CES Weekly Communicator

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

Dear Chapelfield families!

Welcome to our newest lions, our kindergartners! We were so excited to have all of our youngest students together on Thursday. They had a great first few days.

This week, we focused on ways we celebrate showing PAWS at school (Being Positive, Acting Responsibly, Working Hard, and Showing Respect). We can earn lion bucks as a whole class, PAWS-itive notes homes, and PAWS stickers for going above and beyond. Our PAWS-itive note are new this year. When your child brings one home, make sure to celebrate them! Hang it on the fridge.

We also talked about making mistakes. We all make mistakes, including me. This video shared three tips: admit our mistake, learn from it, and try not to make the same mistake twice. There will be times that students forget to do their homework, say something they regret, or get frustrated at a game at recess. We discussed strategies adults will use in the classroom to talk through mistakes with them. Please take a moment to talk to your child about this and share an example of a time you made a mistake and learned from it. Your partnership with us in this kind of learning helps make us a strong community.

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Nikki Miller

We are excited to share that we welcomed motivational speaker Elec Simon to Middle School West to speak with our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders today along with Goshen Lane and Royal Manor! Elec Simon is a dynamic performer and percussionist who spent over a decade with the hit Off-Broadway show STOMP. He uses his musical talent and high energy to deliver a powerful message about respect, love, and believing in yourself. His assemblies are interactive and engaging, often getting students involved with music and drumming. He aims to inspire students to be themselves and to stay focused on their dreams. We believe that his message will inspire our students and reinforce Chapelfield PAWS! Thank you to PTO for sponsoring this opportunity!

GRIN has partnered with Chapelfield to offer a "Weekend Snack Pack" program for our students. If you would like to participate, your student will receive a bag of non-perishable food items every Friday to bring home. In order to participate, please contact Mrs. Jasin or your child's teacher.

Dear GJPS families,

During the 2025-26 school year, all students in kindergarten through 10th grade will participate in district assessments for reading and mathematics. These assessments, Acadience Reading K-6 and NWEA MAP, help us better understand each student's academic progress throughout the year.

Acadience Reading K-6 measures early literacy skills.
NWEA MAP measures student achievement and growth over time in reading and math. It also provides a way to compare our students' progress with that of their peers nationwide.

Students in kindergarten and first grade will take the Acadience Reading and MAP Math assessments, while students in 2nd through 10th grade will take both the MAP Reading and MAP Math assessments.

These assessments will be administered three times throughout the school year: once in the fall, winter, and spring. Your building principal will share the specific testing dates for your school. After each testing period, you will receive a report detailing your child's performance and growth.

The results from these assessments provide a valuable set of data that helps us create a more complete picture of your child's learning. This information helps our staff plan and deliver instruction that is tailored to meet your child's individual needs.

Please contact your child’s teacher or principal with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Tia P. Holliman

Director of Curriculum

Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools

Attendance matters for student success! It is important for students to come to school on time and leave on time. Please help us follow this schedule.

7:50 a.m.: Doors Open for Students Eating Breakfast At School

7:55 a.m.: Doors Open for All Students

8:05 a.m.: School Starts-Students need to be in their class ready to learn. Students entering the building after 8:05 a.m. will need to be signed in to the office by a parent/guardian.

2:45 p.m.: School Ends; please read the end of the day procedures for more details of when we release students.

We are proud to share that GJPS is now an All-Star District in the Stay in the Game! Attendance Network. We believe that student success starts with school attendance, and our shared mission is to prioritize attendance by connecting our learning community to resources aimed at tackling chronic absenteeism.

By working together, we can keep our students in the game and set them up for success. At home, at school and in our community, families and caregivers make a difference in student behavior and can be positive role models for attendance.

Everyone — educators, parents and families, community partners, and even students, can do their part to tackle absenteeism. Take the Attendance Pledge, and help us spread the word to Stay in the Game!

