Hoot Owl
September 1, 2021 - Parent Edition
A Message from Dr. Duckworth
September Dates to Remember
- September 6th - Labor Day - NO School
- September 14th - 1st PTO Meeting - via Zoom 6:30pm
- September 15th - Early Release - School dismisses at 2:00pm
- September 24th - School Picture Day
Craig PTO
Welcome back, Craig Owls and their families! Your PTO board is so excited to be back “Owl Together” and looking forward to another great school year. Our first general meeting for PTO will be on Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. Please join us to hear about our plans for the school year including family events, in-school opportunities and ways you can support Craig. Here is the zoom link of the meeting. You can also follow us on Instagram at “CraigPTO” and on Facebook at “Craig School PTO.”
The Craig PTO uses Membership Toolkit to help our members stay connected through website updates and an online directory. (This is our version of the “Buzz Book” from your youth – it’s the best way to reach out to your child’s friends’ parents while also having access to the latest and greatest PTO information.) In order to use this service, though, you have to register at craigpto.membershiptoolkit.com If you register before Sept. 17, you have a chance to win a 3-month membership in the Clean Car Club with Waterway (a $117 value!). Here’s how to enter:
Visit craigpto.membershiptoolkit.com to Create an Account and Register for our Online Directory.
If you’ve already registered previously, please visit craigpto.membershiptoolkit.com and make sure your contact information is still correct. Once you’ve confirmed your information, the system marks you as “Active” for this school year and you will be entered into the raffle.
The winner will be announced on Sept. 17 so go register with craigpto.membershiptoolkit.com TODAY!
Finally, be on the lookout for information on recruitment events for both Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts! If you are interested in signing up your children for either of these great programs supported by the PTO, please reach out to Chris Miller (Cub Scout Pack 572 Cubmaster) at craigcubscouts@gmail.com or Rachel Casey (Craig Girl School Troop Organizer) at Rec6410@gmail.com.
Birthday Bakers
Hello Craig families!
Once again, we are very excited to launch Birthday Bakers for the 2021-2022 school year. For many years, Birthday Bakers has been a fun tradition, designed to show the teachers and staff how much we appreciate all they do for our students and families. Once per month, parents send in baked treats and goodies for our dedicated staff as a way to celebrate those staff members who have birthdays that month.
If you would like to volunteer to be a Birthday Baker, there are three ways to help:
1. You can drop your store bought goodies at Ellen Overmann’s house by the Sunday night before the celebration date. All celebration dates will be on Mondays.
2. You can have your child drop the store bought item off at school on the morning of Birthday Bakers. That morning, there will be a box located outside Door #1 at Craig, and it will be labeled "Birthday Bakers"
3. You can send a venmo donation to Ellen @Ellen-Overmann by the Friday before our celebration dates, and she will use your donation to buy goodies.
If you are interested in participating in Birthday Bakers, please email Ellen Overmann at
waltshel@yahoo.com. We will add you to the list of Birthday Bakers and send email reminders each week before the celebration date. You are welcome to participate in as many or as few celebration dates as you are able.
Here are the dates for this year’s Birthday Baker Celebrations:
September 20, 2021
October 25, 2021
November 15, 2021
December 13, 2021
January 24, 2022
February 28, 2022
March 14, 2022
April 11, 2022
May 23, 2022
Craig Picture Day
Craig Elementary
Picture Day is: Friday, September 24, 2021
Wagner Portrait Group will be photographing students for portrait packages & school records.
NEW! ONLY ONLINE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
(Please do not bring checks, cash, or order forms to school as they will no longer be accepted.)
Online Pre-Order Password: 6C9Q3S2
Can’t order online or have other questions? We are happy to help! 314-567-5900 or 1-800-444-7986
Food Services
Breakfast and Lunch Menu
Free/Reduced Meal Applications
The Federal Free and Reduced Meal Program is for families needing financial assistance. Visit Free and Reduced Program on the Nutrition Services website.
Forms can also be printed, completed and signed, then email, fax, or mail to the Nutrition Services Offices. The Federal Free and Reduced Meal Program is for families needing financial assistance. Visit Free and Reduced Program on the Nutrition Services website. A NEW APPLICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED EVERY SCHOOL YEAR. Fax Number: 314-415-8244
Craig School Food Pantry
Craig Elementary has its own food pantry. Moonlight’s Meals is a food
program that utilizes our food pantry to assist our own families. To
participate in Moonlight’s Meals simply fill out this form.
https://forms.gle/cbrzW4gQtwGk9Taz7
Mrs. Munroe is our food pantry coordinator and can answer your questions.
Please email questions to amunroe@parkwayschools.net
Food donations are always welcome and appreciated. Please drop off the
following donations at Craig school. Pasta, pasta sauces, peanut butter, jelly,
canned fruit and vegetables, canned pasta meals, canned tuna, canned chicken,
mac and cheese, granola bars, and personal care items.
