Coulston Elementary School

Dear Families,

Our first week of September was awesome! We are off to a great start, and we have a busy but exciting month ahead.

As a reminder, each year schools are required to practice an intruder drill. Our drill will take place this week. Classroom teachers will review the protocols with students ahead of time. We encourage you to talk with your child as well, reassuring them that these drills are simply practice so we all know how to respond and stay safe.

Thank you for your support with all of our safety drills, which include fire, severe weather, and intruder drills. Working together helps our students be prepared. Thank you for being part of our school community!

Important Dates & Events in September

PTO Fall Mum Pick-Up: If you were not able to pick up your mums, please contact the school to make arrangements for pick up.
Grandparents Day: Tuesday, September 16th (5:30–6:30 p.m.)-Shuttle service will be provided from Blue River Park to Coulston beginning at 5:30 and the last shuttle ends at 6:30 to return to the park.
Homecoming Spirit Week: Week of September 22nd and Spirit Week
College Go Week: Week of September 22nd
Fall Pictures: Wednesday, September 24th
Volleyball & Cross Country: Seasons are starting up! Come cheer on our athletes!
Snowie Ice Fridays: October 1st
Book Fair: September 29th – October 3rd
PParent/Teacher Conferences: October 2-3
Fall Break: October 3-10; School resumes on Monday, October 13th

Coulston Elementary Readers are Leaders

Families,

This year, our school is focusing on Reading At Home (RAH). We encourage students to check out and read their library books each week and return their RAH log to the library.

Students who return their log every week in the 1st Quarter will earn a prize in the library.
Their names will also go into a drawing for bigger prizes at our quarterly convocation and on the Prize Board.

Please try to READ 20 minutes a DAY with your child. This daily practice helps build knowledge, strengthens reading skills, and prepares students for success on the IREAD test in 2nd and 3rd grade. Thank you for supporting your child’s reading!

Smile….Picture Day is coming soon!!! Our picture day is on Wednesday, September 24th. Just a reminder that all picture orders need to be completed online. The required information is included below. Inter State Picture Order Link

Coulston Cub Scouts

If your child is interested in joining Cub Scouts, please see below. We hope you are able to join!

Cub Scout Flyer

Click here to view and download flyer

August PTO Updates

First PTO Meeting Our first PTO meeting was held on Monday, August 18 at 5:30PM. Please see the attached notes for our August meeting. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at our September meeting!

Grandparents Night

Grandparents Night Reminder:

Our Grandparents Night is coming up on September 16th from 5:30–6:30 PM at Coulston.

Doors will open at 5:30 PM.
Parking will be available in the back lot, the bus lot, and the front parking area. Additional parking will be available at Blue River Park (by the pickleball courts), with a shuttle bus running every 15 minutes.
The first shuttle will depart Blue River Park at 5:15 PM, and the last return shuttle will leave Coulston at 6:30 PM.

We are excited to share this special evening with our Coulston families!

Grandparents Night Flyer

Click here to view and download

Fall Mum Sale Pick Up

Our PTO Fall Mum Sale has officially wrapped up! Thank you to everyone who purchased mums to support our PTO. Just a reminder: Pick-up will be Saturday, September 6th, from 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. at Cossairts. If you have any questions, please contact the school office.

Softball Camp

SHS girls softball is hosting a Back-To-School Softball Camp. Please see the information below.

Attendance Matters

This year, we will have a monthly focus on attendance and share helpful resources with our school community. This month’s focus is Working Together to Improve Attendance.

We will continue to recognize strong attendance with classroom awards and celebrate overall improvement as a building. Our school-wide goal is to maintain an overall attendance rate of 96% or higher. Thank you for partnering with us to reach this important goal!

Reminder: If your child will not be in attendance, please call the school office at 317-398-3185 to report the absence.

Transportation

Bus route information is available at scs.shelbycs.org/page/transportation. Scroll down to find the INFOFINDER link. If you need to make a change to your child’s transportation, please complete a Change of Transportation form at school. Changes take 48 hours to process. Call the office with any questions.

Car Rider Line

Thank you for your patience as we navigated the extra traffic during the first few weeks of school. We’re happy to see the flow improving this week! Here are a few car rider reminders to keep things running smoothly:

Drop-off begins at 7:25 AM
Pick-up is at 2:15 PM (1:45 PM on Wednesdays)
Students should exit the car on the side closest to the sidewalk
Please stay in your vehicle—do not park and get out
Give hugs, kisses, and goodbyes before pulling forward in the line
The car rider door closes at 7:45 AM. After this time, students must be dropped off and signed in at the front office.
Thanks for helping us keep arrival and dismissal safe and efficient!

Lunch Information

We encourage all families to complete the Free & Reduced Lunch Form each year. Even if you qualified last year. This ensures eligible families receive meal assistance. You can sign up at this site: SCS Free and Reduced Lunch Form

SCS Free and Reduced Lunch Form

Click here to fill out the form

Cell Phones – Indiana law now prohibits cell phones in the classroom. Please keep this in mind if your child brings a phone to school.

Attendance – A new law requires interventions and parent conferences after 5 unexcused absences in a 10-week period. More information will be sent home this week.
Dress Code – Students must wear shoes with a back. No slides, backless sandals, or shoes without backs are allowed for safety reasons.
Wednesday Early Release – Dismissal is at 1:45 PM every Wednesday.
Transportation Changes – Must be called in by 1:00 PM. After this time, changes cannot be accommodated. Just a reminder that students being picked up after 2:00, need to be picked up in the car rider line.
School Start Time – The first bell rings at 7:25 AM. The tardy bell rings at 7:45 AM.
Tardy students must be signed in by a parent or guardian.

Students may not sign themselves in or be dropped off if tardy without an adult.

Healthy Snacks

We appreciate your help in following the SCS Wellness Policy! Students enjoy a daily healthy snack at school, helping us meet our Healthy Snacks guidelines.