Spring Creek 5th Grade Transition Letter to Parents

Hello SEP 5th grade families.  My name is Nathan Ballagh and I am proud to serve as the principal of Spring Creek Sixth Grade Center.  Now that spring break has come and gone, we are starting to plan for next school year and wanted to reach out to current 5th grade parents to share some information for the 2022-2023 school year.  The staff members of Spring Creek recognize that the transition to 6th grade can be a bit overwhelming as it is a new learning environment with a lot more students in the same grade.  Our staff spends a lot of time preparing for the transition of our current 5th grade students so they are ready on day one of 6th grade.  The purpose of this email is to share some important information with you to help support a successful transition for your current 5th grade student.  Please reach out if you have any questions.

1. We will hold an optional parent meeting on Monday, April 18, 2022 in the Spring Creek gym.  If your child attends Clay, Runnells, Four Mile, or Delaware, please show up at 5:30 pm.  If your child attends Centennial, Mitchellville, Willowbrook, or Altoona, please show up at 7:00 pm.  We will hold the same meeting twice and the purpose of two meetings is to manage crowd size.  At the parent meeting, Principal Ballagh and other staff members will provide an overview of what to expect for the transition to Spring Creek.  If your child receives additional support at school through an IEP, we will have staff members present to answer any questions you have.
2. Every summer we host a program called Spring Creek Mission Transition to invite our incoming students to Spring Creek for a day of fun activities and getting familiar with the building.  They can take a tour and open their locker.  We will hold this event twice in case you are unavailable for one of the dates as we know this is prime vacation time.  The event will be all day and you have to register and pay in advance.  Scholarships are offered for anyone who needs this assistance.  The dates for Mission Transition are July 28th and August 4th.
3. We will hold an Open House during the summer to invite students in to get their Chromebook, get their school picture taken, and to walk around the school to find their classrooms and locker.  They can also bring in school supplies to put in their locker if they would like to.  The dates for the Spring Creek Open House will be August 8th & 10th with the times still to be determined.  Teachers will not be at this event so it is just an Open House.
4. We have tentatively scheduled Spring Creek Orientation for the evening of August 18, 2022 at Spring Creek.  We will schedule the same event twice that night to reduce crowd size.  Teachers will be present at this event and students can walk their schedule to meet their teachers.  This event is for students and parents.
5. We have been visiting SEP elementary schools recently to speak to our 5th grade students about their transition to Spring Creek.  We have shared a basic overview of information and have answered a lot of really good questions.  We only have two elementary schools left to visit for this first round.  In May, our counselor Mr. Stumpff and several student leaders from Spring Creek will visit each elementary school again to share information and answer any questions.
6. We have put together a document called Spring Creek Frequently Asked Questions to help prepare you and your child for their transition to Spring Creek.  We hope you find this document helpful.  This document is updated on a regular basis and will be shared several more times.

I think that is all for now.  Again, we hope you have a great rest of the school year as your 5th grade child wraps up their elementary school experience.  We are excited to welcome them to Spring Creek next Fall!

Sincerely,

Nathan Ballagh – Spring Creek Principal

nathan.ballagh@southeastpolk.org

&

Jenny Rinehart – Spring Creek SAM

jenny.rinehart@southeastpolk.org