Preparation for back to school

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Deana Heitzman
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  With summer days dwindling and the school year fast approaching, parents and students should be aware of important registration paperwork and dates for the 2014-15 school year.

New and returning parents are encouraged to visit the Aviano Elementary and Middle/High School to enroll their children into school, which begins Aug. 25.

"Parents who want to register their children need to come in with the child's immunization records, birth certificate for kindergarteners and first graders, a copy of their orders with the child and sponsors name and previous school records, if applicable," said Melissa Hayes, Aviano Elementary School principle.

When parents come into the school for registration they are initially required to give emergency contact information on a Department of Defense Educational Activity Form 600.

"We encourage parents to give a secondary emergency contact number if they are just arriving to Aviano," said Hayes. "During the small chance of something happening during the first few days of school, we want to make sure we can get ahold of you."

In addition to the DoDEA Form 600, all parents are given free and reduced lunch applications. High school specific parents will be given additional paperwork for educational pre-screening, medical consent and health history.

Also, students who are interested in sports will need a sport physical in addition to the previous medical pre-screenings. The 31st Medical Group pediatric clinic is scheduled to offer appointments and walk-ins for sport physicals, Aug. 19 and 22 from 1 to 5 p.m.

New students, who are enrolling into their final years of school, are advised to have transcripts of previous classes before attending Aviano. Receiving past transcript helps school personnel ensure students are enrolled in the correct classes to guarantee on-time graduation.

"For newcomers to Aviano, school registration is not any different from other school registration," said Hayes. "We have people coming in from all over, state schools and overseas, and we just focus on getting parents in quickly so we can plan accordingly for our records and class distributing."

After parents visit the school, they are directed to the school transportation department to ensure an easy and safe method of transportation for children throughout the complex roads in Italy.

"After registration, you are referred to our office next to the school," said Donald Evans, Aviano schools transportation operation specialist. "We then use your address to tailor a specific bus stop for your children. Our commute radius is very large and we try to accommodate every parent's needs.

"Drivers also follow strict safety measures when your children are dropped off in the afternoon," added Evans. "If your child is in the second grade or below, it is mandatory for a parent or a sibling, 14 years or older, to be there to escort the child."

After new students are registered, parents are encouraged to attend New Student Orientation Aug. 19 from 10 to 11 a.m. for the elementary school in the media center. Middle/High school New Student Orientation is on Aug. 22 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the muti-purpose room.

The school liaison office is hosting a "Back to School Bash" open to students of all ages to officially kick-off the beginning of the school year Aug. 28 from 3 to 6 p.m. The bash encourages parents to come and meet their children's teachers. The event will include with a barbeque, face painting stations, a climbing wall and a bouncy castle.

For more information on school registration, contact the elementary school at 632-5677 or the middle/high school at 632-5877.