Greetings and Happy Autumn! It is difficult to believe that the first quarter of the school year has completed and that Fall Break is just around the corner! It has been a smooth and successful start to the school year and the days and weeks are simply flying by.

Next week families will have the opportunity to meet with teachers to speak about their child's progress so far this school year. These conferences provide a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the home/school connection. Just as teachers plan and prepare, it is important to think about and plan for the conference you will have with your child's teacher. Before arriving for the conference, ask your child to share their feelings about school and if there is anything specific they would like for you to discuss with their teacher. Create a list of questions to ask during the conference. Some examples would be, "What are my child's strengths? Opportunities for improvement? How well does my child participate in class? What can I do at home to help?" These questions will help guide the conversation. On the day of the conference, arrive on time and be mindful of the end time. Be relaxed and yourself! Prioritize questions and plan for next steps if necessary. Finally, after the conference share with your child the positive comments and be direct with any concerns. Keep in touch with the teacher throughout the year and follow up with any additional questions or concerns.

We want to create a strong partnership between school and home. Communication is key to this partnership! I am certain that the hundreds of conferences that will take place in the next days will be positive experiences. Enjoy those conferences and a safe Fall Break ahead!

Mr. Buckler

Happy autumn!

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying this great weather. Our school had an exciting September. Our 9th Annual Fun Run was a huge success. We surpassed our goal and raised almost $49,000! I am so amazed and grateful at the support from our CGES families. The kids had a blast walking over to the track and running laps. I am looking forward to seeing families next week for parent-teacher conferences. It is a great time to connect with the teachers to learn more about what is going on in the classroom. You will hear many celebrations! Our staff and students have been working hard! I am always happy and available to meet if anyone would like to touch base. I hope you all have a safe and relaxing fall break!

Mrs. Rollings

Hello!

I hope this finds you staying warm as fall officially sets in! With this in mind, please know that we have resources available for those families in need of warm clothes, food, or holiday assistance. Upon our return from Fall Break, each family will receive information regarding holiday meals, Christmas Angels, and other resources in our community. However, please don’t hesitate to reach out if there is anything that I can do to support you in the meantime.

In other news, it is around this time of year that I will be leading classroom lessons regarding bullying. I have actually already been in all of our k-2 classrooms! In order to bring these lessons home, I encourage you to ask what the 3 parts of bullying are (someone who hurts others on the inside or out, someone who THINKS that they are smarter, stronger, tougher, or better than someone, and someone who does these things over and over). We also discussed the difference between a bully and just someone who is being unkind. Understanding the difference allows us to know how to handle the situation, and we also talked about what to do in either case.

As always, please let me know how I can support you and your children.

Respectfully,

Mrs. Taylor

CGES Families,

We need your help to ensure a safe arrival and dismissal of students on our campus Over the past few days, we have had quite a few cars not follow our morning and afternoon drop-off routine, by cutting in front of cars and not obeying traffic signals. If you see the car rider line is backed up to Morgantown Road, please go around CGMSC and line up on the side of the building. Our procedures are outlined below.

Morning Drop-off Procedures:
Students should not be dropped off in front of the school. This area is reserved for daycare vans or special circumstances that have been approved in advance. Vehicles will not be allowed in the front parking lot for student drop-off. Parents should follow the car rider line to drop off students on the north side of CGES.

Morning and Afternoon Pick-Up Procedures (See map below):
Due to the volume of parents picking up students each day, it is necessary to revise our traffic flow to get cars off of Morgantown Road. Please follow the instructions below:

1. Enter the campus off of Morgantown Road. (No traffic will be allowed to enter the car rider line from Stones Crossing.)
• Please leave room for the buses to pull into the MSC lot as indicated on the map.
2. Proceed east toward CGES.

1. IF no cars are backed up, you may follow the orange arrow below around the front of the school to the north side of the building.
2. IF cars are backed up, continue east along the bus parking lot.
1. Follow the drive that curves south toward the front of MSC.
2. Turn west in front of MSC and follow the drive along the front of the school.
3. Follow the drive as it curves north, all the way to the stop sign.
4. Turn east to enter into the turn lane on the north side of the CGES drive.

• Please leave room for the buses to pull into the MSC lot as indicated on the map.
1. Once cars move up to allow space, turn north onto the drive in front of CGES.
• Pull all the way forward behind the car in front of you, making sure to not leave a large amount of space.
2. Follow the drive north, then east, and around the parking lot to the pick-up zone as indicated on the map.

Fall parties will occur on Friday, October 28th. Students will enjoy activities and games with their classmates. The parties will occur:

Kindergarten @ 9:15

First Grade @ 1:45

Second Grade @ 12:30

Third Grade @ 2:45

Fourth Grade @ 1:55

Fifth Grade @ 2:45

Room Parents will collaborate with classroom teachers on the specifics of the celebrations. If you have specific questions about your child's classroom party, please reach out directly to the classroom teacher.

Birthdays are one of the most looked forward to days for our students. We want to take advantage of opportunities to make our students feel special by recognizing them on their special day. All of our classroom teachers acknowledge student birthdays in age appropriate ways and students are featured during our morning announcements.

The Center Grove Community School Corporation Elementary Handbook provides specific guidance regarding celebrating birthdays in school. Our goal as educators is to promote health and wellness in our students’ daily lives. There are many students throughout the school community with dietary restrictions that include food allergies, diabetes, and other medical conditions (e.g. obesity, celiac, etc.) that make it difficult for them to participate in celebrations that involve food. Promoting food-free celebrations in support of health and wellness aligns with the school’s vision and mission. The objective is to celebrate birthdays in a way that includes all classmates and limits the interruption to instruction. Continuing with past practice, we will celebrate birthdays without food and will promote the health and wellness of our students!

There are many ways to celebrate including:

• donating a book to school in honor of your child’s special day. These books will remain in the classroom for the duration of the school year and then will become part of the collection for all students to read. OR

• donating a game to school for use during indoor recess, or equipment to be used during outside recess.

Please also remember that we do not accept deliveries of singing telegrams, floral arrangements, gifts, candy, etc. on behalf of students. In addition, invitations to a child's private birthday party should be mailed from your home. Birthday party invitations will not be allowed to be passed out, unless the entire classroom is invited.

Thank you so much for your help in making sure all of our students feel included in the birthday celebrations. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at bucklerc@centergrove.k12.in.us

Mark your calendars for the events that will be taking place in October!

October 2 - Dine to Donate @ Tried & True

October 3 - 7 - Parent/Teacher Conference Week

October 3 - First Grading Period Ends

October 5 - Fall Picture Retake Day & Early Release

October 10 - 14 - Fall Break

October 17 - Classes Resume & Kids Heart Challenge

October 18 - PTO Meeting, CGES Library @ 6:30

October 19 - Early Release

October 20 & 21 - Drug Awareness & Prevention Programs

October 24 - 28 - Red Ribbon Week

October 26 - Early Release

October 28 - Fall Parties