08/23/2026
Good evening Cardinal Families!
This is your Principal, Lyndsey Dunn with information for the first day of school for our 1st through 5th graders, Monday, August 24th. . Please be patient with this first message as it will be longer to set all expectations clearly.
Arrival - The first bell will ring and allow for students to enter at 8:25. If you wish to walk your student in for their first day, you must park, enter through the front entrance and Evolve Weapons Detection System. You will also receive a visitor sticker. Teachers will be busy starting their day with their new students so they will be able to say hello, but will not be able to have long conversations. We ask that you reserve longer conversations for phone calls or conferences. The tardy bell will ring at 8:55 am and if you arrive after that time, you must park and walk your student inside, signing them in at the front office.
Independence Day - On Wednesday, August 26th, we are declaring “Independence Day '' for our 1st through 5th grade students to begin walking to their classes without an adult on this day and through the rest of the year. Staff on duty at the front entrance will be holding firm to this, so please be understanding if they remind you that our students need to walk alone. Pre-K and Kindergarten students begin with half of the class on Wednesday and half of the class on Thursday, while everyone will be on campus Friday. Kindergarten parent/guardians may walk with their child on their half day and Friday. Kindergarten students will have “Independence Day” where they walk by themselves, or with staff support, on Monday, August 31st. Pre-K Parents will be provided a pass and you will walk your child to their classroom daily.
Bus Riders - If your child is a bus rider and you did not receive a bus pass at Open House, we had you go to the cafeteria requesting bus transportation. Those requests have been put into the system and routes will be assigned as quickly as possible by the county transportation department, but please remember a bus assignment is not guaranteed for the first week of school. As soon as your child is assigned to a route, you will be notified. Therefore, your child will need to be a car rider until you receive a call saying that your child has been assigned to a bus. Be prepared for buses to run behind schedule for the first few weeks of school. Once a routine is established, the time frames will improve. Please join the Edulog app if you would like to be notified when your child is on the bus, as well as keep track of their daily journeys. Van riders will be loaded and unloaded from our bus lot as well.
Car Riders - Car rider parents, the tag provided by the school has to be displayed in the dash of your car and remain there until your child has loaded in your car. We ask that you not get out of your car while in the car rider line, so that we can safely and quickly keep it moving. Kindergarten student families have a green card, while first through fifth grade student families have a pink card. Green is for the front carpool and pink is for the back carpool which is along tucker street. If you have a child that has a kindergarten sibling, they will dismiss from the front carpool with their kindergarten sibling. This allows for a smoother transition for our little ones and this will start on Monday, even though our Kindergarten students do not arrive until Wednesday. We would like consistency in our procedures for you as families, as well as our students. If you do not have a car rider tag, you will be asked to show your ID and wait while we check you are approved for the student being called. Please be patient and kind, as this is for your child’s safety and security.
Walkers - Only students who live within .2 miles of the school can be considered for this privilege. If your child is a walker, you must walk to and from school with them and not drive. If you choose to drive, you will be asked to enter the carpool line. Walker students will be dismissed at 3:50 from the side fenced in area beside the library. You must have a walker card to receive your student.
Breakfast and lunch are free for all students again this year, so save yourself some time packing a lunch! Families may choose to send in or add money to their child’s account if they would like to purchase extra snacks or ice cream.
Early Check-out Information - If you need to check your child out early, this needs to occur before 3:15 pm. If you enter the office after 3:15, you will be asked to join the car rider line. We encourage families to keep students at school for the full instructional day as instruction continues until the final bell.
Thank you ahead of time for your patience, understanding and support as we kick off this new school year. Our goal is to make Four Oaks Elementary a place where students can learn, feel safe, and be loved. We cannot wait to see all of our Cardinals tomorrow morning.
