Frequently Asked Questions

School Hours – 9:25 to 3:30
Playground supervision starts at 9:05.
School is out at 3:30 and children will be going straight to the bus or parent pick-up area. If you are going to be late to pick up your child, call the school so we can have your child waiting for you in the office.

Parking and Loading Safety – Please carefully read through the Sacajawea Student Drop Off & Pick up sheet in your first day packet. Know the protocol to get this high volume of kids and vehicles smoothly in and out at the start and end of the school day. We need every driver and walker to follow the same rules to keep everyone safe!
Parking – Please be respectful of our neighbors and do not park in front of their driveways or mailboxes.

Absences or Late Arrivals – If your child will be absent or late arriving, make a call to the school at 252-5550 (this line has a 24-hour voice mail.). This courtesy is for safety, and saves us a lot of time and phone calls.
BE ON TIME – School starts at 9:20 – if you enter the building after 9:20 you need to come to the office for a tardy slip.

Early Dismissal – If your child needs to leave school early, please come and sign them out at the office, then take an Early Release permission slip to the teacher. Teachers will not release any students without the office informing them.

Transportation
If your child is assigned to a bus, the bus schedule comes in the mail to you from Transportation Services. Please check it to make sure you know the correct bus stops and pick-up/drop-off times. If you have questions, changes or have not received a schedule in the mail by the end of August, call Transportation Services at 252-0900.

Medication at School – Medications of any kind (including cough drops and over-the-counter medicines) must not be sent to school with a child. Call the school for guidance. Our nurse, Sheila Kohls, will work with you to get the paperwork done prior to a child being administered medications at school. The law requires both parent and doctor signatures. This is a big safety issue! Ms. Kohl’s phone number is 252-5557.

Sick Days – When in doubt, please don’t mask the symptoms with medication and send children to school. Children should not return to school until after 24 hours after a fever, diarrhea or vomiting.

Lice – Unfortunately, head lice are common and we are continually on the look out so an outbreak can be stopped just as quickly as possible. When we are told that a child has lice, a notice will be sent home with every child in that classroom. When needed, our nurse and/or some wonderful parents will check heads in a classroom. If a child is found to have lice, we notify the parent asking them to treat the child that evening and to continually check for nits daily for several weeks.

Plan Ahead and Talk About it – Make sure to establish a clear plan for what your child is to do after school and have a conversation about it when it is any different than the regular routine. Especially on early release days, make sure to communicate that you know about it and how/if their routine will change. When students are confused, they miss busses and some become distressed. Extra phone calls and confusion are caused for the staff as well.

Play Dates & Changes in Routine - Play dates must be preplanned between parents and written notification sent to school, to the teacher and office if it impacts where a child usually goes after school. Play dates cannot be made between students at school. If your child is taking the bus home with another student for a play date, please send a note or an e-mail to the school office. Your child will be provided with a Bus Green Card giving permission for them to ride the bus.

Voice Mail - Classroom telephones are for emergency use only by students. Please instruct your child to always leave a voice mail message if they call, so you will know the reason for the call. Parents, always listen to your voice mail messages first; please don’t call the school randomly just because you saw the school number on your caller ID! With all the phones and people in the building, we can’t begin to guess why someone called. If it is important they will leave a message or call you again.

Visitors / Volunteers – We love all of our helpers and visitors--please come to the office to sign in and get a badge so everyone is accounted for. In the first day packet, you will find the Washington State Patrol form that needs to be filled out by each volunteer every year.

School Breakfast and Lunch – We serve breakfast and lunch on a daily basis throughout the school year. Students may qualify for Free/Reduced Lunch status by filling out a lunch application form. If you did not receive a form in the mail to fill out during the summer you can request one from the office.

Paying for lunch by check – make the check out to CNS (Child Nutrition Service) and make sure your child’s name is on it.

Sending Cash – please put in an envelope with your child’s name on the envelope.

Online Payment – Go to the Seattle District Website, Nutrition Services and find online payment option
Sack Lunch or Lunch Boxes – Your child may prefer to bring her/his lunch to school. Please mark your child’s name and room number on the box or bag. We ask that you do not send soda pop or candy in lunches.

Tuesday Take Home Packet of Information – Look for the “Tuesday Take-Home” packet of information to come home with your child each Tuesday. This packet contains information about school and PTA events, the Tuesday after-school program, monthly newsletter and community events. (This is sent home with the oldest/or only child in the family).

Identifying Clothing – we often have an overflowing Lost and Found because we don’t know who left which sweatshirt or jacket on the playground. Please write your child’s name on sweatshirts, jackets, anything which might get left somewhere at school. If your child does lose an item of clothing, the Lost and Found is located in the upper hallway, between the bathrooms.

If you have a question that is not answered here please e-mail Sacajawea’s Secretary, Doreen Norman at dnorman@seattleschools.org