Order your Heritage Apparel HERE! A Note from Mrs. DeGrand... (New!) Last week was a wonderful one! Throughout the building there were connections being made, the sharing of stories and lots of laughs and smiles. Classrooms are learning to operate as new learning communities and you could feel the energy around the building! We are looking forward to Week 2! To Note: As you may have noticed, the Woodland/Heritage Parking Lot/Loops are BUSY! When in the loop, it is essential that you pull all the way forward (do not stop your car at your waiting student). In the lot, parking in a valid parking spot is a must. Illegal parking will be monitored by public safety. In both areas, please be aware of your surroundings. The lot and loop are very busy places with people walking and riding their bikes to both buildings. Also remember that Michigan law prohibits the use of cell phones while driving. Please review the section below for more arrival/dismissal procedure details. Have a great week ahead! In partnership, Megan DeGrand Drop Off/Pick Up Procedures: To improve efficiency, you may use whichever loop is easiest for your family. It does not matter which loop you use- students at either Woodland Meadows or Heritage School can walk the safe sidewalk to their school entrance.
New School Visitor Procedures: To Note: District-wide, we have Changes to Visitor Check-in at School Buildings. We are excited to launch a new kiosk at each building to support student check-out, item drop-off, and visitor check-in. Each school vestibule is equipped with a free-standing tablet that presents several options for visitors. Student check-out and item drop-off allow families to pick-up students or drop-off forgotten items directly from the building vestibule, without requiring check-in at the office. Visitors entering the building or visiting a classroom are prompted to enter their phone number, scan a government-issued photo identification, take a photo, and sign a consent. Once complete, a badge will print and be available for pick-up inside the building office. Visitor information will be stored in the system for 90 days, allowing faster access for repeat visitors. As an alternative to the publicly-accessible tablet, guests are also welcome to scan a QR code on the kiosk to check-in using their smartphone. Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance if needed. Cashless Athletics and Concessions: Continuing in 2023-2024, no cash is accepted at athletic events. All students, staff, and seniors ages 62+ can enter all home non-playoff games free* with appropriate ID. All other guests will be prompted to pay using the GoFan App or a credit card upon entry. New in 2023-2024, athletic concessions are also moving to a cashless system. Guests have two options for ordering, using a smartphone or paying at a register. Guests can skip the line and order ahead on their mobile browser at fanfood.app or download the FanFood app in Apple App Store/Google Play Store, and are notified when their order is ready. Alternatively, guests can continue to order at the register using a major credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Please note, athletics concessions are not able to be linked to student meal accounts. *Please note that some restrictions to free admission may apply to certain self-funded sports. Communication from SAS Food Service: Cell Phones and Students:
A Note from Mrs. DeGrand... (New!) It was great to see so many of you at Open House. Our staff has been busy getting things set for the first day with students. It is with great appreciation (as an educator and mom), that I am excited to welcome your student(s) to a brand new year on Monday morning. I realize that with every drop off or walk to the bus stop/school, you are sending a piece of your heart to us at Heritage. Thank you for the trust and support you give to our staff. We are looking forward to a great year! (*Note: My apologies for a content heavy Highlights this week. This will not always be the case, I promise. Please refer to the "School and District Notes" section below for lots of NEW information to help with the first week.) Have a great week ahead! In partnership, Megan DeGrand Drop Off/Pick Up Procedures: (New!) To improve efficiency, you may use whichever loop is easiest for your family. It does not matter which loop you use- students at either Woodland Meadows or Heritage School can walk the safe sidewalk to their school entrance.
