New Parents & General FAQ
New Parents & Cipriani FAQs
Cipriani Elementary School works hard with parents to ensure the highest level of success for every child at Cipriani. Parents play a critical role in helping their students succeed—your support is the most important factor in your child’s ability to grow and learn—but Cipriani Elementary School can help. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or if you would like to discuss how you can best help your child.
Fast FAQs
Whether you are a returning family or new to our school, students and their families will find answers to many of the questions that are top of mind as the first day of school approaches. You will also receive more information and be able to ask questions at Back to School Night.
What is Back to School Night?
Back to School Night is an opportunity for parents to meet their child(ren)’s teacher(s) and find out about this year’s curriculum, classroom procedures, volunteer opportunities, and more. Back to School Night is for parents only and will be held in September of each year.
Check the Cipriani ParentSquare site for this year's current information.
What do I need to do before school starts? Are there forms to fill out?
Enrollment is run by the Belmont Redwood Shores School District (BRSSD), not Cipriani School. BRSSD will send an email with a link to the annual online Student Information Update form in early August. If you have more than one child in the District, you will receive a separate email for each child. Please be sure to complete this information update as it contains all your student's emergency contact information.
How do I find out who is in my child’s class? Can I get in touch with other parents?
You will receive an email from the District with your child’s class/teacher assignment the Sunday before school begins as long as you have completed your Student Information Update. If you are missing a link for one or more of your children, please contact studentinfoupdate@brssd.org.
You will be able to see who is in your classroom on the Cipriani ParentSquare site after the first day of school.
How can I contact my child’s teacher?
Communication between parents and teachers is critical to student success. Your child’s teacher will review the best times and methods to get in touch during Back to School Night. In addition, all Cipriani teachers have an email address which may be found on the Cipriani Website under School Staff or on the Cipriani ParentSquare site.
How can I contact someone at the District Office?
The Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Office is located at 2960 Hallmark Drive, Belmont, CA 94002. The phone number is 650-637-4800.
For more information go to the District website: www.brssd.org
What time does school start? End?
Please see Calendar & Bell Schedule and Arrival & Dismissal for the most up-to-date information.
What is the safest route to walk to school?
As Cipriani has limited parking we encourage Cipriani families to walk to school if possible. Cipriani is committed to ensuring the safety of all its students and has developed a Safe Routes plan for the school. All Families are asked to review the Safe Routes flyer and follow the guidelines for walking to school as well as for school drop-off and pick-up.
Where does my child go on the first day? Should I accompany my child to the classroom?
TK and K students will proceed to the TK/K playground and meet their teachers there.
1st through 5th graders will proceed to the back playground. Teachers will hold up signs after the 8:23 am bell so students can line up and start their day at 8:25 am. Your child’s teacher will provide further guidance.
After the first day, how/where do I drop my child off?
Drop-off and pick-up time can be very congested, so please allow ample time and be patient. Cipriani provides a Drop Off Lane in the morning from 8:10 am – 8:25 am. Please do not drop children off prior to 8:10 am as there is no supervision. Please follow the blue flow of traffic line on the Drop Off Procedures and Safe Routes to School map for drop off. Buena Vista is VERY congested at drop off; this can be alleviated by following the blue flow of traffic line AND as you leave, utilize Palmer Ave if you plan to turn right onto Cipriani and only continue on Buena Vista if you intend to go straight or left at the stop sign.
If you are parking please allow ample time to find parking. Be courteous and DO NOT block or park in neighborhood driveways, the white curb for drop off, or blocking crosswalks. Also please DO NOT park on the Northeast side of Buena Vista at Cipriani (heading away from school up Buena Vista), this is a fire hazard and severely congests traffic flow.
Where do I pick up my child after school?
Please see Arrival & Dismissal for most current year's information.
What if my child is sick? Or late? Or I need to pick him/her up early.
If your child is going to be absent or late, call the Cipriani’s Attendance line at 650-620-2811. You may also email jbakhtegan@brssd.org and your teacher to let them know.
