The Amity Weekly Minute: August 17, 2025
What's New?
From the Desk of Mrs. Warman
Amity Families,
What an exciting start to the year! The halls were filled with smiles, laughter, and a little bit of first-week nervous energy as students reconnected with friends and began new adventures in learning. We are so grateful for the positive energy our families and staff have brought to make this year’s beginning so special.
Thank you for your collaboration in making our first week at Amity truly wonderful! Mrs. King, Officer Chin, and I visited each classroom to welcome students back, reviewed our school-wide expectations, and reminded them that both their teachers and we are here to help solve problems and offer support on the days they need it most. It was such a joy to see our returning students and to meet our new friends joining the Amity community this year.
As a parent myself, I know getting back into the school routine can be an adjustment for the whole family. Please know you are not alone—we are all in this together! Here are three simple tips to help make the transition smoother at home:
- Keep a consistent schedule – Aim for regular bedtimes and wake-up times to help your child’s body and mind adjust to the school rhythm.
- Prepare the night before – Lay out clothes, pack lunches, and double-check backpacks to reduce the morning rush.
- Talk about the day – Take a few minutes each evening to ask about your child’s favorite part of the day and any challenges they faced. This keeps communication open and helps them feel supported.
We’re looking forward to our first full week of the 2025–2026 school year! Please remember to update your Final Forms and mark your calendars for Parent Information Night on August 27th and 28th. Times for each grade level are posted below.
Here’s to a great year ahead at Amity!
Warmly,
Laura Warman
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Amity Weekly Photo Gallery
This is the Amity Weekly Photo Gallery
Full Gallery
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Parent Information Night
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming Parent Information Night. This is a valuable opportunity to hear from your child’s teachers and learn more about classroom expectations, curriculum, and ways to support learning at home.
Below are the times each grade level will be presenting.
In addition, Ms. Marshall (Grades PreK–3) and Mrs. McKnight (Grades 4–6) will be available in the Professional Development Center (PDC) before and after each session for informal conversations and support. Look for additional information to come directly from them.
We look forward to partnering with you for a fantastic school year!
- Amity Parent Information Night (PreK-3): Wednesday, August 27th,
- 5:00 p.m. (Preschool & Kindergarten)
- 5:30 p.m. (1st Grade)
- 6:00 PM (2nd Grade)
- 6:30 p.m. (3rd Grade)
- Amity Parent Information Night (4-6): Thursday, August 28th,
- 5:00 p.m. (6th Grade)
- 5:30 p.m. (4th Grade)
- 6:00 p.m. (5th Grade)
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Dismissal Changes
If you need to make a change to your student’s dismissal plan for the day, please call the office before 2:30 p.m. This allows us to notify all appropriate staff and ensure your child is safely where they need to be at the end of the day. Your cooperation helps us keep every student safe.
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Registration for Student Wildcat Packs
Wildcat Packs is a Joshua's Place program that gives food to kids to take home on the weekends. To qualify for a weekly Wildcat Pack a student must be signed up for free and reduced lunches and elect to receive the pack by filling out the linked form. The Wildcat Pack is given at no cost to your child.
Students will receive their packs on Thursday’s from their teacher.
The first Wildcat Weekend Packs will be sent home on Thursday, October 9th.
Learn More
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August Lunch Menu
Due to supply issues, lunch menu options change frequently based on availability. The most up-to-date menu is below, however, please continue to check the Deer Park Food Services website for the latest information.
Visit the Website
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Looking Ahead
Please mark these important dates on your calendar:
- Board of Education Regular Meeting: Tuesday, August 19 | 6:30 p.m.
- Parent Information Night (Pre-K-3rd): Wednesday, August 27 | 5-8 p.m.
- Parent Information Night (4th-6th): Thursday, August 28 | 5-6:30 p.m.
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In Case You Missed It
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2025-26 Amity School Times:
Arrival Times:
- Students eating breakfast can arrive between 7:35-7:50 a.m. at the cafeteria entrance. Breakfast is $2.00.
- All doors open at 7:50 a.m.
- School starts at 8:05 a.m. (Students are Tardy at 8:06 a.m.)
Dismissal Time:
- All students will be dismissed at 3:05 p.m.
Preschool Arrival and Dismissal Times:
- Preschool starts at 8:30 a.m. and dismisses at 11:00 a.m.
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Drop Off and Doors Open for Arrivals:
Breakfast: Enter through the open cafeteria door facing Linden Avenue. The cost of breakfast is $2.00.
Car Riders: Car Riders can enter through either our East entrance, which are the main office doors, or through our West entrance off the playground. We recommend kindergarten students be dropped off at the East entrance for easy access to their classrooms.
Walkers: Walkers not attending breakfast can enter through any of our three open doors.
*** We ask that parents say goodbye to their students in the car or at the doors of Amity. We will have plenty of staff members to help get them into their correct classrooms daily. Check in conversations with teachers can be scheduled through email or phone calls to the school.