New School Visitor Procedures: (New!) To Note: District-wide, we have Changes to Visitor Check-in at School Buildings. We are excited to launch a new kiosk at each building to support student check-out, item drop-off, and visitor check-in. Each school vestibule is equipped with a free-standing tablet that presents several options for visitors. Student check-out and item drop-off allow families to pick-up students or drop-off forgotten items directly from the building vestibule, without requiring check-in at the office. Visitors entering the building or visiting a classroom are prompted to enter their phone number, scan a government-issued photo identification, take a photo, and sign a consent. Once complete, a badge will print and be available for pick-up inside the building office. Visitor information will be stored in the system for 90 days, allowing faster access for repeat visitors. As an alternative to the publicly-accessible tablet, guests are also welcome to scan a QR code on the kiosk to check-in using their smartphone. Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance if needed. A Note From Transportation: (New!) Saline Area Schools, like many districts in neighboring communities, continue to face bus driver shortages. We currently have only 60% of drivers necessary to cover our 22 routes. While we have been working on creative solutions all summer, we are faced with the unfortunate reality of needing to cancel some bus routes on a rotational basis. Thanks to the efforts of our Operations team working beyond the scope of their daily responsibilities combined with long-time retirees, valued substitutes, and support from a team of contracted drivers from an outside agency, we have been able to minimize the impact to our families. The first week of school (week of August 28), we must cancel two routes, assigned to bus numbers 62 and 79. Any future cancellations will be announced the Wednesday before the impacted week. For example, we will announce any necessary route cancellations on August 30 that will be in place for the week of September 5. Because we are utilizing all available personnel to cover as many routes as possible, bus routes could also be canceled due to unplanned driver illness and injury. In order to receive notifications about bus route cancellations, both planned and unplanned, families are encouraged to “opt-in” to notifications in the Ride 360 App. Please visit the Transportation page for instructions to set-up the app. You will need your student’s school ID number (usually 6-digit) used for lunch accounts and listed on report cards. In addition to the app, we will post planned and unplanned route cancellations on the Transportation and District websites. Due to the lack of drivers and the need to prioritize transportation to and from school, we also anticipate canceling athletics transportation before 5 p.m. Coaches are still invited to submit a request for bus transportation, and they will be fulfilled as we are able. We recognize the incredible hardship this creates for families and continue to work toward long-term solutions to better equip school transportation moving forward. If you know anyone interested in exploring a career (full-time or part-time) as a bus driver for Saline Area Schools, please refer them to the Transportation office at (734) 401-4479, or by email: [email protected]. Cashless Athletics and Concessions: (New!) Continuing in 2023-2024, no cash is accepted at athletic events. All students, staff, and seniors ages 62+ can enter all home non-playoff games free* with appropriate ID. All other guests will be prompted to pay using the GoFan App or a credit card upon entry. New in 2023-2024, athletic concessions are also moving to a cashless system. Guests have two options for ordering, using a smartphone or paying at a register. Guests can skip the line and order ahead on their mobile browser at fanfood.app or download the FanFood app in Apple App Store/Google Play Store, and are notified when their order is ready. Alternatively, guests can continue to order at the register using a major credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Please note, athletics concessions are not able to be linked to student meal accounts. *Please note that some restrictions to free admission may apply to certain self-funded sports. Communication from SAS Food Service:
A Note from Mrs. DeGrand... (New!) Thank you for your patience as we worked through the tech issues behind the delay in distributing class placement emails. This is also the reason you may have not received last week's "Heritage Highlights". Please scroll down to last week's post for reference. We are very much looking forward to seeing the halls filled on Wednesday night for Open House. If you have not received a placement letter for the 23/24 school year, please let us know by contacting [email protected]. If your 5th grade student is planning on "setting up" their locker at Open House (or the first day of school): Please keep in mind that if they play the violin, viola, trumpet, clarinet or flute, they are required to keep that instrument in their lockers. This frees up hallway space and ensures we are in compliance with fire codes. Extra locker shelves will not be an option. Have a great week ahead! In partnership, Megan DeGrand
A Note From Transportation: (New!) Hello SAS Families, Bus assignments are now visible in your Ride 360 App. Please take a look at your earliest convenience. Please note, if your child attends the High School or Heritage School, they may need to ride a transfer bus in the afternoons. Please look at our Heritage and High School transfer guides on the SAS Transportation website. All bus riders should be at their assigned stop 5 minutes before the scheduled stop time. They should be outside at your stop location and visible to the driver as the bus approaches the stop. All students in Young 5, Kindergarten, and First Grade need to be met at the stop in the afternoons by a parent or other designated adult. Permission may be granted by a parent to allow younger students to go with older siblings from the same bus. Please send your driver a note if this is the case. Throughout the school year, the best way to reach us is by email at [email protected] or by phone at (734) 401-4479. We are looking forward to a safe school year. In Partnership, SAS Transportation ***SAS is actively searching for school bus drivers. Join an excellent team and be on the same schedule as your child(ren). Training is provided and paid!*** Communication from SAS Food Service: (New!)
A Note from Mrs. DeGrand... (New!) This is the week! Class placement emails will hit your inbox on Thursday. Our Heritage Family Handbook has a lot of information to help shape a safe and productive learning environment for our students. Throughout the next few months, our staff will be teaching classroom and school norms around this document. Our goal is for all students to find safety, joy and room to confidently grow this year. If that is not the case for your child, please reach out to me directly so we can meet. I can be reached at [email protected]. Please note: Any section including new information will be marked at the top as "(NEW!)". Have a great week ahead! In partnership, Megan DeGrand
A Note from Transportation: (New!) he Transportation Department is in the process of finishing the assignment of students and routing our buses. Each day, we continue gathering information that affects bus routes, so please be patient as we want to make sure that we have the most accurate information when we do share. Our plan is to have bus information available in Ride 360 by Thursday, August 17th. To prepare for this, please make sure that you have Ride 360 downloaded and your student(s) added. You will need their student ID number(s) that were sent out last week from the district. Ride 360 instructions are available on the SAS Transportation page. Again this year, transportation will only be given to eligible students to/from their home registered address. No transportation is provided to/from a daycare, friends or relatives home, or afterschool activities. District
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