Union Elementary Weekly Update
September 28, 2018
This week at Union
Jog A Thon
Dads Club Campout
Upcoming Union Events
October 2- Dads Club Meeting in Teacher's Lounge, 7PM
October 3-4 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
October 4- E-Day
October 5- PTO Staff Luncheon
October 8 - Parent Discussion - How to instill confidence with our children - 9:30 AM or 6:30 PM in the Union Cafeteria; Board of Trustees Meeting, 6:00 at ESC
October 9 - End of First Quarter; Third Grade Field Trip to Zoo
October 10 - Family Book Club 6-7 PM
October 11- Kindy Field Trip to Dulls Tree Farm
October 12- Fall Parties
October 15-19- Fall Break
October 23- Grades available on PowerSchool
October 24- Fourth Grade Dads Club Breakfast, 7 AM
October 25- First Grade Field Trip to NIFS
October 26-28- Fire Safety Visits from ZFD (Grades PK-2)
October 31-Third Grade Pumpkin Project
November 12- Veterans Day Program
November 15-Picture Make Up Day
Student Conferences- October 3rd and 4th
Sharing information about student progress is an important focus area for us, especially for our youngest learners. This focus has led to improved calibration of the annual parent-teacher-student conferences held in the fall of each school year. In the past, variances in scheduling of conferences led to safety issues and to very early dates for some conferences. This diminished the effectiveness of these important discussions about student progress.
- The conference days (elementary schools only) will occur on the afternoon of October 3rd (2:30-3:30PM) and on October 4th from 11:10AM to 7:00PM.
- In exactly the same way we use e-days in the event of snow or other school cancellation make-up days, we will place one elementary e-day on Thursday, October 4th.
- Assignments posted (on our learning management system CANVAS) will be released on October 3rd and will have approximately one week to complete. This time delay in turning in the assignments accommodates those who have difficulty with home access to the online content (just as we do with e-days for snow or other school cancellation make-ups).
Counselor's Corner
Here are our Second Step Home Links for this week. Please take a moment to read your child’s grade level Home Link. It provides a great overview of what they are learning in their Second Step class lesson!
Kindergarten: Look for a Home Links coming soon!
Grade 1: Look for a Home Links coming soon!
Parent Discussion Event
This quarter, our students are learning about the character trait of Confidence as part of our Strong in Every Way initiative. So, how do we promote confidence in our children? This will be the topic for our first of four parent discussion groups held in our Union cafeteria throughout the year. Our goal is to provide a casual format for a discussion about raising confident kids. Mrs. Karnuta (School Counselor), Mrs. Kay (Assistant Principal), and Mrs. Raycroft (Principal) will be a part of the conversation and will be reading Raising Independent Self-Confident Kids: Nine Essential Skills to Teach Your Child or Teen to help guide the conversation. We would love to have you read the book as well but this is not a book study so it is certainly not a requirement! This is open to ALL Union parents. To accommodate busy schedules, we will have two times for parents to choose from for our first discussion on Monday, October 8. One at 9:30 a.m. and another in the evening at 6:30 p.m. Please join us!
PTO News
JOG-A-THON
Wow. Well, that didn't go as planned. Seriously, though, Jen Fyffe, Amanda Vetor and their team of volunteers (that's you) took the changes in stride and made this year's Jog A Thon just as exciting and fun as it always is. Thank you ladies. You both deserve a break...and then it's right back to work tallying laps, collecting envelopes and counting donations.
Please send in your student's JAT envelope by October 10 so these hard working ladies can have an actual break over Fall Break.
STAFF LUNCH
I don't think I need to tell you how hard working our teachers, administrators and staff are, do I? I don't need to sing their praises to you, right? Because we all see it, and we all know it, it's just a fact...Union got the best and we're lucky to have them. Let's do a little something to show them that we appreciate them. On Friday, October 5th we are providing lunch for the entire staff of Union Elementary. Please follow the link below to and let us know how you can help out.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B4BA5AD2BA20-fall
UPCOMING MEETING
The next PTO meeting will be on Friday, October 5 at 9:15am in the Union Café. We had a record turn out at our last meeting and I have to say, it was amazing to see all of the Room Moms and new faces of first time kindergarten moms who want to get involved. We look forward to seeing you again...and we know who you are because Jackie passed around a sign up sheet.
BOX TOPS
Kids and parents alike have been snipping and clipping, saving Box Tops all summer long and now they are ready to start turning them in and competing against other classes for the coveted title of "Class That Collected The Most Box Tops Over The Designated Time Period"! We know, that's a horrible title. So, you should take over as the Box Top Chair and you can call the winning class whatever you want. Please let us know if you are looking for a way to get involved as the Box Top Chair is an easy and flexible position.
UNION SOIREE
What to say and where to start?! The Union Soiree is an adults only event that takes place every February at a local event venue. But, we'll get into all of that later... The important thing to know, for right now, is that there are always fun surprises associated with the Soiree. The Soiree Sisters remain pretty tight lipped about everything from decorations to entertainment and up until this year...the theme. That's right, Soiree is a themed party and this year you get to help decide. Follow the link below and you'll have a chance to vote for your favorite theme or even make a suggestion. Get creative and think "old high school gym" as we've booked Moontown Brewing for this year's Soiree. The winning theme will be announced at the PTO meeting on October 5th at 9:15am.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZVQ78FV
SAVE THE DATES
Sept 28: End of Stamp Contest
Oct 5: Staff Lunch
Oct 5: PTO Meeting 9:15am
Oct 10: JAT Money Due
Oct 16: Fleetwood Mac concert
Oct 27: My High School Reunion
Feb 8: Union Soiree
Dads Club
Thank you!
