Weekly Message From Principal Joanne Bowers
9/10/07

“I want to say that wonderful ideas can come from anywhere.  Sometimes you make a mistake, or break something, or lose a hat, and the next thing you know, you get a great idea.” 

Max Makes a Million,
Maira Kalman, 1990

Hello North Beach Families,

     With a short week of school behind us I can positively say, that North Beach is a high energy, involved school and a lot of fun.  The three days went by incredibly fast and I am so grateful for all the help and support from staff and families to make the transition go so smoothly.
     A few reminders for safety’s sake.  Please do not park in the parent drop off zones anywhere near the crosswalks.  Our safety patrol should not have to go out around your car to look for traffic.  There is a 30-foot clearance on the crosswalks.  I will be monitoring this week to make sure we are all making the street safe for our students.  Please remember at the end of the day when you are picking up to keep the long hall clear for students going to busses and childcare.  If we stay in the foyer and outside it helps keep the flow of traffic move more smoothly. It would also help if you arrived a little later like 3:10.  It is awesome to see so many families here ready to pick up their students and go home for an evening together. 
     In the mornings, it would really support our goal of helping your child become independent if you and your child go directly to the playground and not inside in the morning.  Students should not arrive before 8:45 unless they take a bus and should stay outside until the bell rings.  Then they line up with their class and come inside. They come in and unpack their backpack and belongings. This really helps the teachers as their time in the morning is spent preparing for students arrival.
     As you know, North Beach is brimming with students.  I know many of you have had valid concerns about the number of students in your child’s class.  Please know, that we are working on solutions to these numbers and want to support your child and the teacher in creating a class that is workable for everyone. We hope to have a solution by the end of this week.     
     We had a great PTA Board retreat this weekend and accomplished a great deal during the retreat.  Our PTA co-presidents, Rick Burke and Alicia Edgar did a great job of moving us along and getting wonderful ideas shared and out for us to work on. 
     This week we want to invite you to our Welcome Back to School Pizza Potluck on Wednesday, September 12^th at 6pm.  I am looking forward to meeting more of you and practicing putting names to faces.
     One big change is that our curriculum night has been moved to Tuesday, September 18^th.  Please make a note of the change, as we do like to have as many families attend as possible.  
     Thank you everyone for being a great community that works together and supports academic excellence.

Peace, Joanne Bowers