Miller Elementary Weekly Update

Hello Miller Families!

We had a very short 2 or 3 day week depending if your child is in preschool or kindergarten! I'm personally counting down to warmer days, but mother nature wants to send another big snow storm our way! I hope everyone stays healthy, safe and warm in the days ahead! This upcoming week, our kindergarteners will be celebrating the 100th day of school on Friday, January 30th! We will practice counting to 100, looking at collections of 100 as well as some special activities. It's hard to believe we have hit this big milestone in the school year!

Our staff has been busy completing mid-year assessments to check all the growth and progress of your amazing children! This is such an exciting time for us to celebrate all their accomplishments and prepare to share this with you over the weeks ahead. We will be sharing how your child is progressing via progress updates, our Gather reporting system for K-2, and late winter conferences which will be around the corner at the beginning of March. Stay tuned about all the ways to hear about your child's growth and development as a learner this school year!

Due to our extra days off this past week, our office is still processing tuition payments if your family had a remaining balance for the 25-26 school year. You can expect all credit cards to be processed next week if you chose this method of payment.

Finally, don't forget to save the date and RSVP for the Miller Elementary BINGO Night on Thursday, January 29th at 6:00 PM in the Leighton Elementary Cafeteria. We sent home an RSVP form this week so please return this ASAP so we can have a rough estimate of attendance. We are looking forward to this fun-filled event for all Miller Elementary families. We hold this event at Leighton so that we can have a bit more space than Miller!

Take care and stay warm!

Maria Goodman

Miller Elementary Principal

330-954-2189

mgoodman@aurora-schools.org

It's time to start thinking about kindergarten registration for the 26-27 school year! This exciting transition for our preschoolers begins with our Kick-Off to Kindergarten Parent Meeting on February, 17th at 6:30 PM in the AHS Auditorium. Information about the important dates and the specific steps for registration will be shared at this parent-only meeting. Kindergarten enrollment numbers can fluctuate from year to year, so it is critical that families register their children for kindergarten during the March registration window. Residents are urged to remind friends and neighbors who have students approaching kindergarten age to attend Kick-Off to Kindergarten in February and register their students during our March registration days. There are fewer steps to register our current Miller preschoolers and this will be communicated throughout the process.

Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, students must be 5 years old on or before the first day of school on August 18th, 2026, to be eligible for regular entrance into kindergarten in the Aurora City Schools. This change will be adopted by the Aurora Board of Education based on House Bill 114 which was passed late December, and takes effect for the 26-27 school year.

Click Here for our Preschool Peer Application for the 26-27

1/23/26 Update - Our illness cases related to the flu and other illnesses remain low!

1/19/26 - Last Reminder - We wanted to share some important reminders about head lice as we have 3 reported cases. Head lice is considered a public nuisance and we follow guidance from Portage County Health District. We do communicate with homerooms if there are 2 or more cases and this communication has been sent this past week to the specific homeroom. We ask to be informed about confirmed cases from the parent/guardian, so we can determine if specific communication needs to go out to a homeroom. Thank you for your cooperation!

What You Need to Know:

How Does Lice Spread: Lice spreads through direct head-to-head contact, but also by sharing hats, brushes, or bedding.
Lice Don't Jump or Fly: They crawl, making them hard to spot.
Nits vs. Dandruff: Nits (eggs) are tiny, oval, and glued to the hair shaft near the scalp; they can't be flicked off like dandruff. They are firmly cemented to the hair shaft and not easily removed
Symptoms: Itching, a tickling feeling, or sores from scratching.

What to Do:

Check Your Child: Carefully check your child's head, especially behind the ears and at the neck.
Treat (If Needed): Use an over-the-counter lice treatment and a fine-toothed nit comb as directed. You may also consult your physician or pharmacist for a medicated shampoo that effectively kills head lice and their nits. Children may return to school following treatment.
If a child has live bugs, they will be sent home from school and treatment is required to return to school. If they have nits, they can stay at school and need one treatment.
Clean Personal Items: Wash bedding, clothes, and towels in hot water (120°F) and dry on high heat.

