We had so much to celebrate this week with the 100th day of school, Hot Chocolate Day, and our first International Night as a school. Thank you to the families and staff members who supported these memorable learning opportunities for our students. We have another fun and full week ahead with Science Fair and Global School Day of Play. Be sure to check out all the details below:

Science Fair- Our second annual Science Fair will be held on Tuesday, February 6th. This will occur during the school day with a community Open House to view projects from 4:00-5:30 (note time is different than previous newsletter).

Be Smart- The next speaker in the Strong in Every Way series will focus on gun safety. It will be held in the PAC at 6:30 on February 6th.

Global School Play Day- Global School Play Day is scheduled for Wednesday, February 7, 2024. For those of you not familiar, this is a global event that promotes the importance of unstructured play in schools. More info can be found here.

Valentine's Day- We will celebrate friendship and kindness with Valentine's Day parties on February 14th. Classroom parties will occur on this day. Students are invited to bring in cards or small gifts (think pencils, stickers, etc., not food) for their classmates. See blurb below for additional details

Wellness Night- Save the date! Family Wellness Night will be held on February 15th from 6:00-7:30.

Thrill Night- PTO Thrill Night is coming soon! We look forward to a fun evening on March 1st. Please consider donating treats for our Thrill Night Treat Walk!

Buddy up Fun Night- This week, members of the ZCHS Best Buddy Club came to Trailside to promote their upcoming fundraiser. More details are included below. To sign up, use this link: https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?sport=19&id=264211

Before and After Care Registrations: Plan ahead for ZCS care options. Spots fill quickly and are limited by capacity. Scroll down to read details in the infographic located below.

Kindergarten Round Up/Registration: If you have little ones ready to start their educational journey, don't miss this! Also, be sure to share information with neighbors and friends in our community with students ready to enter Kindergarten next school year. Important information is located below.

Fourth Grade Transition- If you are a fourth-grade parent, be sure to review the section regarding upcoming events.

With gratitude,

Mrs. Jen Raycroft and Ms. Deb Pickett

Trailside Elementary

jraycroft@zcs.k12.in.us

dpickett@zcs.k12.in.us

February 5-23 CoGAT Testing

February 6- Trailside Science Fair 4-5:30; Be Smart Speaker at PAC, 6:30 PM

February 7- Global School Day of Play

February 14- Valentine's Day Parties

February 15- Wellness Night, 6-7:30

February 19 - Presidents Day (no school)

February 21- Webs of Support Parent Night (4th grade parents) at TSE, 6-7 PM

February 29- ZWEST Step Up Visit for 4th grade during school day; ZWEST 4th grade Parent Meeting, 6:00 PM

March 1- Youth Art Month Kickoff, 5-7 PM at Sullivan Munce; Trailside Thrill Night, 6-8 PM

March 7-9- ZCS Do Days

March 11-28 NWEA Spring Benchmark Window

March 15 - End of 3rd quarter

March 26- Kindergarten Round Up in ZCS

March 29 - April 8 - Spring Break

April 9 - School resumes

May 27 - Memorial Day (no school)

May 31 - End of 4th quarter/Last Day of School

June 3 - Last day for certified staff/teacher work day

June 9 - ZCHS Commencement

23-24 ZCS School Calendar 2023-2024 ZCS Calendar

The CogAT is a multiple-choice assessment administered to students in kindergarten and second grade. This is a computer-based assessment which measures reasoning skills with different types of verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal questions. The CogAT uses two types of norms when tests are scored: age norms and grade norms. Age norms compare how a student performed relative to other children of the same age and grade norms compare how a student performed relative to the other children in the same grade. After scoring has been completed each parent will receive a parent report.

TSE Kindergarten students will be taking the CogAT assessment the week of February 5, 2024.

TSE 2nd Grade students will be taking the CogAT assessment the week of February 12, 2024.

For more information about the CogAT assessment, please visit our website here.

Please contact TSE School Counselor, Dana Jobito, with questions.

All ZCS elementary schools will be hosting a science fair this year. All students are invited to enter! Information can be found on your child’s CANVAS page via STEM. Projects will be done entirely at home and brought into school on Science Fair day.

