IMES Family News

Each year, our goal is to make our vision statement come alive.

Our vision is to create an inclusive, collaborative, and welcoming community of learners who experience a kind, responsible, and safe environment and a sense of belonging. We believe in creating joyful and meaningful academic, social, and emotional learning opportunities, building a foundation for independence and lifelong learning.

As we begin the new school year, we look forward to getting to know our students and learning and growing together!

We have truly enjoyed welcoming back our students these past four days. In the classrooms, teachers and students have been engaged in building community, getting to know each other, discussing books, organizing their space and supplies, and practicing routines.

September

Friday, September 5 Spirit Day and School Sharing Assemblies

Friday, September 5 PTO Welcome Back Celebration 5 :30 pm - 7:30 pm at IMES

Thursday, September 11 Curriculum Night Grades 3, 4, and 5/ 7 pm at IMES

Wednesday, September 17 Curriculum Night K, 1, and 2/. 7 pm at IMES

Friday, September 19 IMpact Team at 8:15 am at IMES

Tuesday, September 23 Schools Closed for Rosh Hashanah

Wednesday, September 24 Schools Closed for Rosh Hashanah

Thursday, September 25 Picture Day for All Students (Make-Up Date is 11/5)

Thursday, September 25 PTO Meeting/Principal's Coffee at 9:30 am

Friday, September 26 Performances for Hispanic Heritage Month

Thursday, September 11: Curriculum Night for Grades 3, 4, 5

Wednesday, September 17: Curriculum Night for Grades K, 1, 2

6:30 pm IMES PTO in the gym to meet the class parents and sign up to join the PTO.

7 pm. Meet your child's teachers in your child's classroom Learn about the academic program, routines, practices and expectations.

Please note that there is no childcare available on these evenings.

We hope to see many of you at tonight's PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) Welcome Back to School Celebration from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm.

For details on these events and other important PTO information (After School Activities, Class Parents, Picture Day, Membership Toolkit), check out the PTO Eagle Express and the PTO website and social media pages. Please see the link to the website below:

https://www.imespto.org/

This year, our PTO Co-Presidents are Alicia Siebenaler and Essabel Heller. Dina Borrelli will remain a PTO advisor this year.

Students may enter the building at 9:10 a.m. School begins at 9:15 a.m. and buses depart Increase Miller at 3:40 p.m. Any student arriving after 9:15 a.m. is marked late. Please make every opportunity to arrive on time.

Kindergarten: Kindergartners are starting the year thinking about who they are as readers and engaging with familiar texts such as Max and the Tag-Along Moon and Harry and the Dirty Dog. Students are also engaging with informational books like Fur, Feather Fin -All of Us Are Kin and Pack: Strength in Numbers. In writing, students are telling stories through talking, drawing pictures, and writing. Students are also using their knowledge of letter sounds to help them write. In Kindergarten, this usually means lots of random letters, squiggles, and initial sounds. In math, we will be launching Math Workshop and focusing on numbers to 5.

Grade 1: First graders kick off the school year by learning routines that help create a caring classroom that fosters a sense of belonging. In writing workshop, students are beginning to write Identity Books. They will highlight what makes them unique while building strong writing habits. During Reading Workshop, children are practicing how to read independently, build reading stamina and work with partners. Word work time is focused on letter formation, blending sounds, and spelling words with short vowel sounds. In math, students begin the year by exploring measurement by comparing and ordering objects by length. They will then move on to using models and equations to show their strategies for solving addition and subtraction equations within 10.

Grade 2: This month second graders are busy building community and establishing routines and procedures. Students and teachers are getting to know each other, and important connections are being made. Students are also enjoying many read-alouds about starting school again and being part of a larger group. Moving through September, second graders will be getting familiar with characters in books and begin writing personal narratives. They are learning to recognize that seemingly small moments in their lives really turn out to be the big ones, the ones that are remembered. Drill sounds, review of digraphs, blends, and glued sounds is important work happening during phonics instruction. In math, students are reviewing “friends of ten” and will begin adding and subtracting within 20 fluently. The Social Studies focus this month is exploring what kind of things “good” citizens do.

Grade 3: In third grade, we begin the year by building a strong sense of belonging in our classroom. Students will connect with one another and reflect on their identities as learners while learning the routines and expectations that help our community thrive. We’ll also explore what it means to be a good citizen—at home, at school, and in the wider community. Our reading workshop kicks off with a study of mystery books. Students will practice reading critically by noticing key details, tracking patterns, and forming hunches, suspicions, and predictions. In Fundations, we’ll start the first of several units that reinforce prior learning, while also moving into advanced spelling rules and morphology to strengthen word study skills. In math, we’ll begin exploring multiplication and division of whole numbers, starting with equal groups and deepening our understanding of how addition and multiplication are connected.

