Central Hub
September 2019 Edition
Message from the Principal
Dear Central Parents,
I hope this newsletter finds you rested after a long weekend and that you had an opportunity to connect with family and friends.
This year, Plainfield schools is doing a major revamp of the curriculum to include more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education. Students will begin to notice an increase in the number of STEM activities at school. We believe this will increase student engagement and better prepare them for future career demands. Teachers have been busy designing lessons, which incorporate the Design Thinking Process and the 4Cs. These are 21st Century skills that are essential for students to succeed in school and the workplace.
The 4Cs Defined
Critical thinking is all about solving problems.
Creativity teaches students to think outside the box.
Collaboration shows students how to work together to achieve a common goal.
Communication lets students learn how to best convey their ideas.
I hope you will attend the PTO meeting meeting September 16th at 7:00 in the cafeteria where we will give a presentation on the exciting Design Thinking initiative. Please view the video below and check out some cool pictures highlighting STEM education around the school.
As always, my door is open and I welcome a visit with you.
Sincerely,
Julie Thacker
Important Announcements
- High Five for Heroes-Veterans and First Responders please join us on September 11th so we can salute you!
- Text Book Rental-Textbook rental is due to the office by September 13, 2019. If payment is not received by this date, a $10 late fee will be added to your account and will be turned over to collections. Payment plans can be set up with the Mrs. Western, Treasurer, by contacting her at 317-839-7707 or awestern@plainfield.k12.in.us. All payment plan agreements must be returned with the first payment by September 13th.
Volunteer Background Check-EVERYONE must complete a new form this year Please note: you only need to complete the background check ONE time even if you wish to volunteer in more than one Plainfield school. https://secure.safevisitorsolutions.com/Safe/Volunteer/plainfield2807/volunteer
Follow us: Twitter---@cnquakers
Facebook--Central Elementary School or find us (@centralquakers)
MathaThon-See informational letter below from the PTO
Reading is Sweet and Math is a Treat! Check our schoolwide reading and math programs this year. We are building comprehension and math fact fluency in grades K-5.
New Staff at Central this year
Mr. Edwards
Carissa Johnson
Mr. Crosby
Mrs. Telezyn
Mrs. Mitchell
Mrs. Kelley
Mrs. Miller
Mrs. Meek
Mrs. Andrews
Add School Events to Your Calendar!
We are still updating our calendar for this year, but I am sharing our Central Elementary Parent Calendar. I am hoping this will help you to have all our important events at your fingertips.
(Disclaimer: Every phone is different. If you have a Google calendar, it will work for sure; others will have different steps to follow, but your phone should prompt you.) Note - for Google, you need to be on a computer to add the calendar.
Link to VIEW ONLY the Central Elementary Parent Calendar
Vaccinations Available! Your child must have their immunizations up to date by the end of this month!
We Miss You When You Are Not Here
We enjoy seeing your children every day. Although we understand that there will be times when your child is sick and needs to stay home, there is a direct correlation between student attendance and success. Here are a few ways we can work together to make sure your children have very good school attendance and don't feel like they are missing out.
- Schedule all doctor’s appointments outside of the school day if at all possible.
- It is very important to turn in medical notes (doctor, dentist, therapy, etc) to the nurse when returning to school.
- Share with your child how important it is to be at school.
- Make sure to communicate absences in advance, if possible, so the classroom teacher can ensure that your child still has opportunities to learn skills that he/she will miss when they are absent.
- Help to make sure that your child arrives at school on time each day. The doors open at 8:30 and students need to be seated in their classroom each morning by 8:50 or they are counted tardy.
Our teachers work hard to provide the best instruction and we want to make the most of each of our days together. We look forward to seeing you at school!
Value of the Month of September
Value for August: Truth and Respect for Law and Rules
Value Winners from each class
Cora Royer
Jax Szepski
August Hill
Cade Turner
Jax Cook
Khimoni Briggs
Clara Tinsley
Cannon Glen
Lailah Fine
Neela Bullard
Gibson Arnold
Liam Dunscombe
Berkeley Todisco
Norah Brenner
Korbin Gibbs
Paige Bourne
Makenna Klinger
Eliana Campbell
Leia Amis
Aliyah Beyhmer
Maci Hanlin
Harper Fair
Japsimrat Singh
Chase Misner
Value Winner for August: Clara Tinsley
Nomination Letter from Mrs. Mitchell
Central PTO Information
Book Fair is coming up:
-Set up Friday, 9/20 @ 3-5 PM (5-6 volunteers needed)
-Class Shopping Mon-Thurs during Library (1-2 volunteers needed)
-Open Shopping Tues-Fri AM before school 8:30-8:50 AM (2-3 volunteers needed) *Students must check in with their teacher before coming to Book Fair
-Last Call Fri. 9-Noon
-Tear Down Friday afternoon
Grandparents Night name is changing to Central Family Celebration:
-Will be on Tuesday instead of Thursday this year.
-Tuesday, September 24, 5-7 PM
-There will be a chili dinner, Bingo and Campfire stories in the cafeteria, Class rooms open from 5-6, scavenger hunt, and Book Fair shopping.
-Approximately 30 volunteers needed
*Watch our Facebook page for Volunteer opportunities and sign ups!
