Welcome to the 2026-27 School Year at Marin!

Dear Marin Families,

As we prepare to begin a new school year, I want to extend a warm and heartfelt WELCOME to our new students and families and WELCOME BACK to those who are returning. I hope that you are enjoying the summer and looking forward to our first day of school - Wednesday, August 12th.

I am thrilled to be joining you as the new principal of Marin Elementary. I come to Marin having spent my career serving in public elementary schools. I bring my passion for serving historically underserved students and fostering communities where every child feels known, valued, challenged, and supported. I deeply believe in our ability to help every child reach their full potential, and the power of our collective impact as we work together. I am excited to partner with you and our entire Marin community.

My husband and I live in Oakland and we’ve loved having our son Owen, who just finished his freshman year at Colorado College, home for the summer. We love spending time outdoors together - backpacking, hiking, and national park adventures are some of our favorite activities.

There will be a few opportunities for us to connect as the year gets underway:

• Tuesday, August 11  - TK and K Meet and Greets (TK Information, Kindergarten Information)

• Wednesday, August 12, 8:30 - 9:00 - 1st Day of School Coffee with the Principal

• Saturday, August 15 - Playdates at Jewels Terrace Park 

  • TK/K - 10:00 - 11:00

  • 1st - 5th - 11:00 - 12:00

• Thursday, September 3 - Marin International Potluck

I’m excited to begin building relationships with each of you and preparing together for a wonderful school year.

Please see below for some important information that I hope you will find helpful in preparing for the school year and let us know if you have any questions. The entire Marin team is looking forward to having you here.

Warmly,

Ginger Cook

Principal, Marin Elementary

Elementary Handbook: 

Information about school policies can be found here: Elementary Handbook, 2026-2027

School Schedules: 

Breakfast will be served daily from 8:00 - 8:20 and is free for all students.

TK & Kindergarten:

Monday - Friday:  8:30 - 1:30, all TK & K students

1st - 5th Grade:

Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays: 8:30 - 3:05

Wednesdays for all 1st - 5th graders: 8:30 - 1:45 

** From August 12th - 14th, all 1st - 5th graders will be on the Wednesday schedule. The regular schedule for all 1st - 5th grade students begins on Monday, August 17th.

   

Early dismissal times on Wednesdays are used by the teachers at each school for staff development and planning meetings. In addition to Wednesdays, parent teacher conference days and the last day of school are also adjusted to the Wednesday schedule.

Office: 

The office will be open starting on August 5th from 9:00 - 3:00. Once school starts, our office hours will be 8:15 - 3:15.

Update and Confirm Your Information for the New School Year!

Classroom teacher assignments can be viewed on Tuesday, August 11th, after 12pm noon in your Aeries Student Info > Demographic screen if you have completed the data confirmation process. 

To complete the data confirmation process:

• Log into the Aeries Parent Portal to access your annual data confirmation. Use the following link or copy/paste it to your search bar https://albanyusd.asp.aeries.net/student/LoginParent.aspx  

• For assistance please visit the Help Page on the district website Aeries Portal Help.

Data Confirmation is  MANDATORY and is the easiest and best time for parents/guardians to update or add emergency contacts, medical conditions, and authorizations through the simple online process. All student information is held in Albany Unified’s confidential student information system, AERIES. Data Confirmation is required in order to ensure that the district and school have accurate information for your student. 

Here are a few work-arounds to try if you experience a glitch during data confirmation:

• "Zoom out" in your browser to make the page smaller so that you can see the Allow/Deny boxes in the Authorizations section, if you are not on an extended screen such as an external monitor. 

• Many parents have completed with no issues on their mobile phone.

One section that is extremely important is Contacts:  Carefully check and update your contact information and other emergency contacts. These numbers are the ONLY way the school can contact you in the event of an emergency involving your student. All communication from teachers, principals, and the District depends on having accurate emails and phone numbers here. 

Are You Eligible For Benefits?  Qualifying through the EZMealApp provides significant additional funding to our schools and can reduce costs for camps and before- and after-school childcare, such as AUSD’s Expanded Learning Opportunities Program with the YMCA. Please fill out an EZMealApp household income form if there is a possibility that your family might be eligible. Here are brief guidelines, more info can be found here:

All students at all schools will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch regardless of income in the 2026–27 school year.

Traffic/Parking: 

Parking is extremely limited. We encourage all families to walk, roll, or carpool to school. DO NOT park in the loading zones. Please use loading zones to drop off students while remaining in your car and exit quickly so that others can safely do the same. If you must walk your child onto campus, plan to give yourself extra time to find an actual parking spot. Any efforts you can make to walk, roll, or carpool to and from school would benefit our entire community and be greatly appreciated.

