Leighton Update

Dear Leighton Families,

As Fall gets into full swing, our school is filled with incredible energy, activites and growth. I am honored to share our very first "Leighton Legends" recognition of the school year in this issue. Below, you will see a list of students who have been recognized building wide for consistently modeling our three core behavioral expectations: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be a Problem Solver. We are so proud of these students for setting such a positive example for our entire school.

Please keep a few important schedule adjustments in mind. There will be no school for students on Friday, October 9th for NEOEA Day, or on Monday, October 12th for district Professional Development. It is also hard to believe that the first quarter is rapidly coming to a close on Friday, October 16th. Fall parent-teacher conferences are right around the corner, and your child’s teacher will be or has already been in contact with you to schedule a meeting. This is an important opportunity to celebrate the progress made in these first months and ensure a strong partnership between home and school to keep your child's growth and well-being at the forefront.

Looking ahead, Friday, October 30th is set to be an exciting, fun-filled day at Leighton as we host both our Fall Festival Parties and our annual Laps for Leighton Fun Run. You will find specific guidelines and details for our fall festival costumes further down in this newsletter, and information regarding our Fun Run fundraiser will be sent home via FinalForms when early registration opens next week.

Additionally, Leighton is proud to host a special Veterans Day Assembly this year to honor those who have served. Please review the details below to learn more about this important event and the ways your child can participate.

Thank you for your continued support, dedication, and partnership in making Leighton Elementary a wonderful place to learn and grow. Have a fantastic weekend!

Sincerely,

Spencer Warders

Principal

Over the past few weeks, we have encountered a few challenges in our afternoon car rider line. To keep dismissal running safely and efficiently for all of our families, we kindly ask for your help with a few key procedures.

Please wait to load your child until your vehicle has reached the designated loading area (from 3rd grade walkway to the green pillars). Most importantly, please pull ALL THE WAY FORWARD to fill any open space ahead of you, rather than stopping the moment you spot your child. Cars will often time load in batches, and once the current group is safely loaded, the next set of vehicles will be signaled to pull forward. Please take a moment to review the map provided below. Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and partnership in keeping our Leighton students safe!

Our 3rd Graders will be taking the Fall Reading Ohio State Test (OST) the week of October 19th through the 23rd. This will be the first experience our 3rd grade students have taking an OST. This is not for a grade in their class; however, we do want our students to give their best effort and give an appropriate representation of their ability. Additionally, we want parents to know this particular Fall 3rd grade Reading OST is an end of the year assessment of 3rd grade content and is yet another data point we use in 3rd grade to help determine instructional decisions and potential interventions for our students.

Schedule for the week is as follows:

10/19 and 10/20 3rd Grade Fall ELA part 1 and 2

Homerooms: Grabfelder, Yusko, Yaeger, McNally, Bindus

10/21 and 10/22 3rd Grade Fall ELA part 1 and 2

Homerooms: Heffernan, Leone, Goldhamer, Mastri

If you know your child will be absent on their test date please email Mrs. Wadkins at nwadkins@aurora-schools.org to notify the school as soon as possible so we can schedule an alternative date for these assessments. Thank you!

Leighton is proud to host a building-wide assembly honoring our community’s and nation’s military veterans. We invite student-connected veterans to attend as our honored guests so we can recognize and celebrate their service. Due to this being an assembly during the school day, and our entire student body utilizing the gym during this time, we cannot allow parents to attend the assembly. However, they can if they are being recognized as one of our school community's veteran's, or their accompanying guest.

Assembly Details

• Date: Wednesday, November 11th

• Time: 2:15 PM (Veteran's will have cookies and juice with students after assembly; will need to have parking lot cleared by 3:15 for bus dismissal)

• Location: Leighton Gymnasium

If your student has a veteran in their life who can join us, please complete the Google form to RSVP.

Optional Student Activities (Due Friday, October 9th)

Optional activity sheets were sent home with students this week. Your child is invited to participate in the following:

• Veteran Honor Wall: Send in a photo of your family’s veteran to display.

• Writing Activity: Students can submit a written response to a prompt, with the opportunity for select pieces to be read aloud during the assembly.

Please have your student return all photos (Copies, will not be returned) and completed writing activities by Friday, October 9th.

Leighton will have its school wide "Fun Run" on October 30th. This is the culminating activity for Leighton's only school wide fundraiser. Please save the date for this event as it will be at the High School Stadium, weather permitting.

Early registration begins on Wednesday, October 7th. A dedicated Final Forms message will be sent on Wednesday with this information and more.