Grade 4: Fourth graders spend their first few weeks building learning communities, establishing routines, reflecting on their identities, and developing relationships with their classmates. In ELA, they work to interpret characters, while considering how the author describes their feelings, words, and actions through intentional vocabulary. Fourth graders then make inferences and study how the plot plays a role in the character’s overall development. They also review grade-level expectations for writing, including grammar, conventions, and spelling. In math, students work toward generalizing their place-value understanding to help them read, write, compare, and round multi-digit numbers. Finally, students embark on their first social studies journey, which is to learn about the geography and landscape of New York State. Fourth graders have a unique experience because their entire year focuses on the rich history of New York. Studying its geography sets the foundation for understanding its many communities, settlements, and natural resources available throughout the years.

Grade 5: September is a time to gather as an academic community and develop norms and routines that will support the success of each student. In addition, as the newly appointed “seniors” of the school, the 5th graders take time to reflect on the ways in which they can support and model the school motto - Kind, Responsible, Safe. While building and sharing who we are as learners, 5th graders also take the time to reflect on their identities as readers and writers and set goals for continued growth. Reading workshop will focus on establishing good reading habits and fostering a sense of wonder and engagement in the opportunities we are given to interact with literature. In writing, students work on using a variety of idea generating strategies to share and document meaningful small moment stories, which will grow into more fully developed personal narratives. In math, students review and continue to build their understanding of whole number place value.

Please see the newsletters below from our music teachers. Ms. Willett and Mr. Partee.

Grade 4 students: Please bring your instrument to school on Monday if you have it!

• Please enter your child's dismissal plan (even if they are taking the bus every day) in this system.
• If your child's plan is not created on this system, we will put your child on the bus each day. See more details below:

• Any change of your typical dismissal plan must be entered and submitted by a parent/guardian in our new Visitor Aware online system.
• This online system replaces our Microsoft Form that we have been using for our Daily Pick-Up Dismissal Form.
• You should have received a communication on Monday, August 11, from our new Director of Technology, Jessica Kingsbury, regarding this new system and new procedures.
• Please see the information below that was emailed and please take the time to access this information prior to the beginning of the new school year.

Our Main Office is here to support you and answer your questions. You can reach the main office at 763-7155 or 763-7117. Our office staff members include Ms. Eden Ladd, Office Assistant and Mrs. Jennifer Ferentini, Secretary to the Principal.

Each September, we take the time to teach and practice daily routines. To help students learn their daily dismissal plan and routine, which includes helping students get to know their bus number and bus drivers, student bus riders may only ride their assigned bus during the month of September.

We will begin honoring individual playdates (riding a different bus) in October. If the bus is over capacity, bus notes for playdates cannot be honored.

If you have a special circumstance (childcare needs), please contact Eden Ladd in our main office 763-7117.

A written excuse is required by New York State Law each time a child is absent or late. The excuse should be sent with the child when he/she returns to school or on the day of lateness. In addition to the specific dates, the reason for the absence or lateness should be stated in the note and signed by a parent or guardian.

Parents are requested to enter their child's absence in our new Visitor Aware System (see directions above). If a child is absent and you do not enter their absence in Visitor Aware, the school will attempt to contact the parent. This is done for the safety and protection of the child.

New York State is implementing a universal free school meals program, providing one free breakfast and one free lunch to all students in public schools, regardless of eligibility.

Breakfast Program

We will continue implementing our breakfast program for elementary students.

• Students who participate will enter the building during arrival time (beginning at 9:10 am) .
• “Grab and Go” breakfast bags will be available. Sample items include a bagel, muffin, or breakfast bar along with a fruit with a choice of milk.
• Students will eat their “Grab and Go” breakfast in the classroom during the morning routine.
• CCC morning care students may eat their Grab and Go breakfast prior to the start of the school day.
• Monthly Menus are available on the website.
• If you did not sign up in August and you would like your child to participate in the "Grab and Go" breakfast, please notify your child's teacher who will notify Ms. Ladd in our main office. Our kitchen needs to know the breakfast count to prepare.

Lunch Program

• Single items (Ala carte items) are not free.
• There needs to be funds in the students’ account, or they must have cash to purchase these ala carte items.
• IMES students may purchase snacks through our automated meal pay system.
• You can find information about our Food Services, including Menus and MyPaymentsPlus (to set up an account/manage account) by visiting our website Food Services.