Breakfast Entrance To Amity That Is Open From 7:35-7:50 Map
Morning Entrances To Amity That Open At 7:50 Map
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Kindergarten and 1st Grade Dismissal
- Kindergarten and 1st grade will be dismissed to the East Parking lot off the main office entrance.
- East Parking Lot Dismissal Map- Kindergarten and 1st Grade
- Car Riders- We ask that parents have a Student Pick-Up Card to help speed car rider pick up. Please remain in your car during pick up and your student will be brought to you.
- Walkers- Parents walking to pick up their students need to wait in the designated walker pick up zones to help ease congestion. Your student will be brought to you in this area.
- Shuttle Riders/Day Care Buses- These students will be taken to designated areas within the building and loaded onto the buses for dismissal. (Reminder: to ride the shuttle you have to apply each year by filling out the link sent out by district)
- All Kindergarten students will be dismissed on the East side of the building. All older siblings will come down to meet them on the East side of the building before departing.
- 1st grade students with an older sibling in grades 2nd-6th will be brought to their older sibling and exit to the west side of the building using the 2nd-6th grade dismissal process described below.
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2nd-6th Grade Dismissal:
- 2nd-6th Grade walkers and car pick up will be brought to the West side of the building off the playground.
- Car Riders- We ask that parents have a Student Pick-Up Card to help speed car riders pick up. Please remain in your car and pull all the way up to increase the number of cars we can get in our parking lot. Students will be staged by grade in these areas. All cars inside the gate will be loaded with students before any cars inside the gate will be permitted to leave. This is for student safety.
- Walkers- Parents walking to pick up their students need to wait in the designated walker pick up zone outside the southwest corner of the building by the big tree. Students will be brought to you in this area.
- Shuttle Riders/Daycare Buses- These students will be taken to designated areas within the building and loaded onto the buses for dismissal. (Reminder: to ride the shuttle you have to apply each year by filling out the link sent out by district)
- In the event that we have heavy rains, we have a plan in place for our West (playground) parking lot. Students will be housed inside the building in the classrooms and will be radioed to when their cars enter the recess parking lot. Students will then come down stairs to be released to the cars. Typically traffic patterns will be followed, but loading will require patience, as the distance students are traveling to get into cars will increase.
West Parking Lot Dismissal Map- Grades 2-6 (and 1st grade siblings)
2nd-6th Grade Walking Routes Map
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Shuttle Bus and Transportation:
On August 4, the district sent communication to our families that we will be bringing back the shuttle bus for this upcoming school year. You can find out more information about our shuttle as well as a link to the shuttle bus application here:
Shuttle Bus Registration Information
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Lunch/Recess Times:
Below are posted lunch and recess times for the 2024-25 school year.
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Grade |
Lunch Times |
Recess |
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K |
10:50-11:20 |
11:20-11:40 |
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1st |
11:00-11:30 |
11:30-11:50 |
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2nd |
11:20-11:45 |
10:55-11:20 |
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3rd |
11:30-12:00 |
11:00-11:30 |
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4th |
12:10-12:40 |
12:40-1:00 |
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5th |
12:20-12:40 |
11:55-12:20 |
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6th |
12:00-12:20 |
12:20-12:40 |
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Attendance, Arrival, and Dismissal Information
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Cell Phone Policy
We understand that students are starting to get cell phones in the later grades within Amity. Please help us in talking to your student about the following expectations prior to the start of school. This year Amity Elementary students will be expected to turn their cell phones off when they get to Amity in the morning and keep them off until the end of the day. This is a change from last year. We believe this will help eliminate distractions throughout the academic day. Because all students are issued a chrome book at the beginning of the school year there is not a need for students to access their cell phones during the school day for academic purposes. If students need to connect with you during the school day, they are welcome to use the phone in the front office to call you.
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FinalForms
We will continue to utilize FinalForms in an effort to help simplify your life! Please login to FinalForms at https://deerpark-oh.
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Schoology
The Schoology Learning Management System offers a tremendous amount of information in a user friendly version. You will be able to communicate with your child’s teachers, check homework and grades, and find teacher resources through teacher Schoology pages.
Schoology Link
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2025-26 PDF District Calendar
Each year, the Deer Park Board of Education approves the district's yearly calendar, which can be found on the Deer Park Schools website. This calendar includes official school dates, holidays, and breaks. Additionally, a printed event calendar will be sent home with your student during the first week of school. For your convenience, you can access the PDF calendar using the link provided below.
View the Calendar
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Staying Connected
There are multiple ways to stay connected to Amity Elementary School.
- Email Newsletter: All parents who have completed FinalForms should receive Amity Weekly
Newsletters. If you are not currently receiving them, please register for the email communication. To register, simply go to www.deerparkcityschools.org and click on the button on the bottom of the page that says “Subscribe to District News”. From there, you will send an email requesting that you be added to future email communication from the district. - X: Follow Deer Park Schools for the most up-to-date news and happenings at @DeerParkSchools or @DeerParkAmity
- Facebook: follow us at Deer Park Community City Schools.
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