September is Attendance Awareness Month. Do your part in ensuring you get to school on time and ready to learn! If you haven't done so already, take the pledge!

Pursuant to House Bill 410, student attendance is calculated in hours. This includes absences that have been identified as both excused and unexcused by the school, as well as planned absences. Being late or tardy to school does calculate into the total hours absent.

If your child is going to be absent for any portion of the school day, please notify the school. You may report an absence by using our Online Absence Reporting available in the Parent Portal in Infinite Campus. To enter a request follow these simple steps:

1.Log in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account.

2. Select your child’s profile.

3. Navigate to the Absence Request section.

4. Fill in the required information, including the date and reason for the absence.

5. Submit your request.

You will be able to view the status of your request using the View Requests button.

You may also call Chapelfield at 614-478-5575 or email our secretary at gilzows@gjps.org.

Medical excuses from a doctor can be submitted to Stephanie Gilzow, our school secretary, through email (gilzows@gjps.org) or sending in a paper copy.

Arrival

Our doors open at 7:50 a.m. for students who will be eating breakfast at school ONLY. All other students are able to enter at 7:55 a.m. Buses will dismiss students at 7:55 a.m. Kindergarten, first, and second grade students enter through the doors on the right, if you’re facing the building. Third, fourth, and fifth grade students will enter the doors on the left. Students who are driven to school by parents or guardians may be dropped off beginning at 7:55 a.m. They will exit their vehicle and follow the sidewalk to the front of the building. In the case of inclement weather, students will be permitted to come into the building rather than waiting outside. However, this is not until 7:50 a.m, when student supervision begins.

Dismissal

Buses:

Students riding the bus will exit at the front of the building. Bus riders will leave at 2:42 p.m.

Car Riders/Day Car Shuttles:

Students being picked up by car will use the door near the music room, the west door. These students are dismissed at 2:35 p.m. This is a car rider lane ONLY. It is not for parents or guardians to park and pick students up in person. We kindly ask that you refrain from using your cell phone at this time in order to keep all students safe. We will be extended the pick up lane to make this process faster.

Parent Pick Up & Students Walking Home (NOT IN A CAR): Dismissed at 2:45 p.m.

If you wish to pick your child up in person, and not sit in the car lane, please go to the K-1 playground.

All students will go out the east side doors to exit onto the K-1 playground. Please wait for your child there.

Please note with the change of times, we may monitor and adjust our plan. Please continue to read for updates.

The front office is a busy place the last 30 minutes of school. We ask that parents NOT CALL to make transportation changes after 2 p.m. Please make sure students know your plan of pick up before they come to school.

We are excited to offer the mobile device app Here Comes the Bus. This app allows families to view the real-time location of your child's school bus on a smartphone, tablet or computer using GPS technologies with which each school bus is equipped.

How to Get Started with Here Comes the Bus:

Download the Here Comes the Bus app or visit www.HereComesTheBus.com.
Click the “SIGN UP” button at the bottom of screen.
Follow directions on screen to create an account using the GJPS school district code: 29231
You will be sent an email to verify your email address and activate your account.
Return to app and add your child’s last name and STUDENT ID number.
(STUDENT ID NUMBER IS THE SAME AS STUDENT CAFETERIA PIN NUMBER)
Click “ADD STUDENT” to add other children in your household.
You are now ready to begin following the location of your child’s bus!

Parent Portal Annual Update

Infinite Campus is our parent portal and student information system. This site will allow parents/guardians to access school information electronically. For example, Infinite Campus will allow you to update email addresses and other important information regarding your child as well as view your child's report card electronically.

ALL Families (either new to Chapelfield or returning families) need to update your information in the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus. Directions for how to update Infinite Campus are linked below:

Log into the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus at: https://gahannajeffersonoh.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/gahanna_jefferson.jsp
Click MORE from the left hand column
Click on ONLINE REGISTRATION from choices on the right
Click START next to "Existing Student Registration"
Go through each step to complete the registration

Families New to Chapelfield Elementary: If you are a new family to Chapelfield (including all of our kindergarten families), you will receive an email from Mrs. Gilzow, school secretary, soon detailing directions on how to log into the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus to update your information.

