Welcome to March, one of my favorite months of the year! March is READING MONTH! Reading is the foundation for all things learning and it is one of my favorite things to celebrate as a school. We have so many fun events going on including Reading Month Calendar of Activities, Scholastic Book Fair and give aways, Book Bingo Family Night, and special visitors to share in the spirit of reading. More detailed information will be coming home soon.

This month we also have parent-teacher conferences. Typically, spring conferences are by invitation or request only. Your child's teacher will reach out to you with more specific information. If a meeting is not requested, you still have the option to request a conference for any reason.

The next couple of months are critical. It is the last stretch before spring testing and ultimately the end of the year. With your support, we plan to maximize this time and ensure that each minute is purposeful and focused. If you have any questions or needs of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out. As mentioned, I can be reached by phone or email. I do not use PBIS for communication as I am not connected to a specific classroom.

Thank you for all that you do! It is truly a partnership!

Sincerely,

Kristin Doyle

All Month Long: Celebrating Reading Month

March 4th: Science Olympiad Competition

March 7th: No School/Professional Development

March 10th: End of Trimester 2

March 14th 5:30-8:00: Clinton Valley Book Bingo Family Event/Scholastic Book Fair

March 14th: Lifetouch Spring Pictures

March 15th: Half day for students/Parent-teacher Conferences/Report cards sent home for students not having a conference/Scholastic Book Fair

March 16th Parent-teacher Conferences 5:30 p.m. Scholastic Book Fair/PTO meeting at 7 p.m.

March 17th: Half day/Scholastic Book Fair

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.

Congratulations to our Student Council members for 2022-2023. Below is the list of those who will represent along with the meeting dates. Thank you to Ms. Rees and Mrs. Cook for leading this charge!

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.