Tuesday, February 6th Science Fair: This will take place during the day at school. In the evening families and the community are invited to a Science Fair Open House from 4:00 – 5:30

See Molly Seward, STEM Teacher with any questions. mseward@zcs.k12.in.us

Students will need to come to school with their winter coats, hats, and gloves. Snow pants, waterproof boots, warm gloves/mittens are required to be able to play in the snow. Please reach out to our counselor, Mrs. Jobito, if you are in need of assistance to obtain cold weather gear. All children play outside except on rainy, icy, or very cold days (wind chill below the 10-20 degree range). Inside recess will be held on those exceptional days.

We look forward to celebrating Valentine's Day with our students at their classroom parties on Tuesday, February 14th. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to emphasize the lifeskill of friendship with all of our students. As you are out shopping for Valentines to share with classmates, please select cards and/or trinkets that are inedible. This could include pencils, erasers, stickers, etc. Candy will not be distributed. Thank you for ensuring that all students can have a safe and fun celebration.

• Lunch visitors- We are ready to accept visitors for lunch! You can use our online system to sign up to have lunch with your student in the office conference room. You will need to bring your ID to check in. Please no more than 2 guests per student due to limited space. So that others may have the opportunity, we ask that you not sign up more than 1 time per calendar month. When you sign up, please put your student name and classroom teacher in the notes. Here is the lunch visitor sign up link: https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/TrailsideLunchVisitors@zcsk12in.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/

The Home Links for the entire year are linked below.

• Kindergarten Home Links
• 1st Grade Home Links
• 2nd Grade Home Links
• 3rd Grade Home Links
• 4th Grade Home Links

Visit the website at www.secondstep.org and enter your grade level activation code. You will first need to create an account and then from your account dashboard you can select Family Resources.

Grade Level Activation Codes:

Kindergarten: SSPKFAMILY70

Grade 1: SSP1FAMILY71

Grade 2: SSP2FAMILY72

Grade 3: SSP3FAMILY73

Grade 4: SSP4FAMILY74

If you have any questions about the Second Step program, please do not hesitate to reach out for more information. Thank you for supporting your child(ren) in learning the skills which lead to success in school and in life.

Family Assistance - When basic needs are met, students are better able to focus on education and learning. Therefore, there is assistance available for our students and their families to help with various needs which may arise throughout the school year. If you are currently in need of assistance, please fill out the form by clicking the link Family Assistance. Please know, this information is private and will be kept confidential.

Local Provider List

As the school counselor here at Trailside Elementary, I wanted to (re)introduce myself and my role. Please see below to learn more about me, my role, and how I help and support your student(s) social and emotional learning here at school!

Kindergarten (Pre) Registration Opens Mid February (required in order to attend Round Up)

Kindergarten (pre) registration for the 24-25 school year will open up soon (anticipated on 2/15/24). Keep your eyes open as registration (part 1) will go live for the graduating class of 2037! All ZCS elementary schools will host Kindergarten Round Up in the afternoon/evening of March 26th for registered families. More information and details to come soon.

We are beginning to plan for our fourth graders transition to middle school. Please save the dates for events coming early in second semester:

February 21- Webs of Support Presentation from 6-7 PM at Trailside Elementary

Please join us for a fourth grade parent event at Trailside Elementary! Our goal is to provide our fourth grade parents with some insights into pathways for a positive transition into middle school. Every parent, teacher, and community member can be an Anchor for a young person. In this interactive workshop, you will learn to create and uphold the essential foundations for youth to thrive as they transition from elementary to middle to high school and beyond! This is geared toward anyone who cares about youth and wants to learn how to support them. RSVP using the Parent Square message from Mrs. Raycroft.

February 29- During the school day, TSE students will visit ZWEST for their Step-Up trip. Fourth grade families are invited to ZWEST for informational meetings.

Hello Future (and potentially current) ZWest Families,

It's incredible to think that we're already gearing up for the 24-25 school year and making preparations to ensure seamless transitions for our students. Please mark your calendars for Thursday, February 29th, and save that date! We're thrilled to extend a warm welcome to current 4th-grade students from our feeder elementary schools for a special visit experience during the school day.

