Welcome to the E.H. Greene Intermediate School Newsletter! Every Friday, you will receive a weekly update about important information, dates, and the fantastic things going on in our school and community! Please reference the "Upcoming Week" and "Key Information for the Week" sections for the most current and timely information. Other sections are for your overall reference as they relate to our school community and specific parent and community information.

Address: 5200 Aldine Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242

Office Hours: 7:30 am - 3:30 pm

School Hours: 7:50 am - 2:50 pm

Phone: (513) 686-1750

Attendance Phone: (513) 686-1707 or ehgattendance@sycamoreschools.org

Letter Days (September 25-29)

Monday: C Day

Tuesday: D Day

Wednesday: A Day

Thursday: B Day

Friday: No School!

Important Dates

Friday; 9/29: No School (Teacher Professional Learning Day)

Monday-Friday; 10/2-10/6: Parent Lunch Week

After lots of planning and discussion, we are going to try a Parent Lunch Week. It will be Monday, October 2nd to Friday, October 6th. I am sending this out now so you can plan accordingly if you would like to attend:

HERE is the document with all key details!

While we want this to be a welcoming and fun opportunity, there are a few caveats to ensure this works:

1. Only ONE parent is permitted to attend on the assigned day. Due to space limitations, this must be followed.
2. Parents MUST attend on their assigned day. Due to space, we are not able to accommodate switches to dates of attendance.
3. Parents may bring a packed lunch, buy from our cafeteria, or bring outside food. That food may ONLY be shared with their student.
4. Students are not permitted to have other students join them for lunch. This event is a parent-child event.
5. Please make sure you arrive early enough to sign in at the front office and be able to meet your child to enjoy the lunch period (it is 20 minutes long).
6. If there is inclement weather, we will move your lunch to the teacher lunchroom.

It was great to see so many parents here the past few weeks. I hope Curriculum Preview allowed you the opportunity to meet your child's teachers and get a feel for what their day looks like here at Greene. While many of you were able to make it in person, we recognize that some of you were not able to attend for various reasons.

HERE is a document with links to the various team and specials' presentations so that you may receive the key information. We hope this is helpful to you.

Here is some information regarding 1st Quarter and Midterms/Interims:

• Parents should be going online (Parent Portal NOT Canvas) to check student grades.
• Midterm/Interim Reports for 1st quarter will be sent out next Thursday (September 28th) for any student with a D/F. This report will be a paper copy that goes home with the student detailing this grade.
• Also, parents of any student with a D/F in a class should be contacted by the teacher by phone or email.

If you have questions, please reach out to the respective teacher.

We appreciate your patience in waiting to be informed about your student's club/activity selections. We utilized a new process this year of a universal sign-up. We were pleasantly surprised by the response (over 580 students expressed their interest). Last week, our clubs that utilize tryouts and/or a selection process determined the students who would be in their respective clubs/activities. This week, we placed the remainder of students in the clubs/activities of their interest.

The club/activity advisors should be reaching out today or early next week to the parent email that was used in signups to inform you of your student's club selection as well as any additional information.

We are very excited to have so many kids involved and look forward to a great year of clubs/activities. If you have additional questions, please reach out to Matt McCalla; Activities Director (mccallam@sycamoreschools.org).

If you have slightly-used or never-played board games (with all the pieces!) that are taking up space in your basement, rec room, or somewhere else in your house, we would love to take those games off your hands! During indoor recess days, we are looking to trial allowing small groups of kids utilize our lobby area by our gyms for playing board games. If you would like to donate any games, please drop them off at the main office. Thanks for considering!

PBIS Rewards is a digital tool used to reinforce positive student behavior. Students earn points for exceeding expectations aligning with the 4 Be's. Team stores are an opportunity for points to be redeemed throughout the year. This week Greene students were polled to determine what they want to be included in each team store. Based on their feedback, we are requesting donations of the below items for all teams to provide students a similar experience when accessing each team store. Individual teams may include additional items or varying experiences for students; however, the below items will be available to all students. Donations can be sent to school with students or dropped off in the main office with your child’s name and team color. Thank you for your support!

All Team Donation Items

Laptop/Water Bottle Stickers

Candy (i.e. jolly ranchers, mini candy bars, airheads)

Chips

Fidgets

Jibbitz (charms for for croc shoes)

In an ongoing effort to provide a safe learning environment, Sycamore is requesting parents, students, and staff to inform administration (or whoever) of any perceived incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying.

Per the Sycamore Board of Education policy JFCF, harassment, intimidation, and bullying are defined as any provoked and intentional written, verbal, electronic or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both:

1. causes mental or physical harm to the other student; and

2. is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.

