Union Elementary Family Update
Week of September 6-9, 2022
Labor Day is Monday, September 5 School resumes on Tuesday, September 6
Dear Union Students and Families,
We’ve had a great week at Union! Please enjoy your Labor Day weekend!
- Jog A Thon - Please read below about important information regarding Jog A Thon! A BIG thank you to Amanda Vetor and our PTO team for coordinating this much anticipated event/fundraiser. Jog A Thon is September 23rd.
- Dads Club Camp Out – Get your tents and flashlights ready! Camp Out is Saturday, September 17 – Sunday, September 18. This is a hugely popular event! The RSVP form went home in your student’s folders next week!
- ParentSquare- If you haven't set up your ParentSquare account, please do so at your earliest convenience to streamline district/school/classroom communications and notifications. Click here for additional information. https://www.parentsquare.com/signin
- School Picture Day is September 20!
- Don't forget, there is no school on Labor Day, Monday, September 5
I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend! Please read below for important updates!
With gratitude,
Mrs. Erin Kay, Principal of Union
Mrs. Laura Christie, Assistant Principal of Union
Mark Your Calendars!
September 5- Labor Day - No School
September 6- Dads Club Meeting, 7 PM at Union Elementary Teacher's Lounge
September 15- PTO Meeting, 10 AM in the Makerspace
September 16- ZCHS Homecoming Game
September 17- Camp Out sponsored by our Dads Club, 5 PM - 9 AM, at Union Playground and fields (Rain date 9/24)
September 20- Picture Day
September 23- Jog A Thon (Rain date 9/26)
October 4- Dads Club Meeting, 7 PM at Union Elementary Teacher's Lounge
October 7- End of Quarter 1 and Fall Parties (PTO provided snack)
October 10-14- Fall Break - No School
October 19- Kindergarten Special People Breakfast, 8AM-9AM, Union Cafe
October 20- Great Shakeout Drill
October 24- Regular school day w/ Family/student conferences (PM)
October 25- eDay and Family/Student Conferences
October 28- Movie Night #1
November 1- Dads Club Meeting, 7PM at Union Elementary Teacher's Lounge
November 11- Veterans Day
November 14-18- Fall Book Fair
November 16- First Grade Special People Breakfast, 7AM-8AM, Union Cafe
November 17- PTO Meeting, 7PM at Union Elementary Cafe
November 23-25- Thanksgiving Break - No School
December 6- Dads Club Meeting, 7PM, Union Elementary Teachers Lounge
December 8- PTO Meeting, 10 AM at Union Elementary, Makerspace
December 20- End of Quarter 2 and Class Winter Parties (PTO provided snack)
December 21 - January 2- Winter Break - No School
ZCS 2022-2023 School Calendar (click for the district calendar)
Union PTO Updates!
Fall Mum Sale!
Union’s PTO is excited to partner with Jones’ Greenhouse to offer a Fall Mum Sale!
The Fall Mum Sale Flyer will be sent home with your student soon. Mum orders are due by September 6 and pick up will be September 16 from 4:00-6:00 PM at Union.
Please sign up for AmazonSmile!
AmazonSmile is a very simple and no-cost way to donate to a favorite charity like The Union PTO. Through its AmazonSmile program, Amazon donates 0.5% of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice — at no cost to you. You’ll get the same prices, selection and service found on Amazon.com, but now Amazon gives 0.5% of its cut to a good cause. This really adds up to a lot of fundraising dollars! Sign up at smile.amazon.com and select “Union Elementary Parent Teacher Organization Incorporated” as your favorite charity. For any technical questions, please reach out to our PTO Communication’s chair, Rebecca Wollenburg, at rswollenburg@gmail.com.
Jog A Thon Launch!
We kicked off our 2022 Jog-A-Thon fundraiser with Union students on Thursday during lunch with our fearless “Glow Neon Moms” leading the way. Pledge packets also went home this week with more information for parents.
