.

• First day of school is Wednesday, August 28th:  The start of the 2019-2020 school year and we’re excited to welcome students and families by starting the day with a musical performance by Young Tradition Vermont.  

• The student school day begins at 8:10 a.m. each day and ends at 2:50 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.  Dismissal time on Wednesdays is 1:50 P.M. to provide time for teachers’ PLC meetings.  Students may enter for school breakfast beginning at 7:40 a.m.  Please note that 8:00 is the time for students to be in line and then walk into the school every day, with 8:10 being the time when learning begins inside the classrooms.    

• Kindergarten students will have modified whole/half-day sessions (8:10-11:30) the first three days of school (August 28, 29 & 30):  Kindergarten students will have an early dismissal with an 11:30 a.m. pick up time on Wednesday to ease into the first week of school (the rest of the school will have a 1:50 PM pick up time).  On Thursday and Friday of this first week, we will be starting district mandated assessments, so we will again have a modified schedule. Ms. Emily’s class will be staying for the full day on Thursday, August 29th (2:50 pm pick up) and then have an early release day on Friday, August 30th (pick up at 11:30). Ms. Taylor Farnsworth’s class will be doing the opposite, students will have an early release on Thursday, August 29th  (11:30 pick up) and a full day on Friday, August 30th (2:50 pm pick up). Students are dismissed from our Kindergarten classroom exterior doors on the Walnut Street side of our school. Students remaining with The Boys and Girls Club after-school program are dismissed from the classroom interior door to attend the after-school program.

• Open House for Third through Fifth Grades  is Tuesday, September 24th, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.  All third through fifth grade students and parents are invited to visit student classrooms and learn more about the coming year.

• Open House for Prekindergarten through Second Grades  is Friday, September, 27th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.  All prekindergarten through second grade students and parents are invited to visit student classrooms and learn more about the coming year.

• Update of children’s information in PowerSchool, Burlington’s online student registration system. For each new school year, we need to gather accurate information about each student and family in our district. It is very important we have this information to ensure the safety of all students, fulfill state requirements, receive State and Federal funding, communicate important messages to families, and reach parents and other approved contacts during emergencies.  The District requires that all student information be updated for the 2019-20 school year using our online system, PowerSchool. In the next week you will be receiving an email or text message with a link and instructions.  NOTE: If student information is not updated by Tuesday, September 13th, that student may not be allowed to return to school until their update is complete. If a student without updated information comes to school on September 13th, they may be sent home.

• For safety and security reasons, and to limit interruptions to classroom learning, we must limit the traffic pattern of visitors in the school building.  Parents will be able to come to the front office and leave off messages and items for students, which will then be delivered to students in their classrooms. In order to limit interruptions to instruction and to increase school safety we ask that adults kindly refrain from going directly to classrooms. If students are late, they will check in at the front office and then be escorted to their classrooms.  Please know that parents are always welcome in our school and that these practices are to ensure the safety and protect instructional time for students.

• Our school picture day is early this year and will occur on Thursday, September 5. Photos of each student will be taken and will be available for purchase by families. More information on ordering your student’s school photos is included in the students’ first day forms packet.

• Please see the welcome letter from your child’s classroom teacher and school supply list in this packet.

Date	Time	Event
Aug. 23rd	3:00-4:00 p.m.	Kindergarten Meet and Greet at Little Rosie’s Park
Aug. 27th	2:00-3:00 p.m.	Kindergarten Open House in Classrooms
Aug. 28th	8:00 a.m.	First Day of School
Aug. 28, 29, 30	8:10-11:30 a.m.	Kindergarten Modified School-Day Schedule (see details above)
Sept. 5th	8:30-2:30	School Picture Day
Sept. 24th	6:00-7:00 p.m.	Open House:  Third (3rd) to Fifth (5th) Grade
Sept. 27th	6:00-7:00 p.m.	Open House:  Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) to Second (2nd) Grade

This year promises to be a great one!  Please contact me at krobinso@bsdvt.org or (802) 864-8479 if you have any questions, and please be sure to introduce yourself when I am out in front of the school in the morning or afternoon or any other time.   We will post a school newsletter periodically, and regularly update the home page of https://iaa.bsdvt.org with school news and photos.  

Welcome to Integrated Arts Academy and best wishes for a great school year!

Sincerely,

Kevin Robinson, Principal