Montgomery Elementary News
February 19, 2021
Contact Us
Dr. Amy Debelak, Principal
Ms. Sally Ganz, Asst. Principal
Office 686-1730
Absence Line 686-1707
FAX 792-6131
School Nurse 686-1733
Cafeteria 686-1735
Transportation 686-1785
Website: http://www.sycamoreschools.org/Domain/13
Location: 9609 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: 513-686-1730
Facebook: www.facebook.com/montgomeryelementaryofficial/?fref=ts
Twitter: @Montgomery_Elem
What a quick week! Due to the shortened week, the district needed to keep the MAP window open and we were not able to run the MAP reports. The MAP reports will be sent home next week. I am so sorry for the delay. The younger students participated in the 100th Day of School activities this week. They looked adorable. Please check out Facebook for pictures! Check out the rest of the Smore for the PTO Family Fun Night information.
Best,
Amy
FEBRUARY
23 - 4th Grade Class Photo
25 - Kahoot Family Fun Night (See Flyer Below)
MARCH
15 - Spring Break / No School
16 - Spring Break / No School
17 - Spring Break / No School
18 - Spring Break / No School
19 - Spring Break / No School
ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPTIONAL ELEMENTARY
TESTING FOR IDENTIFICATION
OF GIFTED STUDENTS
You may request that your child be tested on the InView Ability Test; the InView Ability Test is a paper-based ability test and takes approximately 2 hours to administer. In order to decrease disruption to your child's instruction, this optional testing opportunity will take place during the mornings of March 10 and 11 from 8:00 - 9:00 before the school day starts; this opportunity is for both in person and virtual learners. Students are required to attend both morning sessions in order to complete the assessment. If you wish to have your child participate in this round of testing, all requests must be made below by March 1, 2021. You may click here to register. This testing opportunity is optional for all students.
Please note it is the parents' responsibility to provide transportation to school on the mornings of testing. Students who are in person learners will stay at school and students who are virtual learners will need to be picked up by 9:05 from the home school. Since various common areas will be used for testing, we ask that parents leave after dropping off their child and plan to return at the predetermined time for pick up (parents can also choose to stay in the car in the parking lot, if that is easiest). If you have any questions, please contact Mindy Zellner at zellnerm@sycamoreschools.org.
The email address you use to sign your child up will be the email address used for any communication regarding this spring testing opportunity. Thank you!
As we are looking forward to spring, we want to share the AIR testing dates for our 4th and 3rde graders.
4th Grade
ELA
Tuesday April 6 (part 1) & Thursday April 8 (part 2)
Math
Tuesday April 13 (part 1) & Thursday April 15 (part 2)
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3rd Grade
ELA
Wednesday April 7 (part 1) & Friday April 9 ( part 2)
Math
Wednesday April 14 (part 1) & Friday April 16 ( part 2)
CURRENT 4TH GRADE PARENTS
Save the Date! We are excited to welcome your rising 5th grader to the Greene School for the 2021-22 school year. We are tentatively planning our orientation program, Greene 101, in August of 2021. Please plan on attending Greene 101 on August 17-20, 2021. Your child will be able to attend two of those days. We schedule this experience based on the team placement. Additionally, we will host a Get Connected to EHG Day on August 16, 2021. This is the day students and parents can come to the Greene School to pick up their chromebook, have their picture taken, drop off school supplies, and tour the school. We look forward to seeing you this summer! Thanks, Matt Tudor, Principal @ E.H. Greene Intermediate School
Here is a choice board for the whole family to enjoy and honor Black History Month.
Just as a reminder
PebbleGo
user name is: mtreads
password is: mtaves
Attention 4th Grade Families! Picture day February 23rd!
