Jeremiah Gray Kindergarten Academy
Home of the Little Giants - October 26, 2018
Principal's Message
Greetings from the Principal's Office
We were so excited to welcome our students back from Fall Break! This building is very lonely without them.
Thank you to all parents for taking the time to come in and meet during Parent-Teacher conferences. Our teachers enjoyed meeting to discuss your child's progress, and hope that you found it beneficial. Children grow tremendously over their Kindergarten year, and we are so happy to have you as a partner in their education!
I would like to say a little about attendance. It is very important that your child is at school, on time, each and every day. Unless your child is sick, it's very important that they are here so that they can keep up academically. As I mentioned earlier, there is a tremendous amount of growth in Kindergarten. Students that miss school, or that are frequently late, will fall behind. When they begin to fall behind, they can become anxious or frustrated. Our vision is to build kind, confident learners, and we ask that you help us by doing your best to set your child up for academic success by having them here (on time) every day!
As always, I appreciate your support. It is such a privilege to serve as your principal!
Love,
Mrs. Hansell
The Jeremiah Gray Kindergarten Academy Lending Library Is Officially OPEN!
Each week our students will go to the library and select a book to borrow that they may take home and enjoy. We are excited to get books into the hands of our students, and hope you are able to sit down and enjoy reading with them!
We are happy to open our lending library, and know our Little Giants will be very responsible and return our books the following week. Each student will receive a red library bag to carry their book back and forth from home to school safely. Thanks in advance for your help in making sure our books are returned to us each week.
If you have gently used books that you would like to donate to our lending library, please send them in! We will gladly get them on the shelves and into the hands of kids.
Congratulations to our Little Giants of the Week!
JGKA Honors Our Veterans
Our program will begin at 9:30 in our school gymnasium. Help us remember and honor those who have served our country!
Teacher Spotlight
Teacher Spotlight
Number of Years: 44
Family: Husband Dan, retired (unless he's volunteering in the school!) Daughter Maggie, works at Methodist Hospital
Favorite Hobbies: Baking, Travel, and Reading
Interesting Fact: I eat chocolate every morning.
Staff Spotlight
Name: Cathy Knoblett
Number of years: 12 years total
2 ½ years at CUMC Preschool
9 ½ years as a Kindergarten Aide in Perry Township
Family Info: Husband-Shane, Daughter-Kylie is a Senior at IUPUI, Son-Cole is a Freshman at Ball State
Favorite Hobbies: I enjoy walking, hiking, being outside, and spending time with family and friends.
Interesting fact: As a child, I was the Illinois State Champion on the uneven bars in gymnastics.
Mrs. Sherman's Autumn Club
In Autumn Club, students explored pumpkins! They measured how tall pumpkins were, how many lines were on pumpkins, and experimented to see if they would sink or float. Students also dug out the pumpkin seeds and used a hundreds chart to count them. 2 friends had over 100 seeds! They also used pumpkin purée to make a special snack, pumpkin pie in a cup!
Our Lunch Ladies are Super Heroes!
Utensils able to serve in a single second.
Squarest of pizzas with the sharpest corners around.
Vegetables so tasty KIDS ACTUALLY EAT THEM!
Smiles so bright they warm your soul.
HEARTS SO BIG YOU WANT TO SAY PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!!!
Our cafeteria workers are true Super Heroes,
and we love them and their great food.
In honor of National School Lunch Week, we salute you!
Important Dates Coming Up
November 8th Family Literacy Night 5:30-7:00
November 12th Veterans' Day Program 9:30 a.m.
November 21st-23rd Thanksgiving Holiday Break
Important Things to Know About the School Bus
Here are a few things that might help make the commute to and from school more understandable:
*Kindergartners will only be let off of the bus and released to a parent or designee. Drivers will NOT release your child without an adult present.
*Parents need to be out at the stop, visible to the driver.
*If you are not at the stop when the bus arrives in the afternoon, your child will be brought back to school and you will have to pick them up as soon as possible.
*Kindergartners work hard all day, and often can fall asleep on the bus. If the student is sleeping, they may not hear the driver call their name to get off at that stop. Our drivers are instructed to walk the bus at the end of their route. If a sleeping child is still on the bus, they will be returned to school and we will call you immediately.
