Principal's Message
August 20, 2024
Dear TLS Parents/Guardians,
On behalf of the faculty and staff at the Thelma L. Sandmeier Elementary School, I welcome you and your child to the 2024-2025 school year. I hope that you and your families have had a healthy and enjoyable summer. We are all excited to begin the new school year as we transition into a new era in Springfield Public Schools. The first official day of school will be held on Thursday, September 5, 2023. Student arrival time is between 8:25 am and 8:40 am. The school day begins at 8:40 and dismissal is at 3:00.
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE:
Our Annual Back to School Night will be Tuesday, September 10, 2024,from 7:00 – 8:30. More information will be forthcoming.
NEW STAFF
We are excited to have the following new staff members join us here at TLS or Staff serving in new roles:
- Alison Giuliano, Kindergarten
- Tamara Gutierrez, Special Education
- Linda Reich, Pre-K
- Brianne Willis, Physical Education
- Gabriella Camiolo, Music
- Alyssa Krutis, Kindergarten
- Marie Purcell, School Counselor
- Denise McGowan, School Secretary
- Susan Ferreira, District Pre-K Program Secretary
I want to extend a warm welcome to all of our new students as they begin their first year at TLS. To our returning students, best wishes for another productive and rewarding school year. The staff and I look forward to establishing a strong home-school connection so that we can successfully meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of every child.
TRANSITION TO A NEW STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
We are transitioning from OnCourse to a new information system Genesis. The new system, Genesis, is replacing OnCourse. Genesis is the most widely used student information system in New Jersey school districts, and we are excited to move forward. Directions for accessing the portal were sent under a separate communication. You can view your child’s class placement in your Genesis account. If you are having trouble with access to Genesis, please contact the Parent Portal Support utilizing the following link:
https://www.springfieldschools.com/genesis-parent-portal-support
CLASS PLACEMENTS / STUDENT SCHEDULES
Student Placement will be available through the Genesis Portal Beginning on August 29, 2024. If you have questions or concerns regarding student schedules, please email the School Counselor, Mrs. Marie Purcell at mpurcell@springfieldschools.com and copy me at tkielty@springfieldschools.com. We will address any issues as soon as possible.
MEET and GREET:
Our Meet & Greet program will be held in the afternoon on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, when students will have the opportunity to visit the school, and classroom, and meet their homeroom teacher to help ease the transition back to school. This is also a great opportunity to drop off school supplies so that students do not have to carry them on the first day of school.
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1:00 pm – 1:20 pm |
Grade 3 and Pre-K Meet and Greet |
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1:30 pm – 1:50 pm |
Grade 4 and Kindergarten Meet and Greet |
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2:00 pm – 2:20 pm |
Grade 5 Meet and Greet |
For those parents who have children with prescribed medication that needs to be administered during the school day, you are encouraged to bring that medication with you when you come for the meet and greet. You may then drop the medication off to the new school nurse at the Health Office.
STUDENT HANDBOOK:
Below is the link to the Thelma L. Sandmeier Student Handbook which will outline the responsibilities, obligations, and expectations for our students. I strongly urge that you review this handbook with your student as it covers many topics that are detrimental to student success such as school safety/health protocols and procedures, morning drop-off and dismissal procedures, regular bell schedule (start/end times), instructional procedures/expectations, lunch procedures, code of conduct, etc.
2024 - 2025 TLS Student Handbook
GENERAL DROP-OFF / PICK-UP PROCEDURES:
- Everyone who drives must abide by all traffic laws and established traffic procedures at Thelma L. Sandmeier School.
- Please DO NOT pass the vehicle in front of you unless waved on by a staff member directing traffic.
- Please DO NOT skip the loop to turn directly into the K/Pre-K drop-off area.
- Vehicles are not to block the driveway entering the school.
- Keeping the driveway area clear at all times will allow emergency vehicles and buses to enter the school property without delay.
- Families driving to drop off or pick up, please wait on the driveway loop. Please do not leave your vehicles unattended and do not block the entrance area.
- Parents/guardians driving will drop off their children at the designated areas. Grades 3- 5 should use the loop and K / Pre-K should pull inside the orange barriers to drop off.
- Parents are to pull into the secondary lot on the side of the building and proceed to the top of the loop. Students will be released from their vehicles once it has completed the loop and the vehicle has stopped along the sidewalk along the building.
- For those waiting, please remember to use directional signals, do not use cell phones, do not park or exit your vehicles, and remain buckled at all times.
- Please DO NOT have students exit on the driver’s side of the vehicle. Staff members are not permitted to enter the driveway.
- Student drop-off in the morning begins once a staff member is present at 8:20 am. Please do not drop off your children before 8:20 am, as there will be no supervision available.
- Please DO NOT pull into a parking space and allow your child(ren) to leave the vehicle.
- Please DO NOT release your child unless there is a staff member present.
- Additionally, no drivers are to cross over other vehicles waiting in line to enter school grounds; as an example, passing the waiting line of vehicles on the right and then making a left in front of those vehicles, to pull into the lot. Anyone not abiding by the law may be issued a summons by the Springfield Police Department.
SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to pages 5-7 of the Student Handbook for more specific guidelines for arrival and dismissal information.
Each homeroom will have a designated spot to line up on the playground. A bell will ring at 8:40 prompting the start of the school day.
Dismissal is at 3:00 p.m. Please be aware that there is no supervision after school. If your child is not picked up within 10 minutes of dismissal, he/she should report to the main office to make any necessary phone calls.
SCHOOL LUNCH
We will continue to utilize the “point of sale” (MySchoolBucks) account for lunch purchases. Lunch orders will continue to be made digitally in advance using the FD MealPlanner program. This program can be accessed through the Food Services website using the link below. Please complete the lunch orders by 10:00 pm the night prior. You can still place orders up to a month in advance. Students will receive hard copies of the free and reduced lunch program for families that may qualify. Applications can also be found on our website. More information regarding our lunch program can be found on the food services page of the school website or by clicking the link below:
LUNCH / RECESS SCHEDULE
The lunch/recess hour is from 11:20 am-12:20 pm.
- Grade 5 students will eat lunch from 11:20 - 11:40.
- Grade 4 students will eat lunch from 11:40 - 12:00.
- Grade 3 and K students will eat lunch from 12:00 - 12:20.
All students will have 40 minutes of recess during the time they are not eating lunch.
Our faculty and staff have worked diligently over the summer to prepare for the upcoming school year. I wish everyone a healthy and safe school year and look forward to the year to come. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mr. Tim Kielty
Principal
Thelma L. Sandmeier School
(973) 376-1025 x3465
tkielty@springfieldschools.com