Construction News

August 10, 2009

Dear Larkspur Parents,

If you have passed by the school over the summer, you saw some major construction in progress. It is an exciting time for everyone in the Larkspur community as we witness the start of a new building addition that will have 23 classrooms, including Music, as well as a large, air-conditioned gym. This construction will replace the portable buildings and the old gym in the back. It will also give us a new and beautiful entrance to our school. The architects and the construction firm have worked very closely with district staff to ensure that Larkspur gets the best of the added facility.

With this construction, there will be some challenges. Our entrance for parent drop offs and pick ups has changed. The entrance will now be on Larkspur Drive. We will have new car lanes for the drop off and the pick up traffic. The new parking lot is primarily for school staff, but there should be plenty of visitor spaces for some of you who wish to come in to visit with a teacher or the office.

The distance the students have to walk to get to their locations in the morning will be longer, but we will have staff and student patrols monitoring the routes. Our students will still gather in specific locations when they arrive in the morning: the gym for 3rd – 4th grades; in their halls for PK, 1st and 2nd grades; and the Library for 5th grade. Students should go straight to the cafeteria if they wish to eat breakfast. Remember, if you want to be with your child for breakfast or lunch, you need to go to the office first for a visitor’s badge.

During this construction, we will work to alleviate as much of the inconvenience for you as possible. We will continue to maintain our students’ security as the primary focus at arrival and dismissal times. We are certain that all of you will help us do that. Please follow the street and driveway signs to keep things moving smoothly and safely. We start school at 7:00 a.m. Students who are tardy will need to be brought to the office by an adult. School staff and student patrols will not be on duty after 7:25 a.m.

On another note, we have some significant staff changes to announce. Mr. Wicker has been promoted as new principal at Castle Hills Elementary. Our new Assistant Principal is Dr. Linda Vargas-Lew. Be sure to stop in and say “hello.” Our theme this year is “Larkspur, Lighting the way toward College.” I hope to see you soon at our Meet the Teacher Nights.

Sincerely,

Jerry D. Zapata