To view the complete policy, visit www.sycamore schools.org under the Board of Education tab, scroll down to “Policies”, search for policy “JFCF” and “JFCG-P”.

Sycamore will do everything possible to address any complaints of harassment, intimidation, and bullying. We encourage students, staff, parents, and community members to report this type of behavior to the district if help is needed to solve a problem.

To report an incident of harassment, intimidation, and bullying,

1. Go to the district’s website,www.sycamoreschools.org or on the individual school’s website under “Bullying Prevention” to find the form.

2. “Report Bullying”

3. Fill the form on-line and submit it electronically.

4. Hard copies of this form are available in each of the schools.

Complete the hard copy of the report form and turn it into the building principal. The building principal or designee will promptly investigate all reported incidents.

It is difficult to investigate reported incidences that are anonymously submitted. However, every effort will be made to maintain the confidentiality of the reporter. Deliberate false reporting of harassment, intimidation, and bullying is prohibited.

Nomination Form is HERE. If you believe a staff member has gone "above and beyond" and you want to recognize them, please fill this out!

Per our transportation department's request, PLEASE AVOID using this drive during arrival and dismissal times. Our buses travel between Greene and the Junior HIgh on this drive and use of this drive will significantly create traffic issues for yourself and our transportation department.

It is HIGHLY SUGGESTED that you would utilize Kenwood Road to Aldine Drive to arrive at school for car drop-off and pick-up. When leaving the school, turn RIGHT to avoid the congestion.

We appreciate your understanding and found in 2022-2023 that this significantly helped our traffic flow in keeping our bus traffic and car traffic separate.

Bus Riders

You can check for your child's bus stop information by visiting the TRANSPORTATION PAGE. The transportation department will update this information. Bus Riders will be assigned to a specific bus in the morning and in the afternoon. Please keep in mind that we cannot make any changes to bus assignments at the school level. Students will not be able to ride another bus to a friend's home. If your child is a bus rider and you need to pick him or her up on a particular day, please let the office know by emailing a note to: "ehgattendance@sycamoreschools.org".

Car Rider Drop Off

Beginning at 7:15am, families arriving at Greene will follow the driveway to the main entrance of the building. Students from parked cars will be dismissed and enter the building to wait in the cafeteria. Students are required to exit the vehicle from the passenger side directly to the sidewalk. To ensure efficiency and safety during the arrival process, all other family members must remain in their vehicle at all times. Once all students have transitioned safely to the building, cars in the drop off zone will leave via the route through the parking lot and back to the main driveway.Cars are expected to wait until the car in front of them exits through the indicated route. The next group of cars will then proceed to the drop-off zone. This process will be repeated throughout the arrival timeframe. Staff members will be present starting at 7:30 to direct and signal cars throughout the process. Students arriving after 8:00 will report to the office to receive a Tardy Pass prior to going to their classroom.

Car Rider Pick-Up

All 5th grade families and new to district families will receive a car tag with an assigned number specific to Greene. This will be your car tag and number for both 5th and 6th grade. For 5th graders and new to district families, car tags will be available to pick up at Get Connected Day on Monday, August 14th. All unclaimed tags will be mailed to families prior to the start of school. Car tags/numbers for our returning 6th grade families will remain the same as last year.

The dismissal process for car riders will begin at 2:55. Families will be able to enter the parking lot/pick-up zone no earlier than 2:45. The lot will not be open prior to that time. During car rider pick-up, your car tag should be hung visibly on the rearview mirror. Car tags can be shared among parents/guardians and other individuals who may be picking up your child. If that is not possible or if the tag is forgotten, please write the number on a piece of paper and place it in a visible location.

In order to pick up students, families should follow the driveway to the main entrance of the building. As you arrive, your car tag number will be communicated for the dismissal of your student. Students will be released from the building and directed by staff to load into their cars. All cars will wait until the first car is signaled to exit the drop off line. Staff will direct cars to leave in order via the route through the parking lot to the main driveway and waiting cars will be directed to the loading zone. This process will be repeated throughout the dismissal time frame. Families must remain in their vehicle at all times to ensure the efficiency and safety of the dismissal process.

Early Dismissal

If you have an appointment during the regular school day and need to pick your child up early, please notify the office in advance ("ehgattendance@sycamoreschools. org") , park in the visitor's lot and come into the main office. Be sure to bring an ID with you. Thank you.

