LS Summer & Back to School Info

Lower School Orientation Day 

Tuesday, September 3: 

• Orientation Day Activities - more details to come! 
• Lower School Classroom Visits: 9:15 – 10:30 am: Visit your child’s classroom, meet the teacher and schoolmates.
• Boot Exchange: 9:15 – 2:30 pm : Our rubber boot exchange is a free service for families who wish to participate. Bring a pair of outgrown boots and leave with a pair that fits. (You do not need to bring a pair to leave with a pair!) Every Lower School student needs a raincoat and a pair of rubber boots that stay at school. 
• Get Acquainted Conferences: 10:30 am -2:30 pm:  15-minute conferences are scheduled in advance via an email link sent in the summer. These Conferences allow parents and guardians to share specific information about their child with the teacher. (Conference child care will be available.)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Wednesday*, September 4

• Full Day with 2:15 dismissal -* Remember:  All Wednesdays in our school year are early dismissal days. 
• Students in Grades 1-5 will need to bring a mid-morning snack.
• Lower School aftercare is available via Kids After Hours (pre-registration with Kids After Hours is required)
• Get Acquainted Conferences: beginning at 2:45 pm (scheduled in advance; conference child care available)

SSFS Parents Association Friends Day

Saturday, September 14, 4:00-7:00 pm

Each year on a Saturday in mid-September, the Parents Association hosts a fun-filled day for all SSFS parents and students to gather on the SSFS campus to enjoy live music, meet and greet new and returning families from all divisions, enjoy dinner and dessert from local area food trucks or vendors, visit Farmer Joe at his farmer's market booth, learn about PA events & sign up to volunteer, and more. We also have face painting, inflatables, and lots of community games for all ages. 

Lower School Back-to-School Night

Thursday, September 26,  6:30 – 8:30 pm (parents only)
 

Signups for 2019-2020 Aftercare and Bus Service are now available.

Information about bus routes can be found online here (or see PDF of 2019-2020 Bus Routes here). Families can enroll in Bus Transportation and Before Care services via MyBackPack > Program Registration. SSFS continues to accept bus registrations until August 1, or until routes are at capacity. Please note that some routes will fill to capacity before August 1, so be sure to register to ride the bus as soon as possible. Directions for bus registration may be found online here.

For aftercare, please register through the Kids After Hours website (details below). For before care, please register via your MyBackPack account. For questions about Lower School extended care, please contact Pam Gilmer at pam.gilmer@ssfs.org or 301-774-7455 x112. For bus/transportation questions, please contact Cathryn Carnevale at cathryn.carnevale@ssfs.org or 301-774-7455 x177.

(SSFS faculty and staff: please note that LS Aftercare sign-up and payment procedures are different for you; the information below is for non-SSFS employees only.)

Below are instructions for how to register for aftercare services via Kids After Hours. Please note that before school care registration is available via MyBackpack.

• Go to the SSFS location on the Kids After Hours website (www.kidsafterhours.com > School Year Programs > Locations > Sandy Spring Friends School)
• Click the yellow "School Year REGISTER" button
• You will be prompted to Sign In. If you don't already have an account with Kids After Hours, you will need to Create an Account in order to register. 
• After you have signed in to your KAH account with your KAH username/password, you will be prompted to add students, register students, and checkout. 

Bob Sickels (240-687-6201) is the owner of the Kids After Hours program and is available to answer KAH specific questions. You can reach the KAH Main Office at 301-933-6888. Pam Gilmer, in the Lower School, is the SSFS point person for the KAH program and she can be reached at 301-774-7455 x112.

Magnus Health Information and Form Uploads for 2019-2020 are now available.

Family health and permission forms that you will need to fill out for your child are submitted using Magnus Health. Families are asked to submit all required health forms for the 2019-2020 academic year by July 15. View online instructions and FAQs.

Class placements will be mailed out to all Lower School families in early August. Families can also see class information online via MyBackPack. Please contact Pam Gilmer if you have questions.

Lower School summer reading lists and resources are available for each class here.

SSFS provides all necessary school technology, such as iPads and Chromebooks, for Lower School students, as well as any apps the being used.

Website login information for new families will be emailed approximately two weeks after you sign your enrollment contract. The website login gives families single-sign-on access to MyBackPack and online classrooms from the website, but you do not need a website login to access your MyBackPack account; you can simply login directly to My BackPack.

A description of Technology Services at SSFS is available in this letter from the IT Staff. You can also find the New Family Technology Setup Checklist here.

Website login information for families will be emailed in mid-July. The website login gives families single-sign-on access to MyBackPack and online classrooms from the website, but you do not need a website login to access your MyBackPack account; you can simply login directly to MyBackPack.

Technology questions may be directed to the Technology Office at tech@ssfs.org. 

After enrolling, each family gets a dedicated MyBackPack account with a unique username and password. If you have submitted your enrollment contract and have not yet received login information for (or need assistance accessing) your MyBackPack account, please contact the Technology department at tech@ssfs.org or 301-774-7455 x111. (Click here for a document with details on how to log in to the website.) Your MyBackPack account will give you access to a number of services including:

• Billing and student accounts
• Student class schedules and grades/comments
• School directory
• Family contact information
• Enrollment contracts

Please ensure that your contact information in your MyBackPack account is accurate. As a part of our continuing efforts to act in environmentally sustainable ways, SSFS rarely sends information by paper mail. All communications about events, grades, billing account status, re-enrollment, and other information are sent electronically through My BackPack using the email addresses you have provided. An emergency notification service is also available via text message, so please also provide a cell phone number where you may reached.

Lower School Administrative Assistant Pam Gilmer is available to field questions or direct you to the appropriate contact. Pam's email is pam.gilmer@ssfs.org and her phone number is 301-774-7455 x112.