Lower School First Day Details

Hello Lower School Families!
We're so excited about the first day of school! We have such a wonderful community of families and teachers, and we're looking forward to a wonderful 2021-22 school year!

Thank you for your patience as I organized this information! Please read the below carefully, as there are some things that are different from how we did them last year. Also, please share this information with anyone who will be involved in making lunches, dropping off or picking up, etc.

Drop-Off and Parking (please note that this information is specific for Lower School. Preschool and Middle School students have different instructions, so please also read over the documents geared to those groups if you have children in Preschool or Middle School):

Drop-off for Lower School students who also have Middle School siblings begins at 8:45.
Drop-off for Lower School students who DO NOT have Middle School siblings begins at 8:50.
Parents may drop off at the curbside drop off area along the side of the building on ninth street, or find a place nearby (such as the corner of D and 9th) to drop the children off. If your children can walk a half block to the building from the D and 9th corner we ask that parents drop there as it makes it much easier for those who have younger children and would like to use the curbside drop off lane.
Please do not pull into the alley behind the building to park or wait, as this blocks access for emergency vehicles and for neighbors who have garages off of the alley, and this can also get us into trouble with the city, including the potential of having our zoning as a school revoked. If you see someone from our community parking in the alley please kindly mention to them that the alley area is a no parking/standing zone.
Students should line up along the handicapped access ramp in a distanced fashion. They will be admitted to the building one at a time through the main 9th street door, and all students will utilize the front stairwell to access the upper floors.
Mrs. Duncan will meet the Kindergarten class on the first floor and they will walk up together for the first several weeks, until she feels that they are ready to walk the stairs and get to their classroom on their own. All students 1st and up will walk to their classrooms unattended (except that we will have some staff who will be watching to be sure that they are going the right way!)
Please note that there is roadwork going on near the building (on Maryland Avenue and sometimes even on 9th Street itself). At times, due to this, there will be road closures that could affect you. We encourage parents to get into the habit of checking email prior to leaving for school, as we do our best to warn parents by email when we are privy to things such as road closures, etc. It does look as if the Maryland Avenue work is almost completed, so that's the good news!

Lunch:

For lunch, please remember that we are a tree nut-and peanut-free facility! Please pack a healthy lunch and a water bottle that your child can open and close by him/herself. We ask that you only send water to drink (no milk or juice) and that you refrain from sending anything that can be easily squeezed and spilled, like yogurt tubes, fruit pouches, drinking yogurt, etc. Our carpet thanks you in advance! We also ask that you avoid sending in sweets (and that includes fruit roll ups and other fruit snacks that contain added sugar). Our teachers thank you in advance for that!
Please also send in a towel for your child to sit on during lunch, as students will be eating outside whenever feasible. We will ask your child to take the towel home each Friday for washing.

Pick up:

Pick up is at 1:00 for Lower School classes.
We allow three late pick ups (arriving to the class door after 1:00pm) and after that we will charge, through your FACTS account, $25 for every 15 minutes that you are late picking up. I've asked the teachers to highlight the sign in sheet in the section where you sign out once it's past 1:00 to help alert you to the fact that you arrived late.
We will not be calling students down for pick up this year (parents will need to come into the building to pick up their children. You may park in the area along the side of the building if there is space available, but you should turn on your hazard lights to avoid a ticket.
The one exception to the above information is that those who's youngest child is a third or fourth grader may arrange with their child's teacher to text when they are out front so that their child can be sent out to meet them, we just ask that parents keep the following two things in mind prior to doing this: 1) Third and Fourth graders may not pick up younger siblings to take them outside to meet a parent. If you have a student younger than third grade you need to come into the building and pick up all of your children. 2) Admin staff will not be out in front of the building at pick up as is the case with drop off. So once a third or fourth grader leaves the classroom they will basically be on their own to connect with wherever their parent is. They could always ring the bell to come back into the building if they get confused, but something like that may be too stressful for some third and fourth grade children, so just take that into consideration before going this route.
Please line up in a distanced manner along the handicapped access ramp and then down the sidewalk toward Maryland Avenue if the line grows longer (we just ask that you stay to one side on the sidewalk so neighbors can easily pass).
As parents enter we are asking that you give the parent ahead of you a bit of time before you enter as well, to allow for some distance. It's OK to hold the door open while you wait, just be vigilant about not allowing someone in who is not with our group.
Please access the second or third floor by going through the Fellowship Hall and utilizing the back stairwell. After you've picked up your child you should exit using the front stairwell. If you have a Kindergartener and an older child please pick up your Kindergartener first, and use the back stairwell to access the second floor to pick up your other child(ren) and then exit using the front stairwell. Please don't stop to talk with others while in the building. Our goal is to get parents in and out quickly at pick up, with the stairwells and hallways being used in a one way fashion.
Because we need our hallways to be one way we will need parents to leave strollers in the main room on the first floor (please do not take your stoller upstairs). Additionally, you will need to take all of your child(ren) upstairs with you (please don't leave children unattended in strollers on the first floor as we do not have a staff member stationed at the door at pick up time).
We ask that you sign for and take your child as soon as you arrive at the classroom door rather than allowing him or her a bit longer in the classroom, as this will help us to keep our hallways more clear (and we also want our students to learn to respect the class end time). Please note that if you have middle school students you must exit the building between the Lower School and Middle School pick up times (families may not stay on site during that hour).
If you want to have a conversation with your child's teacher we ask that you either schedule it in advance (in which case you can go into the classroom and wait for the teacher to be free from her responsibilities with the other students) or email your teacher and arrange a time for a phone call.
We know you will be missing opportunities to chat with each other while onsite for pick up (since we are asking people to pick up and immediately exit the building), but for those of you who are new to CHLG many families hang out at nearby Sherwood playground after school, which is between 9th and 10th and F and G, NE. It has a really nice playground and is a great place to spend time with other CHLGers!

Building Safety:

As you know or will soon learn, the door to our building is always locked. You access the building by ringing the bell to the right of the door. The door can be released remotely by admin, but we need you to look toward the doorbell camera so we can see who you are before releasing the door.
Please do not let anyone who is not affiliated with CHLG into the building behind you. Those who occasionally may try to enter at the 9th Street entrance are usually looking for the church office, which is around the corner (the 907 Maryland Avenue entrance). The building manager wants to know who is in the building at all times, and asks that contractors, delivery people, etc. ring the bell at the Maryland Avenue entrance, so please introduce yourself to those who don't have any children with them / who don't look familiar to you, find out who they are, and direct them to the Maryland Avenue entrance. I know this can sometimes be an awkward exchange, but this is not only helpful to the church but, more importantly, is a safety mechanism for our school community.
Remind your children that we use walking feet in the building. They can get excited to get to the park at the end of the school day, but we don’t want injuries to ruin the day! And if you see another child running inside the building please encourage him/her to walk by simply saying "Walking feet, please."

I think that’s all for now! Please reach out with any questions you may have.

Warmly,
Martha