ThrillShare is our District's communication system, and all District email communications will be coming from noreply@klschools.org.

• If you plan on visiting or volunteering at IMES, please schedule an appointment with our main office or classroom teacher.
• Upon arrival, please be prepared to show photo ID to our school greeter.
• The greeter will enter your information into our security system (if not already in our system).
• Each time you volunteer, please wear your visitor’s badge provided by our school greeter.
• The badge should be worn during your volunteer activities to identify you to all Increase Miller staff and students.
• If you need to drop off an item for your child, you may leave it in the vestibule area. Please label the item with the child’s name for delivery to classroom.

As a school community, we work toward establishing an atmosphere where children can learn and develop academically, socially, and emotionally. We embed social and emotional learning opportunities in the classroom and schoolwide to help students build skills and relationships. Our approaches include the following:

• Morning meeting: This is a time where students come together as a class to learn, discuss, and practice skills, while connecting with each other and their teacher. There are four components of Morning Meeting: Greeting, Sharing, Activity, and Morning Message.

• Zones of Regulation: The Zones of Regulation is a framework designed to help children identify, understand, and manage their emotions and self-regulation. This framework helps students build emotional awareness, teaches them tools and strategies to move between zones in healthy ways, and encourages self-regulation and problem-solving

• PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) is another approach we use to promote positive behaviors and support students who need additional instruction. Our Tier 1 universal prevention plan establishes and teaches school-wide expectations (Kind, Responsible, and Safe) by reinforcing positive behavior with praise and incentives (Eagle Eyes) and explicitly teaching and communicating norms and rules. Our school behavior expectation guide displays Kind, Responsible, and Safe expectations across school settings. This shared language and expectations are reintroduced each school year. These expectations are reinforced with a classroom system to recognize positive behaviors as students demonstrate them. Similarly, Kind, Responsible, Safe expectations are taught, reviewed, and positively reinforced in special area classes, lunch, recess, and on buses. Through these and other approaches, including monthly schoolwide sharing assemblies and our buddy program, we seek to build a community that is kind, responsible, and safe for all.

Kerry Ford, Principal and IMES Dignity Act Coordinator 763-7155 or kford@klschools.org

Michael Weschler, Assistant Principal (designee) 763-7117 or mweschler@klschools.org

Kiri Ryan, Social Worker (designee) 763-7155 or kryan@klschools.org

In the beginning of the year, students are issued a school iPad. iPads are for school use only.

Classroom teachers will communicate expectations regarding student use.

In the summer mailing, you were asked to read and agree to the Acceptable Use Policy. Your agreement indicated that your family understands the guidelines related to the use of technology in our school.

NEW: In accordance with Education Law §2803 and in furtherance of KLSD’s commitment to creating conditions that foster learning and engagement, students are prohibited from non-instructional use of personal electronic/internet-enabled devices during the school day.

Please see the recently adopted

KLSD Board of Education Policy 5695. BOE Policy Personal Devices

Students & Personal Internet-Enabled Devices

Policy at a Glance

• Device Access and Storage: Students are discouraged from bringing personal devices to school. If devices are brought to school, they must be powered off and stored in student backpacks.

• Internet-Enabled Devices: includes any smartphone, tablet, smartwatch or other device capable of connecting to the internet

• School Day: includes classes, homeroom periods, lunch, recess, study halls, and
  passing time during the school day

• School Grounds: means any building, playing field, playground, or school property,
  during the instructional school day

• The district is not responsible for stolen, lost or damaged personal electronic/internet enabled devices brought to school.

• Parents and guardians who wish to contact their children during the school day may call the school office or utilize the district-provided email address.

• There are exceptions for specific purposes. Please see BOE policy and contact school administration if you think your child meets these criteria.

Increase Miller Elementary School’s philosophy, policies, procedures, and services are outlined in our Family Handbook. We hope the IMES Family Handbook will help you gain a greater understanding of what makes the school run smoothly and safely. We trust that this handbook will provide you with answers to questions you might have throughout the school year.

Please become familiar with this document and pay close attention to Professional Learning Days, half and full days.

• Thank you to our faculty and staff for warmly welcoming back all our students and helping them get organized and acclimated!
• Thank you to our students for already showing us you are Kind, Responsible and Safe!
• Thank you to our IMES PTO volunteers, Mrs. Zaremba, and Ms. McNulty for our beautiful learning boards and displays all around the school!