Back To School 2024-25
Maple Grove Elementary: Home of the STARS!
Respectfully,
Mrs. Brooke Phillips
Principal
A few tips before the first day
- Rest assured, we will have all staff hands on deck on the first several days of school to ensure your child knows where to go when they arrive.
- Please have your child practice saying their first and last name, as well as grade level if asked, so we can check our student roster to help them find the correct room. When teacher assignments go live on Skyward on July 23th, have your child practice saying his/her teacher's name as well. It is always more challenging when students cannot tell us this info when asked.
- Make sure your child knows how he/she is getting home the first day of school, and if he/she rides the bus- practice memorizing his/her bus number. STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE COLORED BRACELETS TO HELP WITH BUS IDENTIFICATION AT BTS NIGHT WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW WE WILL USE THEM. Be on the lookout for these!
SPIRIT WEAR
Every week we celebrate STAR SPIRIT on Maple Grove Monday! Wear your MG Star (or CG Trojan) gear and celebrate being a STAR with us. We love seeing all of our students decked out in their spirit wear. Shirts will be available for purchase at Back-to-School night with the new school theme logo on them. Look for the table that evening.
New Maple Grove families:
Security
- Exterior doors remain locked throughout the school day. Please ring the doorbell if you need assistance.
- The vestibule (entryway) is secured as well.
- Be sure to have your ID with you every time when entering the building.
- Appointment Pick-Up: If you are picking a child up for an appointment, you will ring the doorbell and give your purpose for pick-up. The office staff will confirm the Plan Change is in Pick-Up Patrol. All early pick-ups MUST be entered prior to pick-up. Once this is confirmed you will proceed to the front office window where your license will be confirmed.
- Volunteers will ring the doorbell and state their name and what classroom they are helping in that day. The office staff will confirm this with the volunteer list. Once confirmed the volunteer will proceed in and check in at the window to verify their license and receive their volunteer tag. This MUST be worn and visible at all times.
- If you need to drop off/pick up items from school, there is a pass-through door located next to Mrs. Schneider.
- All students being picked up at the end of the school day will be a part of our car rider line.
- Background checks are required for any adult who volunteers at Maple Grove whether in the classroom, on a field trip or participating in a special event or classroom party. Background checks are done online, through the Corporation, and are paid for online as well. The starting fee is $12.95. For more information and to fill out your background check online, click HERE. If you need to check the expiration of your background check or verify if you have completed one, call the District Office at 317-881-9326 and speak with Ms. Sophie Taylor.
Dismissal + with Pick Up Patrol
We are excited to continue Pick Up Patrol for our elementary students this year, as it makes absence reporting and dismissal procedures much more efficient.
With that being said, WE NEED YOUR HELP! In order to make the program work every Maple Grove family will need to set up an account with Pick Up Patrol. At the conclusion of each school year, the data is deleted by Pick-Up Patrol. This means every family needs to enter their child's plan, even if nothing changed from last year. You will receive an email from PickUp Patrol soon that contains your individual link to start the process. Once you set up your account you can login to their website and enter your child’s Default Dismissal Plan. This is our only Absence Reporting and Dismissal option. Instead of sending notes, emails, or leaving a voicemail, all you do is login to your PickUp Patrol account and mark your child absent or enter your dismissal change for the day. Your account is available 24 hours a day and can be set up for future dismissal changes. For more details about PUP, click HERE and visit the Parent Tool Kit section.
Below are guidelines and information about our dismissal options:
Absences and Late Arrivals need to be entered by 9:00 am. You will need to enter the information that will be requested.
Changes to your default dismissal plan must be entered by 2:55 pm (2:05 pm on Wednesday). This will give us time to print the reports and notify teachers. We will follow the dismissal plan in place for the day of the week unless a change is made. If a change is not entered your child will go home according to the default plan.
In the case of a two household family, the parent listed as Family 1 in Skyward should set the Default plan. Changes due to your alternating schedules will need to be entered as dismissal changes either daily or set up ahead. Each student can have only one default plan and Pick Up Patrol will send emails to both parents’ email when changes are made to that plan.
ABSENT - If your child will not be at school just choose the dismissal option titled “Absent”. You will be asked to enter the reason, such as stomach flu, headache, vacation, or funeral. Please be specific for absence due to illness. For an absence to be considered excused you will need to provide a doctor’s note, or in the case of a funeral, please provide an obituary. For questions about excused/unexcused absences, please refer to the Elementary Student Handbook or call the office to speak with Mrs. Schneider.
LATE ARRIVAL - If your child will be coming in late, choose the “Leave Early/Appointments, etc.” dismissal option. You will be asked to enter the reason. For a late arrival to be considered excused, you will need to provide a doctor’s note to the office. When the student arrives at the school, you may edit their PUP dismissal plan to reflect how you would like them to go home that day or ask the office to update the dismissal plan to the option you choose.
EARLY DISMISSAL - Do you need to pick up your child early? Pick the “Early Dismissal” option. You will be asked to enter the time, reason, and the FULL NAME of the person picking up your child. We will ask to see a driver’s license every time a student is picked up from the office, regardless of the reason.
CAR RIDER - This option is designated for students that are picked up everyday. You will need to be assigned a car tag with a specific number connected to your family from the school office to use this option. When you pick up your car rider tag, the tag number can be entered in your Default Plan.
