By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
It might only be the second month of the calendar year, but the first steps to enrolling kindergarteners into USD 489 for the 2022-23 school year soon will be underway.
The annual Kindergarten Roundup is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday in Gym A on the Hays High campus, giving parents an opportunity to meet with district officials, set up school tours, choose the child’s preferred school and enroll children for the upcoming school year.
“There are a few reasons why it's important for parents to attend,” said Roosevelt Elementary principal Keri Petersen. “No. 1, the event is for all parents who student enrolling in kindergarten.”
But she said for parents with students already in the district, the night could be a refresher for the first year.
To enroll in the district next year, children must be five years of age on or before Aug. 31.
While many of the in-person functions of the roundup remain the same, this year the district is moving to an online enrollment system.
“We've already had our pre-enrollment paperwork sent out to families who are already in our district,” Petersen said. “We will send out an online enrollment link following our Roundup time that evening at 6:30 p.m. So that parents can take care of all of that online this year, so there won't be any of the paperwork involved in it.”
During the Roundup, Superintendent Wilson and Assistant Superintendent Shanna Dinkel will speak, as well as each one of the principles about school-year topics.
“You just take a seat in the gym. We will probably likely have a slideshow that you can view while we're doing our talking and, at the end, you'll have an opportunity to speak with us if you'd like,” Petersen said. “It's not a long timeframe, it's just a nice time for you to actually get to be introduced to each one of us.
“And it's a great time if you have questions to get some answers, especially after the presentation, which is pretty brief,” she said. “So that gives parents time to speak with each one of us or whoever they feel like they need to have a discussion with. ... That's what we're there for.”
Along with the information, a part of the process is deciding a family's first, second and third choice of elementary schools in the district.
School placement will be decided by the district later, and parents will be informed as to their child’s school in late April, Petersen said.
School tours can be arranged for those looking to view the individual schools before making a decision.
“The dates are not officially set hour tours in some of our buildings,” Petersen said. “So, if you'd like, if you're undecided about which building you'd like your child to attend, you can certainly call the buildings and set up a time to tour.”
The meeting also is an opportunity to learn about parent groups in the district.
“Each one of our buildings has great parent groups who are involved in trying to make our buildings the best place they can be for all of our students,” Petersen said.
“We're looking forward to meeting new students to meeting parents who are coming in. And of course, if you're a repeat parent, and you already have kids in our buildings or in the district, we'd love to see you on that same evening on Feb. 28,” she said.
Cover image courtesy Pixabay