If you have any questions, you can reach out to our school nurse, Jackie Pawlowski at 330-954-2286 or email jpawlowski@aurora-schools.org

It's that time of year when we begin to have students who meet the benchmarks of notifying families about excessive absences. If your child meets the threshold of missed hours, a letter must be sent from the school alerting you. Please also be reminded that it doesn't matter whether the absences are excused or unexcused. We have to track the hours missed regardless of the reason and communicate to you when benchmarks have been met.

This is also the time of year that planned absences often get scheduled. We have attached our planned absence form and policy. Please make sure you read through this important message and understand that planned absences and absences due to illness all count for missed hours. If you have any further questions, please let me know!

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Planned Absence Form-MES and CES.pdf

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JANUARY

Monday, 1/19 - NO SCHOOL (Happy MLK Jr. Day!)
Thursday, 1/29 - Miller Elementary Family BINGO Night - 6:00-7:00PM (More Information Forthcoming)

FEBRUARY

Saturday, 2/7 - Princess Prom
Thursday, 2/12 - Valentine's Celebration at Miller Elementary 10:15-11:00 & 2:00-2:45
Friday, 2/13 - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development Day)
Monday, 2/16 - NO SCHOOL (Happy Presidents' Day!)
Tuesday, 2/17 - Kick Off to Kindergarten for Incoming Class of 26-27 @ 6:30 PM @ AHS (More Information will be Forthcoming in January)
Friday, 2/20 - Trimester 2 Ends
Monday, 2/23 - Trimester 3 Begins
Friday, 2/27 - GATHER Narratives for Kindergarten are LIVE for Trimester 2 (Parent Invite Letters will be sent home in February)

MARCH

Friday, 3/06 - NO SCHOOL (Staff Professional Development Day)
Monday, 3/23-Friday, 3/27 - NO SCHOOL (Happy Spring Break!)

APRIL

Friday, 4/03 - NO SCHOOL (Happy Good Friday!)
Monday, 4/06 - NO SCHOOL (Happy Easter Monday!)
Monday, 4/13 - Kindergarten Screening for Current Miller Preschoolers (This will take place during your child's typical preschool day. Results will be sent home later in the week.)
Thursday, 4/23 - Parent Orientation for Incoming 1st Graders for 26-27 5:30 at Craddock

MAY

Friday, 5/01 - NO SCHOOL
Monday, 5/4 - Friday, 5/8 - Staff Appreciation Week
Monday, 5/25 - NO SCHOOL (Happy Memorial Day!)
Tuesday, 5/26 - Preschool Graduation - More information will be shared in the Spring
Wednesday, 5/27 - Kindergarten Field Day
Thursday, 5/28 - Last Day of School for Preschool and Kindergarten
Thursday, 5/28 - Trimester 3 Ends

Click Here to Purchase a Ticket for the Princess Prom

In all our Elementary Buildings, we utilize a Google Form to report attendance, late arrival, early dismissal, and change of transportation such as switching from a bus rider to office pick-up!

To report an absence or change your child to a car rider or bus rider, please click the button below or scan the QR code magnet that we will pass out at Open House. This can be done from any device and your reply will be sent immediately to our secretary, Mrs. Toler.

If your child will be absent, you will use this form to report the absence along with the reason for the absence. We are working really hard to reduce the amount of phone calls, emails, or notes that we receive. We ask that you reserve those modes of communication for emergencies only. Thank you in advance for your help and let us know if you have any questions at all!

Click Here - 25-26 Attendance and Transportation Reporting

Alternate Bus Stop Form - Email to transportationinfo@aurora-schools.org

Click Here to View the School Lunch Menu

Click Here to Add Money to Your Child's Lunch Account

You can track your child's lunch account by setting up your profile using the login information from Open House. You may also send in cash or a check written out to the Aurora City Schools.