CES Weekly Communicator

Issue #20: January 10, 2025

This weekly update will be how we communicate with the school community. Please check your emails on Fridays for the most recent school news.

Principal Corner

Happy Friday, Chapelfield families.

We were excited to welcome our Chapelfield students back on Tuesday! They came in with enthusiasm and were ready to learn after having a few extra days at home. We reviewed our PAWS expectations as grade level teams of common spaces like the cafeteria, recess area, hallways, bathrooms, and classrooms. Students were able to watch arrival and dismissal procedures. Teachers set high expectations for the second half of the year. During the week, I had many meetings with our faculty and staff. In those meetings, they mentioned how proud they were of our students coming back being ready to Be Positive, Act Responsible, Work Hard, and Show Respect. In fact, 3 grade levels could not determine which table in the lunch room were PAWS rock stars so all of the classrooms received a star! You should be proud of your child.

Next week, we start our NWEA MAP assessment. Please make sure that your read the schedule below and ensure your child has a good night's rest before the test.

Finally, your child will bring home their Quarter 2 report card. You keep the report card and send the signed envelope back to school with your child. If you have any questions, please use talking points to message your child's teacher(s).

Stay warm this weekend and go OSU Buckeyes!

Sincerely,

Nikki Miller

Welcome, Alexis Brofford our Kindergarten Alternative Instructor!

What is your favorite color?:

My absolute favorite color is Green.

What do you like to do for fun?:

I love to travel and try new restaurants. I also deeply enjoy spending time with my family, especially my niece and nephews. In my free time, I love going on coffee runs and reading a good book.

What is your favorite subject?:

I love learning all sorts of things, but if I had to choose, reading and writing would be my favorite subjects.

What was your favorite grade as a student and why?
My favorite grade as a student was my senior year in college. During my student teaching semester, I had the privilege of teaching an amazing group of 1st graders who taught me so much!

With that being said, my favorite grade during elementary school was 5th grade. We were able to do some super cool science experiments, and I was able to read a lot!

What are you looking forward to at CES?

I am looking forward to learning with and from the amazing staff, children, and families at CES. I look forward to getting to know students and working with them to ensure that their individual learning needs are met to help them grow. I am also looking forward to learning more about the community and getting involved.

Mental Health Team

School Counselor's Corner with Mrs. Jasin

Hello Families!

Happy New Year! As we begin 2025, it’s the perfect time to discuss with our children the power of goal setting. Teaching children to set achievable goals helps build confidence, persistence, and a growth mindset.

Here are a few tips to encourage goal setting at home:

Start Small: Help your child identify one or two simple, specific goals, like reading for 15 minutes each night or keeping their room tidy.
Make It Visible: Write down the goal and display it somewhere they can see daily as a reminder.
Celebrate Effort: Acknowledge progress and effort along the way, even if they stumble—it’s all part of learning!

At Chapelfield, we’ll be guiding students through similar activities to help them build these valuable skills. Let’s work together to empower our students to dream big and achieve their best!

Warmly,

Krysten Jasin

Related Arts Spotlight

Music Updates from Mrs. Herrmann

Students have been busy creating and moving to music heading into winter break! K-1 students have enjoyed stirring up some fun while singing along to Hot Chocolate by Stephanie Leavell. Stuck inside this winter? Grab a bed sheet and use it as a parachute to move along to Tchaikovsky’s Trepak from the Nutcracker. Just ask your child when to go “up, down, shake, shake, shake…” and they can teach you how to play! 2nd grade learned to do a Norwegian folk dance in small groups. Ask your second grader to share the job of the leader in Hej! Tomtegubbar dance. 3rd graders are becoming strong rhythm readers and performers. Favorites include pieces such as Locomotor Engine where they are learning to perform the piece using body percussion - adding snaps, claps and drumming on their laps - while also hearing one part while playing a different part. They enjoyed singing along and guessing the animals with the Oregon Symphony in Who Stole My Name. 4th graders are learning to read rhythms and perform in three parts to Playa Bowls. Ask your child about their preferred ingredients if they could create their own Playa Bowl. 5th graders are making great progress on ukulele and are working on switching between C, A minor and F chords. They are able to play along to many familiar songs and I am proud of their hard work! I am excited to create music with Chapelfield students in 2025 and wish everyone a wonderful new year!

NWEA MAP Testing Schedule

Acadience Testing in January

Recess Update-Dress Warm!

As you all know, the weather in Ohio is constantly changing. Some days are warmer than others while other days are just plain cold! Please make sure to check the forecast so that your child is prepared as we will be going outside for recess as long as the temperatures are above 20 degrees.

Visitors

We kindly ask that ALL visitors follow the steps below each and every time you visit Chapelfield:

1. Once at the front, exterior doors of the school, press the buzzer. A member of the office staff will ask your reason for visiting Chapelfield.

