First Day of School Reminders and Essentials- Please Read Now!

08/18/24, 7:13 PM

Happy Sunday Teller Families, 

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, Monday, August 19th marks the start of the 2024-2025 school year for Kindergarten through 5th grade students, while Tuesday, August 20th will be the first day for all ECE students. 

As we get ready to welcome students back, please review this email in its entirety as it contains important information for the first day of school.

 

1. Bell Times and “Soft Start”

Below are the bell times for the 2024-2025 school year. When reviewing the schedule, please note that “soft start” indicates when students can enter the building. At 7:30 a.m., the doors will open and students will go directly to class. All students will be offered a FREE breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. Instruction begins promptly at 7:40 a.m. If your child arrives after 7:40 a.m. they will need to enter the building via the main entrance (Garfield St.) and obtain a tardy pass. 

The school day will end at 2:40 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Every Friday, starting Friday, August 23rd will be early dismissal. All ECE through 5th grade students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. Teachers will be teaching up to the dismissal bell. All students will be dismissed from their designated line-up spots. Any child not picked up by 2:50 p.m. will be taken to the main office. 

2. School-Wide Drop Off Procedures

Morning drop off is an extremely busy time. All streets surrounding Teller are congested, so please plan accordingly by leaving 10-15 minutes early in order to ensure your child arrives at school on time. To ensure student and staff safety, families should use Teller’s drop off map to familiarize themselves with morning traffic flow. Additionally, please adhere to the following: 

• There is no parking in the no parking zones.
• Families cannot  park on the east side of Garfield street as it is our designated bus lane.
• Teller’s Kiss-N-Go lane, located on Jackson St. (drop off map) will be available Monday through Friday from 7:25 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. 
  • All traffic on Jackson St. is one way (south) during morning drop off (7:25 a.m. to 7:40 a.m.). Barricades will be used to prohibit north-bound traffic on Jackson St.
  • Do not turn around, back up, or pass cars while in the Kiss-N-Go lane.
  • Do not  park in or block any driveway around Teller. Please respect Teller’s neighbors. 
  • Ensure your student is ready to exit the vehicle immediately upon reaching the double gate.
  • Do not allow your student to exit the vehicle until you reach the double gate. 
  • All students must exit the car on the curb-side only. Do not allow your student to get out of the vehicle on the street side. 
  • Please do not exit your vehicle to help your child. Teller staff members will be available to assist if needed.
  • The Kiss-N-Go lane closes at 7:40 a.m. Any late student will need to be escorted by their parent or guardian to the main entrance to enter the building.
• Do not encourage, ask, or demand that your student run across traffic to get to school. It is an expectation that all members of the Teller community use designated crosswalks.
• The staff parking lot is for staff parking only and is not to be used to drop off students. Barricades will be used to prohibit entry into the staff parking lot.
• Students that walk to school, are dropped off via the Kiss-N-Go lane, or are brought to school by a parent or guardian, must enter the building immediately. Students are not permitted outside in the morning. 

3. Specific 1st Day Drop Off Information 

1ST-5TH: For the first day of school, all 1st-5th grade teachers will pick up their students outside at their lineup/dismissal spots. After the first day, 1st-5th graders will go up to their classroom, via the middle stair doors,  greet their teachers, and pick up their breakfast. 

KINDERGARTEN: All Kindergarten students will meet their teachers at their designated doors (Lang- Door 13, May- Door 15, and Huber- Door 2), this will be their drop off and pick up location for the entire school year. 

ECE: All ECE kids need to be checked in and out with a signature at Door 16 (near the garden on Garfield St.). 

 If your child arrives after 7:40 a.m. they will need to enter the building via the main entrance (Garfield St.) and obtain a tardy pass. 

Please note, only students will be permitted to enter the building at drop off. As a reminder, all families will have the opportunity to see their child’s classroom at our Back to School Night on Wednesday, August 28th.

4. School Breakfast, Lunch, and ID#s

Denver Public Schools will provide FREE breakfast and lunch to all students for the 2024-2025 school year, regardless of students’ free or reduced price meal benefit status. Students will be served lunch on our early release Fridays.

If a child would like a second entrée, they must pay for that item. Parents or guardians can add funds to their child’s MySchoolBucks accounts.

If you haven’t done so already, all families are strongly encouraged to complete a meal benefit application as the information determines critical funding for Denver Public Schools. Meal applications can be found here.

Please have your students practice their student ID#’s before school starts.

5. Bus Riders

If you signed your student up to ride the bus and you do not want them to ride the bus please email nicole_bach@dpsk12.net, john-mark_aydelotte@dpsk12.org, and your child’s teacher immediately. We will utilize the transportation manifest we receive from Denver Public Schools to determine which students will ride the bus. If you have any questions about bus transportation services, please contact 720-423-4600.

6. Permission to Walk Home: 

If you would like to give permission for your child to walk home during the 2024-2025 school year, please fill out this form. If you have more than one child walking home, you will need to complete one form per child. 

7. Water Bottles

Please have your child bring their own water bottle that has their name written on it to school every day. 

8. Visitors

For the safety and security of all of our students and staff, we have a strict visitor protocol for any person entering Teller. 

• Entrance to the building will only be granted through the main entrance off of Garfield St. This is our single point of entry. If you try to enter the building at any other entrance, access will not be granted.
• All visitors must check-in at the main office and obtain a visitors badge.
• During morning drop-off, staff members will be monitoring entrances to the building.

 

9. Fall School Registration 

We have a handful of families who have not yet completed the required school year registration. To complete the required online registration form, sign in to Parent Portal, click on “See All Apps”, then click on “Online Registration” to verify or update your student’s information. Online registration can only be completed by the parent/guardian listed in the primary household of the student record.

All families (returning and new) MUST register their student(s) via Parent Portal prior to the first day of school. Failure to do so could result in your child(ren) missing the first day of school. 

Need a Parent Portal Account?

Navigate to the Parent Portal and click on “Create a Parent account” below the "Login to Parent or Student Portal" button. Fill out the form on the next screen.  You will need the ID number of one of your students in order to create a Parent Portal account. If you do not know your student’s ID, go to Student ID Retrieval or contact our main office at 720-424-3560. Once the form is completed, click “Submit”. You will be prompted to select your username and password; click “Submit”

An activation email will be sent to the email used to create your account. Please click the link in the email in order to activate your account. Once completed, you will receive another email informing you that your account is now active (this may take up to 15 minutes).

If this is your first time using Parent Portal and you need support navigating this online platform, you can If you need help in navigating the Parent Portal, check out the Family Navigation Guide.

10. No Enrichments: 8/19 - 8/23

There are no enrichments scheduled the first week of school. Enrichments (with a few exceptions) start the following week. Families will receive an email confirmation by Monday, August 19th with all relevant information. Scholarships will also be awarded on Monday, August 19th as well.

If you are in need of after school care, please contact Discovery Link (megan_gustafson@dpsk12.net). Discovery Link starts on Monday, August 19th.

 

 

See you all tomorrow! 

 

Best,

 

Sabrina Bates, Principal

Jason Smartt, Assistant Principal

Cheryl Ruiz, Dean of Operations