Dear Leighton Families,

We have officially kicked off the school year with the first two weeks of school. The excitement and joy of learning are some of the best sounds in the world! It has been such a smooth start to the school year and students are already so hard at work earning "pom poms" for demonstrating our 3 Leighton Elementary Pillars of being respectful, being responsible, and being problem solvers. These three pillars are the hallmark of our PBIS or Positive Behavior Interventions Supports Programming and aligns with the six competencies and design specifications encompassed our Strategic Vision.

PBIS is an empirically validated, function-based approach to supporting challenging behaviors and replace them with pro-social skills through systematic teaching of these skills and positive reinforcement strategies. The use of PBIS decreases the need for more intrusive or aversive interventions (i.e., punishment or suspension) and can lead to both systemic as well as individualized change. Through PBIS we have developed a school-wide token economy of earning poms for demonstrating our three pillars. When students fill up their classroom jars, they celebrate that success through a whole class reward. Students then empty their classroom jars into the "Building Wide Pom Pail" in the main office. When we work as a building to fill it, the whole building celebrates with a building wide event.

We are looking forward to our building-wide PBIS kickoff where students and staff will participate in fun skits demonstrating expected and unexpected behaviors in all areas of the school. Anytime throughout the day, students are exhibiting these pillars in the classroom, hallways, recess, lunch, etc they can earn a Caught Being Good. Likewise, while the Golden Fork left the lunchroom this year, the "platinum platter" made its' first appearance. Classes in each grade level have an opportunity to earn the "platinum platter" for earning the most positive compliments at lunch and recess. Leighton Pride is always Building Wide!!

The beginning of each school year is always so special but it was particularly special because we welcomed Mr. Lehman to our Leighton Family! Mr. Lehman comes to us from Shaker where he served an an Instructional Coach working along side the administrative team. We have had so much fun welcoming our staff and students back to school this week.

I am one proud principal each day as I get to work with the most amazing, caring, dedicated, and hardworking staff who go above and beyond for our learners each day to ensure the best possible learning environments and education possible. Likewise, we value the support of our parent community and the blessing we are given each day to support such wonderful children and help mold their futures. Thank you for your continued support, teamwork, and partnership as we embark on another fantastic school year together!

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or feedback!

Enjoy the weekend!

Kind Regards,

Michelle Nizen, Building Principal

Ben Lehman, Assistant Principal

Please remember that when you take your child out of school for a doctor or dentist appointment, the State of Ohio requires that a doctor's note be brought back to the school for attendance purposes. You can give the note to the secretaries in the main office.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Tanski in the clinic at 330-954-2285 or email her at atanski@aurora-schools.org

As a reminder, please monitor your child for any COVID-related symptoms and contact our school nurse if you have any questions. We appreciate your attention to this.

• Check your child each day for COVID-related symptoms. If your child is showing any symptoms whatsoever, it is best to keep him/her home to monitor.
• Students sent home with a fever, may not return to school until they are fever-free without medication for at least 24 hours. This means if your child was sent home on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. with a fever, he/she may not return to school until Thursday. If your child does return the next day, our school nurse will be calling for you to come to pick him/her up. Thank you for your support and efforts in this area.
  
• We have COVID-19 home testing kits available that we can send home with any child or family should you question symptoms or exposure. We will be able to answer any questions about these kits should the need arise.
• Please make sure your Final Forms medical information is up to date. We will closely read the health sections to address any medical concerns.

**** If your child will be absent for an extended period, please reach out to your child's teacher and they will get school work ready for your student for the period of the absence. You may pick up the work outside the main office on a table that will be labeled with your student's name.