What's Rolling at Rolling

Everyday students are reminded about B.A.R.K on the announcements and reinforced throughout the school day. B.A.R.K. stands for B - Be Strong, A - Act like a Bulldog, R - Remember Safety, K - Kindness Matters. Focusing on the positive behavior we want to see helps us reward the great things students do each and everyday. Ways this is done are through Top Dog, Gathering & Leader of the Pack.

When students do the expected in unique, positive and encouraging ways at school, we reward students with Top Dog awards. These are slips that students receive where the teacher who nominated them writes this up along with the behavior the student has shown that has given them this award. Then in the mornings during announcements, we announce winners and they come to the office to receive their Top Dog award slip and a prize. The hope is that students bring these slips home to show off the recognition they got at school with you!

Each Monday, the entire student body gathers in the gym for about 10-15 minutes as we start off each week. The purpose of this is to remind all students of what nice looks like and helps us start our week with the right focus for being a kind Rolling Prairie Bulldog. Gatherings provide a chance to give an object lesson that hopefully students can hold onto as they go through their week. Feel free to ask your child what they learned at Gathering on Mondays :).

Our monthly student of the month is recognized through our Leader of the Pack award. This is done each month during a Monday Gathering. One student from each homeroom is selected by their teacher for being a leader and example of B.A.R.K. in school. When a student is selected, they do not know until the morning of when they are announced in front of the entire school. It has been a pleasure to be able to invite families to join us in these special moments that morning. Students receive a certificate with the notable reason that their teacher nominated them and have a chance to celebrate their recognition with the guests who come as Gathering wraps up. Thank you families for sharing in these moments to make this extra special!

This final week before Christmas Break will be a Spirit Week sponsored by Student Council. Take a look at what each day has in store and have fun participating along!

On Friday, December 20th, students will be having Christmas/Winter Parties towards the end of the school day. Volunteers who will be coming in to help must have a Background Check on file and will need to bring their ID when arriving through the main entrance. Thank you for all the preparations going into making this final day before break delicious and fun!

When you were a kid, did you ever want to run through your school but knew you'd get in trouble if you did??? Well, this year we are going to make this possible for every student at Rolling through a new event called the Reindeer Romp! What this will be is a special moment where students will be able to SAFELY run through the hallways of the school in an organized and structured way.

Each student will be provided with a pair of headband antlers to wear as grade levels at a time will take turns running the hallway loop. The very first lap around will be a chance to race with Santa as the students get to run, jog or walk for 5-minutes through the hallways. The rest of the grade levels will line the perimeter walls and cheer on the reindeer as they make their laps around. When time is up, the next grade level will get their turn as the rest of the school cheers them on.

Let's see if our reindeer at Rolling Prairie are ready to pull Santa on Christmas! :)

If the windchill is 15 or below, it is an automatic inside recess.

If the temperature is above 15 but close then it is a judgement call. This could mean going out for 10 minutes and then coming in for 10 minutes. We will do our best to get outside as often as we can, but somedays the cold is just too much.

The playground equipment will get slick and wet with snow or falling snow, so we will avoid using that space. However, when there is snow on the ground we do required that students have the appropriate gear to play in it. This means the five things - coat, hat, gloves, snow pants and boots. Students who do not will be kept to blacktop only.

We have three options for arrival each day. Students are able to arrive by being a walker, car rider or bus rider. The doors open at 8:20am for students to enter the building. Students have the choice of going to breakfast in the cafeteria or wait in the gym. At 8:30am, students are released to their homeroom classes from the cafeteria or gym. The tardy bell rings at 8:40am and morning announcements start shortly after.

Families are not to drop your child off prior to 8:20am as there is no student supervision outside the school. Thank you for your understanding as we safely and efficiently get students into the building. Especially as the weather has turned to colder temperatures, we do not want to see our Bulldogs out in the cold longer than they need to be.

We have three options for dismissal each day. Students are able to dismiss by being a walker, car rider or bus rider. Below are illustrations that show the flow of movement for each procedure. In addition, a description of the process and times are included. Please follow these procedures as this helps us ensure the safety of students as we dismiss from school.

*Any changes to your child's departure routine, needs to come from a parent phone call or note that the child provides to the teacher. Students cannot make changes, we need adult direction to ensure students safely get home. If you are making a change, please inform the office by 1:45pm to give our staff enough time to be informed and communicate this to the child.

Walkers (and bike riders) are gathered in the library at 2:55pm. Students are then released at 3:05pm to Door 13 on the left side of the building. Families that park and pick your child up, we ask that you wait for your child on the far left side of the parking lot after the second crosswalk. This helps us free up releasing bus riders.

Our staff will begin collecting names at 2:50pm. Car Riders are released to the gym at 3:00pm. Then as the bell rings at 3:10pm, the first wave of Car Riders are released to their vehicles. All cars are loaded before the first wave of cars are released. Once the second wave of cars are situated and student names are collected, the next wave of students are released to their vehicles.

*When buses are being released, the Car Rider line will pause to allow buses to go before resuming.