2. Once inside the vestibule, you will enter your drivers' license or state ID into the scanner. ALL visitors/guests/guardians need to scan their drivers license EACH and EVERY time they visit Chapelfield.

3. Once your license has been scanned and processed you will be permitted to enter the main office area to pick up your visitor/volunteer badge.

4. If you have NEVER had your driver's licensed scanned at Chapelfield before, this will take a longer time. You will want to plan accordingly.

**As a reminder, if there is a non-guardian planning to visit Chapelfield for any reason (to eat lunch, read a book in the classroom, visit the bookfair, take your child to an appointment etc.), we ask that the guardian email the teacher and front office (gilzows@gjps.org ) to let us know prior to the visit.

Our Vestibule

The vestibule will be a place you have to wait if you are picking up a student, dropping off a book bag or lunch box.

The office is a busy place and there are times that we are dealing with student confidential issues. The vestibule will be a place to wait. It also allows us to keep our building safe. We want to keep students and staff safe including keeping confidential information safe. Thank you for understanding.

Inclement Weather Procedures

How to Know if School is a Go!

As we have entered the colder months of the year, we wanted to share our preparations for the potential impact of inclement weather on our school day. In the event of inclement weather, at approximately 4:15 a.m., a team of District administrators will begin the process of making a decision concerning students safely arriving to school. The group of administrators will analyze the weather, current community conditions and receive updates from the Gahanna Division of Police, with the goal of making a decision for delay or closure by 5:30 a.m.

If a delay or closure is deemed necessary, families will be notified by:

A phone call, text message and email
A post on Gahanna-Jefferson social media pages
A pop-up alert on the GJPS website, www.gahannaschools.org.
The following media outlets will also be notified: WCMH NBC4, WBNS 10TV, WSYX ABC6, WTTE FOX28 AND WTVN/WNCI.

If you are unsure, please be sure to check any variety of these platforms for an official announcement if there is a closure or delay.

PTO Updates

PTO Events

*Mark your calendars for Pancakes and Pajamas with The PTO on January 22nd 6:00-7:30 p.m..

*Save the date for Family Night will be held on Friday, January 24th.

5th Grade Committee Updates:

Join us for Chapelfield Elementary's Skate Night on Monday Jan 13th from 6:00pm - 8:30pm at Skate Zone 71 ! The first 50 paid students to arrive will receive a free game of Laser Tag / or a FREE Glow Stick!

Mad River snow tubing is booked for Monday, February 17th from 12:30-2:30 p.m.. Tickets are $35/person. If you are not tubing you do not need to pay. RSVP’s and waivers will be coming home with students next week. RSVP’s, waivers and payment will be due back to the school by February 5th. Students, families and friends are welcome to join us. You must provide your own transportation to Mad River.

Community Connections

GJEF Gala Information-February 22, 2025

GJEF Raffle Ticket Information

GJPS Heart and Pride Award

The Heart and Pride Award recognizes two outstanding staff members each month who make a profound impact on our students and Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.

The Heart & Pride Nomination Form will remain available year-round and is open to any member of our staff, regardless of position.

January Important Dates

Thursday, January 9: PTO Restaurant Night-Chuck E Cheese from 3-9 p.m.

Friday, January 10: Report Cards are Published

Monday, January 13: PTO Skate Zone from 6-8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 14:

*2nd grade MAP testing-Reading

*PTO meeting; free babysitting from NHS students @ 7 p.m.

Wednesday, January 15: 2nd grade MAP testing-Math for Luck/McCulley ONLY

Thursday, January 16:

*1st grade MAP testing-Math

*2nd grade MAP testing-Math for Shearer's class ONLY

*4th grade MAP testing-Reading

Friday, January 17:

*Yearbook Sales END

*Kindergarten MAP testing-Math-Bhatt's class ONLY

*4th grade MAP testing-Math

Monday, January 20: MLK day; NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, January 21: Kindergarten MAP testing-Math for Oberlin and Pijor's classes

Wednesday, January 22:

*3rd grade MAP testing-Reading

*PTO Pancake Dinner from 6-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, January 23: 3rd grade MAP testing-Math

Friday, January 24: PTO Family Bash

Tuesday, January 28: 5th grade MAP testing-Reading

Wednesday, January 29:

*5th grade MAP testing-Math

*GJPS State of the School @ 7 p.m. in MSW's auditorium

Friday, January 31: Learning Communities at 8:30 a.m.

Important District Links

GJPS Elementary Student Handbook 24-25

2024-2025 GJPS District Calendar (PDF)

2024-2025 School Menus

2024-2025 Bus Schedule and Routes

2025-2026 School Calendar

CES Weekly Communicator

Issue #20: January 10, 2025