Jog-A-Thon is Friday, September 23rd (rain date Friday, September 26th). Students will walk or jog around a 1/4 loop on the soccer and baseball fields. Our goal is to raise $30,000 to support math and literacy materials, technology, enrichment grants, field trips, and special projects for each grade. To do that, we are challenging each student to raise $50 in donations. 100% of the donations collected by Union students will directly impact our school. Money and pledge forms should be returned by Wednesday, October 5th. To donate online, http://bit.ly/jogathonunion
Every student who brings in $50 in donations will be awarded a glow robot keychain and be entered to win Squishables!! Prizes will be awarded every week during our Jog-A-Thon donation window.
Jog-A-Thon is a success because of our volunteers! We need your help cheering on the kids, helping them stay on the course, marking their shirts for each lap completed.
**ALL VOLUNTEERS MUST HAVE A FULL BACKGROUND CHECK.**
To volunteer, please visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080b45aba623abf49-jat2019 You can be lap counter and help with your child’s class or be a Kona Ice volunteer. Both ways to volunteer allow you to be on the course cheering on your kids and their classmates. So if one is full, pick the other! The Jog-A-Thon schedule is divided into 6 sessions as follows:
1st Grade- 8:45-9:45
Preschool- 9:25-10:05 (basketball courts)
2nd Grade- 9:50-10:45
4th Grade- 10:50-11:45
Kindy- 12:10-12:55
3rd Grade- 1:05-2:00
If you have any questions, please email unionjogathon1@gmail.com
Union Dads Club
September 6: Dads Club Meeting, 7 PM
The meeting will be at Union Elementary in the Teachers' Lounge. You can enter the building using door 11. This group will plan a number of fun, extra-curricular activities for Union kids throughout the year. All our welcome to attend! If you have questions, please contact Dads Club President Jake Webster at jwebster1220@yahoo.com.
Transportation Details
Car Drop Off:
- ONE car rider line will form facing west in front of the building.
- School staff members will be stationed on the sidewalk.
- Once you pull up and stop, students should exit the passenger/sidewalk side of the car IMMEDIATELY.
- Parents - PLEASE stay in your car at all times.
- Students – MUST exit their cars on the passenger/sidewalk side of the car.
- The doors will lock at 8 AM. If you pull up after 8AM, you will need to walk your child into school.
Car Pick Up:
- Pick up is in the front of the building. Cars will park along the curb starting at the stop sign on the west side building and will extend down the front side walk.
- Students will be grouped by grade level and supervised by staff members.
- Please display student name and grade level. A staff member will use this sign to call students' names by radio to be released to their vehicles.
- Once all cars have stopped, we will release the students to load into their cars on the passenger side.
- Please stay in your vehicle and please do not park in the lot and walk through traffic. Safety is always our priority.
- Students – MUST load cars on the passenger/sidewalk side of the car.
For detailed information please review the newsletter linked here:
Union Transportation Newsletter
Union School Day Hours
Kindergarten - 9:00-2:30
First - Fourth - 8:00-2:30
Pre-School - 8:15-2:45
Front Office Procedures
Dismissal Changes
Same Day Changes
- Prior to 1pm – please call the main office in order to leave a message that will be received in time to communicate the change.
- After 1pm - please call the main office and press 0 to speak live with one of our administrative assistants.
- Please do not email same day changes to your child’s teacher. They may not have an opportunity to check email prior to dismissal.
Changes at least 24 hours in Advance
- Please send a handwritten note to your child’s teacher instead of an email. There may be times that a substitute teacher has been assigned, that he or she will not have access to the teacher’s email.
- If you choose to email, please ensure you get a reply confirmation that your child's teacher received the change. If you do not, please call the main office.
Attendance
Illness or Late Arrival
- If your child is ill, you are running late, or your child won’t be coming to school that day for any reason - please call the main office and press 2 to leave a message on the attendance line. If you do not, you will receive phone calls after a certain time so we can ensure your child is safe.
Pre-Arranged Absence
- Please complete the pre-arranged absence form, linked below or located on the Union Elementary website (under the Parent tab) at least two days in advance, and turn it into the front office.
- Pre-Arranged Student Absence Form
Health Clinic Reminders
Clinic Procedures
- All medication (prescription and OTC) must be brought in to the clinic (main office) by a parent/guardian. Students are not allowed to have any medication in their backpack, unless authorized in writing by a physician.