Returning Families: If you need assistance - please call the school office at 614-478-5575. Mrs. Gilzow will be happy to help.

If you are visiting Chapelfield for any reason, you will need to enter the building through the front doors.

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.

**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.

Background Checks are needed each year for all volunteers!

To increase safety and security protocols, all GJPS volunteers who may have the potential to interact with students in an unsupervised setting or may have access to confidential information will be required to complete an online application that includes a background check. The district will provide the background checks at no cost to the volunteer. Background checks are required EACH school year. If you completed a background check last school year, you will need to complete the process again for the 2024-2025 school year.

EXAMPLES

Examples of volunteer experiences include but are not limited to: cafeteria helpers, reading aides, mentors, hall monitors, field day volunteers, library helpers, office helpers, tutors, field trip chaperones, small group or individual student work in the hallway, party helpers, concession workers, fundraising volunteers, book fair volunteers, mobile dentist volunteers, etc.

Interested in Volunteering?

Click on the link below and fill out the necessary information:

Volunteer Form - Link is currently activated for the 25-26 school year!

2025-2026 Food Service Information

A plate lunch is $2.75.

Breakfast is $1.50. *Breakfast runs from 7:50 - 8:05 AM each day at Chapelfield.

Lunch Menu

Breakfast Menu

Families are again asked to complete and submit a 2025-2026 Free/Reduced-Priced Meal Application if they believe they may qualify. Applications are available in the Chapelfield school office or online at: GahannaSchools.org. If approved, the completed application will cover the student for the entire 2025-2026 school year, and no other steps will be necessary unless there is an income change during the school year.

Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Food Service Department is committed to assisting families and making this transition back to normal operations as easy as possible. Please feel free to contact Food Service Supervisor Stephen Ismael (Ismaels@gjps.org) if you have any questions.

Wit & Wisdom is our English Language Arts curriculum.

Here is a Curriculum Overview for Families.

Bridges is our Mathematics curriculum.

Check out Bridges Family Information if you would like to learn more by clicking on your child's grade level.

All parents and guardians are invited to join us for our first PTO meeting of the year on September 9th at 7:00pm. Come and meet other parents in our school community and learn more about the year ahead! Childcare is provided. This will be our title 1 meeting where we learn about the state of our school.
Follow the Chapelfield PTO Facebook page for updates and reminders for upcoming events.

The PTO is looking forward to hosting students and their special guests for Breakfast with Buddies. Students with last names starting A-L are invited to join us on August 29th, and students with last names starting M-Z are invited on September 5th. Breakfast with Buddies will start at 7:15 am, and students and their guests can enter through the gym doors on the West side of the building.

The annual Fall Flower Sale will start on Tuesday, August 26th and will run until Friday, September 12th. Additional details and ordering information will follow!
Our first restaurant night fundraiser of the year will be at Whit’s (Gahanna) on Saturday, August 30th - a portion of all proceeds from this full-day event will support our Chapelfield community.

Did you know your Kroger grocery shop can benefit our school? The Kroger Community Rewards program offers donations from all qualifying purchases to an organization of your choosing - your school community benefits when you choose Chapelfield PTO! To enroll, visit the Kroger Community Rewards page, log in to your account (or create one!), and search for “Chapelfield PTO” under the listed organizations. You can also sign up in-store to have every transaction benefit our school!

5th grade committee

As requested, we have new items like sweatshirt and pants sets as well as polo shirts, tank tops, and zip up hoodies! We also have more Gahanna Lion options as well.

To order your spirit wear, please visit this link:

https://peprallyapparel.com/collections/chapelfield-elementary-preorder