Miller Elementary Weekly Update

Hello Miller Families!

Once again, we want to thank all our staff and children for ensuring we had a smooth and effective evacuation drill this past week! Though this is something we hope we never have to implement, it is imperative that we practice for any unexpected event in our school building. Your children did an amazing job following the leader to our new safe spot and they sat quietly waiting for important updates. I have included a few pictures from our event along with our extra play time outside! This extra outdoor time made our time away from Miller a bit more fun!

We are excited to share that we have filled our Greenmen PBIS POM POM JAR! We have been working hard as a school learning our expectations and many classrooms have enjoyed some special celebrations. Now it is time to celebrate as a school! We are going to have a Community Helper Day on Wednesday, October 8th! We will have the Aurora Fire Department and Police Department come to Miller for an assembly and some special interactions. This is a great partnership to show children how these important people keep us safe!

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.

Have an amazing weekend and 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

Wednesday, 10/8 - Fire Safety Day with the Aurora Fire Department & Community Helper day
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

Our teaching and reinforcing of school expectations and appropriate choices has continued with helping children develop how to BE RESPECTFUL. We are working on "I CAN BE A GOOD FRIEND AND USE KIND WORD and I CAN SHARE, TAKE TURNS, AND WAIT!" These two skills support every child to become aware of others and how their actions and words impact others. Children are still developing the language and communication to express their wants, needs, and feelings.

There are many skills wrapped into the statement, "Be Kind or Be a Good Friend." Children have to understand feelings, develop a sense of others, be ready to share, and be ready to show empathy towards other's feelings. The best way to support our children is through modeling and giving them the practice with the language and actions. Here are some statements that you can teach your child so they can clearly communicate with peers and adults:

1- I'm happy/sad/tired/frustrated/excited - (help your child name their feelings.)

2- Can I play with you?

3- No, thank you.

4- I'll let you know when I'm done.

5- Can I have a turn with that when you're done?

For our children developing language skills, use short sentence structures:

1 - Help please.

2- Turn please.

3- My turn.

4- More please.

5- No, thank you.

Our PBIS skill is reinforced with a Greenmen Pom. When we see a child "being kind to a friend or using kind words" they earn a pom and help to fill our class bucket and school bucket. You can try this at home to encourage the skill of being respectful at home too!

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.