- Jen Fyffe and Amanda Vetor, co-chairs of Jog A Thon, who were able to create another memorable day for our students while simultaneously raising funds for our school. Jen has coordinated JAT for many years and has made a significant impact on the event for students across the district. Because her students will be moving on to the middle school next year, this will be Jen's last year with the event. We can't thank you enough for all of your hard work!
- All of our hard working volunteers who supported JAT today and throughout the planning process. It was a fun day because of you!
- Jake Webster, Ryan Groom, Ryan Miller, Geordie Hester, Seth Fleming, and all of the dads who helped to make this year's Dads Club Campout a success. We thank you for your efforts in allowing our kiddos the experience of camping out just a few minutes from home.
Reminder Regarding Attendance
From the Elementary Handbook, here is a brief reminder of our attendance procedures:
Reporting Student Absence It is the responsibility of the parent to report student absences or late arrivals to the school office. Calls to report a student’s absence may be left on the school voice mail any time between 4:00 p.m. of the preceding day and 8:00 a.m. of the day of the absence. Parents are encouraged to avoid the rush between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. If you know your child will be absent for a definite number of days, this can be reported on the first day. As a safeguard, the School Connects software will typically send notification via telephone if a student is absent without a reason being logged into our schools’ absence reporting system by 9:00 a.m. on school days (10:00 a.m. for kindergarten students). The School Connects call-back service offered by the school corporation is not intended to be a fail-proof procedure for accounting for all students. The corporation makes no promise or guarantee of notification to you if your child is absent from school.
Prearranged Absences Every effort should be made to schedule vacations and trips at times other than school days. Prearranged absences are strongly discouraged, particularly during times of standardized testing. In the event that a child is going to be absent, the parent/guardian should notify the school office to obtain a Prearranged Absence Form. Once a parent signs the form, it should be returned to the school secretary. This needs to be done at least 2 days before the planned absence. If the school does not receive notification at least 2 days prior to the absence, the absence may be considered unexcused. If the student has more than eight (8) days absence a year including the vacation days, sick days or other, any days over the eight (8) days absence limit will be considered unexcused.
Lost and Found
Kroger Gives Back!
Now that Kroger is rocking our worlds with their new stores and low prices, they are also going to help our school!
If you have not gotten a Kroger Plus card yet, sign up for one and then add Union Elementary to your Community Rewards organization name.
If you already have a Kroger card simply hop on your computer and follow these easy steps…
1.) Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
2.) Click on “Kroger Community Rewards”
3.) Click on “I’m a Customer”
4.) View Details
5.) Type in AM021 and hit “search”
6.) Click on Union Elementary, 11750 E 300 S, Zionsville, IN and hit “Enroll”
Let Grandma and Grandpa know how easy that was, and get them signed up too. Now Kroger will give Union a percentage of what you spend which helps in many ways. This small action helps buy school supplies, instruments for music class, and much more. Thanks for your support. If you have any questions or need help please contact Brittany Henney at Brittanykay1@gmail.com
Background Check Information
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS
We value partnerships with our families and welcome parents and guardians to serve as volunteers in our schools. Each ZCS building offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities.
Examples include:
- Field Trip Chaperones
- Out of Town/Overnight Chaperones
- Tutors
- Volunteer Coaches
- Classroom Helpers (PTO parties/room parents)
- Library Helpers
- After Prom Workers
- Field Day/Jog-A-Thon Volunteers
- Book Fair Sales/Athletic Ticket Sales
During the school day, all volunteers are expected to sign in at the front office. Prior to the volunteer opportunity, all volunteers must sign a Non-disclosure Acknowledgement Form and have successfully completed a Full Criminal History Background Check. Necessary background check paperwork is available on the ZCS website at the Volunteers/BRAVO link and should be submitted at least 10 days prior to the intended volunteer date. Volunteers must also view the state mandated confidentiality/bullying video, provided on the Volunteer/BRAVO website. The volunteer will pay the fee* for the full background check which will expire after 5 years. The link to apply for the full background check can be accessed on the Volunteers/BRAVO link on the ZCS main webpage. For more information, contact the Volunteer/BRAVO Coordinator.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VISITORS
During the school day, all visitors must enter via the front door and sign-in at the front office. Visitors need to be prepared to present a government issued photo ID which will be scanned against the National Sex Offender Registry. All visitors will be issued a visitor badge/tag to be worn inside the building at all times.
Examples Include:
- Lunch Guests
- Classroom Guest Speakers
- Classroom Special Events (Grandparent Day/Famous Hoosiers/etc.)
- Parent/Teacher Conferences
We ask that all visitors schedule an appointment to meet with teachers, counselors, administrators and all other staff members so that we may best serve everyone. Visitors other than parents/guardians must be prearranged and organized through the main office.
*ZCS thanks all volunteers for generous support of our youth and schools. Thank you, too, for supporting assurance of student and staff safety by completing and paying for a volunteer background check
Science Fest
Gravy Chase 2018
Get ready to run! Gravy Case registration is discounted ($30 per person or $100 for a family of four) until 10/31.
Union Elementary School
Email: jraycroft@zcs.k12.in.us
Website: http://uni.zcs.k12.in.us/
Location: 11750 E 300 S, Zionsville, IN, United States
Phone: 317-733-4007
Twitter: @ZCSUnionElem