Central Hub
October 2016 Edition
A Note From the Principal
As we finish the end of September and move towards October, there are so many exciting events happening at Central Elementary.
Walking around the school, I am impressed by the students we have the privilege of working with each day. They are actively engaged and eager to participate. Most importantly, our students are positive and cheerful!
Nearing the end of the first nine weeks, I want to share a few tips on how you can help support your child's reading progress, while spending time with them, developing a love of books.
Read regularly.
Try to read to your child every day. You might aim for 10-15 minutes of bedtime reading for a peaceful end to the day. Tuck read-alouds into the time when dinner is in the oven. Or curl up together with a book when you get home from work.
Take turns choosing books.
Your youngster may want to hear old favorites again and again. Use your turn for new titles and variety (nonfiction, poetry)
Let her/him participate.
Ask your child to turn the pages while you read. Also, she/he can finish sentences that rhyme or fill in words she/he knows. Go slowly to take time looking at the illustrations and ensuring your child understands the story. Your child will enjoy read-aloud time more if she/he plays an active role.
Be playful.
You can use different voices for different characters (a high, squeaky voice for a bird or a deep booming voice for a horse). Substitute your youngster's name for the main character's name and use family members' names for other characters.
Your child will love this experience because it is you!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Julie Thacker
IMPORTANT DATES
- October 3-7 Red Ribbon Week-Making Safe Choices
- October 3-Title One Parent Meeting-Either 10 a.m. or 6:00
- October 6 Body Safety Presentation to students grades K, 2, 4
- October 7 Fire Safety-Kasey Fire Prevention Dog
- October 10-14 Fall Break No School
- October 17 PTO Meeting 7:00p.m.
- October 20 Teacher Conferences NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
- October 21 Central Celebration 9:00 a.m. with Indy Air Bears
- October 28 Fall Parties
Book Fair Celebration
We will be having special Dress‐Up Days to celebrate our Book Fair!
Monday‐ Pajama Day
Tuesday‐ Fictional Character
Wednesday‐ Crazy Socks
Thursday‐ Pirate Day
Friday‐ Central Pride
All dress‐up days must be
school appropriate and
include shoes.
Students Recognized for Good Character
September Value of the Month
Raiden Brandgard
Laila Carlton
Charli Cole
Joslyn Cravotta
Bryce Edwards
Lilly Fergerson
Katie Furnas
Lucy Gauck
Drew Hess
Olivia Hess
Joshua Johnson
Makiah Keith
Ava Kirchoff
Caleb Meacham
Jacob Meacham
Avery Murray
Daniel Quilliam
Tray Ross
Jackson Scharlau
Hagan Smith
Isabella Smith
Olivia Smith
Kinsey Tripp
Central Elementary T-Shirts
The t-shirts received last Thursday are a gift from our PTO and made possible through Walk-A-Thon funds. These are expected to be worn on field trips, spirit convocation days, and/or other specified days as a way to show our school unity. We want to make you aware of this so you keep them in a place where they can be located for events.
Chaucies Place
We are happy to announce that Plainfield Community Elementary Schools will be partnering this year with Chaucie’s Place, a child advocacy organization in Hamilton County, to bring Smart Steps: A Body Safety Program for Children to our students. Smart Steps is a child sexual abuse prevention and education program that empowers your child to say “NO!” to any unwanted touches that make them uncomfortable from anyone.
We invite you to attend a Chaucie’s Place Parent Night to learn more about the Smart Steps program at Central Elementary School on Monday, September 26th from 6:30pm – 7:30pm. This meeting is open to all parents and/or guardians of Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade students. Please be advised that Parent Night is not open to children. To learn more about Chaucie’s Place visit: www.chauciesplace.org.
Safe Visitor- New This Year!
Expectations for Visitors - NEW
All external school doors are locked during the school day. All visitors will now be required to show their driver’s license or a valid State issued photo ID to the school police officer, security employee or office when entering the building. Your license or ID will then be scanned and processed through our new “safe school” security program. You will be required to have your photo taken and a “temporary” time sensitive sticker will be printed with your name and photo on it to wear during the time you are in the building or on a school field trip.
Lunch Visitors
Lunch visitors must also have their ID scanned and a photo badge printed and worn during their lunch visit and it must be visible at all times. Lunch visitors are only allowed to be in the cafeteria. Students may not invite their friends to join them at the adult lunch tables. In order to help us keep the school safe, parents may not walk their student back to their classroom, locker or go outside for recess.
Limited Criminal Background Check
Volunteer classroom helpers must have a limited criminal background check on file and also have their valid ID scanned through our “Safe School” program and have a photo taken. You will then be given a “Volunteer Pass” photo badge to keep and to wear on your shirt at all times when you come in the building. It must be visible at all times. With this badge, the volunteer can be anywhere they are needed in the school.
Field Trip-Day Trips
Field trip chaperones for day field trips must have a limited criminal background check on file. You will also be required to have your valid ID scanned and check in with the “Safe School” program and have a photo taken. A photo badge will then print for you to wear during the field trip.
Field Trip- Overnight 5th Grade
Overnight field trip chaperones must have a deeper background check done before the overnight field trip.
Changing the End of the Day Transportation Routine
The following information is simplified from our handbook:
- If your child is to go home a way different than their normal arrangement, you must send in a note to the teacher with instructions as to how the child is to go home.
- Please make these arrangements before school or by 1:00 p.m. at the latest.
- If you call requesting that your child become a car rider, you are required to come into the school office to sign out your child. Your child will be waiting in the office lobby until you sign them out.
- If you call requesting that your child ride a bus home instead of being a car rider, we will need to verify that we are speaking to the child’s parent/guardian
- Finally, please note that e-mail notifications of changes for the end of the day ride home will not be accepted.
Car Riders
- Please do not drop off students before 8:30 a.m. We do not have supervision available.
- Continue to pull all the way around the half-circle. If you need to buckle your children, we ask that you stay in your car until you can pull all the way forward to the spots right before Wabash.
Thank you very much for making this process as smooth as possible!
Attendance
We enjoy seeing your children every day. Although we understand that there will be times when your child is sick and needs to stay home, there is a direct correlation between student attendance and success. Here are a few ways we can work together to make sure your children have very good school attendance and don't feel like they are missing out.
- Schedule all doctor’s appointments outside of the school day, if at all possible.
- Share with your child how important it is to be at school.
- Make sure to communicate absences in advance, if possible, so the classroom teacher can ensure that your child still has opportunities to learn skills that he/she will miss when they are absent.
- Help to make sure that your child arrives at school on time each day. The doors open at 8:30 and students need to be seated in their classroom each morning by 8:50 or they are counted tardy.
Our teachers work hard to provide the best instruction and we want to make the most of each of our days together. We look forward to seeing you at school!
Eating Lunch with Your Child
We appreciate you giving us time to settle into a routine. We welcome you to eat lunch with your child! Spending time with your child is so important toward healthy social and emotional growth. In addition, your presence here encourages a positive attitude toward school.
Some things to remember:
· We ask that you only eat lunch with your own sons and daughters. In our efforts to keep our students’ lunchtime as calm as possible, they are not allowed to have a friend to join them.
· Because we are always considering our students with allergies, please do not bring in food or snacks for children other than your own.
· Knowing that our teachers and students are busy with the process of learning, we ask that you not leave the cafeteria to go anywhere else in our building. The only exception would be if you have already signed up to volunteer in the building immediately following lunch.
· Please keep younger siblings from wandering around the cafeteria. This is for the safety of your little one, and our school-aged children.
Thank you for helping us to make this a positive and safe environment for our children!