Miller Elementary Weekly Update

Hello Miller Families!

Happy Friday! We hope this weekly update finds your family ready to kick off a fun-filled long weekend! We had another fantastic week in preschool and we appreciate the flexibility with our K-5 families to kick off our assessment days! As described below, our kindergarteners will be participating in the KRA and other check-ins that are required activities to help us better know your child and to support them throughout their kindergarten year. We appreciate your flexibility as we complete these important tasks with your amazing children!

Finally, I want to remind families that school picture day is coming on Tuesday, September 16th! As soon as we receive the package information and online ordering links, we will send them out. We expect to see these next week. Please be on the lookout!

Reminder: There is NO SCHOOL on Monday, September 1st to celebrate Labor Day!

Kindergarten Only Reminder:

We will see all of our M-Z friends on Tuesday, 9/02 and then welcome ALL of our kindergartners back on Wednesday, 9/03!

Preschool Only Reminder:

We will see all our preschool friends on Tuesday!

I hope you have a wonderful long weekend!

GO GREENMEN!

Maria Goodman

Miller Elementary Principal

330-954-2189

mgoodman@aurora-schools.org

Kindergarten Assessment Days for the KRA

Friday, August 29th - Back to School Assessment Days - K-5 Children A-L attend School and M-Z NO SCHOOL (NO PRESCHOOL)
Monday, September 1st - NO SCHOOL FOR ALL - LABOR DAY
Tuesday, September 2nd - Back to School Assessment Days - K-5 Children M-Z Attend School and A-L NO SCHOOL (ALL PRESCHOOL STILL ATTENDS)

September Dates:

Monday 9/01 - NO SCHOOL Labor Day

Sunday, 9/14 - PTO Fall Flower Fundraiser Pick Up

Tuesday, 9/16 - Miller School Picture Day - More Information Forthcoming

We recently were required to add a new form into our Final Forms titled "Parents Bill of Rights." Dr. Milcetich has previously highlighted much of this information in his opening communication to families.

Everyone will need to log back into Final Forms to access this form and add their signature that you have received this communication. If you could complete this as soon as possible, that would be very helpful. All of your forms must appear GREEN to be COMPLETE. - THANK YOU!

CLICK HERE - EVERYONE MUST UPDATE FINAL FORMS

This is a friendly reminder that we have sent out tuition reminders to any families that have an upcoming payment due on September 15th.

Our total tuition cost for preschool is $2000 and full-day kindergarten is $2500. Many families have paid the initial down payment and we collect the next set of fees by September 15th and the final payment will be due on January 15th.

If you sent in a check for the September payment, thank you! We will be running credit cards after September 15th if you have not reached out to us about a change in payment. The tuition information along with our tax-id number for taxes can be found on the tuition contract you signed for preschool or kindergarten enrollment.

As students begin their educational journey, there are some state-mandated checkpoints and assessments to ensure that we are monitoring your child's growth and development. To accomplish these activities, it's best if we bring small groups of children to school to work on these various assessments.

All K-5 (NOT PRESCHOOL) will be by participating in the Fall Assessment Days on Friday, August 29th, and Tuesday, September 2nd.

Friday, August 29th - Kindergarten KRA-R Assessment Days - Kindergarten Students Whose Last Name Begins with A-L Attend School (M-Z Does not attend school this day)

NO SCHOOL MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st - LABOR DAY

Tuesday, September 2nd - Kindergarten KRA-R Assessment Days - Kindergarten Students Whose Last Name Begins with M-Z Attend School (A-L Does not attend school this day)

In addition to our assessment days, we will be completing many of our kindergarten assessments during our normal school day. These screening assessments are required by the State of Ohio and they provide us with information to better know your child and to kick-start the school year to best meet their needs. We wanted to share what assessments they will be participating in and the expected dates so you know what is happening at school.

The dates listed below show the various windows of time we will be conducting assessments.

Speech & Language Screening - Kindergarten Students (August 26th & August 27th)

Your child will work one-on-one with one of our speech and language pathologists to conduct a speech and language screener.

Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA-R) - Kindergarten Students (Aug. 29th & Sept. 2nd)

This assessment looks at your child’s readiness for engaging with instruction aligned to the kindergarten standards. These assessments are completed through observation in the classroom and via an interactive assessment on an iPad. Here are the skills that are checked:

Social Foundations- including social and emotional development
Mathematics
Language and Literacy
Physical Well-being and Motor Development

AIMS Web Benchmarking - (September 9th & 10th)

A 3-minute kindergarten universal screener to check your child's incoming knowledge of letters, sounds, and phonemic awareness.

Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener - (Around the week of September 8th)

Students whose families speak a 2nd language in the home as reported in Final Forms will take a language proficiency screener. This assessment is given by Mrs. Levey or Mrs. Flannery our English Learner educators.

Vision & Hearing Screening - All Kindergarten Students (Month of September & October)

Our school nurse conducted vision and hearing screening at kindergarten registration. She will conduct re-checks on some children and wrap this up on any child that missed registration in the spring.

We will communicate any results that require follow-up or reach out to you if we have any further questions. We are looking forward to getting to know your child a bit more!

Has your child come home talking about earning a fuzzy pom? Did they bring home a reward ticket? We have officially kicked off teaching our learners about school expectations. At Miller, we work to help our children develop skills to be respectful, responsible, and problem-solvers. However, what does that look like and sound like in our school building? Each week we target a skill that supports the development of social and emotional skills that help all children be a member of a safe and fun learning environment. We will teach them a new skill for the next 6 weeks that helps them be safe, happy, and ready to learn.

Our teaching and reinforcing of school expectations and appropriate choices has started off with "I CAN HAVE A SAFE BODY or I AM READY TO LEARN." These two skills can be some of the most important skills we target at Miller. Many children are learning how to use their words to communicate their wants, needs and feelings instead of using physical means of communication. At school, this can look like taking toys from another friend, pushing too hard when playing tag, swinging their backpack which accidentally hits a friend, or invading someone's personal space. When we see children using a safe body or safe hands, they are rewarded with verbal praise, we hand them a Proud Pom and they get to add their Pom Pom to their class bucket!

There are times that young children need more time developing skills to keep a safe body and safe hands. It is important that we use consistent language at school and at home to monitor these behavioral actions. With consistent reminders about the appropriate expectations and time to practice these skills the right way, the more success students will find using their words instead of using unsafe hands. If we reach out to your family about practicing safe hands, please remember we are all working together to help remind your child about ways to communicate and treat others. We will also share all the great choices they continue to make while at school.

The Aurora Schools have a variety of athletic events each week! Here is the link if you wish to buy tickets for any Aurora Athletic contest this season. We also have cash sales at the gate. Ticket Prices for Adults is $10.00 and Students are $5.00. Children 4 and under are free. Adults 65 and older are also free. Go Greenmen!

https://gofan.co/app/school/OH119

Curious about hockey? Now’s your chance!

Join us at The Pond Ice Skating Rink on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 1:20-2:55 p.m., for Try Hockey for Free Day – a nationwide event for kids ages 4–9 to experience the thrill of hockey in a fun, safe environment.

No experience needed

Equipment provided (just bring your energy!)

Certified coaches on the ice

Let’s grow the game—one smile, one skate, one slapshot at a time!

Please share and sign up today at bit.ly/Try4Free913

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

Information to Download the My Ride K-12 Bus App

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.

- Please make sure your Final Forms medical information is up to date. We will closely read the health sections to address any medical concerns. If your child requires medication (over the counter or prescription) during the school day, we must have a signed medication form on file. You can find this attached below.
- It is important to check your child each day for symptoms of illness as you know them best. If they become I'll during the day, or are injured, we will reach out to you and let you know if their symptoms are worsening. We call home for injuries, fevers, and continued sickness. We do not call home for every trip to the nurse for a band-aid, ice pack or upset tummy. We certainly will call if symptoms worsen. We sometimes use our School Nurse Cell Phone.
- Students sent home with a fever, may not return to school until they are fever free without medication for at least 24 hours. This means if your child was sent home on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. with a fever, he/she may not return to school until 24 hours later. If your child does return the next day, our school will be calling for you to come pick him/her up. Please help to support our efforts in this area.
- DO NOT medicate your child with fever reducing medication and sending them to school. Yes, there are times when children need allergy medication, cough suppressant or nasal decongestant and can still attend school. If your child is feeling yucky, they are not at their best for learning and others can get sick when your child is symptomatic.
- Children between the ages of 3-6 often become sick more frequently due to learning sneeze and cough etiquette along with how to use a tissue correctly. You can practice this at home and remind your children the importance of covering their mouth and not spreading germs.
Finally, please make sure your child has extra clothes in his/her backpack. Accidents and spills happen all the time and it's safe to always have their own clothes in their book bag instead of wearing our spare clothes.