Union Center Elementary
Learn...to Achieve!
August 14th, 2020
Please check below for some updates on all things happening at Union Center Elementary!
Elementary Virtual Learning Pick-Up
This Monday, August 17th, we are having our first supply pick-up for our Virtual Learners from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
When you arrive, please tell Mrs. Owens that you are here for your virtual child's supply pick-up. You will then be buzzed into the glass vestibule where a bookshelf with designated grade levels will be displayed.
Please grab your child's items, which will be good through that week. You will then drop-off that completed work the following Monday, in this case Monday, August 24th, and pick-up the next week's supplies as well :)
If you have any questions, please contact the UCE Office at 219-759-2544.
Dismissal at UCE
With that being said, yesterday and today worked GREAT!
Now that the bus is moved from our parking lot, we are able to create our 'double lines'. Using the orange cones, please drive on both sides of the cones to create two lines that merge into one. We do NOT want double lines in front of the building, as we must avoid students walking in between vehicles:
Parents, please stay in your vehicles as we will have staff available to help your child into your car. Also, when you are at the front of the line, please pull all the way up the flag pole :)
For a map of how this will work, please click HERE.
Breakfast and Lunch at Union Center
In order to properly social distance our students, our tables have been spread apart in the cafeteria and only 4 or 5 students will be allowed per table. Students will have assigned seats for the foreseeable future, after the first day of school.
We are asking that lunches be funded through check or credit card. You may find information at this LINK to create an account or add your child to your Mealtime account. Please make sure the check is in an envelope marked with your child's name and indicate amount. Our kitchen manager, Kim Camplan, will get all Kindergarten and new student families their lunch account information the first week of school, should you choose to create a Mealtime account, this will be needed information. Please contact Mrs. Kim Camplan at kcamplan@union.k12.in.us for more information.
The Free and Reduced Price Breakfast and Lunch Application may be completed online through your Harmony Family Portal Account or picked up in our office anytime. Applications need to be completed each year. Families who applied and qualified last year will need to reapply at the start of school. If you would like us to send a copy home with your child during the first week of school please call the main office.Our school serves breakfast at 8:30 AM and lunch each day, and an August menu can be found on our website HERE.
Ice Cream Friday and Snacks: These will be available to students after we get our school year started. More information will be communicated in an upcoming newsletter.
Lunch Visitors: To start the school year, we will not be allowing visitors during our lunch periods. Thank you again, for understanding the changes in place to support our safety measures this school year..
Lunch Times:
10:45-11:10 (KG Lunch/1st Recess)
5 Min Clean Break
11:15-11:40 (KG Recess/1st Lunch)
10 Min Clean Break
11:50- 12:15 (2nd Lunch/3rd Recess)
5 Min Clean Break
12:20- 12:45 (2nd Recess/3rd Lunch)
10 Min Clean Break
12:55- 1:20 (4th Recess/5th Lunch)
5 Min Clean Break
1:25- 1:50 (4th Lunch/5th Recess)
Cafeteria Cleaned/Closed
COVID Travel UPDATE
After receiving guidance from the Porter County Health Department, Union Township Schools have been told that upon return students should self-quarantine for seven (7) days. Now, this does not apply to every state, only the states that are on the list from the CDC.
If your family is planning on traveling on vacation to one of the current nine (9) states on the CDC list, please contact Mrs. Ana Brocksmith to discuss learning options and dates for self-quarantine upon your arrival home: abrocksmith@union.k12.in.us
Please click the link HERE to review the letter from our Central Office.
Message from Nurse Burian (UPDATED)
If your child has a temperature of 100.4 or greater, and also has an additional symptom related to COVID-19, your child will be sent home.
They will need to be excluded from school for 10 days and be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication (THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY 72 HOURS).
However, if your physician gives written documentation of another illness (not COVID-19), then your child may return to school after being fever-free for 72 hours.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Julie Burian at jburian@union.k12.in.us
(QUESTION) What about birthday parties in the classroom? Can my child bring cupcakes, cookies, and snacks?
However, students will only eat the snacks that are provided to them from home: There will be no sharing of food or snacks in the classroom.
Unfortunately, this includes treats for birthday parties. We will celebrate student birthdays in the classroom, but we cannot distribute treats (cupcakes, cookies, etc.), even items that are pre-packaged.
(QUESTION) I still have my child's textbook(s) and/or Chromebook from last year? What do I do?
If you still have either a textbook or Chromebook from last year, you need to return them by the end of the day on Friday, August 21st.
If these items are not returned, charges will appear on your child's textbook rental fee.
Building Construction Update
Architects and construction workers have been frequenting our building, and the plan is that they will begin breaking ground sometime in early to mid September.
This is VERY exciting for all our UCE students, teachers, and staff, and I hope exciting for our families, as well!
As we inch closer to the beginning of construction, I will share updates about our plan for safety, pictures, and hopefully some early renderings of what the new addition has to offer :)
New Website Under Construction
The current UCE website is under construction, so please check these newsletters for updates and information!
Job Openings at Union Center
- Evening Custodian (12:00-8:00)- Responsibilities include cleaning of individual classrooms, hallways, bathrooms, etc.
COVID-19 Student Guidance
- The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has released some wonderful tips to parents about how to begin having the conversation with your child regarding wearing a mask. Please click HERE for more information.
- For a look at the difference between Quarantine and Isolation, please take a look at the attachment HERE.
Click Here to Register for the KidStop Program
Virtual Learners Supply Pick-Up
Monday, Aug 17, 2020, 10:00 AM
Union Center Elementary School, North 600 West, Valparaiso, IN, USA
Principal Fuller's Thoughts
First and foremost, I think we need to recognize our students for doing such a great job of social distancing and wearing their masks. Students have taken the new rules and procedures and absolutely knocked it out of the park! So proud of our UCE Students!
I want to take a minute to really focus on our teachers and staff at Union Center. There has been a lot put on their plate, and this school year is like none any of us have seen.
Teachers are educating in-person and virtual students, all while adjusting to the new protocols and rules that go with the current health climate, and it doesn't stop with just them...our custodians wipe down all the interior door-handles multiple times throughout the day, our kitchen staff is adjusting to new guidelines for food prep, and our office staff is working tirelessly to answer every parents question and concern.
If I could ask one thing from our UCE parents this weekend, it would be this...please reach out to our teachers and staff and let them know how much you appreciate them. In these uncertain times, they have risen to the occasion to not only continue to educate our children, but to keep them safe above all. A quick email or note delivered with your child on Monday would mean THE WORLD to them.
...and I would be remiss if I didn't say a HUGE thank you to...well, YOU! Our students came into the building Day One wearing masks, and doing so properly. Mrs. Brocksmith and I visited every single classroom on Wednesday to do a mask tutorial, and we were beyond impressed with where all our students were at. So from me to you, THANK YOU for being so supportive during these times!
It is the weekend, and it is time for all of us to relax. I hope you and your family enjoy some quality time together and really reconnect after the first week back to school.
We are here to help, and as always, if you need anything from me, please feel free to reach out :)
Take care!