We are so EXCITED to welcome you to a new school year!

We are looking forward to new opportunities and excitement ahead!

We are proud of the work we accomplished in the 2024-2025 school year and are looking forward to growing even more!

School doors open at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast.

The instructional day begins at 8:00 a.m.

Students arriving at 8:01 a.m. are considered tardy.

Dismissal begins at 3:30 p.m.

Please make sure your child/children are remembering to turn in their cellular device upon arrival. Cell phones are not permitted within the building. UCP will securely store devices however it is not recommended to send your child with a phone within the building. UCP assumes no responsibility to the technology upon the entry to the building. Please do your part to reduce the distraction and adherence to our policy.

At UCP we have a water bottle refill station so that students can bring a water bottle each day to make sure they stay hydrated and healthy. A few guidelines to review:

• Water bottles should be plastic or metal, reusable or single use.
• Glass water bottles will not be permitted (this is a safety hazard!)
• Water bottles are to be filled with WATER, no juice, soda, energy drinks etc.
• Water bottles should not cause any disruption within the classroom and should NEVER be in the vicinity of a school-issued Chromebook or other electronics.

It is critical that we all work together to follow the established procedures for pick-up and drop-off. When we all follow the established procedures everything flows well and safety is maintained!

GOALS:

• To ensure that we are creating the safest environment and procedures possible for drop-off and pick-up.
• To ensure that all UCP community members are aware of the current drop-off and pick-up procedures.

If your child is being dropped off and picked up each day please review the information below:

1. During arrival (7:30 - 8:00 am) there will be no parental access to as a safety precautions. If access is necessary, an prescheduled appointment should be arranged.
2. During dismissal: All parents will remain in their cars during pick-up and dismissal.
3. Pull to the end of the parking lot in one of the designated lanes, and remain in that lane.
4. All parent pick-up must either enter from the east on Perkins where our parking lot is located. Please utilize E 36th in order to join the parent pick-up line.
   
5. If your student has been placed on a bus route he or she will ride the bus daily. Any transportation changes must be made in writing the morning of or called-in prior to lunch.

Between the hours 8:30 - 3:30, building access to parents, students, and visitors will be shifted to our Chester Avenue entrance.

Doors will be locked and not responsive at our Perkins Avenue entrance and redirected to our Chester Avenue entrance. Our main office location is off Chester Avenue.

We encourage parking at the PNC bank parking lot along the gate during this time when visiting (dropping off or picking up child, meeting with staff, etc); do not park on Chester Avenue.

I was born and raised here in the Cleveland area. This is my fifth-year teaching fourth and fifth grade math and science here at UCP. When I am not busy here at school, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, working in my garden, going to concerts, traveling, and shopping. I received my bachelor’s degree in middle childhood education from Ashland University and my master’s degree in Education from Baldwin Wallace University.

Favorite Things

1. Teaching
2. Shopping
3. Going out to eat
4. Traveling
5. Anything chocolate
6. Disney
7. Colors pink and purple

Welcome back to the 2024 – 2025 school. I am excited to watch everyone grow and learn new things. Let’s make this the best year yet!

I was born and raised here in Portage County, and I currently live in Cleveland, Ohio. This is my 13th year teaching here at UCP. When I am not busy here at school, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, playing with my dogs(Bella, Monet and PK), going to concerts, traveling, and playing sports. I graduated from Lee University with my Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science.

Favorite Things

1. Teaching /Learning new things
2. Playing Softball
3. Going out to eat
4. Traveling
5. Pets-dogs

Welcome to 2024-2025 school year I am excited to work with everyone and to expand our skills, so we are prepared for an amazing year.

Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur.

Poor sleep hygiene can negatively affect your mood, your performance on daily tasks and even your appearance. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams. It can also affect your performance in your extracurricular activities. Remember that a brain that is hungry for sleep will get it, even when you don’t expect it.

For full article and more information on sleep go to The Sleep Foundation

Developing a routine for both the morning time and night time helps give students a sense of security and predictability. Routines are consistent activities that happen at designated times each day. Pick a few activities that can be done in the same pattern each time. An example of a night time routine could include:

-packing your backpack for the next day

-brushing your teeth

-reading a book for a few minutes

-turning the lights out at the same time each night

According to the American Heart Association, kids should spend about an hour each day engaging in physical activity. Moving (even just a little) improves heart health. Get creative with different movement ideas around the house!

The Mayo Clinic encourages following one rule to get started: "Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to someone else." Work to switch your framework from negative to positive self talk. Instead of saying "This is too hard, I'll never figure it out" try saying "This is an opportunity to learn something new." Notice how you feel after making this shift.

Set High Expectations!

Ensuring your child’s academic success is dependent in part on your expectations of their performance. Establishing high expectations does not mean demanding your child earns perfect scores on all their assignments. Rather, setting high expectations means challenging your child to achieve beyond what they think they can achieve. First, be realistic about your child’s abilities, then help your student set achievable goals. Realistic expectations will depend on a wide variety of factors, including your child’s age, inherent abilities, and areas of interest. It’s perfectly fine for your child to be a “C” student in math, but expressing the expectation that he or she strives for a “C+” or a “B” will help them set their sights above and beyond what they think is possible. The point is, regardless of your child’s level of academic abilities, they need to be challenged to reach higher, and they need to know that you expect them to try their hardest to do so.

We’re so excited to have our scholars back here at UCP, where we are doing things the “NEW TITANS WAY”. With that comes new expectations, behavior expectations for our scholars. This starts with accountability, not only from our scholars but from you as parents. Which means there are 0 excuses for misbehavior along with an acceptance of any and all consequences due to your scholar’s misbehavior. We want to make sure that our behavioral expectations are clear and upheld with support from parents. If there are ANY questions please feel free to contact me at any time:

E: asimmons@uniclevelandprep.org

P. 216.361.9720

Beginning of School Year i-Ready

Dear Families,

I am excited to share that we are implementing a Reading and Math program called i-Ready.

What is i-Ready?

i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.

The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions based on student responses. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning. Beginning September 3rd - September 6th, your student will be taking their i-Ready diagnostic in Reading and Math.

What can I do to help?

To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:

· Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.

· Try their best on each question and try not to rush.

· Try not to worry about questions to which they do not know the answers—remind them that it is expected that they will only get about half of the questions correct.

· Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish.

What happens next?

The i-Ready Diagnostic will provide results that help me identify your child’s strengths and determine next steps for instruction. I look forward to sharing these results with you throughout the year and providing a learning experience that will engage your child while teaching important skills and concepts.

If you have any questions about i-Ready, please do not hesitate to contact me or the school. You can also learn more about i-Ready by visiting i-ReadyCentral.com/FamilyCenter.

As always, thank you for your continued support and for being a partner in your child’s learning! It is much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Principal Penn

September 13th: MetroParks Education Nature Bus visits UCP

September 19th: Cuyahoga County Father's Walk

September 20th: Open House Fall Festival

September 27th: Teacher In-Service (School Closed for Students)

October 11th: Quarter 1 Ends/Teacher Records Day (School Closed for Students)

October 14th-18th: Fall Break (No School for Students or Teachers)

Email: info@uniclevelandprep.org
Website: https://uniclevelandprep.org
Location: 1906 East 40th Street, Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone: 216-361-9720
Facebook: www.facebook.com/UniClevelandPrep