If you need to pick up your child early, check in at the office to sign out your student. The secretary will contact your child’s teacher and have your child report to the office.
For more information see Attendance.
What if there is an emergency on campus (ex. fire, earthquake, etc)?
At Cipriani School, the safety of students is our primary objective. That is why we have a comprehensive Disaster Plan for responding to emergencies.
For more information see Emergency Procedures.
What if my child forgets something (e.g. lunch, jacket, homework, etc.)?
Bring the forgotten item to the office; do NOT go directly to the classroom. To minimize disruption to the classrooms, the office will contact the teacher to reunite the student with the forgotten item.
Is there after-school care? How does my child get from the classroom to the after-school site?
Cipriani's on-campus after-school provider is Footsteps. Kindergartners and 1st graders are met by Footsteps program representatives at their classroom and escorted to Footsteps. All other students will walk to Footsteps.
For more information please see Footsteps.
When are school vacations?
Please refer to Cipriani's calendar on ParentSquare for all school events, early dismissal days, and vacation days.
What school supplies does my child need on the first day? What about a backpack?
It is helpful for your child to have a backpack on the first day of school to bring their snack, lunch, and water bottle in, and take home any papers.
Your child does not need to bring any additional supplies to school! Cipriani PTA, through your generous donations to the Education Commitment Campaign, will provide all the supplies your child needs in the classroom. This includes paper, pencils, crayons, markers, rulers, scissors, etc.! Cipriani PTA has asked the teachers exactly what supplies they need to best support the programs and activities for their individual classrooms. This a win-win as parents don’t have to run from store to store collecting various supplies or lug in bags of supplies on the first day, teachers get exactly what they want and need for their classrooms at a large discount starting day one of school, and all students have the same supplies no matter their circumstances.
If you would like to help pay for the cost of supplies, please contribute through the Education Commitment Campaign, a PTA-SchoolForce partnership. This contribution is completely voluntary and is fully tax deductible.
You can make this contribution during the district School Information Update or contribute here.
Should I send my child a snack?
Yes, each classroom has a snack break mid-morning and parents should send a healthy snack to help their child stay focused and able to learn.
What about lunch? Can my child microwave food? Can my child purchase a lunch?
Students do not have access to a refrigerator or microwave and staff and volunteers are unable to microwave food for students.
All public school students in California are eligible for free lunch. Please see our Meals Program for this year's information.
Are there any food restrictions?
Cipriani is a no-food birthday celebrations school. We love birthdays and celebrate each child with a pencil and card from the principal. Please help us by not bringing any food items to share with the class for your child’s birthday. See Birthday / Healthy Celebrations for more information.
Although there are no specific restrictions, parents are encouraged to be aware of any food allergies in their child’s classroom.
Parents of children with food allergies should complete District forms and inform the child’s teacher on the first day of school. Please go to the Illness & Medicine page for the most up-to-date information.
What if my child needs to take medicine at school?
If your child needs to take medication at school, you will need to complete the District’s Medical Authorization Form. Please go to the Illness & Medicine page for the most up-to-date information.
Where can I find out about the curriculum?
Cipriani Elementary School follows California State and Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary District guidelines.
For more information see Curriculum.
How much homework will my child have?
Cipriani Elementary School has developed guidelines for a school-wide homework policy in order to clarify general expectations for students, parents, and teachers. Each teacher will develop a classroom homework policy based on the following guidelines in the fall.
For more information see Homework.
Are there field trips?
Yes! Thanks to your generous PTA donations through the Education Commitment Campaign, K – 5th grades take one or more field trips during the year that support concepts learned in the classroom.
Please go to the Field Trip Chaperones page for more information.
What resources are available for children with special needs?
Cipriani offers a number of specialists to help each student achieve to his or her highest potential. Please speak with your child’s teacher or the principal if you feel they need these services.
BRSSD is also fortunate to have Opening Doors PTA, BRSSD’s Special Services PTA. Opening Doors’ mission is to provide resources for parents, district educators, and students who need extra support. For more information please visit the Opening Doors PTA webpage.
