Miller Elementary Weekly Update

Hello Miller Families!

Happy Friday, Everyone! We had another amazing week at Miller Elementary and we are gearing up for a fun-filled "HOMECOMING WEEK" in the Aurora City Schools! The elementary buildings have teamed up to create a spirited week for all our "Little Greenmen." You'll see that we have created easy spirit days that your child can participate in, leading up to the big game on Friday night. Please use the calendar shown above to know each of our themed days, starting on Monday, 9/22.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who helped with Picture Day this past week! We captured a lot of great smiles and we can't wait to see the final takes. As I shared previously, the picture packages will be delivered in 4-6 weeks. Once they arrive, we will advertise a picture re-take day for any child who missed picture day or needs a retake.

Finally, our preschool children enjoyed their first "Music with Mrs. Abbey" session, as seen in some photos below. This is one of our community outreach programs to bring a variety of experiences to our preschool program. Next week, kindergarten or preschool will have the opportunity to visit the "Fairy Garden," which is a collaborative project with our 5th graders at Leighton Elementary School. Stay tuned to our newsletter next week to hear all about our opportunity to explore our outdoor spaces!

Have a great weekend!

GO GREENMEN!

Maria Goodman

Miller Elementary Principal

330-954-2189

mgoodman@aurora-schools.org

Many families ask what mathematics instruction looks like in the Aurora City Schools. We believe in all young people and we strive to create a mathematical environment that honors each individual’s journey and fosters their development as a mathematician. How do we do that? We've been working tirelessly to create a mathematical experience that doesn't simply focus on answers to computational questions. Instead, we have been focused on studying how learners naturally develop an understanding of mathematical ideas and concepts. Using this natural progression, we can design situations in our classrooms so young people can advance in their thinking and efficiency.

In preschool, our children are working on concepts of size such as big, small, and medium, sorting objects, and seeing patterns and relationships. We also help them develop an understanding of the concept of unitizing, which is when we count one goldfish and that equals one. We later explore how to verbally count, identify numbers, and see patterns such as dice patterns. This learning carries into kindergarten where children develop an understanding of using their one-to-one correspondence to build number sense, adding one more or one less, and beginning to understand the importance of making 5 and 10. Throughout this year, please review the information being shared from your child's teacher about the mathematical concepts being explored in both preschool and kindergarten! Also, we have linked our Family Math Google Site to provide support and resources for our families!

Aurora Schools Math Parent Resources

Our kindergarten bike unit begins Monday, September 22nd, during PE class. Mrs. Barnes encourages students to bring their own bike helmet from home for the duration of the program, with their name on it. The helmet can go home on weekends! Please ensure the helmet is properly fitted for your child. This drastically cuts down on “wait” time, and the students will have more time to ride the bikes.

SEPTEMBER:

Monday, 9/22 - Miller Fire Drill in the Afternoon
Monday, 9/22 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00 Kohanski Conference Center

OCTOBER

Friday, 10/10 - NO SCHOOL (Happy NEOEA Day!)
Monday, 10/13 - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development Day)
Saturday, 10/18 - PTO Monte Carlo Fundraiser
Week of 10/20 - Miller Parent Teacher Conferences and Book Fair Family Nights
Monday, 10/27 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00 Kohanski Conference
Thursday, 10/30 - Preschool Fall Costume Parade and Festival
Friday, 10/31 - Kindergarten Fall Costume Parade and Festival (More Details Forthcoming)

We recently were required to add a new form into our Final Forms titled "Parents Bill of Rights." Dr. Milcetich has previously highlighted much of this information in his opening communication to families.

Everyone will need to log back into Final Forms to access this form and add their signature that you have received this communication. If you could complete this as soon as possible, that would be very helpful. All of your forms must appear GREEN to be COMPLETE. - THANK YOU!

CLICK HERE - EVERYONE MUST UPDATE FINAL FORMS

This is a friendly reminder that we have sent out tuition reminders to any families that have an upcoming payment due on September 15th.

Our total tuition cost for preschool is $2000 and full-day kindergarten is $2500. Many families have paid the initial down payment and we collect the next set of fees by September 15th and the final payment will be due on January 15th.

If you sent in a check for the September payment, thank you! We will be running credit cards after September 15th if you have not reached out to us about a change in payment. The tuition information along with our tax-id number for taxes can be found on the tuition contract you signed for preschool or kindergarten enrollment.

Has your child come home talking about earning a fuzzy pom? Did they bring home a reward ticket? We have officially kicked off teaching our learners about school expectations. At Miller, we work to help our children develop skills to be respectful, responsible, and problem-solvers. However, what does that look like and sound like in our school building? Each week we target a skill that supports the development of social and emotional skills that help all children be a member of a safe and fun learning environment. We will teach them a new skill for the next 6 weeks that helps them be safe, happy, and ready to learn.

Our teaching and reinforcing of school expectations and appropriate choices has continued with helping children develop PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS. We are working on "I CAN TRY FIRST, THEN ASK FOR HELP or I CAN STOP, THINK, and MAKE A GOOD CHOICE!" These two skills support every child to become more independent as well as develop skills of being responsible with their decision making. Learning and practicing these two expectations will help your child develop confidence, self-advocacy and resiliency!

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.