Blacklick Bulletin

Dear Blacklick Families,

If you have not completed the annual update in Infinite Campus, please take a few minutes to complete this process! This is very important! If you need assistance, please contact our school office at 614-759-5100.

Directions for how to update Infinite Campus are linked below:

1. Log into the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus at: https://gahannajeffersonoh.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/gahanna_jefferson.jsp

2. Click MORE from the left hand column

3. Click on ONLINE REGISTRATION from choices on the right

4. Click START next to "Existing Student Registration"

5. Go through each step to complete the registration

As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at 614-759-5100 or by email at grovesk@gjps.org.

Respectfully,

Kristen Groves

The MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessment measures student achievement and academic growth over time. It also compares student, class and grade level performance with other students’ performance across the country. The MAP Assessment is web-based and adaptive to measure your child’s instructional level. Students take this assessment on a chromebook. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If they answer incorrectly, the next question is easier. The results are one data point that will help to provide a more complete picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn, helping staff better plan instruction to meet their needs.

Our MAP testing schedule is listed below:

Grade 2: September 11 (Reading) and September 12 (Math)

Grade 3: September 13 (Reading) and September 14 (Math)

If your child is absent on an assessment day, we will be sure to have him/her make up the assessment when they return to school.

Students in kindergarten and first grade will not take the MAP assessment until the winter.

School picture day this year is this FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2023. All students will get their picture taken for our yearbook. Portraits are available for purchase for families that are interested. Order forms will be coming home with students on Monday, September 11. You can send in your order form with money inside but we encourage you to order and prepay at shop.hrimaging.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the school office.

As a school community we will be collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio. Please check your child's PRIDE folder for information regarding this collection.

WHAT: The Pop Tab Program is a fundraising project that supports Ronald McDonald House Charities. By collecting tabs from aluminum cans, RMHC of Central Ohio is able to recycle them in exchange for money that is then put towards paying the utility bills for the Ronald McDonald House.

WHEN: September 5, 2023 - May 1, 2024

WHERE: Students can drop off pop tabs in the boxes located in each hallway at Blacklick Elementary.

Sometimes dealing with meltdown over trivial things can be frustrating and hard to deal with - try these tips next time you experience a meltdown with your child.

Need support for your child?

K-1: Contact Mr. Rediger by email: redigern@gjps.org or by phone: 614-643-0817

2-5: Contact Mrs. Warfield by email : warfieldc@gjps.org or by phone: 614-643-0773

Mrs. Dawn Jenkins will also support students in a new role of Mental Health Specialist. Mrs. Jenkins can be reached at Jenkinsd@gjps.org.

The first PTO meeting of the school year is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 in the Blacklick library at 6:30 PM. Mrs. Groves will be sharing information about school safety. Mrs. Ball, school librarian, will be sharing information about our upcoming book fair and Community Night!

Check out the most up to date information from the Blacklick PRIDE Partner PTO by clicking on the link below:

PTO Newsletter - August 2023

On May 11, 2023, the federal government declared the COVID-19 public health emergency to be over. In this light, Franklin County Public Health has rescinded the Franklin County COVID-19 public health emergency. This update ended school districts’ obligation to contact trace and report COVID positive cases within the community.

FCPH and CDC guidance remains as follows: “After testing positive, you should stay home for 5 days regardless of vaccination status. After 5 days, you may end isolation if you are fever-free for 24 hours (without use of fever-reducing medicine) AND your symptoms are improving.”

Due to excessive negative meal balances across the District, all Gahanna-Jefferson schools will be reinstating a previously used meal charge policy. Starting Sept. 5, 2023, any student with more than five lunch charges this school year will receive a substitute meal in the cafeteria. At the elementary level this means accounts with more than $13.75 in negative charges and at the middle and high school levels, this includes accounts that have accrued more than $15 in debt. The substitute breakfast will consist of a breakfast bar, fruit and milk and the substitute lunch will include a cheese (turkey for dairy substitute) sandwich, fruit and milk.

Families will receive a phone call and/or email starting with the second negative charge to alert you of the deficit in your student's account.

If you need to add funds to your student’s account, you can do so through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal or with a check or cash. Additionally, if you think your family would qualify for free or reduced meals, you can apply via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, print a paper application from the District website or fill out a paper application found in the office at each building. Any student that is approved for free or reduced lunch for the 2023-24 school year will receive a regularly menued meal. Families with a negative balance from a previous school year will be contacted by the District office to ensure full payment by the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Please see below for important arrival and student absence information.

• It is extremely important that students arrive on time to school.

• Students can enter the building at 7:45 AM.

• 7:40 AM if they are eating breakfast.

• Instruction begins daily at 8:00 AM.

• Students must enter through the front office if they arrive after 8:00 AM.

• The back door for car drop off will be locked after 8:00 AM.

• Please make every effort possible to notify the school in ALL cases of student absence. Calls should be made to the school office (614-759-5100) between the hours of 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

• If you have an upcoming trip/vacation that will cause your child to miss school, please notify the classroom teacher and Mrs. Lindsey (lindseyk@gjps.org) in the front office. You will also need to complete the planned absence form.

• Students will be considered excessively absent if they are absent thirty-eight or more hours in one school month or sixty-five or more hours in a school year with a non-medical excuse or without legitimate excuse. If this happens, you will be notified via an excessively absent letter.

• Students will be considered habitually truant if they are absent without legitimate excuse for thirty or more consecutive hours, forty-two or more hours in one school month, or seventy-two or more hours in one school year. If this happens, you will be notified in writing via a habitually truant letter. **In addition, Mrs. Groves or Mrs. Gillens will also contact you to schedule a meeting with a truancy officer to develop an absence intervention plan.

Questions about student attendance? Please contact Mrs. Gillens at gillensl@gjps.org.

Gahanna Residents in Need (GRIN) will once again provide weekend snack bags to families who need support with food. This program is meant for those with a need to supplement food at home for their children.

You may follow this link - https://forms.gle/UBsm7G85rhHaVyg66 - to access and sign-up for the program. Please fill out the form and note any special dietary needs.

If you believe your family may qualify for free/reduced-price meals, please apply online for free or reduced-price meal benefits with these easy steps:

1. Sign in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
2. Choose "MORE" in the left-hand column.
3. Choose "MEAL BENEFITS".

RELATED LINKS

GJPS Food Service Webpage

Free/Reduced-Price Meal Benefits Online Application Tutorial (PDF)

Free/Reduced-Price Meal Benefits Paper Application (PDF)

September 11 Chinese Classes Begin

September 12 PTO Meeting in the Blacklick Library at 6:30 PM

September 14 First Grade Vision Screening

September 15 School Photos

September 20 Family Night Out: Hot Chicken Takeover (Hamilton Road)

September 25 Teacher PD Day No School for Students

September 28 Parent/Teacher Conferences

September 29 Custodian's Day at Blacklick

October 5 Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 10 PTO Meeting in the Blacklick Library at 6:30 PM

October 11 Family Night Out: City BBQ (S Stygler Road)

October 16 -20 Blacklick Book Fair

October 19 Blacklick Community Night (Details coming soon!)

October 23-24 No School for Students

October 27 Report Cards go home with students

2023-24 GJPS District Calendar (PDF)

2023-2024 School Menus

BUS SCHEDULE AND ROUTES FOR 2023-24