Miller Elementary Weekly Update
For the Week of August 24, 2026
Hello Miller Families!
Happy Friday! We hope this weekly update finds your family ready to kick off a fun-filled weekend and it's the first Friday night football game in the Greenhouse!!! We had such a special week welcoming all of our kindergarten and preschool friends at Miller Elementary! We laughed, we played, and we learned all about our future days in school. Everyone met new friends, played in their classroom and enjoyed some time on our playground this week. This was such a GREAT WEEK AT MILLER!
As you all know, the first few weeks are an adjustment period for our young children. They are adjusting to being away from home all day or half of the day. They are learning new faces and names both of classmates and staff members. It is expected to see some tears from time to time, but rest assured that we are here to give that extra hug, sit and comfort your child with a calming toy or move into a fun play activity. Once they are settled, it is exciting to see their smiling faces alongside their classmates!
Each week, you can expect to find important information about what is happening in our school, some photos we have captured throughout the week, and some tips and tricks to help you learn more about our philosophies for teaching young children to meet their social, emotional, and academic needs.
We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Kindly,
Maria Goodman
Miller Elementary Principal
330-954-2189
Kindergarten Assessment Days for the KRA
- Friday, September 4th - Back to School Assessment Days - K-5 Children A-L attend School and M-Z NO SCHOOL (NO PRESCHOOL)
- Monday, September 7th - NO SCHOOL FOR ALL - LABOR DAY
- Tuesday, September 8th - Back to School Assessment Days - K-5 Children M-Z Attend School and A-L NO SCHOOL (ALL PRESCHOOL STILL ATTENDS)
SEPTEMBER
- Wednesday, September 1st & Thursday 2nd - Kindergarten Speech Screenings
- Monday, September 7th - NO SCHOOL FOR ALL - LABOR DAY
- Wednesday, September 16th - School Picture Day - More Information Forthcoming
OCTOBER
- Friday, 10/09 - NO SCHOOL for NEOEA Day
- Monday, 10/12 - NO SCHOOL for Staff Professional Development Day
- Friday, 10/30 - Fall Costume Parade and Festival - Times will be shared later
As students begin their educational journey, there are some state-mandated checkpoints and assessments to ensure that we are monitoring your child's growth and development. To accomplish these activities, it's best if we bring small groups of children to school to work on these various assessments.
All K-5 (NOT PRESCHOOL) will be by participating in the Fall Assessment Days on Friday, September 4th, and Tuesday, September 8th.
Friday, September 4th - Kindergarten KRA-R Assessment Days - Kindergarten Students Whose Last Name Begins with A-L Attend School (M-Z Does not attend school this day)
NO SCHOOL MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7th - LABOR DAY
Tuesday, September 8th- Kindergarten KRA-R Assessment Days - Kindergarten Students Whose Last Name Begins with M-Z Attend School (A-L Does not attend school this day)
In addition to our assessment days, we will be completing many of our kindergarten assessments during our normal school day. These screening assessments are required by the State of Ohio and they provide us with information to better know your child and to kick-start the school year to best meet their needs. We wanted to share what assessments they will be participating in and the expected dates so you know what is happening at school.
The dates listed below show the various windows of time we will be conducting assessments.
Speech & Language Screening - Kindergarten Students (September 1st & September 2nd)
Your child will work one-on-one with one of our speech and language pathologists to conduct a speech and language screener.
Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA-R) - Kindergarten Students (Sept. 4th & Sept. 8th)
This assessment looks at your child’s readiness for engaging with instruction aligned to the kindergarten standards. These assessments are completed through observation in the classroom and via an interactive assessment on an iPad. Here are the skills that are checked:
- Social Foundations- including social and emotional development
- Mathematics
- Language and Literacy
- Physical Well-being and Motor Development
iReady Benchmarking - (Week of August 24th & Week of September 8th)
A 3-minute kindergarten universal screener to check your child's incoming knowledge of letters, sounds, and phonemic awareness.
Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener - (Around the week of September 8th)
Students whose families speak a 2nd language in the home as reported in Final Forms will take a language proficiency screener. This assessment is given by Mrs. Levey or Mrs. Flannery our English Learner educators.
Vision & Hearing Screening - All Kindergarten Students (Month of September & October)
Our school nurse conducted vision and hearing screening at kindergarten registration. She will conduct re-checks on some children and wrap this up on any child that missed registration in the spring.