- Set a time to meet with our healthcare professional if your child has severe allergies or a medical condition that may warrant a Health Care Plan.
- As a reminder, when your child is ill, please call the main office and press 2 to leave a message on the attendance line. As always, we ask that children are fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of fever reducing medication prior to returning to school.
Immunizations
- Indiana code (IC 20-34-4-5) states that all children attending public schools in our state shall be immunized according to requirements set forth by the Indiana State Department of Health. Please ensure that the health clinic professional in your child’s school has been supplied with the most up-to-date copy of your child’s immunization records!
- A link to the required immunizations for the 2022-2023 school year can be found here.
Union's Health Care Professional: Cyneka Hooks, chooks@zcs.k12.in.us
Hearing Screenings
Union's Speech and Language Pathologist: Tisha VanCuren, tvancuren@zcs.k12.in.us
Food Service and Cafe Information
- Public school lunch cost returns for the 2022-2023 school year, unless students qualify for meal assistance.
- Please click here to read all of the important information regarding school lunch for this year, including costs, nutrition, menus, and how to use SchoolPay for your child's lunch money.
- Please visit the ZCS Food Services Department section on our ZCS website for easy access to SchoolPay, how to apply for meal assistance, and more!
Café News
- Lunch visitors will be welcome to come and eat with their child at Quarter 2 (October). In an effort to ensure students acclimate to cafeteria procedures, and foster their important social friendships, we will invite lunch visitors to Union Elementary starting in Quarter 2 (October).
- We will be launching a new sign-up procedure for parents to utilize who wish to come and eat during their child's lunch time - more information to come after school gets underway!
- All visitors to the building will need to check in at the main office.
- We will have "Visitor Tables" in the cafeteria so you can sit with your child during their lunch time if you choose to visit.
Visitor and Volunteer Procedures
During the school day, all volunteers are expected to check in at the front office. Prior to the volunteer opportunity, all volunteers must sign a Non-disclosure Acknowledgement Form and have successfully completed a Full Criminal History Background Check.. Necessary background check paperwork is available on the ZCS website at the Volunteers/BRAVO link and should be submitted at least 10 days prior to the intended volunteer date. Volunteers must also view the state mandated confidentiality/bullying video, provided on the Volunteer/BRAVO website. The volunteer will pay the fee for the full background check which will expire after 5 years.
During the school day, all visitors must enter via the front door and sign-in at the front office. Visitors need to be prepared to present a government issued photo ID which will be scanned against the National Sex Offender Registry. All visitors will be issued a visitor badge/tag to be worn inside the building at all times. Visitors other than parents/guardians must be prearranged and organized through the main office.
Grow/Child Care Services
Please see the link below for more details and information on how to sign-up for one of the GROW childcare options.
GROW/Child Care Services (click here)
- Bridge and Early Start Spanish are optional, fee based programs that “bridge” the time between the 7:50-8:00 arrival time for 1st-4th grade students, and the start of the instructional day for Kindergarten students, which is 8:50-9:00.
- Before and After-School Care (BAC) is available for all PVE students, and the before/after school starts at 6:45am and extends childcare from 2:30 to 6:00pm.
- Access Days Care provides a childcare option for when school is not in session for parents who need care for their children during some of the school breaks during the year.
- Eagle Rec offers fee based programs in a variety of interest areas, which typically start after school has already begun after Labor Day.
ZCS is now hiring Instructional Assistants at multiple locations. Join the ZCS team and make an impact on the lives of our students. IAs work in the classroom with individual and small groups of students. Please apply online at https://www.applitrack.com/centralindiana/onlineapp/jobpostings/view.asp?choosedistrict=true&district=1452 or contact Robyn Nelson at rnelson@zcs.k12.in.us with any questions.
Above and Beyond
Union Elementary School
Erin Kay, Principal
Laura Christie, Assistant Principal
Email: ekay@zcs.k12.in.us
Website: http://uni.zcs.k12.in.us/
Location: 11750 E 300 S, Zionsville, IN, United States
Phone: 317-733-4007
Twitter: @ZCSUnionElem