The first day of school for all of our grade 2-5 students is Wednesday September 1^st. Our school start and end times have returned to pre pandemic times of 8:45-3:00. For both kindergarten and 1^st graders, PPS has chosen a Ramp Up start.

For our 1^st graders that means that half of our 1^st graders will start on Wednesday September 1^st, the other half on Thursday September 2^nd. This is to allow our teachers, Alicia Baker, Julie Smith, and Michelle Spohn, to meet with much smaller groups (only half of their class’s students) for one full day to get our 1^st graders acquainted with the building and their classrooms. We have yet to set up a plan for which kids come 9/1 and which come 9/2, but that plan will be coming.

For our Kindergarten students Ramp Up means that all students and families will be offered 30 minute times to come meet with the teachers (Laura Nelsen, Julianne Reddekopp, and Raya Smith) during the day on either September 1^st or 2^nd. Then the teachers will have half their class all day (like the 1^st grade plan) in school on either Friday September 3^rd or Tuesday September 7^th. The first full day of kindergarten for ALL kindergarten students is September 8^th. This gives us a chance to meet all students in advance to get them slightly familiar with Rieke as well as offer us the chance to assess some basic readiness. These one on one meeting schedules will be sent out during the week of August 23^rd.

Classroom assignments: My plan is to send out emails next Friday (fingers crossed!) with teacher classroom assignments to all families. Kindergarten might come later due to the late nature of enrollments. Our teaching staff remains stable and I am very proud of the skills and abilities of ALL of our teachers. Stay tuned and get excited!

An exciting new approach to School Supplies: The PTA has purchased school supplies for all Rieke students and has begun the amazing effort of sorting, repurposing, sifting and labeling materials.  PTA will be letting parents know what the donation price will be for these items and families are asked to contribute to this school supply campaign for their families and maybe for a family in need. Here is the latest update from our wonderful PTA:

“Good news! You can check shopping for school supplies off your to do list! The PTA approved a new model for purchasing and distributing school supplies for the 2021-22 school year. After gleaning usable supplies from the school last spring, the PTA is buying supplies in bulk.  We will be sharing a per student price and asking families to pay what they can - pay for their own student(s), donate more if they can or, if the price of supplies is a hardship, supplies will be provided free of charge. 

This model significantly reduces the per student price of supplies and we are hoping it will also save families time before school starts, ensure teachers get what they need (including preferred brands), and reduce first day chaos.

Families will still need to provide backpacks, lunchboxes, and those who want to provide something particular to their student can do that as well. They will also still be asked to supply $10 per student to SchoolPay to cover classroom activities, celebrations and events. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.”

After School Care: Champions has returned to Rieke for before and after care. I have put links to registration on our website at www.pps.net/Rieke

Covid Protocols: PPS is continuing to work on health and safety protocols. I will be attending a PPS meeting next Tuesday where I expect to get more details. But for now I (as fellow parent) have found pertinent information at the latest PPS FAQ link https://www.mkt-box.com/pps/backtoschool2021

Community Care Day: Finally, we have scheduled a Campus clean up, Community Care Day, on Saturday August 28^th from 9:00-12:00. More details will come soon but mark it on your calendars. The campus still looks good from the PTA spring cleanup day but we can beautify even more while celebrating our coming back together.