We will communicate any results that require follow-up or reach out to you if we have any further questions. We are looking forward to getting to know your child a bit more!
Transportation schedules are now available through the MyRide K-12 App. Thank you to the parents who responded previously and registered your students. Please note: schedules and route times are subject to change due to continuing student changes.
The following attachment is the directions on how to download the App, if needed. You will need to know your students district ID# which can be located in final forms and their date of birth. You can also find this information on the ACSD website under Departments/Transportation.
Alternate bus stop forms are required each year, as needed https://www.aurora-schools.org/fs/resource-manager/view/6e0e7043-ec28-4663-bfbe-35da94a6e514
If you have any further questions or concerns, please email transportationinfo@aurora-schools.org
If your child will be dropped off or picked up from school, I’ll be sharing more detailed information in upcoming newsletters. Please note that Miller does not have a designated drop-off or pick-up lane. All families must park and walk to the arrival doors. We follow specific arrival and dismissal time frames to help reduce congestion and keep everyone safe. Due to limited parking, this remains one of our biggest logistical challenges. We appreciate your patience, cooperation, and teamwork to help make arrival and dismissal as smooth and safe as possible for all students and families!
At Miller Elementary, all car riders must park their car and walk their child to our main doors or the preschool entrance. We are aware that our parking is very limited and our number one priority is safety in the parking lot. Please drive carefully and look out for little ones. We will have someone in the parking lot directing cars during the first few days to try and assist with arrival and dismissal.
Preschool Arrival and Dismissal Times:
AM Preschool Arrival 8:40-8:50 (Lower Doors) & AM Preschool Dismissal 11:30 (Split Dismissal)
PM Preschool Arrival 12:45-12:50 (Main Doors) & PM Preschool Dismissal 3:20 (Split Dismissal)
Kindergarten Arrival and Dismissal Times
Upper Main Door Entrance - Door 2
Full Day Kindergarten: Arrival 8:55-9:05 and Dismissal 3:25-3:35
AM 1/2 Day Kindergarten: Arrival 8:55-9:05 & Dismissal 11:40-11:45
(We dismiss kindergarten children after preschool.)
Please try to stick to these windows of time in order to smoothly get all children in and out of our building with adult support. Our parking lot is very small and limited. Please be cautious of others and try not to double park. Finally, our accessible parking spaces are reserved for families with the correct car tag. Only families with the correct license plate or tag should be using these spaces. Thank you!
In Aurora, we require planned absence forms when you know in advance that your child will be missing school. Additionally, if you will be submitting for any religious expression days, these need to be submitted prior to the start of the school year. We're here to support your child's success with regular school attendance and staying on track throughout the year!
Eating lunch at school is another fun and exciting experience! This might be their first time eating in a large group, opening their lunch box or buying a lunch!
A hot lunch may be purchased beginning next week daily or your child can pack a lunch. They also have the option to purchase white or chocolate milk instead of packing a drink. The main lunch costs $3.50 and milk only costs $0.75. Each child has a lunch account and we will provide you with their lunch account information at Open House. You can add money to their account via a credit card following the directions on the sheet, send in cash or you can send in a check made out to the Aurora City Schools. If you send in money, please place it in an envelope or baggie with your child’s name and a note indicating the money is for lunch. We will deduct the cost of lunch or milk each day that your child makes a purchase. Please make sure your child knows if they are buying or packing a lunch each day. We spend time helping them make their selection at the beginning of the year and soon this is an independent task they complete each day! Some of our classes eat lunch at 11:00 and other classes eat lunch at 12:00. You will find out this specific information from your child's teacher at Open House!
If your child will require any medication to be administered during the school day, they must have a doctor's note on file. We have included all the important medical forms that are necessary.
Additionally, if your child has their well-visit or dental exam this summer, you can either upload the medical forms into Final Forms or bring it to school at our Open House in the fall!
New doctors’ orders and new medication will be required for each school year. You can locate all medication forms on our website at: www.aurora-schools.org→departments→nursing services or download the forms from below!
Miller Elementary: Preschool & Kindergarten
Miller Elementary Principal
Erin Toler : etoler@aurora-schools.org
Miller Elementary Secretary
Email: mgoodman@aurora-schools.org
Website: aurora-schools.org
Location: 646 S Chillicothe Rd, Aurora, OH 44202, USA
Phone: 330-562-6199