Clarks Creek Chronicles
September, 2016 - News and Notes to Keep You Connected
A Note From the Principal
It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of the first quarter! The end of the first nine weeks will be on October 7th. These last two weeks are extremely important for our students as they work to show the progress they've made over these first weeks of school.
While the end of the quarter marks the first big milestone in the school year, it also provides a great opportunity to make any adjustments needed to the trajectory of achievement students are showing. This progress will be discussed with you at your child's parent-teacher conference on October 20th. Earlier this week you should have received an email with a link to sign up for conferences. Please be sure to do that soon, if you haven't already, and mark that date on your calendar with a big circle around it! Be thinking about what questions you have about your child's progress so that you can make the most of this time with the teacher.
We look forward to seeing you for conferences and for all of the upcoming events happening this fall!
Kind regards,
Mrs. Donovan
Click the Link Above to See the Website Calendar
- 9/26 Parent Night - Body Safety Preview - 6:30pm @ Central Elementary - Cafeteria
-
10/4 Body Safety Presentations Gr. K, 2, 4
10/7 End of 1st Quarter
10/10-14 Fall Break - No School
10/17 PTO Meeting 6:30pm in the library - enter door 3
10/17-10/21 Fall Book Fair
10/19 Mobile Dentist
10/20 Trash Bag Pick-Up "Drive Thru"
10/20 Parent Conference Day - No Student Attendance
10/21 PRIDE Convo #1 2:30pm*
10/29 PTO Halloween Event 5-8pm
10/31 Fall Parties 2:45-3:30 pm
*For those new to Clarks Creek, each quarter we hold a PRIDE convocation to recognize student achievements throughout that quarter. Parents whose students will be receiving special recognition that day will be notified ahead of time, but all parents are welcome.
Time Adjustments to Calendar Events
Classroom parties will begin at 2:45 each time they occur.
School PRIDE Convocations will begin at 2:30. Please make those changes on your calendar if you plan to attend.
Check Out this Parent Resouce
National PTA and Scholastic Develop Parent Support Resource
Learning Heroes, in conjunction with The National Parent Teacher Association and Scholastic, have released "The Super 5," an interactive checklist designed to help parents foster a deeper understanding of what their child is learning at school and how to best assist them at any grade level. The checklist features nearly 20 links to resources focusing on a wide arrange of communications issues, including the best ways for parents to define what "success" is for their child in the upcoming school year; how to have a highly effective parent-teacher conversation; and, detailed information on the standardized tests in each state. The checklist also features guides for parents to identify if their child is being bullied at school, and to help them better understand the social challenges that their kids face as they grow up in a highly connected and tech-savvy world.
The checklist and guidelines also contain links to learning tools that are aligned to the curricula of specific grades in each state. The learning tools, also developed and compiled by Learning Heroes, don't just focus on mathematics and English language arts; there are also dozens of resources focusing on state-specific assessments, college-readiness measurements, along with the development of social and critical-thinking skills.
Reminder - Body Safety Parent Preview
We are happy to announce that Plainfield Community Elementary School District will again be partnering this year with Chaucie’s Place, a child advocacy organization in Hamilton County, to bring Smart Steps: A Body Safety Program for Children to our students. Smart Steps is a child sexual abuse prevention and education program that empowers your child to say “NO!” to any unwanted touches that make them uncomfortable from anyone.
We invite you to attend a Chaucie’s Place Parent Night to learn more about the Smart Steps program at Central Elementary School on Monday, September 26th from 6:30pm – 7:30pm in the cafeteria. This meeting is open to all parents and/or guardians of Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade students. Please be advised that Parent Night is not open to children. To learn more about Chaucie’s Place visit: www.chauciesplace.org.
School Lunch Information
Reminder - Visiting for Lunch
Coat Drive
Collection boxes will be placed inside the lobbies of Central, Brentwood, Clark’s Creek, Van Buren, PCMS and PHS Oct 3- 21st. Octagon President, Jade Stone, hopes families will take some time during fall break to take inventory of the coats they have in their closets and consider donating. Students will also be collecting at the entrance of last PHS home football game, October 7th. Those wanting to donate new gloves and hats are welcome to do so. While one coat may not seem to make a difference, it can provide many days of warmth to someone in our community. Coats will be distributed on October 29th in a coat mobile driving throughout the district. Those left over will be donated that same day to Bundle Up Hendricks County at the fairgrounds in Danville. Together we can do great things… keep the cold warm this winter!
PTO Info
Trash Bag Sales
Thank you to everyone who placed orders for trash bags and Discovery coupon books this year! (If that envelope is still sitting on your counter, the very last opportunity to turn it in is Monday morning!) Orders will need to be picked up on conference day, 10/20. We greatly appreciate your support of this, our largest fundraiser!!
Fall Book Fair
The fall book fair will be Monday, 10/17 - Thursday, 10/20. WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR AN ASSISTANT TO HELP OUR BOOK FAIR CHAIRPERSON, JEN VANHOOSER. If you are interested in helping out this week, please email the PTO account - clarkscreekpto@yahoo.com. Students will shop during the school day Monday - Wednesday and the book fair will be open during conferences on 10/20 for parents to shop. We need volunteers to help students shop and to run the cash registers during these times. Please be watching your email for the link to Volunteer Spot for our book fair soon!!!
Fall's Big Event!
The Nightmare on Elm Drive Halloween Extravaganza is just around the corner. It will be held on Saturday, 10/29 from 5-8pm. This year's event will feature the "Once Upon a Haunted Tale" haunted house, along with our usual games and activities around the building, trick or treating in the hallways upstairs with the teachers, a costume contest in the gym, and dinner in the cafeteria. We will also be sending a Volunteer Spot link asking for volunteers to help run the cafeteria and games throughout the evening. Mark your calendars - YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!!!
Fall Parties
If you are a Class Lead Rep please be looking for class party information to be sent to you prior to October 1st. As a reminder, if you are wishing to volunteer to help in your child's classroom during the party, you must have an approved background check on file. The fall party will be on October 31st from 2:45 - 3:30pm.
Next Meeting
Our next PTO meeting will be on October 17 at 6:30pm in the Clarks Creek library. Free childcare will be provided by our YMCA before and after school childcare program. Please enter through door 3.
Reminder - Volunteer at Clarks Creek!
Another thing we ask all volunteers to complete annually is the Volunteer Confidentiality Form. This form is available in the school office and should also be completed before the first volunteer experience.
We appreciate the help of all of our volunteers! We couldn't do it without you!