Students are invited to wear costumes during the school day on October 30th. Guidelines for costumes are as follows:

Fall Festival Costumes – Costumes will be permitted but the costume cannot hinder the educational environment. Masks will only be permitted to be worn during the class parties. No make-up, blood, props, weapons or anything that promotes violence are permitted as part of the costume. All costumes must be appropriate for the school setting.

Laps for Leighton Fun Run Details: Because our Laps for Leighton Fun Run is scheduled for the same day, students will be required to change out of their costumes during their designated running time. For safety reasons, running in a full costume is not permitted. If your child chooses to wear a costume, please make sure it is easy for them to change in and out of independently. Prior to October 30th, all students will receive a grade-specific Fun Run t-shirt to wear for the event.

Thank you for helping us keep this fun-filled day safe and comfortable for all our students!

Please click the green button below to submit a change in your student's daily transportation,

or to inform us of an early dismissal time. Any changes made by phone are not guaranteed.

*Daily dismissal begins at 3:25PM. Last available time to pickup your child early is 3:15PM.*

When reporting your child's absence, please call 330-562-2209 and select option 1. You will be prompted to leave a message with the name of your child and the reason for the absence. If you need to talk to our attendance secretary, Mrs. Mariah George, please select 0 and you will be connected during normal school hours.

OCTOBER

9th- NO SCHOOL: NEOEA Day

12th- Professional Development Day- NO SCHOOL

16th- End of 1st grading period

19th-23rd- 3rd Grade Fall Reading OST

22nd- Parent Teacher Conferences 4:30 - 7:30

27th- 5th grade Band Concert @ AHS 7:00 pm

28th- Parent Teacher conferences 4:30 - 7:30

30th- Leighton Fun Run / Fall Festivals

NOVEMBER

11th- Veteran’s Day Assembly (2:15 - 2:45)

12th- School Picture Retake Day

16th- 20th- PTO Book Fair

19th- Leighton Choir - Akron Children’s Hospital Festival of Trees charity event. (11:00 AM)

25th-27th- NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Break

30th- SCHOOL RESUMES

Hello Leighton!

It’s been a great start to the school year! We have enjoyed visiting each classroom and reconnecting with our students. During our visits, we reminded students about the role of a school counselor and all the ways we can support them at school. Whether they are working through a friendship challenge, feeling worried or overwhelmed, having a tough day, or simply need someone to talk to, we want students to know that we are here for them. We also reminded students that they can always reach out to us when they need help.

Backpack Fund

Our Backpack Fund allows us to provide additional support to Leighton students and families when needs arise. Funds are used to help provide things such as clothing, food, coats, school supplies, and other items that may help remove barriers for our students.

We are currently running low on funds and would greatly appreciate donations to help us continue supporting our families throughout the school year. Donations can be made by:

• Check: Make checks payable to Aurora City Schools and write “Backpack Fund” in the memo line.
• Gift Cards: Target or Walmart gift cards are also greatly appreciated.

We are always here to support our students and families. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or if there is anything we can do to help!

Mrs. Nicole Wadkins

(330) 562-2209, option 3

nwadkins@aurora-schools.org

Mrs. Lindsey Ambrosia

(330) 562-6199, ext. 5414

lambrosia@aurora-schools.org

You can track your child's lunch account by setting up your profile.

You may also send in cash or a check written out to the

"Aurora City Schools".

Thanks to the vision of Leighton educators Dr. Sweeney, Mrs. VanFossen, and Mrs. Leone, the Leighton Amphitheater Outdoor Classroom dream has officially come to life!

This week, the Aurora Schools Foundation (ASF) was honored to celebrate with a ribbon cutting ceremony of the newly opened Leighton amphitheater outdoor classroom—a space created for students and the entire community to learn, gather, create, and connect with the outdoors.

This beautiful space was a multi-year project. The project was initiated through an ASF grant and was made possible through the generosity of ASF's dedicated community partners: JJ's Beautification Service, LLC, Rotary Club of Aurora, VFW, V Financial, Aurora Elementary Parent Teacher Organization - AEPTO, and Aurora City School District.

The outdoor classroom is dedicated in memory of Sherri Retton, a former Aurora educator whose creativity, compassion, and dedication touched generations of students and colleagues.

The outdoor classroom is open to all students, classes, and the community! To learn more about ASF, visit auroraschoolsfoundation.org.

swarders@aurora-schools.org

Jeff Morris - Assistant Principal

jamorris@aurora-schools.org

Halston Pratt - Building Secretary

hgarzapratt@aurora-schools.org

Mariah George - Attendance Secretary

mgeorge@aurora-schools.org

Email: swarders@aurora-schools.org

Website: aurora-schools.org
Location: 121 Aurora Hudson Road, Aurora, OH, USA
Phone: (330)562-2209