Lotspeich Blast Aug 29, 2025

Parent Night Survey

We would like to get your thoughts on Parent Night so we can make sure we are meeting your needs. Please take a moment to complete this brief Parent Night Survey 

Start Times and Attendance Explanations

Please note that school start times have changed for this school year. Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten start at 8:30 a.m., and Grades 1-5 start at 8:15 a.m. After these times, students will be marked as absent or tardy. In Veracross, you will notice the following attendance code:

• Present — Student is present and on time for the day.
• Tardy- Excused — Student has arrived at school after the start time, but a parent alerted the school with a reason/note in Veracross or upon arrival.
• Tardy Unexcused — Student has arrived at school after the start time, and the parent has not alerted the school with a reason in Veracross.
• Absent Excused — Student has not arrived at school, and a parent has contacted and entered the reason into Veracross. 
• Absent Unexcused — Student has not arrived at school, and a parent has not contacted or entered the reason into Veracross. The school will contact the parent if it has not been entered into Veracross.

Rotating Schedule

As teachers may have mentioned on Parent Night, we have gone from using a Monday-Friday schedule to a 1-5-day schedule. This helps ensure the students don’t miss too many Monday and Friday classes on holiday weekends. We also use an A/B rotation with our numbers to help us alternate our guidance schedule. We know parents want to know their child’s schedule, so please see our rotating schedule calendar, and then you can look at your child’s schedule (from the classroom teacher) to see where they are on any given day.

Carline

A few helpful hints:

• Please have your name placard on the passenger side visor for easy visibility. When your child is loaded, please put the visor up as a sign you’re ready to go.
• If your child will enter your car on the driver’s side, please use Lane #1 or 2 to avoid your child loading next to moving traffic in Lane #4
• If you are turning right out of the parking lot, please use Lane #1; if you are turning left, please use Lane #3. Lane #2 can turn either direction.
• Arriving between 3:15-3:20 p.m. will make for a much quicker pick-up process. Students are dismissed from their classrooms at 3:15 p.m., and it takes a few minutes to walk to the Red Barn. 
• This year, Middle Schoolers who have siblings in Lotspeich will dismiss with Lotspeich students at the Red Barn. A Middle School representative will be at the Red Barn to make sure all of the students are safely dismissed.
• If you are picking up both a Lotspeich and Middle School student, arriving between 3:20-3:25 p.m. will give your MS student time to walk to the Red Barn, avoiding the need to circle around.

Thank you to everyone who has shown flexibility and patience as we adjust our new dismissal carline plans. Working together truly has made improvements and is much appreciated. 

After the Bell News

Sports Reminder
If your child is on a fall soccer team on either the Hillsdale Campus or the Doherty Campus, you do not have to pay for ATB if their practice begins at 3:45 p.m. A coach or a sports coordinator will pick them up from their classroom or the shuttle immediately after school. If your child needs to return to ATB after practice, or their practice begins after 3:45 p.m., you do need to select the daily drop-in. You may do so via Veracross.

Daily Drop-Ins and Annual ATB
You can register for daily drop-ins and Annual ATB below. As a reminder, daily registration ends each Monday at 9 a.m.

• Annual After the Bell Enrollment
• Daily After the Bell Registration

Enrichment
We are offering an exciting line-up of enrichment programs beginning Sept. 15 for our Fall 1 Session. Details will be emailed soon, and registration opens today, Friday, Aug. 29! We will have options for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, and first to fifth grade on both campuses. Students can take the shuttle between campuses for enrichment programs. You won’t want to miss our fun lineup! Register today via Veracross.

• Fall 1 Session Dates — Sept. 15 – Oct. 24
• Fall 2 Session Dates — Nov. 3 – Dec. 19

Birthday Book Program

Celebrate your child’s special day with a lasting gift to our library!

Our Birthday Book program allows families to donate a book to one of our Lower School libraries in honor of their child’s birthday. Your student will personally select the book they’d like to give, and we’ll add a commemorative bookplate with their name and birthday.

Students choose their birthday book during their birthday month (summer birthdays included!). These books often become the first ones students check out when returning to school! Donation is $20 per book. To participate, please complete the Square form and submit payment. Your generous support helps our libraries continue to grow with books chosen by our students, for our students, and also supports our author visit fund.

Questions? Contact Lori Suffield, Lotspeich librarian, or Jo Schnirring, Doherty librarian.

Parent Veracross Guides

If you are new to Seven Hills or just need a refresher about using Veracross, check out our parent guides:

• Parent Platform Guide
• Parent Communications Guide