Visiting Campus: 

Caregivers are welcome to come onto campus to drop off and pick up students. Please help us monitor safety on our campus by exiting when the school day begins, and arriving no more than 10 minutes early for pickup. If you need to come to Marin during the school day for any reason, please go to the office to sign in. Do not go directly to your child’s classroom.

If you need to drop anything off for your child during the day (i.e. lunch or a musical instrument), please take it to the office. Staff will deliver these items to the classroom. Visitors are not permitted to go directly to the classroom during instructional times without making prior arrangements with the principal.  

ParentSquare Communications: 

AUSD uses Aeries, our confidential student information system, for parent/guardian communications. The communications branch of Aeries is called ParentSquare. I strongly recommend that you register with ParentSquare. Registered users can set message language and delivery preferences. You will receive messages regardless, but it is very helpful to be registered. You can also download the convenient ParentSquare app for Apple or Android. Emails from your student's teacher will be sent through ParentSquare, as well as district and school-wide announcements.

To register, fill out this form.

Or, start at www.parentsquare.com/signin. 

Or, install the ParentSquare app and follow the prompts to sign up. 

ParentSquare has a user-friendly interface. If you do have a question, this page will answer it. 

Allergies:

AUSD Allergy Policy  We have a high number of students with various food and other allergies, some which may be life-threatening so we are nut-free schools. Please help support a safe environment for all by not sending food with nuts to school and by talking with your children about the importance of not sharing food at school. 

Parents of children with allergies need to be in contact with our office before school begins to complete necessary paperwork. Also, please be sure to input information about your child’s needs in Aeries during your data confirmation process.

Medications: 

If your child requires medication while at school, please bring it to the office along with the Medication Authorization Form, linked to this message. Please note that it needs to be signed by your doctor. 

Cell phones and smart watches: 

Students are not allowed to use cell phones or smart watches during the school day. If students need to call parents, they are welcome to use the classroom and/or office telephones. Cell phones and smart watches must be kept in backpacks during school hours.

Get Involved: 

Our students are fortunate to have the support of our fabulous PTA. The PTA’s fundraising and event coordinating provide Marin students with invaluable support. In addition, the PTA supports important committees such as Teacher Appreciation, IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access), Auction, Gardening, and many others! Please make sure to read our PTA Welcome letter and support these wonderful groups that add so much to our school!

All identities belong and are welcome at Albany schools, but you might like to connect with a particular district-wide affinity group that reflects your identity and/or your interests. Information about joining these will be sent out soon.. If you don’t see the group you’d like to join, then create it!

• Asian Pacific Islander Parent Engagement Group 

• Albany Disability Squad

• Albany’s Pride

• Black Parent Advisory Group

• English Learner Advisory Council

• Familias Latinas de Albany

• Jewish Parent Engagement Group

• Southwest Asian & North African Engagement Group

TEACHER INFORMATION:

M = building along Marin

S = building along Santa Fe

IMPORTANT DATES: 

Tuesday,  Aug. 11:  

• Noon: Teacher assignments available on Aeries if Aeries data confirmation is completd

• 2:15 - 3:00 TK Meet and Greet: Playground in front of S Building

• 3:15 - 4:00  K Meet and Greet: Multipurpose Room

    Playdates immediately following Meet and Greets, hosted by PTA

Wednesday, Aug. 12:  First Day of School

Aug. 12-14:  

• TK/K schedule: 8:30 - 1:30

• 1st-5th grade schedule: 8:30 - 1:45

Saturday, Aug 15: PTA Hosted playdates at Terrace Park for all students

• 10:00 TK and K

• 11:00 Grades 1-5

Tuesday, Aug. 17:   Regular schedule begins for 1st - 5th grade 

• Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 8:30 - 3:05 

• Wed: 8:30 - 1:45

Thursday, Aug. 20: Marin PTA Meeting

Thursday, Aug. 27: Back to School Night (TK - 5th), 6:00 - 7:00pm, *Parents Only*

Thursday, Sept. 3: Marin International Pot Luck

Monday, Sept. 7:  No School - Labor Day Holiday 

Friday, Sept 18:  No School for Students, Staff Professional Development Day 

Friday, Sept. 25:  First Marin Movie Night of the year

[Monday, Aug 10 at 10:28 AM]
We're excited to see you at school on Wednesday! Please read this message for important first week of school information.