Craddock's Weekly Update

Happy Beautiful Fall Friday Craddock Families!

I hope this message finds you well and ending a wonderful week!

Please know that our school partnered with the Aurora Police Department today to practice a lockdown drill at approximately 2:30 p.m. As you know, it is critical that our staff and students have clear direction on what to do in case of a true emergency. I emphasize to our staff that drills are practice and great times to find weaknesses in our plan and ask questions. I will be working closely with Officer Clague to firm these areas up so when we practice again we don't encounter similar issues. Our staff was well prepared and did a wonderful job making sure our students were prepared accurately and in a non-threatening way. We never want to incite panic, but we do want our students to understand practice is serious and it's important they listen to what they are directed to do. They responded beautifully! We are very proud! If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to me!

We have a very exciting week coming up, with so many fun and special events on the calendar. First, on Tuesday, 10/27 the students will get to turn me into an ice cream sundae! They earned this by meeting our initial fundraising goal and they are SO EXCITED! I secretly am too! :)

We far surpassed our fundraising reach goal and the kids earned a Jump Party! I have rented multiple inflatables and will bring those into our gym on Wednesday, 10/28 and Thursday, 10/29. Teachers will be receiving a schedule, which will allow all students at least one opportunity each day to enjoy jumping! The staff and students are going to have a blast!

Rounding out this exciting week will be our Fall Festival. Weather permitting, we will parade outside beginning at 2:00 p.m. The map showing our spectating route is in the Weekly Update. Students will then come inside and enjoy some activities to celebrate fall. These have been organized by our Fall Festival Committee and will be implemented by our volunteers. We are so grateful for all of them and want to share our thanks in advance for all they are doing to make our festival so special and fun! If you have any additional questions about the Fall Festival and costumes, please read specifics in the Weekly Update!

I hope you have an amazing weekend! The weather looks spectacular! As always, if you have any questions, concerns or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Take care,

Kim Stewart, Principal

Craddock Elementary School

330-562-3175 (office)

216-849-2552 (cell to call or text)

kmstewart@aurora-schools.org

We are so excited to begin preparing for our annual celebration of Craddock's Veterans! We will be honoring and celebrating our Veterans on Wednesday, 11/11/26 at 9:30 a.m. at Craddock! Students who are connected to a Veteran are encouraged to invite them to attend. Please click the button below to RSVP for a Veteran connected to your child. Each Veteran may bring one guest. As we get closer to the event, more details will be shared on the celebration! For now, we just want to begin getting an idea of how many Veterans will be in attendance!

The excitement is mounting quickly at Craddock as we get closer and closer to our annual Costume Parade and Fall Festival. This year we will be holding that on Friday, October 30th. Our parade will begin at 2:00 and will be weather-dependent. If it is raining, we will not be hosting a parade for the community to spectate. We are crossing our fingers for sunshine and blue skies! Check out the map below for a general idea of the route our students will follow when parading!

Immediately following the parade will be our Fall Festival in each classroom. Parent volunteers will work with the teachers to organize activities for our students. If you are signed up to volunteer, please make sure to let Mrs. Kerchenski know if you plan to take your child home. We will need to have everyone cleared out in a reasonable time frame to ensure our regular dismissal goes smoothly. Your communication ahead of time helps us greatly! Thank you!

Finally, please review our costume reminders below for this fun day...

• Students are permitted to wear their costume to school all day, as long as it isn't a distraction to learning.
• Costumes should permit students to do all their normal activities, such as sit in a chair, play on the playground, etc.
• Masks cannot be worn throughout the day as part of a costume.
• Students may come in to school with costume makeup already applied, but will not be permitted to apply additional makeup throughout the day.
• Costumes should be in good taste. Please save costumes with gore and violence incorporated into them for home.
• Weapons (fake or real) are not permitted at school, even if they are a part of the costume, i.e. swords, knives. Please save those for home as well.

Finally, if you have any questions at all about your child's costume, don't hesitate to reach out!

We are so excited to bring the first of two book fairs to Craddock this year the week of November 2nd! Students will have a chance to shop during their library time on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. There will not be wish list days for kids to preview. Please use the link below to peruse the flyer Scholastic puts out and discuss options with your kiddos!

Hello Craddock Families!

