Greetings Clinton Valley Families,

Welcome back! I hope that you all enjoyed some time with your families. I know I did. I forced myself to unplug and just be present, which has been difficult for me to do lately!

Before the break, we had fun celebrating the holidays and the winter season! Below are photos of the doors that teachers created to spread joy. Additionally, all of our classrooms created cards for those who spent the holidays at McClaren hospital. There were so many cards, that I was also able to give some to a friend of mine that is a doctor at Acsesion St. John in Detroit. She told me that they brought smiles to faces that she hasn't seen a smile on in weeks.

As we settle back into a routine, the teachers will be focused on reestablishing procedures and classroom expectations. The daily schedule has changed slightly as we align with recommended literacy shifts. Our reading blocks are a little longer, and small group interventions are hard scheduled. This change does not affect you in anyway, it is just a minor shift during the school day.

We have also worked hard to align our new intervention curriculum that is backed by research and science. Our special education providers will also be utilizing this program so that our students who receive services are immersed in a curriculum that is aligned, consistent, and focused. They will also be able to receive grade level instruction in addition to the interventions that are aligned to their goals.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate Alexis John, from Mrs. Roddy's class and Violet Guzman from Mrs. Anderson's class for winning the Smart Moves Essay competition. Great work to both of you for creating such a meaningful message.

Happy New Year! I look forward to a strong start to 2023 at Clinton Valley Elementary!

Sincerely,

Kristin Doyle

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.

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.