First day of school is tomorrow, August 14th! We're excited to kick off this year with enthusiasm and excellence! To ensure a smooth start on the first day of school, please review the details below:

ARRIVAL

• Doors open promptly at 7:20 AM.
• To ensure a secure enrollment process, please ensure that all students remain accompanied by an adult.
• If you received a sticker during the Meet the Teacher event, kindly place it to your child in a visible location. 
• If you did not receive a name sticker, it would greatly help our team out if you could clearly write your child's first & last name either on a card or paper so we can move efficiently. 
• During the car line, please maintain the traffic flow by staying inside your vehicle.
• Students are required to stay in their vehicles along with their adults until our staff can verify their enrollment.
• Norman-Sims staff members will be stationed outside with clipboards and rosters to facilitate the enrollment verification process.
• As part of our safety protocol, we request that adults bid their farewells outside the building and refrain from entering.
• Registration appointments with Karla will be scheduled later in the day. Our priority is to ensure everyone's safe entry into the building, so please understand that registration will commence at a later time.

DISMISSAL 

• Academic activities conclude at 3:10 PM, and dismissal will begin at 3:15 PM.
• If your child is going home a different way than how we have on file, you must notify the classroom teacher. It is best to do this in writing, and to do this early. 

Car Riders

• Car riders will exit via the main drive.
• A smoother dismissal is achieved when everyone remains in their vehicles. While we understand the line can be lengthy, rest assured that we complete the process for every car in 15 minutes or less.
• The car line is our top priority, and our entire staff is trained to efficiently manage it.
• If you're parking and walking to pick up your child, please anticipate a slightly longer wait time due to our focus on the car line.

Walkers

• *NEW* Walkers will now be dismissed from the park area!
• Our Norman-Sims staff will accompany walkers to the designated crosswalk, where a City of Austin Crossing Guard will ensure their safety while crossing the street.
• Families waiting for their walkers will benefit from a shorter walk and ample shade in the park vicinity.
• Clear signage across the campus grounds will assist in guiding and reminding families of the walker dismissal process.
• If you plan on meeting your child at the park, please communicate this with your child's teacher so they can be added to our walker list. 

Afterschool Programming

• Afterschool programming at Givens will begin from day 1.
• Boys & Girls Club sessions will not begin this week.
• Austin ISD School Bus services will start operating from the first day. Families with confirmed bus ridership should have received notifications from the bus barn.
  • Did you know you can track your child's school bus and receive real-time updates? More information here. 
• It's vital to communicate your child's transportation plans clearly to their classroom teacher on the first day. Sending a note with your child could be a useful method of conveying this information effectively.

EXTRA INFORMATION

Lunch Counter Update: Starting this school year, we will no longer be accepting cash from students for snack purchases at the lunch counter. Instead, students should have funds available in their School Cafe account. This online process is conveniently managed by families from the comfort of their homes. More details about in-person money drop-off options will be communicated soon.

Footwear Guidelines: For safety and comfort reasons, it's essential that students wear tennis shoes to school. Flip flops and slides are not suitable for daily wear. Since we have physical education and recess activities every day, we kindly request that all students come prepared with proper tennis shoes to participate safely.

Early Pick-Up: To prepare for a smooth campus dismissal, we stop early dismissal at 2:45 pm. We will no longer follow through with phone calls notifying the front office to “prepare students for early pick-up.” To maximize teaching and learning, students will only be called to the front office once an authorized person is physically in the office to pick up.

Thank you for partnering with us to make this an amazing school year. We are ready to begin BLAZING NEW TRAILS with each of you!!

Principal Salinas