I do not know about you, but I feel like this year has been flying, I can’t believe October is almost over! So many amazing things have been happening here and this school year has been a super positive one so far! It is great to see how far everyone has come since the beginning of the year! Everyone has been working so hard at following our school wide expectations and we are well on our way to filling up the School Wide Pom Bucket for the 3rd time! So much celebration has been happening in these walls this school year. November will be filled with more classroom guidance lessons, small groups and World Kindness week!

This month I was able to visit every classroom to talk about the Zones of Regulation. The Zones of Regulation is a simple, color-coded framework (Blue, Green, Yellow, Red) that helps children identify, label, and learn to manage their feelings and energy levels. We talked about the importance of recognizing our feelings so that we know what we can do to get back to the green zone! My next classroom lesson will focus on coping skills and strategies that students can use to help them manage their feelings.

Below are some resources if you are interested in learning more about the Zones of Regulation or implementing them at home!

Zones Of Regulation Visual.pdf

Zones_LR_Zones_Language.pdf

I have been checking in on students to re-teach the expectation “I can have a safe body” through my PBIS re-teach groups and I am currently running a small group for self-regulation. If you think your student would benefit from these tier 2 supports please reach out to me!

I continue to make myself present and available throughout the building and at recess, helping problem solve and support all of our students.

This week you should have received a final forms notification informing you of our Personal Body Safety Program that will be in November for both 1st and 2nd grade students. On that letter you can also find the link to the opt out form if you prefer your child not participate. Please reach out to me or Ms. Stewart with any questions you may have.

Below you will find a google form that allows you to share any important information about your child’s social/emotional needs or any information that would be helpful for me to know so that I can be as helpful as possible. Please use this form to inform me of any need you may have with the upcoming holidays. I am happy to connect your family with resources to support your holiday needs.

School Counseling Information Form

As always please reach out to me with any questions or concerns via email or phone and I am happy to help in any way that I can!

Take care,

Mrs. Claudia Schnur

330-562-3175 ext. 1135

cschnur@aurora-schools.org

We do our best to funnel all communication about our students' transportation and absences through our Google form connected below through the QR code and below through a link. This GREATLY reduces the craziness in the office having to address these calls and/or emails and it also helps us ensure no communication falls through the cracks. If we are receiving it from multiple places, it gets harder to track on busy days!

If you have any need to report your child absent, late or needing an early dismissal, just enter it into our form. If you need to change your child's transportation at any time, just enter it into our form. The responses go right to Mrs. Kerchenski in our main office. If she has any questions at all after reading your entry, she will always reach out!

THANK YOU in advance for helping us streamline our processes and most importantly, for doing all you can to ensure we know where your child is and how they are getting home safely each day!

As we move through the fall and winter months, fevers and other common illnesses tend to become more frequent. A little extra attention to symptoms at home can help children feel better, support their recovery, and reduce the spread of illness throughout our school community.

When should I monitor my child?

A fever is generally considered a temperature of 100.4°F or higher. If your child feels warm, unusually tired, has chills, complains of a headache, or just doesn't seem like themselves, check their temperature and monitor how they are feeling. Encourage rest and fluids, and watch for any changes in symptoms.

What symptoms should I look for?

In addition to fever, keep an eye out for:

• Unusual tiredness or low energy

• Chills, body aches, or headaches

• Sore throat, persistent cough, or congestion

• Vomiting or diarrhea

• Decreased appetite or signs of dehydration

A child who seems unusually ill, even without a fever, may need rest and closer observation.

When should my child stay home?

Please keep your child home if they have a fever of 100.4°F or higher, are too unwell to participate comfortably in the school day, or have symptoms that could spread illness to others.

Children should be fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil), before returning to school. They should also be feeling well enough to participate in normal school activities.

When should I contact a healthcare provider?

Seek medical advice if a fever persists, symptoms worsen, your child is not drinking or urinating normally, or you have concerns about their recovery. Seek urgent medical care for difficulty breathing, severe dehydration, confusion, difficulty waking, or other severe symptoms.

A little rest at home when children are sick can make a big difference in their recovery and help keep our school community health at its best.