Champions After School Care

Champions After School Care will not be held at Greene. Instead, Champions will take place at the 4 elementary schools. Parents can sign up for the Champions program that will be held at your student's previous (home) elementary school. The district will provide transportation from Greene to the elementary.

Parents will need to complete a Sycamore transportation form indicating that they will be going to an elementary school for After School Champions. Please call Champions at 513-680-2564 to confirm that your students will be attending a Champions program. They will then connect with our Bus compound to ensure transportation arrangements and will confirm registration with the families.

HERE are the guidance maps and information for each of those scenarios for how your student will arrive and/or dismiss from school. PLEASE look these over and review with your student to make sure they understand the pathways to travel.

Please reach out to any of the Greene School administrators if you have questions.

We are so excited to have a number of after-school clubs/activities for our students. As these clubs/activities get started, I wanted to review the "pick-up" process.

1. Parents should park in the parking lot or pull along the curb to wait for their student. If you you are pulling alongside the curb, the first car will pull to the front of the sidewalk past the front entrance. The remaining cars will line up in a single-file line behind the first car. We have quite a long driveway and a number of parents should be able to fit on the lot.
2. Parents DO NOT need to leave their cars to come get their kiddos!
3. Students have been instructed to come out the front door and wait until they see their car pull-up to the sidewalk space in front of the building and gym or in the parking lot. Please reinforce this with your student.
4. After retrieving your student, you may leave the parking lot. If you are pulled alongside the curb, you will pull ahead or, if careful, pull to the left and go past the cones and then follow the circle through the parking lot to exit the school grounds. This process is different than pick-up or dismissal where we expect parents to "stay in line". The reason for this difference is because of the different times that clubs/activities may exit.

Thanks for your help with this process!

Parent Access to Canvas LMS

At the start of next school year (2023-24), Sycamore Schools will be transitioning to a new Learning Management System called Canvas. Canvas is a widely used Learning Management System in K-12 schools and beyond. This year, staff members will begin transitioning to this new LMS. Parents will have access to a parent account in Canvas that can be linked to their student(s). To create an account, please follow the steps below:

1. Generate a pairing code from your student’s Sycamore Canvas course (instructions).

2. Visit the parent login page and create an account in the top right corner (this will require the pairing code from step 1.

3. Once submitted, the parent account will be connected to the student account for current and future courses.

Please note that this school year will be a transition year, meaning the use and adoption of Canvas will be varied from teacher to teacher with full implementation expected at the start of the 23-24 school year.

Chromebook Warranty Program Updates

We have recently experienced some changes to how our student devices are covered under warranty. To streamline the warranty process for all students, all students will be allotted $100 of repair, per year, following the fee replacement table below. If repair costs exceed the allotted $100, the remaining costs will be the responsibility of the parent/guardian/student.

Fee Replacement Table:

Device - $250 | Screen - $100 | Shell - $100 | AC adapter - $25 | Keyboard - $25 | Device Case - $20

Important Reminders:

• Students must keep the school issued protective case on the device at all times.

• Accidents happen. To better protect Sycamore Chromebooks and reduce the number of devices in need of repair, Sycamore Schools has invested in an “always-on” case. This case should not be removed for any reason. Any damage that occurs when the case is not on the device will be the responsibility of the parent/student/guardian.

• Lost/Stolen devices are not covered under the annual $100 allotment.

• Lost - full replacement cost is the responsibility of the parent/guardian/student.

• Stolen - Devices reported as stolen outside of school require that parents notify police and provide a copy of an official police report to the school administration. Theft Inside school requires a letter signed by the parent/guardian and stating the date, time, location and description of the situation.

• Manufacturer’s defects and issues will continue to be covered under the manufacturer warranty and will not have an impact on the $100 allotment.

My device is broken or not functioning correctly - what do I do?

If you have broken your device or it is not functioning correctly, please visit your school’s media center for additional assistance. Our team will troubleshoot the reported issue and if a fix is not immediately available, a loaner device will be provided.

See below for additional information regarding our steps and process for determining any fees associated with Chromebook damage:

Important Information from Child Nutrition

We want to ensure that your child continues to receive the benefits of the Free & Reduced Meal program in the upcoming school year. State guidelines allow these benefits to extend into the next school year to provide ample time for new applications to be processed. However, there's a critical date approaching: October 8th.

If your child qualified for the Free & Reduced Meal program in the last school year and you haven't submitted a new application for the 23-24 school year by October 8th, they will revert to a full pay status. Any charges incurred between October 11th and the time you complete a new application will be the responsibility of the parent or guardian.

To avoid any unexpected charges and ensure your child continues to receive these essential benefits, please submit your application as soon as possible.

