The second half of the school year has arrived and the upcoming months will be filled with critical instruction and engaging activities for the students. It is important for students to be in attendance at school each day! Absences can quickly add up and create a significant impact on student learning and achievement. Students should miss no more than nine days of school each year to remain on track to graduate. If students are truly sick, please keep them at home for rest and recovery. Be sure to notify the office when your child is ill. However, it is important for families to make attendance a priority. Maintain routines with your students. When possible schedule appointments for outside of the school day. Enjoy vacations and other trips during scheduled school breaks. Communicate with school if there are issues or concerns that could be keeping students at home. There is no "make-up" for missed instruction and we need every student here every day! By focusing on attendance we can give students every opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed in the coming months! I predict a successful second semester for this the school year!

All the very best to the CGES families! May 2023 be the best year yet!

Mr. Buckler

Testing Information-

We have completed our NWEA winter testing. Kindergarten and first graders completed reading and math. Second through fifth graders completed reading, math, and language. You will be receiving a family report the first week after we return from winter break. On that family report, you will see your child’s scores (from the most recent test as well as the previous year).You will be able to see their percentile, the national average, and the district average. Please contact your child’s classroom teacher with any questions, comments, or concerns.

CogAT- Students in kindergarten, second, and fifth grade will complete a reasoning and ability test (CogAT) in January. This test helps us ensure that we are providing instruction at the appropriate level for each child. Here are the testing days for your child:

Kindergarten: Jan 17, 18, 19

Second Grade: Jan 10, 11, 12

Fifth Grade: Jan 10, 11

Safety Update-

As you are all aware, we had an unplanned evacuation from the school on Wednesday, December 14th. There was an issue with a blower putting out some smoke in one classroom. I am so proud of how quickly and efficiently our staff acted to evacuate our building and allow the fire department to come and assess the situation. It was resolved very quickly by our maintenance department and students returned to business as usual.

At Center Grove Elementary, school safety is our top priority. We have a staff safety team that meets monthly as well as a student safety team. We take our drills very seriously and have staff members that are trained safety specialists. Our hard work and planning showed on Wednesday! I am proud of all of the staff and students as they did an excellent job putting our practice into place and evacuating the building in a quick and orderly fashion. The students were able to briefly stay at Middle School Central’s gym while the issue was quickly resolved.

As a school safety team, we consider any situations like this a learning opportunity and reflect ways to improve for the future. We have decided to emphasize with the students what to do when you are at an unusual location (recess, lunch, on the bus, etc). If you wish to follow up at home, discuss with your child what to do in an emergency in these locations. Remind them of the importance to:

1. Stay calm

2. Remain quiet (so you can hear instructions)

3. Look to the adults in the area.

ARMOR-

We are halfway through the school year! Your students have been earning ARMOR tickets all semester for their positive behavior choices. Our ARMOR committee is planning a “Big Event” for those students who have earned 150 tickets by the end of the year. We have been focusing on the character trait- ATTITUDE for the month of December and will continue to focus on it for January as well. An excellent quote has recently been shared with me from Jon Gordon, the author of The Energy Bus, The Power of a Positive Team, and The No Complaining Rule.

“Look for the good today. When you look for the GOOD and expect the GOOD… you find the GOOD and the GOOD finds you. Remember: how you choose to see the world determines the world you see.” - Jon Gordon

As I think about the new year and my own personal attitude, I am going to challenge myself to look for, expect, and find the good! At CGES, we have so much GOOD- students, staff, opportunities, love, resources, energy. This school is filled with amazing people and opportunities. I challenge each of you to look for the GOOD in 2023! Have a fantastic beginning of the year!

Mrs. Rollings

Happy New Year to you and yours! I truly hope that you have found some time to remember, reflect, and celebrate the passing of another year that has challenged, blessed, and taught us. As a parent, I cannot help but realize how quickly the years are passing right before my eyes. My daughter, Jamison, is halfway finished with her first year teaching Special Education at Sugar Grove, and my son, Collin, is halfway through his sophomore year at Purdue. Where has the time gone? I find that it is so easy to get caught up in the day to day minutia and forget “the big picture” stuff. For example, when my daughter bought her first home last month, I assumed that there would be no reason to purchase our traditional matching pajamas now that waking up Christmas morning under the same roof was behind us. Imagine my surprise when she informed me that she WOULD be spending the night “at home” and that we absolutely needed to all have matching pjs… It was at that moment that I realized that it’s about the little things; it wasn’t the presents that made our holidays special, it was the tradition. Movies, midnight mass, preparing and eating all the Christmas goodies, spontaneous drives in pjs looking at Christmas lights, and game nights- THOSE are the things that made this time of year so magical. The little things; it was always the little things. I encourage you to take time to notice the little things this season because time stops for no one.

Looking forward to all the joy, opportunities, and success 2023 has to offer! Wishing you a spectacular year ahead with lots of blessings and cheerful moments.

Warmest wishes,

Jennifer Taylor

For our second and third grade families, please review the guidance included below from the district. The IREAD assessment occurs each March and this year will include both second and third graders. After reviewing the information, if you have any questions, let please contact Mr. Buckler or your child's teacher.

Center Grove School Corporation collects additional information on the academic needs and performance of individual children in order to ensure that the school corporation is providing instruction at the appropriate level for each child. Students in Kindergarten, Second Grade, and Fifth Grade will participate in reasoning and ability testing in the window between January 9 -27, 2023. If your child is absent on the date of testing, he/she will be given an opportunity to make up the test as long as he/she returns to school before the testing window has ended.

If you have any questions regarding the testing, please contact Amanda Trimble at trimblea@centergrove.k12.in.us.

Make note of these important dates for the month of January:

January 3 - School Resumes, Second Semester Begins

January 4 - Early Release

January 10 - Yearbook Photos

January 10 - PTO Meeting

January 11 - Early Release

January 16 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School

January 18 - Early Release

January 19 - Dine to Donate at Hot Box

January 25 - Early Release

January 30 - Healthy Smiles @ CGES