Kinsner Newsletter

This Week

• Wednesday, October 8th: Walk to School Day
• Thursday, October 9th: Annual Fire Trailer for 3rd Graders
• Friday, October 10th: No School: Conference Comp Day

Next Week

• Wednesday, October 15th: PTA Meeting @ 10:00 AM in Media Center (not Teacher's Lounge)
• Friday, October 17th: Lifetouch's Picture Retake Day

Following Week

• Tuesday, October 21st: 3rd Grade Ohio State Test (Reading)
• Wednesday, October 22nd: 3rd Grade Ohio State Test (Reading)
• Wednesday, October 22nd: Parent Teacher Conference Night

SCS ANNUAL “GREET & TREAT” EVENT - THURSDAY, 10/30

The Strongsville City Schools annual “Greet & Treat” event will be held at Strongsville High School’s Pat Catan Stadium on Thursday, October 30 from 5:30pm - 7:00pm. Dress up in your best Halloween costume and collect candy and treats in an outdoor, family-friendly atmosphere. We will also be accepting donations of non-perishable items (especially tuna fish, peanut butter, squeeze jelly, and Macaroni & Cheese) for the Strongsville Food Bank that evening. We hope to see lots of families at this year’s “Greet & Treat” on October 30!

On Friday, October 31st, we’re gearing up for our Fall Party! Students are welcome to bring their costume in a bag to school if they’d like.

Just a heads-up: costumes should be easy to slip on quickly over regular clothes, because there will only be a few minutes to change before the school parade and classroom party. Unfortunately, there won’t be time for restroom wardrobe changes, so plan accordingly. In keeping with safety and school policies, masks, hair color, face paint, makeup, and weapons are a no-go—so leave those home, along with any extra accessories that might mysteriously disappear (we've all had that one missing cape!).

Families, you’re invited to the outdoor parade starting at 2:05 PM, where there’s plenty of room to cheer on our little ghouls and goblins. However, only PTA room volunteers will be allowed inside classrooms for the parties, which kick off at 2:20 PM. PTA volunteers can enter the building after the parade wraps up.

Please take a moment to review the Shared Food and Parade Guidance Thanks for helping us make this a spooktacular, safe, and smooth event for everyone!

Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school community. I want to highlight an important safety topic concerning our shared sidewalks, especially during busy dismissal times when both foot and bike traffic increase.

Recently, an incident between a bike rider and a child underscored the need to remind everyone about proper sidewalk safety and etiquette.

For Bike Riders:

• Ohio law requires bike riders to yield the right of way to pedestrians on sidewalks and crosswalks.
• Riders should always slow down and be prepared to stop when pedestrians are present.
• When passing pedestrians, riders must give a clear audible signal, such as saying “On your left!” to alert them and avoid startling anyone.
• Maintain a safe speed and ride cautiously.

For Walkers:

• Walkers should stay to the right side of the sidewalk to allow space for passing bike riders.
• When you hear or see a bike approaching, step aside if it’s safe to do so, and if possible, move onto the grass beside the sidewalk to provide more room.
• Always stay alert and avoid distractions like headphones or phones so you can hear and respond to bike riders’ signals.

By following these simple but important practices, we can ensure a safer and more pleasant environment for everyone traveling around our school. Thank you for helping us keep our community safe by encouraging responsible behavior in all our students.

Thank you to our Kinsner community for supporting our Scholastic Book Fair this year! Our Book Fair Committee and volunteers helped make this event so successful and it would not be possible without them. Thank you for all of the time and effort put into organizing this event. Book Fair purchases allow Kinsner PTA to give back to Kinsner through classroom book donations, library book donations and more. It also raised $3000 for Kinsner PTA!

We had our second annual Mumkin and Mumster sale this year! Through your purchases and fundraising efforts, Kinsner sold a total of 658 items and raised $3,504.50 for Kinsner PTA to benefit our Kinsner kids. Thank you for supporting our kids!

Mumkin fundraising is no small task. Thank you to everyone that helped run the sale, sort, pull and load orders! We are very grateful for everyone that helped pickup run smoothly.

Look out for flyers coming home in the next week with details about our spirit wear sale, including grade level color shirts.

Our next PTA meeting is Wednesday, October 15th at 10am at Kinsner. All are welcome!

**This meeting will be held in the Media Center at Kinsner.

Use this link to book by October 2nd to receive our discounted rate of $139 for check-in on Sunday, November 2nd.

https://book.passkey.com/e/51037332

As part of our ongoing commitment to support our students' wellbeing, we will be conducting a universal assessment of emotional and behavioral health for students in grades K-5.

This assessment (DSECS via Second Step) involves a brief rating scale completed by classroom teachers. The results will be combined with additional data (PRIDE Tracker, Attendance, and Grades) to better understand our students' needs and to develop effective support plans at the school, class, and individual levels.

Participation in this assessment is voluntary. Families may opt-out of their child’s participation by completing and returning the opt-out form below by October 9, 2025. If we do not receive an opt-out request, we will proceed with the assessment during the week of October 13-17, 2025.

For more information about the assessment process and available support resources (Family First Solutions, Cleveland Clinic Mental Health Liaison, District Social Worker, Community-Based Resources), please contact your school counselor.

Meghan Medlock

School Counselor at Kinsner Elementary
mmedlock@scsmustangs.org

440.268.5445

Ohio requires schools to screen all students in grades 2 and 4 for gifted identification in cognitive ability and academic skills in reading and math between October 6th-17th (updated dates). Students will take the CogAT test for reasoning skills and the Iowa Assessments for reading and math abilities. These tests are not graded and don’t require preparation. Results will be shared with families, highlighting each child’s strengths and growth areas. Identified gifted students will keep this status regardless of future testing. Please see the following letter for more information!