Bus Riders are released to walk with their homeroom teacher when the bell rings at 3:10pm. Teachers will walk their class to the line of buses and match students up with their correct bus. Kindergarten and 5th grade are released first, then 1st & 4th, and finally 2nd & 3rd. Buses are identified by animals to help students get on the correct bus as bus numbers sometimes change. Once all students are loaded, buses are released by 3:20pm.

*Any bus that is late to arrive, students will wait with the school staff until the bus arrives.

Each Friday our staff are fortunate to learn alongside one another in a district-wide time. This means that school starts 45-minutes later than our normal time. Below are times to be aware of:

8:20am - Doors open for students to either go to breakfast or the gym to wait.

9:05am - Arrival bell for students to arrive now 45-minutes later on Fridays only.

9:15am - Students are released to their homeroom classrooms.

9:25am - Tardy bell for students to be in class and morning announcements start shortly after.

All visitors to the school will need to come through the main office door. During school hours we have a safe and secure entrance for our students that maintains that all exterior doors are locked. Staff have access with badges, but any guest must first come through the front doors.

Guests visiting for events will need to provide an ID to sign in. If you are looking to volunteer, please check out information below to do that.

This is a reminder (as we enter winter months) that the first two weather cancellations will be made up in-person on 2/10/25 and 3/17/25. Live virtual instruction per state requirements would occur on weather cancellation days #3 through #7. An 8th weather cancellation day will result in additional school days added to the calendar in May/June 2025.

After the first two snow days, days #3-#7 will be virtual eLearning that is live. Below is a link that is a copy of the schedule last year that guides the instructional times.

Expectations are that students join each of the instructional blocks, and by attending all they are counted present. The instruction that happens during an eLearning day is meant to continue learning. Teachers will be providing live instruction to students via Zoom or Google Meet. Instructions and information on eLearning will be provided by your child's teacher. Specials will still be incorporated into the day and services from support staff will be available to students with IEPs and ILPs.

Students whose primary spoken language is not English, may qualify for English Language Learners services. An assessment that is provided to these students is called the WIDA. WIDA testing assesses the student's language levels in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Only students who qualify for ELL services take this assessment. The upcoming window for this test will be January 13 - February 28th.

All students in 3rd-5th Grade will be taking the ILEARN Checkpoint #2. The first checkpoint measured students knowledge on content leading up to the actual ILEARN in April. There are a total of 3 checkpoints that students are participating in. Consider it with this sports analogy - checkpoints are the scrimmage leading up to the actual ILEARN game. The checkpoints do not count for or against your child, but do provide information that is helpful in preparing for the ILEARN "game" in April. The ILEARN Checkpoint #2 window is January 27-31.

All students completed the Middle of the Year (MOY) iReady benchmark test. This assessment measured student growth from the Beginning of the Year (BOY). Students in K, 2nd & 5th Grades are eligible for High Ability identification. If a student scores in the 96th percentile on the MOY iReady Benchmark, the student is able to qualify for High Ability services in the subject they scored in. If a student scores in the 93rd-95th percentile on the MOY iReady Benchmark, the student will take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). This test will then determine if the student qualifies for High Ability services. CogAT window is January 27th - February 7th.

Rolling Prairie Elementary qualifies as a Title I school. This means that we receive extra funds that allow us to put on some great events throughout the school year for our families. We have had some great events already this year, most recently our Bulldog Bingo Night! Take a look at the upcoming calendar of events and stay tuned as we heat up 2nd semester with these family events.

Rolling Prairie Elementary is very blessed to have an active PTO. We encourage all of our families to support the PTO either with participation in fundraisers, supporting events in the classroom or for the whole school, and engaging in PTO meetings. Below are the upcoming PTO dates that are held in the Library at school.

If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please email our leaders at rollingprairiepto@gmail.com.

The school is at its best when we are working together. Families and guests that are willing and able to give of their time is such a gift to our kids. If you are interested in partnering with teachers, PTO, or even with other events that happen at Rolling Prairie, please consider completing the background check. The application is digital and once completed, you are good for the school year.

If you have any problems or questions completing the form, please reach out to Richelle Kmak at 574-654-0266.

Questions regarding to policies and practices of all students at New Prairie United School Corporation can be found clicking the button below.

Students are encouraged to arrive at school by 8:40am (9:25am on Fridays) each day. If a student is not coming to school, the school needs to be informed by the family by 9:45am every day the child is absent. An automated call will go out if the school has not been informed as we account for every child enrolled at our school daily. The key is keeping the school informed on attendance so we can partner with families.

More detailed information on attendance is found starting at the bottom of page 25 of the student handbook.

12/23 - 1/6 - Christmas Break

1/7 - Back to School for Students

1/10 - Late Start Friday

1/13 - Gathering

1/13 - PTO Meeting @ 3:30pm in Library

1/16 - Camp Read-a-Lot Night @ 5:30-6:30pm

1/17 - Late Start Friday

1/20 - MLK Day - No School

1/23 - Girls Basketball at Olive @ 4:00pm

1/24 - Late Start Friday

1/27 - Gathering

1/30 - Girls Basketball at Prairie View @ 4:00pm

1/31 - Late Start Friday