The Leighton News
December 4, 2022
From the Principals
Dear Leighton Families,
What a great week it has been as we headed into the the month of December and are feeling the spirit of the holidays while kicking off our annual holiday shop. Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who helped make this event such a success. Our learners enjoyed shopping for friends and family and the memories created with visiting our annual holiday shop. Next week we will also be kicking off our annual Aurora for Others Coin Wars event where students can bring in coins and dollars to raise the most money for their grade level and our building!! I am so humbled, honored, and thrilled to share that all proceeds will be going towards Leighton Elementary's playground efforts to support adapative equipment to ensure accessiblity for all our learners. Looking forward to a great event!
With only two and half weeks before the Holiday Break, we are looking forward to all of the festivities including our choir and orchestra concerts, our Aurora for Others event, Holiday Spirit Week , and winterfest! Please see below for our Holiday Spirit Week festivities starting December 12th and running through December 16th!
During these fun-filled weeks, the students have also been hard at work wrapping up the second quarter with presentations, projects, peer review writing assignments, summatives, and collaborative learning endeavors. It is always the highlight of our days to spend these times with our students in their classrooms watching them flourish, grow, goal set, and achieve! I couldn't be more proud of our staff and students and all their hard work this year to continually develop the whole child!
As we begin to close the second quarter it is absolutely amazing to see and celebrate the growth of each of our students. Thank you for your continued support, partnership, and teamwork at every turn. Please know how much we value each of you and all you do to help us create the best possible learning environments for our students. We truly feel very blessed to work with such a wonderful and supportive educational community.
Kind Regards,
Michelle Nizen, Building Principal
Ben Lehman, Assistant Principal
Counselor's Corner
Happy December!!! Our class lessons this month will concentrate on resilience. Please be sure to ask your child about our time together, as well as the activities that we worked on together.
Be sure to visit my Google Site (often) for updates and fun things we are doing!!
https://sites.google.com/aurora-schools.org/leightonschoolcounselor/home?authuser=1
Tami S. Mazzella
School Counselor
330-954-2260
WINTERFEST: Wednesday, December 21st
We are so excited to be bringing Winterfest back to Leighton this year!
Winterfest celebrations will be held in place of the winter class parties, with students rotating through activity stations in their grade hallways and classrooms (similar to an indoor field day).
Winterfest will be held on December 21st at the following times:
3rd grade: 9:15am-11am
4th & 5th grade: 1:30pm-3:10pm
See more information below in our PTO section!
Spotlight on PBIS!
Students are hard at work earning poms and filling up their classroom jars! When these jars are filled, student bring their classroom jars to the office and empty them into the Building Wide Pom Pom Pail!!
We have most recently filled up our second Pom Pom Pail and enjoyed a PJ and Movie event!! Our Pom Pom Pail located in the office is filling fast as excitement builds for our next building wide event!
"Platinum platter" award winners abound as our classes are doing a great job demonstrating our 3 pillars during lunch and recess. Classes are always working to earn "positive compliments" during lunch and recess. Every two weeks, classes who earn the most "positive compliments" earn the right to display the "platinum platter" outside their classroom door for all to see and enjoy popsicles at lunch or an extra recess with Mrs. Nizen and Mr. Lehman.
Pom Pom Shout Out are shared over the announcements every day where we acknowledge students over announcements who have earned a special shout out for outstanding efforts in demonstrating our 3 pillars in their academic or behavioral pursuits. Students will receive a pom pom shout out classroom reward and those names are entered into a monthly drawing to pick out of our PBIS store at the end of the month. Enjoy the November winners below!
Leighton Pride is Building Wide!
November's PBIS Award Winners
PBIS Families Survey
Dairy Queen Give Back Nights : Save the Date!
When: January 18th from 5-8 p.m.
Where: Streetsboro Dairy Queen
Who is invited: You and your whole family!!!!
Event Details: Join the AEPTO, your school principals and a few celebrity teachers for a fun night out at the Dairy Queen in Streetsboro!!! Bring your families to see your teachers and principals behind the DQ counter for a night of sweet treats!
Why: Partnering with DQ for a Fundraiser that will send 30% of the total sales back to the AEPTO!!!
Wednesday, Jan 18, 2023, 05:00 PM
Dairy Queen Grill & Chill, Ohio 14, Streetsboro, OH, USA
PTO News
PTO MEETING
Thank you to everyone who attended November's PTO meeting! We do not have a meeting in December, so our next meeting will be on January 4th, 2023 at 10 a.m. at the C&I building.
GIVING TREE
The Giving Tree Project ended this week and the Center of Hope was incredibly grateful for the generosity of our students and families. A sincere thank you to all of the families who participated in this opportunity to give back to local families in need this holiday season!
LEIGHTON HOLIDAY SHOP
November 28th - December 2nd
Our Leighton Holiday Shop has also successfully concluded this week. What a fun week it was for students and volunteers alike!
A huge THANK YOU to our Holiday Shop Chairs - Katie Stump, Erin Toler, Neha Gupta, Bridget Sable and Alyssa Hicks - and to all of the parents who volunteered their time to help set up/clean up and help the students shop!