OCTOBER

• Friday, 10/30 - Fall Costume Parade and Festival at 2:00 at Craddock

NOVEMBER

• Monday, 11/02-11/06 - Scholastic Book Fair
• Friday, 11/06 - Trimester 1 Ends
• Monday, 11/09 - Trimester 2 Begins
• Wednesday, 11/11 - Veteran's Day Assembly at 9:30 in the Gym
• Thursday, 11/12 - Night One of Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Friday, 11/13 - Trimester 1 Gather Reports LIVE
• Monday, 11/16 - The Giving Tree Begins (more details to come)
• Monday, 11/16 - Wednesday, 11/18 - Gifted Testing for 2nd Grade (CogAT)
• Thursday, 11/19 - Night Two of Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Tuesday, 11/24 - Trimester 1 Rally
• Wednesday, 11/25 - Friday, 11/27 - NO SCHOOL for Thanksgiving Break

DECEMBER

• Tuesday, 12/01 - Last Day to Submit Giving Tree Purchases
• Monday, 12/07 - Friday, 12/11 - Holiday Shop
• Friday, 12/18 - Winter Celebration at 2:15 p.m.
• Monday, 12/21 - Monday, 1/04 - NO SCHOOL for Winter Break

JANUARY

• Tuesday, 1/05 - School resumes from Winter Break
• Monday, 1/18 - NO SCHOOL for MLK Jr. Day

FEBRUARY

• Thursday, 2/04 - Streetsboro Dairy Queen Dine to Donate Event from 5:00-8:00 p.m.
• Thursday, 2/11 - Trimester 2 Ends
• Thursday, 2/11 - Valentine's Day Party at 2:15 p.m.
• Friday, 2/12 - NO SCHOOL PD Day for Staff
• Monday, 2/15 - NO SCHOOL for Presidents' Day
• Tuesday, 2/16 - Trimester 3 Begins
• Tuesday, 2/16 - Friday, 2/19 - Literati Book Fair
• Friday, 2/19 - Trimester 2 Gather Reports LIVE
• Tuesday, 2/23 - Spring Conferences Night One
• Thursday, 2/25 - Spring Conferences Night Two

MARCH

• Saturday, 3/06 - PTO Mother/Son Night Out at the Western Reserve Racquet Club (more to come)
• Monday, 3/08 - NO SCHOOL PD Day for Staff
• Monday, 3/22 - Monday, 3/29 - NO SCHOOL for Spring Break

APRIL

• Friday, 4/16 - NO SCHOOL Conference Compensatory Day
• Saturday, 4/17 - Princess Prom at AHS
• Thursday, 4/22 - Incoming 1st Grade Parent Orientation 6:00 p.m. in the Craddock Gym

MAY

• Monday, 5/03 - Friday, 5/07 - Staff Appreciation Week
• Wednesday, 5/12 - 2nd Grade Performance at AHS (performances at 6:00 and 7:15) More details to follow in winter!
• Friday, 5/21 - Field Day
• Thursday, 5/27 - Lunch on the Lawn for 2nd Grade
• Thursday, 5/27 - Last Day of School and Trimester 3

You are the most important piece to ensuring these very important times of the day run smoothly! All of our procedures are in place to protect the safety of our students, staff and visitors. Thank you in advance for your efforts and patience!

ARRIVAL

• Drop off each morning can take place from 8:40-8:55 a.m. Students are not permitted to exit cars until 8:40. Thank you!
• Car riders need to be dropped off following the route detailed in the map below. It is a single file line formed down Hurd Rd. This is the same line used for pick up in the p.m.
• Students can only exit cars on the sidewalk side of the horseshoe. We ask that you please adjust car seats and/or child locks if needed. Parents stay in cars at all times.
• Staff will be outside daily to help students enter the building and navigate to their classroom.

DISMISSAL

• Car rider dismissal begins each day at 3:10, but will be 5-10 minutes earlier the first few weeks of school. Students will be called down as you arrive in our horseshoe. We do this electronically through a Google Doc that all of the staff are watching so they know when to dismiss each car rider.
• All car rider parents will be issued a tag for the backside of their passenger visor with their child's last name on it. These can be secured at Meet and Greet or throughout the school year.
• Parents remain in cars and students will be escorted to their car by a staff member.
• When everything is up and running after a few weeks, car rider dismissal usually takes approximately 15-20 minutes.

Join Aurora Schools Foundation for Make a Difference Day 2026 on Tuesday, October 27th, from 4:15–6:15 p.m. as we mulch the trail at Leighton Elementary School.

Spend an afternoon giving back and helping care for a space our students enjoy. Thank you to the City of Aurora for donating the mulch!

Scan the QR code or sign up using the link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0545ABAD22A4FDC07-66821228-make

Email: kmstewart@aurora-schools.org
Website: www.aurora-schools.org
Location: 105 Hurd Road, Aurora, OH, USA
Phone: 330-562-3175
Twitter: @CraddockSchool