*If you are concerned that your child might have missed their stop, you can call the transportation department at (317) 789-6221, or you may call the main office at school (317) 782-2240.
The main thing we want you to know is that we are not going to leave school until all children are safely home. So, if by chance your child misses the stop for any reason, please know we will be here to receive them and keep them safe until you can come get them. We LOVE our Little Giants, and keeping them safe is our number one priority!
Bus Information
A parent or guardian MUST be home to receive children in grades K-2 from the school bus at the end of the school day.
If no one is home upon the young student’s arrival, the child will be returned to the school where the parent will be required to pick up the student. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Also, please remember that Wednesdays are an early release day. Please be at the bus stop 30 minutes earlier on those days.
Attendance & Timeliness
Car Rider Pick Up
We have a concern in the afternoon, and we need your help with it to keep our dismissal safe and efficient.
We have had a number of parents lining up early in front of our building. We prefer that we leave the drive open for parents that HAVE to come up and sign into the building. After 2:20 each day, we need to ask that ALL cars pull into the campus car line. We KNOW waiting is hard, but it really is in the best interest of all students on the Jeremiah Gray campus.
Our site has a preschool, Kindergarten Academy, and Elementary School. We need to have the car line procedures in place so we can swiftly move all three programs.
Thanks in advance for your assistance with this!
Important Dates
- Wednesday, October 31 - Early Release
- Thursday, November 8 - Family Literacy Night (5:30-7:00)
Breakfast & Lunch Menu
Visitor Policy
Volunteer Policy
SCOPE: Volunteers who in the course of performing their service and have access to vulnerable populations, specifically minor children less than 18 years of age. This policy will cover all volunteers who volunteer on a regular basis with “ongoing contact” with students.
Such volunteers consist of:
- Volunteers who are with children on a regular basis
- Tutoring/Mentoring
- Coaches
- Extracurricular sponsors
- Volunteers who chaperone overnight trips/ or are attending field trips and have sole responsibility over a group of students or any student other than their own child.
PURPOSE: To establish a pre-screening program and an ongoing evaluation process to protect the students we are attempting to serve.
POLICY: It is the policy of Perry Township Schools to promote an environment in which the students we serve do so in safety and without fear in an atmosphere of trust and respect. Perry Township Schools, therefore, requires an expanded criminal history of volunteers who will have as part of their duties access to minors under the age of 18. Volunteers must wait until after their background screening process is complete to begin their volunteer assignment. However, the volunteer must contact Perry Township Schools if there are any personal arrests or filing of criminal charges while serving as a volunteer. A volunteer MUST complete the background check through Raptor each year. Volunteers will be interviewed by Administrators, teachers and/or Human Resources when deemed appropriate.
There is a $5.00 charge for the volunteer background check. The background checks usually take 5-7 days to be completed. Background checks will be maintained in Human Resources Office. The school will maintain a list of all current volunteers.
http://www.perryschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/VOLUNTEER-POLICY-2018.pdf
A Message from Our Nurse
Southport Youth Basketball League Registration
Calling all future Cardinals basketball players: Southport Youth Basketball League registration is officially open. The season will run from November-January, and boys in grades 1st-6th are eligible to play. Register online at southportyouthbasketball.com/.
Crafts & More Fair at Perry Meridian Middle School
Saturday, November 10, 2018 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Unique handmade items, party lines, jewelry, gifts, food and more! Over 70 local vendors! $3.00 admission at the door, children 12 & under are free. For more information or vendor inquiries please contact PMMS at 317-789-4131 or kmcnabb@perryschools.org
LEARN, GROW, AND THRIVE WITH THE YMCA
Summer may be over, but we’re ready to continue the fun this school year! The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis is proud to be the before and after school provider in Perry Township. We provide enrichment programming for children in an environment where they can learn, grow, and thrive in a safe environment! For more information, or to register for the YMCA Before and After School Program, please visit us at www.indymca.org/youthdevelopment.
What's going on around the community?
Jeremiah Gray Kindergarten Academy
Website: http://www.perryschools.org/jk/
Location: 5225 Gray Road, Indianapolis, IN, United States
Phone: (317) 782-2240
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JGKALittleGiants/
Twitter: @JGKAPrincipal