AURORA FOR OTHERS
December 5th - December 9th
Aurora for Others is a program that began 15 years ago at Aurora High School and has now become a district wide program. They collect money through a variety of initiatives including coin wars, first period collections, pieing teachers and a student staff basketball game. The funds are then typically donated to local charities.
This year they have a very special initiative. All funds collected will be used to buy adaptive playground equipment for Leighton Elementary School. This is a big undertaking that can benefit ALL of the children in our community - every one should have the opportunity to play with their peers! Aurora for Others has never done something like this before, but they are up for the challenge and are asking us to go all in for OUR kids. Let's work together and make this happen!
Leighton will be collecting for this initiative as a class coin war that will take place during students' lunches the week of December 5th-December 9th. There will be 3 large, clear jars in the lunchroom - one for each grade level. Students who choose to participate will bring their money to lunch and place it in THEIR class jar. The total for each class adds up throughout the week and the class that has the most money in their jar at the end of the Coin War week will win!
Additionally, the other schools in our district will be participating in the following ways:
Miller: December 5th-9th Pennies Monday, Nickels Tuesday, Dimes Wednesday, Quarters Thursday, Cash Friday
Craddock: Coin wars between classes December 5th-9th
Leighton: Coin wars at lunches between classes December 5th-9th
Harmon: Coin wars at lunches between classes December 5th-9th
High School: Coin wars at lunches between classes starting now. 1st period collection December 9th, basketball game and pie teachers on December 16th.
You can also contact jsimmerman@aurora-schools.org or kstewart@aurora-schools.org to make a donation in a different way.
Lets do what we can to help raise funds and be a part of doing something that is WORTH leaving behind for those that come after us!
WINTERFEST
December 21st
We are so excited to be bringing Winterfest back to Leighton this year!
Winterfest celebrations will be held in place of the winter class parties, with students rotating through activity stations in their grade hallways and classrooms (similar to an indoor field day).
Winterfest will be held on December 21st at the following times:
3rd grade: 9:15am-11am
4th & 5th grade: 1:30pm-3:10pm
The majority of the volunteer spots have been filled, but there are a few volunteer substitute spots still open to anyone interested. Please use the following grade specific links to look for and sign up for any remaining openings:
3rd Grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4EAFAF2CA3FB6-winterfest
4th Grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4EAFAF2CA3FB6-winterfest1
5th Grade
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0B4EAFAF2CA3FB6-winterfest2
THANK YOU to our Winterfest chairs - Alyssa, Hicks, Lindsey Twarogowski, Megan Grasso, Neha Gupta, and Nicole Swope - for planning this fun event for our school!
UPCOMING AEPTO COMMUNITY EVENTS/GIVE BACK OPPORTUNITIES
AmazonSmile
AEPTO is now up and running on AmazonSmile! It is available at smile.amazon.com and can also be activated in the Amazon app. You can use the following link to activate or find by searching “Aurora Parents-Teachers Organization” in AmazonSmile. https://smile.amazon.com/ch/34-1313553 Your shopping experience and all pricing remains the same, but a small percentage of eligible sales goes back to AEPTO.
RaiseRight
RaiseRight makes fundraising easy. Give back to the organization by purchasing gift cards for daily use or for gifting to others, and the retailer gives a % back to AEPTO. Cards can be ordered through a website or app, with some also being reloadable for regular use. 750+ top retailers participate and they determine the % back (up to 25%, with 6% being the average). You can sign up at https://www.raiseright.com using AEPTO’s code (8HBWMFJ4XLVS).
Evexia Give Back December 8th-11th
Mention AEPTO to receive 10% off your order AND Evexia is giving another 10% off to AEPTO!!!!
Disney on Ice January 6th- January 15th
Use CODE: NEOPTA22 for discounted tickets
https://www.rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com/group/detail/fieldhouseplus
Monsters Game January 28th 7p.m.
Discounted Tickets for $23.00 - this is a paper form sign up; forms should have arrived home with your students before Thanksgiving break.
Dairy Queen give back nights January 18th from 5-8 p.m. (Leighton)
Join the AEPTO, your school principals and a few celebrity teachers for a fun night out at the Streetsboro Dairy Queen. 30% of the total sales will go back to the AEPTO!!!
Kalahari February 16th
Discounted Room Rates for $154.00
Book online today! https://book.passkey.com/event/50387666/owner/49785631/home
For call-in reservations, call 1-877-525-2427 and ask for the Aurora Elementary PTO Group Rate
If you need any additional information or have any questions please contact the PTO Leighton VP at auroraptolesvp@gmail.com.
