Principal's Message
Thank you to everyone for helping make the start of the school year a success. Students and staff are settling into routines, and along with the academic routines we are beginning to practice school safety procedures. Managing a school emergency is a team effort that requires advanced planning and training of staff, students, and families.
It is important for families to understand their role during a school emergency.
• Please make sure that the Larrabee office has current information about your family. This includes address, phone numbers, and the names of adults who your child can be released to if you are unavailable.
• Do not call the school during an emergency – doing so only ties up emergency phone lines.
• Information will be disseminated through automated e-mail, the District website, and local radio. To sign up for District e-mail, click on E-News Registration at www.bham.wednet.edu.
• Do not enter the building unless instructed to do so.
Before students are released a count will occur. It is important that emergency responders and others are not searching for students who have not been properly released. Depending on the type of emergency Larrabee students will be released from an on-site location that will be clearly marked or from Our Savior’s Church located at 18th St. and Larrabee St. During pick-up, please be patient, as it might take a few minutes to complete required documentation for the release. Additionally, your calm presence sends the critical message to the children that they are safe. The person picking up your child should be prepared to display picture identification and must be listed as an emergency contact. Once the release has happened, please leave the site as quickly and safely as possible.
I appreciate your help in making Larrabee a safe learning environment.
Eric Paige
Guidelines for Animals at School
I am a dog lover and my family has owned a variety of breeds including retrievers, shepards, and terriers. I even know many of your dogs by name: Rocky, Finn, Carly, Stella, Rainy, Dragon, just to name a few and enjoy giving them a good rub behind the ears. After receiving some questions about animals at school I found a document jointly published by the State Dept. of Health and Office of Superintendent of Public instruction. In part it states:
A person designated by the school shall be notified…prior to student-animal interaction. A health certificate…is required. Appropriate restraint devices will prevent harm to the students or escape of the animal. All animals will be restricted to a designated area.
If you plan on bringing a pet to school please see me so that we can create a kid-safe animal friendly environment.
Calling the School
The Larrabee staff understands that because it is the beginning of the year families are adjusting to new daily routines. And we understand that you are concerned about your child getting home safely. This week Larrabee staff have ridden the school bus and walked children home to add a sense of security. We suggest that you review your after school plan with your child each morning. If you still have concerns send a note to your child’s teacher with the plan outlined and the teacher will review it with the child at the end of the day. If plans change after your child has left for school, please call the office as early as possible so that we have adequate time to find your child and give notification. To avoid disrupting learning, phone calls will not be forwarded to classrooms. We appreciate your help with making student learning a priority.