Covid Guideline Updates
Our goals for this year are to keep everyone healthy and avoid disruptions to in-person learning as much as possible. In order to do this, we will need to have some safety measures in place based on the current recommendations and local health conditions, which we know may change throughout the year.
For the start of the 2021-22 school year, you can expect:
Masks will be required inside all Parkway schools and buildings until further notice.
Masks will be optional outdoors for all students and staff, including recess.
Masks are required on all forms of public transportation including school buses.
We will continue to use other basic health and safety measures at school including at least three feet of social distancing, frequent hand washing, routine cleaning and disinfecting and reminding everyone to stay home if they are not feeling well.
If your child is vaccinated, please consider sharing your child’s vaccination record with our nurse Ashley Gunn agunn@parkwayschools.net 314-415-6210
Sharing proof of vaccination is entirely voluntary, but it will save you time in the event your child becomes a close contact at school. We will need a record of vaccination to exempt them from quarantine and avoid any disruption in your child’s learning. Your vaccination record will be kept confidential. Providing your vaccine information will also help us measure vaccination rates within our school communities and guide how we might adjust our policies to promote a safe learning environment.
No visitors will be allowed in the building beyond the front office until further notice.
Nurses' Notes
-Remember to screen children for symptoms of illness every morning and keep them home if they have any symptoms listed on the student symptom decision tree. The delta variant can look very similar to the common cold and allergies.
-Remember to send extra masks. Cloth face masks get dirty or wet and disposable masks break throughout the day.
Return to School Guidelines
-Students who are out of school due to illness will need physician clearance and documentation to return if they have 2 or more low risk symptoms or any high risk symptoms. Students with one low risk symptom should remain at home until the symptom has resolved for 24 hours. Students will also need physician documentation to return to school after a period of isolation or quarantine.
Nurse Gunn would love the following donations:
-Disinfecting Wipes (such as Clorox/Lysol)
-Diversity Bandaids
-Disposable face masks (adult for olders grades/ children's for younger grades)
Important Dates
Vision Screening- September 16th (Grades: kdg, 3, 5)
Library Minute
It has been so exciting to see all of the kids in the library! They have been excited to check out new books. I love seeing their enthusiasm for reading! We've also been talking about how to take care of our library books... some things we've discussed include: having clean hands before reading, keeping food and drinks away from books, being careful not to have a water bottle next to our books in our backpacks, and keeping our books in a safe place at home that is away from pets and younger siblings. Be sure to ask your child what he/she is going to do to take good care of his/her books!
Here are the days that each class visits the library each week. Please help your child remember to bring back any library books he/she is finished with before his/her library day!
Monday: Mezines, Sullivan, McMullen
Tuesday: Krokstrom, Deane, Welch, Tobin
Wednesday: Taylor, Fairbanks, Livergood
Thursday: Furno, Proske, Mulchahy, Larsen
Friday: Sawyer, Wegmann, Davis, Rochester
Happy Reading!
Ms. Jorel
Diverse Holidays and Celebrations
Parent and Student Handbook
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PR-zgyvdtrlmqPT563-f2Fk8_qCXrYcsc71VUHhhNBk/edit?usp=sharing
Girl Scout Sign Up
You’re invited. Press play with us.
Making friends, testing her strengths, exploring new possibilities. It’s all here for her. Whether teaming up with others or learning to shine on their own, Girl Scouts have the tools and community support they need to succeed. Press play with Girl Scouts. Where she can be herself and her confidence can soar. She’s ready to go.
Join us Thursday evening from 6:30p.m. to 7:30pm at the Mt. Zion parking lot! We'll be set up next to the Cub Scouts and sharing information about Girl Scouts and how you can join!
Cub Scout Sign up
When you're a Cub Scout, you're signing up for a year-round adventure where we explore the outdoors, play sports, learn silly songs, build cars and race them, go camping, do STEM activities, and lots more. We also teach valuable life skills along the way, and if we're doing our jobs right, our scouts are having too much fun to notice how much they're learning!
Adults, come for a quick info session about the program, and bring your boys - we'll have activities to show them what scouts is all about. For questions email craigcubscouts@gmail.com
Chromebook Insurance
This school year students in grades 3-12 will receive or have received a Chromebook, similar to a small, touchscreen laptop, that they will be able to use at school and home. We need every student to either opt-in or opt-out of insurance by September 24, 2021. Information on how to register can be found here.
We encourage you to opt for insurance that helps cover damage, loss or theft. Learn more about the fee and the protection it provides and how to register here.
We are so excited about the opportunities this will provide for our students this year
Thank you if you have already completed this process.
For additional support please visit this help website.