UPCOMING EVENTS
12/5-12/9: Aurora for Others Coin War
12/5-12/7: CES- Holiday Shop
12/6: LES- Choir Concert 6:30PM and Vocal Music Concert 7:30PM @ LES
12/8-12/9: MES- Holiday Shop
12/15: LES- Orchestra Concert 4th Grade 6:30PM and 5th Grade 7:30PM @ AHS
12/21: Leighton Winterfest
12/22-12/31: No School - Winter Break
1/4/23: PTO Mtg 10AM @ C&I Building
Aurora Schools Foundation
Leighton Elementary Ready Club
Hot Lunches/ Lunch Menu
Reminder
The "no-cost" lunch program will no longer be provided by the government for the upcoming 2022-23 school year. Students will again be required to pay for their lunches. If a family feels they may qualify-permanently or temporarily-for the 'Free and Reduced Lunch Program', then please have the form filled-out and submitted prior to the school year. The link for this form and the lunch menu for each day can be found on the ACSD's home page under "Forms & Links" (https://www.aurora-schools.org/District/Links-Forms).Please be sure to keep tabs on your child’s lunch account balance to avoid going into a negative balance. We will always ensure all students have access to eat lunch, but it is appreciated by our lunch staff if a positive balance can be maintained.
Here is the link for My Payments Plus:
https://www.mypaymentsplus.com/welcome
We are excited to be working with a new food service provider called the Nutrition Group! They are working to provide balanced and healthy meals to our children each day.
Click on the link below for the school lunch menus
https://auroraschools.nutrislice.com/
Please reach out to Sal Arquilla at sarquilla@aurora-schools.org for any questions.
Car Riders: Arrival and Dismissal Reminders
Just a few important reminders in regards to pick up and drop off for car riders to continue to help us maintain a smooth, safe, and efficient pick up and drop off. Thank you so much for your support and help in following our safety procedures.
1. Please pull all the way up to the "unloading" zone at the top of the car line when dropping off or picking up. This allows us to load as many students as possible into their cars.
2. Please exit on the passenger side only as getting out on the other side presents safety issues for students.
3. Please DO NOT pull around cars unless a teacher motions you around. This is for the safety of our students. At times, cars may be stopped to wait for a student to get in. Please wait for the adult outside to motion cars through the traffic flow pattern.
4. Please make sure your child is ready to exit when they reach the front of the car line .
5. Please be sure to have your orange tag in your car window visibly so staff can see it when calling students to cars. If you need another orange tag, please ask a staff member who is outside.
Thank you for your help in making the car line run as smoothly and safely as possible.
Transportation Information
The login information is as follows:
User name = jane.smith (That is the student's first name period last name with no spaces) Password = students date of birth 01012021 with no characters or spaces between mmdayyear
Once you are in, go to "Work with students" and then "View my students"; you should see all your students to choose from. Routes do change from time to time when new students are added so please check back over the next week to ensure your pick-up and drop-off times.
All students are assigned a bus route using their home address. If your child will be using an alternative stop such as a daycare or caregiver, please make sure you submit an alternative bus stop form as soon as possible.
We also now have GPS on all of the school buses. You can see when the bus is to arrive at your home. Download the app "versatrans my stop" from the app store and sign in the same as above. If you have any questions or concerns with transportation, please email us at transportationinfo@aurora-schools.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Note, we are never sure how many students will be riding the buses. Once schools open we will make necessary adjustments for buses that may be full.
Important Transportation Reminder
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Drop off cart
Important Dates and Reminders
December
1-2 PTO Holiday Shop
6 LES Choir Concert at Leighton (6:30 PM) & Vocal Concert (7:30 PM)
15 LES Orchestra Concerts at High School 4th-Grade (6:30 PM) & 5th-Grade (7:30 PM)
21 Winterfest
21 End of 2nd Grading Period
22-30 NO SCHOOL ~ Winter Break
Final Forms Reminder
Please be sure to update your Final Forms information for this school year to ensure you can receive the important information and newsletters from our school. If you need any help with updating your Final Forms please contact lverdova@aurora-schools.org
Please use the following link: https://aurora-oh.finalforms.com
Clinic Updates
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 Joy Sharrotta at the main office at 330-954-2206 or email her at jsharrotta@aurora-schools.org
As a reminder, please monitor your child for any illness -related symptoms and contact our school nurse if you have any questions. We appreciate your attention to this.
- Check your child each day for any signs of illness. If your child has a temperature of 100 degrees or greater, vomiting or diarrhea they need to stay home. For cold/flu-like symptoms such as cough, congestion and sore throat that are not well contained, it is preferred they stay home. If you would like your student to have cough drops at school, please send them in with a note or email the clinic.
- Students sent home with a fever, vomiting or diarrhea may not return to school until they are free of these symptoms without medication for 24 hours. This means if your child was sent home in the afternoon he/she may not be able to return to school the next day. If your child returns too soon, our school nurse may be calling for you to come to pick him/her up if your child is not feeling well. 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 you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Tanski in the clinic at 330-954-2285 or email her at atanski@aurora-schools.org.
.
Leighton Elementary School
Mr. Ben Lehman - Assistant Principal
Email: lverdova@aurora-schools.org
Website: aurora-schools.org
Location: 121 Aurora Hudson Road, Aurora, OH, USA
Phone: (330)562-2209
Twitter: @michelle_nizen