MacArthur Elementary School
August 28, 2020
Notes from the Principal
Dear MacArthur Families,
The school year is off to a great start. Thank you in advance for your help, support, and cooperation with each of us here at MacArthur who works with all of our students. Our students have truly done an amazing job transitioning back to school, especially with all the COVID safety procedures in place. I am so impressed with how all our students are being responsible and wearing their masks, staying spaced out at lunch, using the hand sanitizer when entering the building, etc.
This being the 2nd newsletter of the new school year I wanted to help assure all our parents that the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, and families is our top priority. On Thursday and Friday of this week we practiced our fire, tornado, and lockdown drills and the students did a great job.
Did you know each month our school practices a set of drills; fire, lockdown, & tornado? Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Bysiek, and I are all certified and trained safety specialists. Mr. Wise is in the process of being trained as a safety specialist. We also have 25 CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention) trained staff members.
The doors at MacArthur are locked at all times and any adult who enters the building goes through a screening process. First the secretaries will inquire what the reason is for the visit and then determine who to let enter the building. Since we are in the “yellow” due to COVID guests may only enter as far as our “Sally Port” area, which is the area between the double glass doors. If we were in “green” all guests would have to provide their driver license to be scanned through the Safe Visitor system. The Safe Visitor system does an instant, nationwide background check on all visitors and prints a visitor pass. We apologize for the inconvenience but asking more questions before entering the building will help improve safety.
Last spring our entire staff was in the process of being trained in an option based program called, ALICE. Helping our team be prepared and have response protocol in place will help us with a speedy response. The ALICE acronym stands for:
A=Alert
L=Lockdown
I=Inform
C=Counter
E=Evacuate
ALICE is not designed to be sequential but rather to be utilized dynamically in each unique situation.
Have a Great Weekend.
Marian Buchko
Contact Information:
Phone: 219-662-3600 ext. 16001
Email: mlbuchko@cps.k12.in.us
Important Dates
Sept. 7: Labor Day/NO School
Sept. 21: College Go Week
Sept. 22: LEAD Day
Sept. 23: 1/2 Day for Students
Oct. 5: World Wide Bully Prevention Day
Oct. 8: Group A Picture Day
Oct. 9: Group B Picture Day
Oct. 16: Fall Break/NO School
Oct. 19: Fall Break/NO School
Oct. 26: Red Ribbon Week Begins
Oct. 28: LEAD Day
Chromebook Repair and Support
The Chromebook is the property of the school within the Crown Point Community School Corporation. Therefore, the device must be repaired by Crown Point Technology staff.
1. If a student is attending classes in person, please see your School Librarian for Chromebook repair.
2. If a student is an at-home learner and the Chromebook is broken or fails to work or your charger needs repair please fill out this form Chromebook Repair Form. Your School Media Specialist will contact you.
3. For help with the RDS Log-in or the Buzz Button inside RDS complete the CPCSC Support Form.
4. If you are having issues with one of your courses on Buzz, please contact the teacher by email.
News from Our School Counselor
Parents/Guardians,
The first week back to school went very well for both in-person and distance learning students! Thank you for your continued dedication to your child’s education. As we start getting used to these new routines, please take some time to review that Why Sleep Matters graphic. Sleep is a vital part of setting us and our kids up for success each day!
Have a great weekend,
Ms. Bellamy, M.S.Ed, LPSC
School Counselor
On a Letter Hunt!
Our 1st Kindergarten Letter Shirt for 2020
Distance Learning Students Computer Issues
Before and After School Latch Key Child Care Application
Complete a form for each child.
In order to formally apply for the Latch Key Program for Child Care a $10.00 annual non-refundable family enrollment fee must be paid.
The Latch Key program is in operation before school from 6:00-10:00 a.m. and 3:45-6:30 p.m. every day school is in session. School is considered in session when in-person or distance learning is taking place.
Due to requirements for social distancing, there will be limits to the number of children at each child care site. Therefore, the Latch Key Child Care Program will be a weekly fee-based program per child. The before school weekly fee is $25.00 and the after school weekly fee is $25.00.
To reserve your child’s spot for the week prepay by Thursday of each week. The prepayment reserves your child’s spot for the following week, regardless of attendance.
If your registration is received and there are no openings, your name will be put on a waiting list and you will be notified when an opening becomes available.
All checks should be made payable to the school site your child attends: Eisenhower Latch Key, Jerry Ross Latch Key, Lake Street Latch Key, MacArthur Latch Key, Solon Robinson Latch Key, Timothy Ball Latch Key, or Winfield Latch Key.
Please use the link below to submit a ‘Before and After School Latch Key Child Care Application.’
Box Tops 2020
Collecting Box Tops is a simple & easy way to raise money for MacArthur! We are still collecting the traditional old box tops, found on grocery items such as cereals, Kleenex boxes, kids snacks, etc. You can also scan a grocery receipt to see if any items have the new digital box tops, found on the free Box Tops app. You are also welcome to send in your grocery receipts to the school. Grocery receipts must be scanned within 2 weeks of the purchase date. Thank you for participating & helping our school!
PTO Membership Drive
A flyer/form will be going home with the kiddos once school starts, but in case anyone wants to get a head start and sign up for membership this year or are doing the distance learning option, here's a sneak peek of the membership perks that start at the $15 donation level. Can't do $15? Membership starts at just $5! Credit & debit cards/paypal are accepted at [https://www.macpto.com/donationfop](https://www.macpto.com/donationfop) or you can submit cash or check payable to MacArthur Elementary School PTO.
We thank you in advance for your support! <3 <3
Order your PTO Plush Mustang!
You can now order your very own plush Mustang at the following link:
(https://www.macpto.com/product-page/10-plush-mustang-with-tee-shirt)
PLEASE DO NOT ORDER FOR INCOMING KINDERGARTNERS, as we are looking into an option to make this a "welcome" gift for incoming kindergarten students. For other grades, no worries, we have plenty of surprises in the works for them, too!
Please be sure to include the first and last names and incoming grade level of each child you're ordering for in the "notes" section. If you're a teacher or staff member, just type "self." If you're planning to do e-learning, please note that too so we know to reach out to you so we can get you your mustang.
IF you don't have PayPal, I believe you can still just select "pay with PayPal" and then instead of using an account, just click "pay with debit or credit" and it will allow you to check out as a paypal guest without an account!
THANK YOU!
MacArthur Spiritwear Store
The MacArthur Spiritwear Store has been revamped and is ready for ordering! Order deadline is September 7th, and items should be ready by the beginning of October! There are some really awesome designs this year - be sure to check them out! I'm loving the tie-dye and the winter hats!
Douglas MacArthur Elementary School
Website: https://www.cps.k12.in.us/Page/3689
Location: 12900 Fairbanks Street, Cedar Lake, IN, USA
Phone: 219-662-3600