Free & Reduced-Price Meals

Households are encouraged to apply for the Free & Reduced-Price Meal Program annually. Eligibility for free or reduced-price meals is based on federal income guidelines or participation in programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Ohio Works First (OWF). As of the 2023-2024 school year, any family that applies and qualifies for the Reduced Meal Program will now be provided meals at no-cost, where previously they were provided at $0.30 for breakfast and $0.40 for lunch. Families that qualify for the Free Program, will continue to receive their meals at no-cost.

To complete a Free and Reduced Price Meal Application online go to https://www.payschoolscentral.com/. You will need to create a username and password if this is your first time filling out an application. Please keep this information for your records as you will reuse this annually. You will receive immediate approval/denial if you complete and sign the electronic application.

For additional information about filling out a free and reduced meal application, click here.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served daily in each school in the cafeteria 15 minutes before school starts

Menus

Menus can be found HERE or through the Sycamore Community Schools App

• Menus will be live for viewing by August 28th.

Food Allergy Notification Form

If your student has a new or existing Food Allergy, the school’s Food Allergy Notification form and additional information can be found HERE

• A form does not need to be filled out annually, but will need to be updated should any information change with your student's allergy status. A copy of the form must be on file in order for your students allergy to be listed on their student meal account and any meal adjustment to be made.

• Contact wellmanl@sycamoreschools.org with any specific questions

Online Payments

Money can be placed on students' accounts if they wish to buy meals, a la carte entrees, snacks or drinks. LOAD MONEY ON ACCOUNT HERE or send cash or check in with your student to school. Checks can be made out to the Sycamore Child Nutrition Department.

Setting up Meal Restrictions on Student Meal Account

CLICK HERE to learn more about how to set up meal restrictions on your student’s meal account.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with our department, daily menus and more! @SycamoreCNS

IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL HELP, PLEASE CONTACT MS. GEORGIA ST. JOHN, GREENE KITCHEN SUPERVISOR, FOR ASSISTANCE: STJOHNG@SYCAMORESCHOOLS.ORG

Did you know that the Sycamore District has Student and Staff Wellness Program Guidelines that have to be reviewed and updated every 3 years? Check out the latest updates here!

If anyone is interested in learning more about the District Wellness Committee please contact warrenk@sycamoreschools.org.

Information that is emailed to parents will automatically go to the Primary Parent as designated in Final Forms. If an additional parent/guardian is wanting to receive the school emails (such as the weekly newsletter) or anybody is having issues receiving the newsletter, please refer to the following typical problems and solutions:

• The current, accurate email address isn't in ProgressBook. You need to update your email address in Final Forms as well as any additional email addresses that you would like to have receive communication.
• The correct email address actually is in ProgressBook. Parent may not be getting emails because you've opted out from receiving messages from the district at some point in the past. This is actually incredibly common. If you believe this is the case, please reach out to our building directly and we will work on this issue.
• The correct email address actually is in ProgressBook. School emails may be going to your spam folder.

Greene School is using the following email for parent communication

ehgattendance@sycamoreschools. org

This replaces any paper forms that you may have used at the elementary schools. This email is for absences, early dismissal, and/or late arrivals. Please inform us using the email by 1:00 and you will receive an confirmation email. If you have an appointment during the regular school day and need to pick your child up early, please notify the office in advance ("ehgattendance@sycamoreschools. org") , park in the visitor's lot and come into the main office. Be sure to bring an ID with you. Thank you.

Please check and update your student information on Final Forms.

As in the past, we need ALL parents or guardians to log into Final Forms and update any necessary changes for our 2023-2024 school year ASAP. That way, any potential issues/problems/questions can be addressed before our return to school at the end of August. Some forms require a student signature. You are required to sign the forms at the beginning of each new school year. A signature is also required after any update or as additional forms are added.

Please be sure to go to the "Transportation Information" section in Final Forms. Here you may give permission to those who may pick up your child from school, and designate emergency contacts. Please be sure to "check" all those who will be able to pick up your child from school. Thank you.

If appropriate, please provide the office with custody information and updated parenting plans for your child. Please indicate if you would like to be "copied on correspondence."

Please consider joining the Greene School PTO. This is an annual membership so if you are returning to Greene please join again. It’s important for all parents and staff to be a PTO member. There are no membership fees this year but we kindly ask that you consider donating to the PTO if you are able to do so. It helps us cover expenses such as the DirectorySpot App. We use this information to give you access to the Greene directory and only PTO members can vote and ask for gifting requests!

Please join today! There is a lot more information to come.