Hello 4th grade families! We've found a way to continue the traditional 4th grade composite photograph. For this COVID friendly photograph, Jeremy McDaniel of McDaniel's Photography will safely take a full length photo in front of a green screen of each student individually. Mr. McDaniel will then work some digital magic to place all photos together to look like a traditional group photo. These 4th grade class composite pictures are hung on the main entryway wall. This class will have one that looks very similar even though all students won't physically gather for this picture. We invite all 4th grade students (F2F and virtual) to wear regular school clothes, but avoid solid green, so we can see the student against the green screen background. Photographs will be taken on Tuesday February 23rd. F2F will be taken during the school day Virtual students can arrive at school anytime between 2:30-5:00pm. Students will be admitted one at a time by using the call button to the front office. We would really love to have all these amazing 4th graders in this composite photograph. This photo will also be used in the yearbook and available for families to purchase. (More info on that later)
YEARBOOK THEME WEEK
for Virtual and F2F
March 1-4th!
Attention ALL Montgomery Elementary Families:
Help us fill up those yearbook pages with fun snapshots! Usually we would have carnival, trivia night, Boosterthon and an array of special day events, but let's make lemonade out of lemons and have some fun and fill those pages!
Yearbook theme week : March 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
Monday March 1st: Favorite color Day- dress head to toe in your favorite color(s)
Tuesday March 2nd: Dress like your teacher or a staff member at Montgomery Elementary- make sure to include a name tag!
Wednesday March 3rd: Show off your hobby or interest that you like to do outside of school. Scouts/sports/art/music/sewing/baking
Thursday March 4th: Celebrate the world of books. Dress like your favorite author or book character.
Virtual and Face to face - here's the link to upload your student(s) participating in YEARBOOK theme week! https://images.memoryebooks.com
416103939 is the school ID in case the website asks for it.
Dear Montgomery Families,
Whether your child is attending school face to face or virtually the PTO continues to strive to make sure you are kept up to date with information. Thank you for your patience and please see all the new information below in the S'more and also on the PTO website and Facebook!
The Montgomery PTO is an organization that consists of parents, teachers, and school staff that works together to enhance the education of every child. We support the school and teachers with volunteers, provide a forum for two-way communication, happily fund many school items/teaching tools, and host a variety of events. This year, obviously, looks much different than any other school year, but we want to let you know that the PTO is working hard to provide the same support as we always have.
This years Directory is up and running and available through the Directory Spot App! In light of this unusual school year we have decided to make the Directory Spot App available to ALL our Montgomery families and staff. New families should receive an email how to set up your account. If you have issues logging on or have any questions please email mtptodirectory@sycamoreschools.org but please make sure that you have not opted out in Final Forms first please. A special thank you to Wendy Andersen for all of her help with the Directory!
Please consider (if you are able to do so) making a donation to the PTO for this school year. Our typical membership fees usually only cover about the cost of our yearly DirectorySpot membership! In the past few years the PTO has been fortunate enough to donate a new sound system for the gym/cafeteria, a new kindergarten playground, technology like chromebooks/iPads, and countless activities/programs for our students, such as the Author Visits this past school year. A link for PayPal is available after completing the Google Form and can also be found on the PTO Website if you wish to make a donation. This school year will not have the traditional fundraisers (Boosterthon and Carnival) so we ask that you please take this into consideration as we are not able to do what we do without the generosity of our families. We are brainstorming ideas for additional Hassle-Free donations, in addition to Kroger, Box Tops for Education, and Pipkins (see below for more information) and considering adding a spring fundraiser if possible, but nothing has been finalized.
As always please make sure that you are following updates from the PTO via these three ways:
1) Montgomery Elementary Facebook Group
2) Sycamore District Montgomery Elementary PTO Page (https://www.sycamoreschools.org/domain/648)
3) Montgomery Elementary Weekly Newsletter (S’more)
Building a strong Montgomery Elementary Community for ALL is a goal for the PTO. We are working hard on ways to increase student/teacher support this school year and thinking of ways to still have fun (and some FUN-Draising) activities throughout the year.
I, and the rest of the executive board, look forward to working with you this year as we do our best to make a positive difference for our children, the staff, and our school. Please contact me anytime with questions.
