Today is the first day of school here in Loudoun County. I logged onto Facebook this morning to share my bus stop photos, and to see those of my friends. I read comments from parents whose children are off at a boarding school or college, parents of kids yet to enter school... and of course, the sorrowful, hopeful, proud parents posting and sharing their photos from bus stops all over Northern Virginia.Sniff, sniff....
Once we've all gotten past the nostalgia of remembering our own school days, and particularly first day jitters, we'll need to get organized.To help you get into the swing of things, below is the student calendar for students in Loudoun, and links to the calendars for Fairfax County and Prince William County, too.
In case you failed to send lunch money this morning, Loudoun (and several other jurisdictions), allow you to set up an account with Cafe Prepay and use a credit card to pay for lunches. I pay through Christmas break now - in case you are wondering, that's 69 school days here in Loudoun. For elementary school, that's $169.05 and you're paid through the year (there's also a $3 administrative fee). 
Also, remember to sign up now (while you're thinking about it) for alerts for school closing. Technology makes this much easier than when I raised my first two kids. In Loudoun, you need to sign up for Loudoun Alerts. You can sign up ONLY for school related closings or take advantage of all the other alert types they offer. In other counties, you can register for alerts at Schools Out (http://www.schoolsout.com/), Loudoun seems to have opted out of this system this year. Through both systems, you can get emails and texts telling you of emergencies, weather related closings or other significant events at your child's school(s). Don't let your child be the ONE that doesn't get picked up!
Last, but not least, get your pens and pencils ready for filling out those forms tonight. It's the biggest parent homework night of the year!
A word of caution - beginning in 6th grade, I stopped bringing home my emergency cards and such for my parents to fill out. That is so I could give the answers I wanted them to have. That way, I didn't risk them calling my parents when I got in trouble and I never worried that my handwriting on the "please let Vicky leave early today" notes would match up with that on the signature cards. So, just in case your kid is that smart, beware.... some thing's up. Every parent signs those cards on the first day of every school year - don't believe your kid if they say anything different. (Gosh, thinking back, it's a good thing that there never was an emergency with me, huh? My parents would never have known.) Aren't you glad I was not your child?
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Check out these links to local school calendars for the areas I work on a regular basis:
For more information on the Northern Virginia area, visit my web site: VickyChrisner.com
