Greetings Wakelon Families!

 

This is Mrs. Nealy, your Wakelon Principal with our weekly updates!  We are so excited to be welcoming back students to campus tomorrow! Our weekly update will be sent each Friday evening and will hopefully help students and families alike plan for the upcoming week(s).

 

This message is full of great information, and we encourage all families to take their time to read through it. If you have questions - please reach out to our main office so that we can support you in any way possible. Ms. Carter, our receptionist, can be reached at 919-404-3844.

 

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Meet the Teacher last week. It was so great to see so many returning students and families while welcoming our newest members of our Wakelon Crew!  This is going to be an AMAZING school Year!   

 

Bus Transportation - WCPSS is working hard to get all of our students to and from school. Our goal is to communicate with all of our Wakelon families as swiftly as possible.  Please check with your student's teacher to confirm they have been assigned a bus route for the 24-25 school year. Some of the bus routes have changed, so please make sure your student knows the accurate bus color they will be riding each morning and afternoon. If they have not been assigned a bus, please contact our assistant principal, Mr. Andrew Bahm at (919) 404-3844 and he will assist you with the next steps.

 

Bus Delays and Bus Update Tools: Please be patient during the first few weeks of school as bus drivers and students learn their new routes. All students have bus tags that will be checked before leaving Wakelon Elementary. This causes some delays as drivers check each student to make sure they are on the correct bus. We will post daily bus updates on the PM bus departure Board for families to follow. We encourage you to download the Here Comes the Bus App to track the status of your student's bus.

 

Carpool - Carpool drop-off begins each day at 8:45 am. Students can not be left alone before that time.  All students should wait in a car with their parent(s)/guardian(s).

 

If you are a carpool family, please ensure that you are dropping your child off before 9:15 AM. Please be on campus no later than 9:15 AM so that your child will have enough time to get to class, eat breakfast, and be ready to start their day.

 

Any parents bringing students in via carpool after 9:15 AM will need to park and walk their child to the main office as there are no staff members on duty to monitor them after 9:15 AM.

 

Our afternoon carpool line will be backed up during the first few days of school. We ask for your patience and understanding.  Our goal is to get all kids home in an orderly fashion and, most importantly, safely.  Please view this list of Carpool Expectations for all afternoon pick-ups. 

 

Dismissal - We will begin dismissal at 3:45 PM each day. If you are a carpool family, please be on campus and ready to pick up your child by 4:15 each day. The first few days might be slower than normal, but the carpool moves quickly in the afternoon.  

 

All students need to complete a full day of school.  If for any reason, your child has to be picked up from school before dismissal, please know that you must pick them up before 3:15.  Any parent who arrives after 3:15 will be told that they have to wait until 3:45.  

 

Walkers - Walking students must be escorted by a parent to and from school. If you are walking your child home after school, you must wait at the door to the far right of the front parking lot.  All walkers will be dismissed from there at 3:45. You must be there at 3:45.  If not, you will have to go to the front desk to have your child signed out.  Our carpool staff will not be able to assist walking families as we are focusing on the safety of all kids who are waiting in the carpool.  

 

Breakfast - All Wakelon students will receive a free breakfast this school year.  There is no charge for breakfast.

 

Lunch - Lunch will be free for all students this school year.  Please visit the Parents section of the Wakelon school website for more information about how to update your child’s diet plan and limit the amount of snacks they can purchase in the cafeteria.

 

Kindergarten Stagger - Kindergarten families, please remember that your child will only attend school one day this week.  Students received their assigned day in the Welcome letter that was mailed home in July.  Mrs. Nealy will send a message to all Kindergarten families on Thursday afternoon about the Kindergarten Open House.  We are looking forward to this staggered entry and making many connections with our new Wakelon Bulldogs.  

 

Visitor Check-In - To continue to provide safe learning environments, all schools have upgraded their visitor check-in system to a district-wide Visitor Management System. The new system will verify all school visitors and check the Sex Offender Registry for potential matches. View details of what to expect when visiting Wakelon. 

 

Before Care - We do offer Before Care at Wakelon.  Please call the school’s front office to speak with Ms. Cooke if you are interested in our Before Care program.  We do not offer After Care at Wakelon.  We partner with the local Boys and Girls Club, which offers an After-school program.  Information about the Boys and Girls Club was provided at the Meet the Teacher Open House. If you have any questions, please connect with the Zebulon Boys and Girls Club at 919-404-1087.

 

Families, please remember that you will not be able to walk your children into the building.  We will have plenty of staff to assist all of our students with getting to their classes.  We appreciate your understanding in advance. 

 

Thank you all for the support you give us.  Please give your children lots of hugs and kisses.  Students, we can’t wait to see you all on Tuesday!  

 

Kind Regards,

Principal Nealy