AFTER SCHOOL CLUB OR ACTIVITY, DAYCARE, VANS, BUS - These options are self-explanatory. Please enter information if prompted. Please note - students are NOT allowed to ride a bus to which they are not assigned. Our transportation director has asked us to share some new bus guidelines with you. Students who ride the bus, ride the same bus all 5 days a week. This decreases risk of mishaps and keeps seating charts consistent. Thank you for understanding.
Emergency early dismissal: In the event inclement weather results in an early dismissal from school, we will default to your child's typical dismissal plan for that day. If that plan does not work for your child that day, you will need to log in and change it in Pick Up Patrol asap. Emergency early dismissals are extremely rare, and usually result from a fast-moving snow storm that would make dismissal at our regular time too unsafe to be on the roads.
Thank you for setting up your PickUp Patrol account and Default Plan. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the MGES Office.
Attention car riders!
Maple Grove Elementary will continue to use the same physical pick-up and dismissal procedures as in previous years for our car riders.
- Each family will be issued a car number tag that will be displayed in the rearview mirror of your vehicle when you arrive at Maple Grove. Your child will have coordinating numbers on his/her backpack tag. As your car enters the front parking lot, a staff member will call the number on your car tag. Your child/children will then walk to your vehicle.
- Upon arrival, enter the parking lot off of Whiteland Rd (cars may NOT use the access road from Saddle Club).
- Kindly take turns merging into one lane before pulling into the circle. Please be sure to utilize all three lanes during car line.
- Students are dismissed from the passenger side of the vehicle and may use Doors 1 or 2 for entry into the school. Please be sure to say your good-byes before it is your turn to get out of the car so we can keep the line moving along.
- When leaving the car line lot, all cars must turn right to exit via the Whiteland Road driveway. Do not turn left at the stop sign on the circle.
If your child will be picked up from school by car one or more days a week, please get your car rider number/tags at Back-to-School Night. There will be a table set up at the entry of the school. You will receive detailed procedures for our car rider line at that station to help our line run efficiently. If you do not have a car tag, you will be asked to come inside to show your license prior to your child leaving school with you.
Thank you for working with us to continue to get our students to and from school safely!
Upcoming Events:
- July 23: New Family Tours Open House style from 1-5:30 p.m.
- August 1: First day of school! The doors will open at 8:45 a.m. and school begins at 9 a.m. Dismissal is at 3:45 this day.
- August 7: First early dismissal day (3:00)
- August 13: School Picture Day: Please keep in mind that by purchasing school pictures you help us provide free yearbooks to all Maple Grove students! Do not wear green, as a green-screen is used for backgrounds.
- August 25: PTO Back-to-School Pool Party at Freedom Springs. FREE fun for all MGES students and families. Join us from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
FAQ's
School Hours
Grades Kindergarten thru 5th Grade - 9:00 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Early Dismissal Wednesdays
Grades Kindergarten – 5th - 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. dismissal
The first Early Dismissal Wednesday will be 8/7
Breakfast & Lunch Prices
B - $1.70; L - $2.60
Ala Carte Milk - $0.60
Extra Entrée: $2.10
Ala Carte items priced by item
Lunch Fee Assistance
Applications for free or reduced lunch will be available via Skyward Family Access in the Food Service Module in late July.
Online Payments
Lunch accounts are available via Skyward Family Access. You may make payments online via eFunds (Fees: 2.85% CC per $100 or $1.25 ACH per transaction). Click here for instructions.
Textbook Fees
The state legislature determined last year that schools can no longer charge fees for educational materials. As a result, Center Grove families will not be charged textbook rental fees. Parents and students will still be responsible for any lost or damaged educational material.
Bus Assignments
Bus information will be available via Skyward and will be posted by July 23. Once logged in to Skyward, go to "Student Info" on the left side of the screen and click "View Bus Schedule". For questions regarding transportation, call 317-881-0555.
Supply Lists
Supply lists can be found HERE and are also available on the MGES website under the "Parents" tab.
School Supply Kits that were ordered in the spring will be delivered to your child's desk and ready for Back-to-School Night.
Water and snacks
Please send your child with a water bottle (marked with his/her name) and healthy snack to school each day. We have bottle filling machines to refill throughout the day.
Elementary Student Handbook
The Student Handbook is available HERE on the District website.
Back-to-School Event July 30th
This is an opportunity for your child and family to meet the teacher, and see his/her classroom before the first day. You are welcome to bring school supplies that night too. If you ordered a SchoolKidz supply kit in the spring, that will be in your child's classroom.
Updates
Teacher moves/changes:
Mr. Green to 4th grade from 5th grade
Mrs. Snodgrass to 5th grade from 3rd grade
Mrs. Ream to Essential Skills from mild special education
Please join us in welcoming new staff:
Ms. Latrice Johnson- Assistant Principal
Mrs. Marissa Garza- 3rd grade
Miss Kaitlyn Warriner- 3rd grade
TBD -3rd grade
Mrs. Janet Leeder- Mild Special Education Teacher
Mrs. Juliana Lucas- Mild Special Education Assistant
Before/After School Care
Back to School graphic attribution
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