Welcome Back to School 🦓

• August 3rd, Monday 5:00-6:30pm - Columbia Open House - Come with your student to meet their teacher, see their classroom, and drop off school supplies.

• August 3rd, Monday 5:00-6:30pm - Columbia Resource Fair - will be during our open house in the gym - stop in for information on setting your child up for success, qualifying for assistance, filling needs in your family, local daycare options, and much more!!

• August 5th, Wednesday - First Day of School - Kindergarten and First Grade Doors open at 7:45am, students may go to the gym or breakfast. At 8:20am students may go to their classroom and are marked tardy at 8:45am. All Day Preschool Doors open at 9:00am, students are marked tardy at 9:30am.

• August 6th, Thursday, 6:00-7:00pm - 1/2 Day Preschool Open House - Come with your student and meet their teacher, Mrs. Brown.

• August 10th, Monday - First day of school - PM Preschool Class

• August 11th, Tuesday - First day of school - AM Preschool Class

• August 14th, Friday - Kindergarten color day - red

• August 21st, Friday - Kindergarten color day - orange

• August 28th, Friday - Kindergarten color day - yellow

We are excited to announce a unique fundraising opportunity for our Zebra Zone program! For a contribution of $20, parents can celebrate their child on our Columbia sign in front of the school. You will have the option to choose between several phrases to go with your child's name such as "Happy birthday, Melisa!", "Super Zebra Fan, Susie!", "Zebby's Buddy, Jason", and more! The best part? It stays up all month long!

To participate, please complete this form (Zebra Zone Fundraiser) and submit it along with your payment to the office before the beginning of your desired display month. Please pay in cash. Money must be in an envelope with your child's name (first and last) and the words "Zebra Zone Fundraiser".

Showing up every day sets students up for success—academically, socially, and emotionally. Here’s why it matters:

✅ Missed Lessons = Missed Opportunities
Even one day out can mean falling behind on key lessons, activities, and class discussions.

📈 School Today, Success Tomorrow
Consistent attendance is one of the strongest predictors of academic progress—and opens doors to future opportunities.

💪 Resilience in Action
Being present every day builds habits of responsibility, perseverance, and grit.

👯 Stronger Friendships
Daily attendance helps students form strong social bonds and feel more connected at school.

🧠 Healthier Habits
A consistent routine supports mental and physical wellness—for kids and families.

Need support getting your child to school?
We’re here to help. If your child is hesitant to come to school, reach out to Mrs. McClain at brenda.mcclain@zebras.net or call her directly at 574-223-2501 x2005.

Let’s make 2026–2027 a year of growth, connection, and daily learning—for every student, every day.

• Please be patient with our transportation team in regard to pickup and drop off times in this first week. They are ironing out the schedule. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
• Any change of transportation needs to be communicated with the office. You can send a note with your student or call us, 574-223-2501, before 1:00pm. Columbia office staff will be more than happy to let you know if a change can be made for that day. We DO NOT allow bus passes and bus route changes take require 48 hours.
• Make sure your student wears tennis shoes on their gym day!

Little Zebbie’s Diner welcomes everyone back to an exciting 2026-2027 school year. We hope to see your students come in daily and enjoy our school breakfast and school lunch.

Breakfast is served Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday from 7:30-8:10am and on Wednesday’s 7:45-8:40am. Prices for breakfast are: paid students $2.15.

Lunch is served every day, times depend on class schedules. Prices for lunch are: paid students $3.40 and adults/visiting guests are $5.00.

We encourage everyone to fill out a free/reduced form even if you don’t think you will qualify. Free/reduced forms may be filled out anytime from July 1 through the last day of school. Please turn them in ASAP so we can process them to see if your student(s) qualify. If your family qualified last year for the free/reduced program you will need to have a new free/reduced form for the 26-27 school year filled out before September 2026 to keep your status from going to paid status until a new qualifying form is processed.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me,

Dena Lahman, Columbia Food Service Manager

Available 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

574-223-2501 ext. 2009

Dena.lahman@zebras.net

We hope everyone has a good year!

Just a friendly reminder that every child residing in Indiana who is enrolled in an accredited school must be immunized as determined by the Indiana State Department of Health (SEA 461). These immunizations are required by the first day of school for the Academic year of 2026-2027 and by not being in compliance, may put your child at risk for exclusion.

Parents/guardians must bring in ALL medications and complete a Permission to Administer Medication Form. Medication's must be in the original bottle/container along with the pharmacy label or doctor’s order with the child’s name, name of medication, the correct dosage and the instructions for administration. Students may NOT transport medication to school, this includes OTC (Over The Counter) medications such as cough drops & etc.

If you have questions or concerns regarding the health of your student, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at sydnee.haseman@zebras.net or 574-223-2501 x2010.

Hi friends! My name is Mrs. McClain and I am the school counselor here at Columbia Elementary. In my role I typically visit each classroom 2x a month and teach lessons on safety using the Safer Smarter Kids curriculum as well as our monthly “Big Idea” using the Core Essentials curriculum. In addition to bi-weekly classroom lessons I am available to work with students individually and in small groups (with parent permission), assist during times of emotional need, work with teachers and staff to monitor student progress, link families with community resources and serve as the building High Ability coordinator. I look forward to getting to know each of our students and families and working together to make this an awesome year!

Steps to Decreasing First Day of School Anxiety

The beginning years of school often come with a mixture of emotions and transitioning from a flexible schedule into a more structured schedule can be difficult for students and parents alike. Edutopia posted an article providing tips on helping to make the transition to school a bit easier. While a few of those tips are listed below, we encourage you to read the full article at: https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-steps-to-easing-kindergarten-jitters-michele-borba

1. Practice saying goodbye- Try creating a special handshake or hug to use each morning
2. Learn the lay of the land- Visit your child’s classroom on open house night to become familiar with the classroom location, meet the teacher and classmates. For Columbia this is Monday, August 3rd from 5:00-6:30pm.
3. Address your child’s concerns directly- It is normal to have worries; reassure your child it is normal to have some jitters and other students are feeling the same way. Brainstorm solutions together.

4. Establish a goodbye ritual- The first goodbyes can be tough for children and parents; children will take cues from their parents. Even though it can be difficult and your child may be emotional, it is important to not draw out the goodbye as this can increase anxiety. This is the perfect time to insert a special goodbye suggested in step 1. Hold back your tears till you are out of sight. Know our staff will help your child through the transition with kindness and love.

Columbia offers child care options for working parents. These programs are offered to students PK thru 6th grade.

Before school program: drop off 6:30am-7:45am. Fee is $15 per student with discounts for additional students. Drop off is in the front of the school at door E-16 (this is south of the main entrance, halfway down the building).

After school program: pick up is 3:15pm-5:30pm. Fee is $25 per student with discounts for additional students. Pickup is inside the main entrance.

Break/Intersession Care: 6:30am-5:30pm. Weekly fee $85 per student and a discount is offered for additional students. This would include breakfast, lunch and a snack. If your student attends intersession, fees would be reduced.

For more information, please contact Brooke Towell, brooke.towell@zebras.net.

The Littlest Zebras In The Herd

Email: natalie.leslie@zebras.net

Website: https://columbia.zebras.net/

Location: 1502 Elm Street, Rochester, IN 46975

Phone: 574-223-2501

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Columbia-Elementary-School-100057030237096/