Miller Elementary Weekly Update

Hello Miller Families!

Our weekly update is coming to you this Thursday afternoon since there is NO SCHOOL Friday, October 10th or Monday, October 13th! Our staff will be participating in Professional Development to grow our skills as educators. These days are an opportunity to come together as a district to have collaboration across all fronts.

This week, the Aurora Fire Department came to Miller to share the importance of Fire Safety! Mr. Grant slowly dressed in his full uniform so that the students could observe that a fireman is not so scary and they are here to help us in an emergency. We also had our School Resources Officers; Officer Tony and Officer Alex come to our school to share what they do to keep us safe. Officer Tony also brought Queso, one of Aurora's K-9 dogs! I will say that Queso was the star of the show!

We hope you have a wonderful long 4-day weekend!

Final Reminder About October: As we begin a new month, October is a busy time at Miller Elementary! It's important to keep on top of the communication coming from myself and your child's classroom teacher during these next few weeks. Here are some important reminders about some events ahead:

Parents Teacher Conferences: You should have received a sign-up link from your child's teacher for fall conferences. These will be occurring the week of October 20th!
The Book Fair will also be at Miller during Parent Teacher Conferences! You can shop before or after your conference time in the evenings of 10/21 or 10/23 from 4:00-7:00 PM!
The AHS National Honor Society will be offering a drop in babysitting space during Parent Teacher Conferences this year! On Tuesday, 10/21 or Thursday 10/23 from 4:00-7:30 you can bring your children to Miller and coverage will be available during your specific conference time.
Fall Celebrations: Please see the important reminders below about our Fall Celebrations and Costume Parades. Preschool will celebrate on Thursday, 10/30 and Kindergarten Friday, 10/31.

GO GREENMEN!

Maria Goodman

Miller Elementary Principal

330-954-2189

mgoodman@aurora-schools.org

It is hard to believe how quickly the beginning months of the year are passing by! Each fall, we spend time connecting with families either with a parent-teacher conference or parent-school team meeting. Conferences will be offered on Tuesday, October 21st and Thursday, October 23rd. There may be some additional days and times and your child's teacher will communicate more specific information. This year, conferences will be held at school with your child’s teacher, but if that does not work for your family schedule, you can discuss other options with your child's teacher such as a phone conference or virtual meeting. We also will have a drop in babysitting services from our High School National Honor Society. We are very excited to meet with each of you to share all of the successes your child has experienced since starting preschool or kindergarten and what we have in store for the months ahead!

This year, we want to celebrate the fall season with our students as well as enjoy the traditions of dressing up in costumes at school. We want to share some of the guidelines that we will be implementing for our Fall Parties and Costume Parade so you can plan accordingly.

Preschool Fall Festival Costume Parade:

Thursday, October 30th: AM Classes 10:15 and PM Classes 2:45

Kindergarten Fall Festival Costume Parade:

Friday, October 31st: AM Kindergarten 10:15 and PM/Full Day Classes 2:45

Fall Festival Party Times for Volunteers:

Preschool (AM 10:15-11:00 or PM 2:00-2:45)

Kindergarten (AM Half Day 10:15-11:00 or PM Half Day/Full Day 2:00-2:45)

Volunteers may arrive 10 minutes before party times! Thank you!

At Miller, we are asking that your child brings their costume to school in a bag and they will change before our party times. If your child needs to wear a portion of their costume (specific pants, leggings, or shirt) throughout the day, that is perfectly OK. Please advise that costumes need to be functional, school safe, no weapons can accompany a costume, and no full face coverings.
We will be working with our PTO headroom parents to plan fun games or activities, and specific visitors will be allowed into our school for the Fall Festival Party. All visitors will be checking in and no other siblings or guests will be able to attend. Thank you for your cooperation.

We will have a weather-permitting outdoor costume parade where you can come up to the school and view all your wonderful children! A specific map can be found below and you can expect it to start at 10:15 for AM Preschool/AM Kindergarten classes and 2:45 for PM Preschool and Full Day Kindergarten classes. If the weather conditions are poor, the outdoor parade will be canceled and we will not hold an indoor event.
The PTO will be supplying a treat for our party and more information about the snack will be forthcoming.

Please advise that our costume guidelines may be different from the other buildings. Our children will not be wearing their costumes all day due to some challenges with restroom breaks throughout the day. We have learned from past experience that many costumes zip and snap in the back and children cannot manage this in the restroom independently. Thank you for your understanding and support!

OCTOBER

Friday, 10/10 - NO SCHOOL (NEOEA Day!)
Monday, 10/13 - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development Day)
Week of 10/20 - Miller Parent Teacher Conferences and Book Fair Family Nights
Tuesday,10/21 - Family Book Fair Shopping 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Thursday, 10/23 - Family Book Fair Shopping 4:00 PM -7:00 PM
Monday, 10/27 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00 Kohanski Conference
Thursday, 10/30 - Preschool Fall Costume Parade and Festival ( Details Above)
Friday, 10/31 - Kindergarten Fall Costume Parade and Festival ( Details Above)

NOVEMBER

Monday, 11/03 - Erin's Law Presentations - Final Forms will be Sent to Kindergarten Families in October with Specific Details
Friday, 11/07 - Trimester 1 Ends
Monday, 11/10 - Trimester 2 Begins
Tuesday, 11/11 - Veterans Day - In School Activities to Honor Our Veterans
Thursday, 11/20 - Preschool Music with Ms. Abbey Day
Wednesday, 11/26-Monday, 12/01 - NO SCHOOL (Happy Thanksgiving Break!)

