Can you believe that it is May! This year has flown by! We have a LOT going on to close out the school year between end of year testing and celebrations. Teachers are busy gathering data to determine growth and mastery of content, while working hard to keep the learning routines in the classroom. I am busy with evaluations, observations, budgets and spending, and planning ahead for next year. This is an extremely busy time because the work begins to cross over to next year while having to continue to focus on the end of the year fun.

In order to ensure that we end the year successfully, it will be important to keep the routines and structures. This time of the year is tough for us all, including the kids. When the weather gets nice and the end is in sight, sometimes kids struggle with finishing strong. I see it in my own kids at home. It is important to keep the routines at school and home, and work to have your child in school on time, every day. Please remember, if your child is parent drop off, and want breakfast from the school, they are to get here at 8:30 am. Our cafeteria is open from 8:30 until 8:45 for parent drop off children who need breakfast.

Additionally, our students are working through MSTEP and end of year benchmark testing in all subjects. Below is the schedule for MSTEP. Our window for in district testing has now opened and your child will be screened in both reading and math to help us determine how far they have progressed, as well as help us gain insight into planning for next year.

Lastly, we will be having a lot of fun in the next month. We have celebrations, ceremonies, field trips, field day, and spring concerts and art celebrations. Our kids have worked really hard this year and we cannot wait to celebrate all of their accomplishments.

Sincerely,

Kristin Doyle

586-723-5200

kdoyle@cvs.k12.mi.us

May 1st: Progress Reports go home as needed

May 5: 5th grade field trip

May 9: 5th grade student orientation at Algonquin (during school)

May 11: 5th grade instrument fitting (during school), Parent orientation at Algonquin at 6:30 p.m.

May 12: Science Olympiad Regionals at MCC

May 15: Suprise gift going home with k-5 students

May 16: NO school (Professional Development)

May 17: Fine Arts Night/Spring Concert 6- 8 p.m.

May 18: Mobile Dentist

May 19: Positivity Project Assembly (Wear your class shirt)

May 23: Kindergarten Kick-off 6:00 p.m.

May 25: Cardinal Crawl LIMO Ride

May 26: No school

May 29: No school Memorial Day

June 2: Field Day (more info to come/volunteers needed)

June 8: kindergarten field trip, first grade field trip

June 9: backup field day

June 12: kindergarten ceremony during the day, 5th grade completion ceremony 5:30 p.m.

Join us for the schoolwide art showcase as well as a spring concert from our 2nd and 5th grade students! All are welcome to join!

Thank you once more for your participation in the fun run! We raised a lot of money that is going directly back to support the education of our students! We will celebrate our top winners on May 25th with a limo ride and a fun trip!

Field day will take place on June 2nd (weather permitting). We will have field activities outside with a PTO sponsored bounce house in the gym that day. We will need parent volunteers to support the activities outside. If you are interested in participating, please complete the online background check for the year. The office staff can direct you if you need assistance with this. We will send home information closer to the event.

Parents, you are a key stakeholder and an important part of what we do here at Chippewa Valley, and more specifically at Clinton Valley Elementary. Below you will find a link to a survey. The information gathered will inform us of how we are doing, and what changes we may need to make. Your voice is valued and will be used to make future decisions regarding your child's education. Please take a moment to help us continue to work towards being the best choice for your family.

If your child is getting breakfast, please drop them off between 8:30-8:45 a.m. if they travel to school by car. We cannot serve them if they arrive after that. That time slot is reserved for students who arrive by bus. Thank you.

If you are interested in getting involved in your child's school, please consider running for our PTO board. We have a fantastic group of parents that help make Clinton Valley a great place to be. Many of our events are put on by this wonderful team. As a parent, you are already a part of the PTO, but we need board members to keep it running. Please see the newsletter and consider becoming part of the group. Without a PTO, we might not be able to continue events like Book Bingo and Trunk or Treat. They are the heart of what we do! Please consider joining, without a full board, we cannot continue the organization.

Thank you to all of the families who joined our 4th graders in presenting their wax museum characters. It was so much fun to see everyone share the experience. It was evident that you worked with your children prepare for the big day! Thank you! They were so proud! As were we! Check out our Facebook for samples from the presentation!

5th grade will be visiting Algonquin Middle School on May 9th during the school day

Parent Orientation will be held at Algonquin on May 11th at 6:30 p.m.

When?

May 11th 1:30

Where?

Clinton Valley Media Center

What are instrument fittings?

Instrument fittings are an opportunity for 5th grade students to try out the various band instruments before they get started in band in 6th grade. This is a way we can give 5th grade students an opportunity to try out the different instruments before they commit to anything.

It is the district's policy that cell phones remain off and out of sight. If your child wears a smartwatch, those too, should be powered off. They are a distraction to your child and can negatively impact their performance if class. Please refer to the handbook if you have any questions.

https://www.chippewavalleyschools.org/for-parents/parents---student-handbooks/

For those who are dropping off at the back of the school, near the circle drive, please do not park or stop in the bus loop. The busses that drop off there need all of that space. In order to maintain safety for the students who are helped off of those busses by teachers, there cannot be any cars in that loop at any time. Please, park in the lot by the church and walk your child up to the school.

In order to support children who struggle behaviorally, we have outlined a behavior response flow chart. Below you will see the process that we follow so that we can ensure that we are offering consistent interventions for those who need additional support with behavior in school. We see behavior as a form of communication, and we will continue to work with children to get to the root of the problem so that it can be appropriately addressed. We believe in offering restorative support in combination with consequences that fit so that children can operate within the boundaries of a school setting. Our goal is to maintain an environment that is conducive to learning so that every child has the opportunity to achieve success. This flowchart is simply a guide and can be adjusted if necessary.

While PBIS might be the quickest form of communication with your child's teacher, it is not something that I am connected to on a daily basis. If you need to get ahold of me, please either call the office at 586-723-5200 and they will connect you to me or my voicemail or email me at kdoyle@cvs.k12.mi.us. I check my email regularly and receive upwards of 50 messages a day, but I promise to get back to you.

If your child is celebrating a birthday, or you are looking to donate to classroom parties, please send in store bought items that are sealed and come with an ingredient list. We have many students who have restrictions, and in order to be certain who can participate, it has to be documented. Unfortunately, homemade items will not be accepted for safety reasons.

This year, we are able to lift any Covid restrictions in the lunch room. Therefore, your child does not have an assigned seat. Their classes have assigned tables. We believe that it is important that your child is able to choose who to sit by and socialize with their friends.

We do have specific procedures that we are still working on implementing. Students must stay in their seats at all times and be at a voice level 2 or lower. This means that any form of yelling or screaming is not permitted. It can get very loud in the cafeteria, so we will continue to remind them to keep the noise levels down. There have been instances where we had to implement a level 0 (no talking) and a level 1(whispering) so that they understand the difference.

Additionally, we are working on making sure that those who go through the lunch line, get everything that they need in order to avoid going back. For safety purposes, we do not want them traveling back and forth from their seats. Therefore, soon, we will not permit it. Instead, we will have a traveling basket for those who need additional items. We have been working on this for an entire month. We also understand that the littler ones may need more practice with this, but ultimately, we would like everyone to stay seated for the entire 30 minutes.