During this visit, students will have the exciting opportunity to engage with our current ZWest Eagles, explore the world of our music programming, and take a guided tour of our school building. The day is designed to give them a taste of the vibrant and supportive community they'll be joining.

For our parents and guardians of students receiving special education services, we have a tailored session planned just for you at 6 pm. Join us for an informative session on the specialized programming at Zionsville West and the chance to meet members of our dedicated team. We believe in providing a nurturing environment for every student, and this session is aimed at addressing your specific needs and concerns.

Following that, at 7 pm, we invite all incoming 5th-grade families to join us. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about Zionsville West and gain insights into how we'll collaborate to ensure a smooth transition for your child into our ZW family. We're excited to share our vision, values, and the various ways we support our students' growth and development. We look forward to meeting our future ZWest families on this special day and starting this exciting journey together!

Dismissal Changes

Same Day Changes

• Prior to 1pm – please call the main office and press 1 in order to leave a message that will be received in time to communicate the change.
• After 1pm - please call the main office and press 0 to speak live with one of our administrative assistants.
• Please do not email same day changes to your child’s teacher. They may not have an opportunity to check email prior to dismissal.

Changes in Advance

• Please send a handwritten note to your child’s teacher or call the office instead of an email. There may be times that a substitute teacher has been assigned, that he or she will not have access to the teacher’s email.
• If you choose to email, please ensure you get a reply confirmation that your child's teacher received the change. If you do not, please call the main office.

Attendance

Illness or Late Arrival

• If your child is ill, you are running late, or your child won’t be coming to school that day for any reason - please call the main office and press 2 to leave a message on the attendance line. If you do not, you will receive phone calls after a certain time so we can ensure your child is safe.

Pre-Arranged Absence

• Please complete the pre-arranged absence form, linked below or located on the Trailside Elementary website (under the Parent tab) at least two days in advance, and turn it into the front office.

During the school day, all volunteers are expected to check in at the front office. Prior to the volunteer opportunity, all volunteers must sign a Non-disclosure Acknowledgement Form and have successfully completed a Full Criminal History Background Check.. Necessary background check paperwork is available on the ZCS website at the Volunteers/BRAVO link and should be submitted at least 10 days prior to the intended volunteer date. Volunteers must also view the state mandated confidentiality/bullying video, provided on the Volunteer/BRAVO website. The volunteer will pay the fee for the full background check which will expire after 5 years.

During the school day, all visitors must enter via the front door and sign-in at the front office. Visitors need to be prepared to present a government issued photo ID which will be scanned against the National Sex Offender Registry. All visitors will be issued a visitor badge/tag to be worn inside the building at all times. Visitors other than parents/guardians must be prearranged and organized through the main office.

GROW/Child Care Services

Eagle Rec

Bridge and Early Start Spanish are optional, fee based programs that “bridge” the time between the 7:50-8:00 arrival time for 1st-4th grade students, and the start of the instructional day for Kindergarten students, which is 8:50-9:00.

Before and After-School Care (BAC) is available for all Trailside students. Before school care begins at 6:45am and After school extends childcare from 2:30 to 6:00pm.

Eagle Rec offers fee based programs in a variety of interest areas throughout the school year.

One such program is the Trailside Choir- https://register.ryzer.com/camp.cfm?sport=24&id=252965

Save the date for a districtwide presentation on February 6, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. hosted in the ZCHS Star Bank Performing Arts Center. Representatives from Be SMART have prepared a presentation and are extending an invitation for a conversation concerning children, firearms, and responsible gun storage.

The Be SMART framework is strategically designed to empower parents and adults in initiating open dialogues about gun safety. By taking responsible actions, we aim to prevent child gun deaths and injuries. The goal of the presentation is to educate and encourage the secure storage of guns—locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.

Be SMART and safeguard your family. Join us at this presentation to learn more about how you can help spread awareness and work together to keep all children safe.

This week Lauren Kniola from HMMPL visited Trailside to teach third and fourth grade students about the library’s digital resources. See the flow chart below for many of the tools the library has to offer.

Email: jraycroft@zcs.k12.in.us
Website: https://tse.zcs.k12.in.us/
Location: 4200 South 875 East, Zionsville, IN, USA
Phone: 317-873-8057