Upcoming Restaurant Nights:
-Papa Murphy's 9/4 4-8 PM
-Noodles & Company 9/5 4-8 PM
-Panda Express 9/19 4-8 PM
Follow this link to the PTO minutes from the 8/19/19 Meeting
The Central Elementary PTO will be hosting an inaugural Math-A-Thon, in order to give every family an opportunity to attend Family Fun Night (FFN) for free. Similar to the Read-A-Thon, this event will be a 2 week long event meant to encourage our students to love Math, earn prizes, and raise money for our school.
All participants who practice their math skills will have the opportunity to attend Family Fun Night for free! Students are welcome to bring their entire family to FFN. FFN is an evening filled with bounce houses, games, family activities, and will continue to offer classroom baskets and teacher experiences for raffle. Top participants of the Math-A-Thon will earn raffle tickets, which can be used for a chance to win a classroom basket or teacher experience of their choice. The PTO will be selling additional raffle tickets the night of FFN.
Be sure to encourage your student to participate in Math-A-Thon! See you at Family Fun Night!!!
Important Dates: Collection of classroom basket donations - September 16th -27th
Math-A-Thon - September 30th- October 10th
Family Fun Night - November 1st
Thank you,
Central Elementary PTO
Math-A-Thon and Family Fun Night Committee
Central Car Rider Number Request-Please Complete ASAP if you have not done so
Providing a safe arrival and dismissal system is extremely important to all of the staff at Central Elementary. To achieve that, Central utilizes a number system when dismissing our car rider students.
In order to keep track of our students who leave school each day by car, we will formally register our car riders and assign each family a number. The number system will be part of a name card on the dashboard of your car. When you have someone new pick up your child, he/she will need to be on the list below or know your family number. We verify this before releasing your child. It is helpful if these are the same people listed as emergency contacts in PowerSchool, but we do understand if there are different people. Updated this Please!
Please complete the following to receive a CAR RIDER NUMBER for your family. You will need to complete a form for each child in your family.
2019-2020 School Calendar
Central Elementary School Handbook (Part A)
District Elementary School Handbook (Section B)
Here Comes the Bus
- Bus Riders-Here Comes the Bus app!- Available in three languages (English, Spanish and French), the Here Comes the Bus app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. You need the following two Pieces of Information to create an account:
Your child's student ID number (you use it to log in to Power School or
update lunch balances; if you don't know it, your school's secretary can
provide it for you.)
The Bus App will not be activated until August 4th with updated bus information.
Changing the End of the Day Transportation Routine
The following information is from our handbook:
If your child is to go home a way different than their normal arrangement, you must send in a note to the teacher with instructions as to how the child is to go home. We will not allow a child to go home a different way without a note. The bus driver also needs a note if the child does not normally ride their bus. Please make these arrangements before school or by 1:00 p.m. at the latest.
If you call requesting that your child become a car rider, you are required to come into the school office to sign out your child no earlier than 3:45 p.m. Your child will be waiting in the office lobby until you sign them out. Signing your child out prior to 3:45 does affect your child’s attendance, as it counts as a partial day present.
If you call requesting that your child ride a bus home instead of being a car rider, we will need to verify that we are speaking to the child’s parent/guardian by asking certain questions or through caller ID on our phone system. To make this smoother, please call from one of the phone numbers that you have registered with our school as contacts.
Finally, please note that e-mail notifications of changes for the end of the day ride home are not accepted. We are not able to ensure that the email will be read in time.
Eating Lunch with Your Child
We love to see you come eat with your children! But PLEASE remember to bring exact cash or check with you to purchase lunch for yourself or another visitor. We only have a small amount of cash in the register and cannot make change. Lunch is $2.50 for students and $3.25 for adults and visitors.
Also, since we have no way of knowing who puts money on the account, you cannot use your child's lunch card balance towards the purchase of your own lunch.
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.
Food Service Information
There are a couple of options for your child's lunch every day:
Students can pack a lunch.
Students may purchase a lunch. Please send a check or cash to school on the first day made out to PLAINFIELD SCHOOLS FOOD SERVICES. Please put this in an envelope with your child's name, teacher's name, and amount enclosed.
Prices for food services 2019-2020 school year:
- Breakfast $1.50
- Lunch $2.50
- Milk $0.50
EFunds for Schools OR https://sendmoneytoschool.com
Please visit www.plainfield.k12.in.us and click on "Food Services". On that page, you will find a link to the E-Funds for Schools secure payment server. When you get there, you can choose the payment method that is easiest for you.
Plainfield Youth Basketball
Tryouts Coming Soon! September 10th, 2019
Plainfield Youth Basketball Club (PYBC) will be having their annual tryouts this September for boys basketball teams grades 2nd-6th.
Click on the link to register for tryouts and additional information.
2nd grade: Sept. 10th HS 6:00-7:30 PM
3rd grade: Sept. 10th HS 6:00-7:30 PM
4th grade: Sept. 11th HS 6:00-7:30 PM
5th grade:Sept. 11th HS 6:00-7:30 PM
6th grade: Sept. 11th HS 6:00-7:30 PM
Final Evaluations for 3rd & 4th Grade are Sept. 15th from 12-1:15 PM. 5th & 6th Grade Sept. 15th 1:30pm to 2:45pm.