Can I volunteer in the classroom? Or if I can’t volunteer during the day, are there other ways to contribute my time?
To volunteer in the classroom, contact your child’s teacher. Most in-class volunteer sign-ups will occur during Back to School Night. All in-class volunteers must have completed the District Volunteer Clearance Process. You can learn more on the Volunteering page.
If volunteering during the school day isn’t possible, the PTA has many volunteer opportunities that fit any schedule. For details go to PTA Volunteering Opportunities or email the PTA Volunteers Coordinator.
For any issues you might have when submitting your volunteer form online, please email volunteer.help@brssd.org.
Is there anything I need to do if I am visiting the campus to volunteer or participate in an event?
All visitors AND volunteers are required to check in at the front office prior to going to the classroom. On each visit please sign the visitor or volunteer log and obtain a pass or badge.
Why do volunteers log in? One is for safety, so the staff knows who is on campus during any emergency. The other is for PTA historian records which are sent to California State PTA. Cipriani volunteers thousands of dollars in volunteer hours every year. California State PTA presents these hours and their monetary equivalent to the state every year.
How can I contribute financially? What is the Education Commitment Campaign?
Cipriani PTA and SchoolForce work hand in hand to provide for the "whole child". From August 1st through October 31, contributions to the Education Commitment Campaign will be shared by Cipriani PTA and SchoolForce. Both Cipriani PTA and SchoolForce support programs and services that directly benefit your child(ren).
SchoolForce supports students across the District. SchoolForce funds help keep smaller class sizes, provide innovation grants for teachers, professional development for teachers to keep them learning and developing, and enables the district to offer one of the highest rates in San Mateo County attracting high-quality teaching staff. SchoolForce specifically contributes $350k to Cipriani, funding our music teachers, our librarian, our science teacher, our art program, busses, our reading specialists, PE teachers, counselor, and technology.
Cipriani PTA supports students and staff at Cipriani by providing start-of-year supplies, community events, library support, assemblies, field trips, teacher classroom discretionary funds, classroom libraries, recess equipment, and much more.
For more information visit our Education Commitment Campaign page.
How do I join the PTA?
Your PTA membership is included in your contribution to the Education Commitment Campaign.
If it is after our fundraising period, October 31st, please see the Cipriani PTA page to join.
How do I know what’s going on at school?
Cipriani utilizes a ParentSquare as our communication platform. Go to the Communication-ParentSquare page for more information.
Another great way to get involved and keep up with what’s happening at Cipriani is to attend PTA General Association meetings. PTA meetings take place Sept, Nov, Jan, March, May, and June on the first Thursday of the month from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm over Zoom. General Association meetings are open to everyone and participation is encouraged. Only PTA members may vote on any actionable items.
Can we get Cipriani T-shirts or sweatshirts?
Sure! Wearing Wildcat Wear builds school spirit. Spirit Wear sales including sweatshirts, t-shirts, caps, tote bags, and more are offered through the Cipriani Store. Make your purchases at the Cipriani Store.
Parenting Support Resources & Information
Parents say that raising their children is the most rewarding aspect of their lives—but that doesn’t mean it’s easy, or that parents always have all the answers.
Health - If you have health concerns about your children, the American Academy of Pediatrics site provides excellent children's health information.
Media - Today's children have unprecedented access to information and experiences through computers, the internet, video games, TV, and cell phones. Common Sense Media gives parents critical information about digital media choices like the latest "must-have" video games.
Safety - Keeping your children safe is the primary responsibility of all parents. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provides resources for keeping kids safe.
Substance Abuse — Learn about the types of peer pressure students face, how to talk about the dangers of drug use, and how to determine if your teen is using drugs at Parents. The Anti Drug
Opening Doors PTA
Opening Doors: a Belmont Redwood Shores Special Services PTA is a 501(c) not-for-profit parent and teacher association established in September 2007, formally known as BRS-SEPTA. Our mission is to provide resources for parents, district educators, and children who need extra support, through an educational speaker series, program materials, and in advocating for a supportive environment at our schools.
Please visit our website for more information.