Students arrive: 8:05 a.m.  (7:55 a.m. if eating breakfast at school)                                

School starts: 8:15 a.m.                                 

Dismissal: 2:45 p.m.

With another school year around the corner, it’s time to dust off the cobwebs collecting on the backpacks and lunch boxes tossed in some closet last June and recognize that those “back to school” sales we see just about everywhere are not for “other people” any more but our own kids!

As you collect the necessary back to school supplies from your local stores, you can help your kids considerably by sliding into the back to school features the summer temporarily snatched away.

For the last 2 months, we’ve been in the anti-school year schedule:

• Sleep: Sleep tends to be more free in the summer with later bed times, wake up times and no set schedule.
• Nutrition: Fruits and veggies may be more abundant but people also indulge on more ice cream and treats at barbeques they don’t often eat at other times of year.
• Exercise: Many kids are either not in camp, in “indoor” camps or in sports camps that focus on just one sport and not overall fitness, so kids are actually less active in the summer than in the past.
• Activities and Hobbies: Most kids put on hold the activities they pursue rigorously over the school year – music, art, even some sports.
• Reading: Many schools have reading expectations for the summer so most kids do read each summer.
• Technology: For most kids, especially tweens and teens, they’ve had much more use of technology over the summer than in the school year and likely without the oversight that you’d normally have over the school year.

If you make small tweaks now, by the time school starts in the next few weeks, are kids will feel as if they have the upper hand on the new school year before it even begins. Here are the high points to consider:

• Sleep: You can change your kids’ biological clocks from summer to school  by moving them to an earlier bedtime and having them wake up with an alarm for 3-5 days before the first day of school.
• Nutrition: In addition to needing three meals a day, kids eat healthier when they help make meals. Try that out this month and then continue it in the school year.
• Exercise: Growing kids need daily exercise, even if they play team sports. And, kids who play sports need a break once in a while or they risk overuse injuries.
• Activities and Hobbies: The best rule of thumb is to slide into the school year and see what the work load is like before adding too many new activities, especially if activities are already in place from last year. And, to remind your child it isn’t the end of the world to try something new and drop it if they don’t like the activity or it’s too much for their schedule.
• Technology: Whatever your usual technology plan is for the school year, now is the time to regroup on that and revisit expectations that make sense once homework kicks in.

If you enjoy today while being realistic about tomorrow, tomorrow can be enjoyed much more, even if it is the first day of school!

It is with great pleasure that I inform you of the appointment of our new assistant principal, Dr. Sharon Woodson. She brings a wealth of instructional experience to a school that has built a reputation of strong academic focus throughout our School Division.

Dr. Woodson is leaving Gaston High School in Mt. Holly, NC, where she has served as one of the school's assistant principals. She is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and to the opportunity to work with the Sinclair community. She will carry on and build upon the excellent work for which Sinclair is known. Dr. Woodson has conveyed to me her great enthusiasm and excitement at being appointed to Sinclair. I know that you will give her the SOARing Eagle welcome that we extend to all newcomers, and I appreciate your continued support of student learning at Sinclair.

Sincerely,
Donna Fagerholm - Principal
Sinclair Elementary School - Where Eagles Learn to Soar