Kristofer and Harshana

Greene PTO Co-Presidents

Questions please email us at grpto@sycamoreschools.org

PTO SIGN-UP LINK

Greene School PTO Membership and Online Student Directory

The PTO would like you to volunteer in your child's classroom. Please consider supporting our teachers by being a Homeroom Parent. This is a wonderful opportunity to help our teachers pull together celebrations and other social events for the students throughout the year!

Click on the link below for a detailed description of the volunteer opportunity and to sign up.

The deadline to sign up is Friday, September 29th.

We look forward to your support!

Greene School Homeroom Parent Sign-up Form (2023-2024)*

The Greene Media Center has a need for one shelver for a 1-hour period daily. You are welcome to shelve at any time between 8am-2:30pm. This is a great time for our families to come to the Media Center and shelve books and be in the school during the day. Our Media Specialist, Mrs. Carlton, will be available for a brief tour and questions when you volunteer. Please sign up for as many slots as you wish!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4CA9A729AAFD0-greene4#/

Ms. Combs and Ms. Becker are looking for volunteers to come into school once a month to help hang the students' artwork. There are a few large display areas where artwork can be hung and the art teachers will provide direction on where and how to hang the items. This will probably take closer to an hour but we have blocked out two hours in case there are bigger projects on occasion that take more time.

Sign up with this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0E49ABAA2AA2FA7-artroom1

Hospitality - Arranges for refreshments at 3 PTO meetings (October, January, and March), and help arrange the Volunteer Appreciation event in May

Author Visit Hospitality - Arranges meals for Principal's Pick lunch with students, student lunches with the author, and staff breakfast with the author - Author Visit is March 14 & 15, Principal's Pick will be around the week prior

Math and Science Convention - Arranges meals for Miami University students who are presenting, and snacks for participants

Please email grptovpprog@sycamoreschools.org for more information and to sign up! Thank you!

Ms. Lopez (Orange Team: Science Subject Leader) found these super helpful technology tools. We thought you would enjoy and benefit!

Student/Parent Tutorials

Gina Cutshall and Manika Maheshwari are the co-represetatives for Greene with GEAR

Sycamore GEAR (Gifted Education, Advocacy, and Resources) is a parent-led group for families in Sycamore Community Schools who are interested in gifted education. Your child does not need to be identified or even receiving gifted services to become a member as membership is not limited in any way. Members must only be interested in gifted education and enrichment in our school district to join.

If you have any questions or interested, please reach out at ehgrep@sycamoregear.org

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Click here to be connected with Greene Ambassadors:
https://www.sycamoreschools.org/domain/909
Click here if you want to help other families:
https://forms.gle/azpu6FPUKLC3ntNy8

Sycamore Bridges is proud to share that we reached record generosity in 2022. We impacted over 8,700 area neighbors while donating $142,174.71 in goods and services back to our Sycamore community. Our reach and the types of needs we fill continues to grow. In 2022, we:

• Provided clothing, shoes, furniture, appliances, groceries, and gift cards
• Paid utility and internet bills, emergency hotel stays, rents, and mortgages
• Helped with childcare, car repairs, and too many funeral expenses
• Assisted with medical and mental health needs
• Placed 200 "calming boxes" in every elementary classroom to offer teachers additional resource tools for all types of learners
• Provided tutors to struggling students and welcomed immigrant families with translators
• Spread our kindness all the way to Europe to assist Ukrainian refugees
• Granted scholarships to graduating seniors
• Paid for extracurricular fees for countless students at all grade levels
• Helped families affected by house fires and domestic abuse
• Made sure everyone's holidays were filled with joy

But most importantly, we showed up for our neighbors during their darkest times. Thank you for your role in this impactful year. We continue to foster partnerships with local municipalities and community organizations to reach even more neighbors. Don't hesitate to reach out if you know of a local business or family sponsor who would like to connect with us. We encourage you to register on our website to receive an email notification when a new need is posted. (We do not share your contact information with third parties.) Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see the difference we are making in the community. We appreciate your dedication and commitment to making Sycamore the kindest and most generous neighborhood in all of greater Cincinnati. Happy 2023!

With Gratitude,

Lori Drasnin

Volunteer Director

lori-sycamore@neighborhoodbridges.org

Want to find out more information about community events and activities? Click here to visit our district-approved community flyers , please click here: https://www.sycamoreschools.org/domain/944

Website: http://www.sycamoreschools.org/Domain/10
Location: 5200 Aldine Drive, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: (513) 686-1750
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EH-Greene-Intermediate-1777365652527973/
Twitter: @EHGreeneSchool