Hello Miller Families,

I hope you’re enjoying the sunshine! This past week during our lessons, all Kindergarten classes did a wonderful job of reviewing bathroom procedures as well as practicing walking in the hallway from lunch to recess-both simple procedures, but beneficial to practice. Ask your Kindergartener how they can be a role model for others and what the expected behaviors are for each task! They’ll be sure to let you know they go, flush, wash, and leave when using the bathroom and use a calm body, walking feet, quiet voice and ensure they’re respecting the personal space of others when walking in the hallway.

In addition to supporting your students, I am always here to support families. Miller Elementary partners with our PTO to assist families with financial needs. By reaching out via this form, phone, email, or in person, we can help with funds for Book Fairs, the Holiday Shop, holiday gifts, Thanksgiving “baskets,” winter clothing, yearbooks, school supplies, or any other need. Please don’t hesitate to contact me—simply let me know what you need, and I’ll connect you with the right support!

Warmly,
Mrs. Lindsey Ambrosia
School Counselor
📞 (330) 562-6199, ext. 5414
📧 lambrosia@aurora-schools.org

We have finished explicitly teaching all 6 of our school wide PBIS expectations! These skills have been taught and practiced during the first 6 weeks of the school year so that your children can become responsible, respectful, and problem solvers throughout their school day. It's important to remember that many of these skills will need continued practice and repetition so that they become more automatic. We will continue to take notice of areas of strength and areas we need to practice throughout our school day. Here is a reminder of the big ideas that we have been working on.

I can have a safe body!
I am ready to learn!
I can try first, then ask for help!
I can stop, think and make a good choice!
I can be a good friend and use kind words!
I can share, take turns and wait!

We will continue to earn Greenmen Poms and celebrate our great choices! As soon as we fill up our classroom buckets and school wide buckets, we will enjoy some fun rewards! There will be times when we need to review a skill and reteach the expected behavior. We feel these are teachable moments and take time to stop and review them with your children. If you see a "We solved a problem or Reflection Sheet" come home, this is one way we communicate with you to review the same skill at home. We might include a small note, a social story, or some tips to help ensure children are learning appropriate school choices. Please let us know if you need any support at home reinforcing any of these skills across other settings.

In all our Elementary Buildings, we utilize a Google Form to report attendance, late arrival, early dismissal, and change of transportation such as switching from a bus rider to office pick-up!

To report an absence or change your child to a car rider or bus rider, please click the button below or scan the QR code magnet that we will pass out at Open House. This can be done from any device and your reply will be sent immediately to our secretary, Mrs. Toler.

If your child will be absent, you will use this form to report the absence along with the reason for the absence. We are working really hard to reduce the amount of phone calls, emails, or notes that we receive. We ask that you reserve those modes of communication for emergencies only. Thank you in advance for your help and let us know if you have any questions at all!

Click Here - 25-26 Attendance and Transportation Reporting

Alternate Bus Stop Form - Email to transportationinfo@aurora-schools.org

Information to Download the My Ride K-12 Bus App

Click Here to View the School Lunch Menu

Click Here to Add Money to Your Child's Lunch Account

You can track your child's lunch account by setting up your profile using the login information from Open House. You may also send in cash or a check written out to the Aurora City Schools.

- Please make sure your Final Forms medical information is up to date. We will closely read the health sections to address any medical concerns. If your child requires medication (over the counter or prescription) during the school day, we must have a signed medication form on file. You can find this attached below.
- It is important to check your child each day for symptoms of illness as you know them best. If they become I'll during the day, or are injured, we will reach out to you and let you know if their symptoms are worsening. We call home for injuries, fevers, and continued sickness. We do not call home for every trip to the nurse for a band-aid, ice pack or upset tummy. We certainly will call if symptoms worsen. We sometimes use our School Nurse Cell Phone.
- Students sent home with a fever, may not return to school until they are fever free without medication for at least 24 hours. This means if your child was sent home on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. with a fever, he/she may not return to school until 24 hours later. If your child does return the next day, our school will be calling for you to come pick him/her up. Please help to support our efforts in this area.
- DO NOT medicate your child with fever reducing medication and sending them to school. Yes, there are times when children need allergy medication, cough suppressant or nasal decongestant and can still attend school. If your child is feeling yucky, they are not at their best for learning and others can get sick when your child is symptomatic.
- Children between the ages of 3-6 often become sick more frequently due to learning sneeze and cough etiquette along with how to use a tissue correctly. You can practice this at home and remind your children the importance of covering their mouth and not spreading germs.
Finally, please make sure your child has extra clothes in his/her backpack. Accidents and spills happen all the time and it's safe to always have their own clothes in their book bag instead of wearing our spare clothes.