Sincerely,
Kristy Felss
Montgomery Elementary PTO President
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If you are part of the Montgomery Elementary family, we encourage you to join us in making our school a great place for all of our kids! PTO membership offers you many opportunities to learn about what is going on at the school, to be involved and make some friends along the way. PTO members can vote on the PTO budget and receive access to our directory via the DirectorySpot app. Joining the PTO does not obligate you to volunteer; it's just a great way to show your support of Montgomery Elementary!
Joining the PTO is a simple process! Please just fill out the Membership Form!
FAMILY EVENT
Thursday, February 25 - Kahoot Trivia Night / ALL STUDENTS
General PTO Virtual Meetings:
Wednesday, March 10 @ 9:30-11am - Link to follow
Wednesday, May 12 @ 9:30-11am - Link to follow
Attention ALL Montgomery Families and Staff!
Don’t forget to join us next Thursday evening for our first PTO Virtual Kahoot Family Game Night!
Log on to Google Meet https://meet.google.com/zcv-grmo-wvn and join us Thursday, February 25th at 6pm for this fun, family friendly, game night! Each family can participate together and compete against other Montgomery families!
The best way to participate is using a device that you can split the screen or two separate devices. Click here to access our Kahoot Split Screen Tutorial.
If you do not have a device at home please contact your child’s teacher directly to request a chromebook be sent home.
We look forward to seeing all of our staff, virtual, and face to face families!
CURRENT 4th GRADE PARENTS
Before we know it - these lovely humans will hear the magical bells at Montgomery for the last time as Montgomery Elementary students. The PTO is working to create a special graduation experience to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments. We need your help. It’s time to go back into memory lane. Flood us with pictures of your little one. KDG - current, baby pictures, class parties, field trips, all of it! You can email or text your photos to Paaras Parker (paarasparker@gmail.com or 513-659-1601). Please do not forget to include your kiddos full name!
Deadline: March 31, 2021!
HASSLE FREE MONEY FOR OUR SCHOOL
KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS
You can earn money for Montgomery Elementary PTO just by using your Kroger Plus card at Kroger. But first, you must log onto your Kroger account and designate Montgomery Elementary as the organization you want to receive Community Rewards. Here is how…
1. Log onto your Kroger.com account
2. Click “My Account”
3. Click “Community Rewards”
4. Choose Montgomery Elementary PTO (Organization # VP832)
5. You can verify if you are already set-up by looking at the bottom of your most recent Kroger receipt. It will indicate that you have designated Montgomery Elementary PTO as the organization you chose to receive your rewards.
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
GOT CLIPS? Drop off all your unexpired Box Tops at school in the Healthy Drop Box (outside the front doors) between 10am-2pm Monday-Friday! Please make sure they are in plastic ziplock bags and at the school before February 12!
GOT LABELS? Use the Box Tops app to scan your store receipt within 14 days of purchase. The app will automatically find the products and instantly add Box Tops to your school’s earnings online. No clipping required! NO MORE CLIPPING! SCAN YOUR RECEIPT! SEE HOW AT BTFE.
Click here for a video demonstrating how to scan your receipts and receive credit via the App. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bNcykyK5Y
PIPKIN'S MARKET
Anytime you shop at Pipkins Market they will donate a percentage of your spending to Montgomery Elementary PTO. All you have to do is bring your receipt(s) to school just like the box tops!
Bring Box Tops and Pipkins Receipts to school between 10am-2pm in a plastic bag and drop them outside the front doors in the Healthy Drop Box! Please do not send them to school with your child at this time or drop them off during Morning Drop Off or Afternoon Pick Up!
Questions about any of the Hassle Free programs or alternative ways to turn in your Box Tops and/or Pipkin’s Receipts before October 19th please contact Molly Duffey at mduffeyrn@yahoo.com
Interested parents and caregivers - is it sometimes hard to connect with your gifted child?
Do you sometimes wish you had more "tools" at your disposal?
Maybe you'd just like to learn more?
If any or all of these apply to you, tune in for this event.
Register at sycamoregear.com.