Welcome Back!

Hello Leeton Elementary families!

Welcome back to a new and exciting school year! We are thrilled to have your children back in our halls, ready to learn and grow. This year, our theme is "Our Future is Bright," reflecting our commitment to providing a nurturing and stimulating environment for our students to shine.

We are fortunate to have many familiar faces returning to Leeton Elementary this year!!

Mrs. Shaffer - Elementary Principal

Miss Kelly - Elementary secretary & district health aide

Mrs. Carr - Kindergarten

Mrs. Rohaus - 1st Grade

Mrs. Foulk - 2nd Grade

Mrs. Steinmeyer - 3rd Grade

Mrs. Tribble - 4th Grade Math, Science & S.S.

Ms. Tackett - 4th Grade ELA

Miss Bays - 5th Grade

Mrs. White - Title I

Miss Avery - Title I paraprofessional

Miss Melanee - classroom paraprofessional

Mrs. Schuler - K-12 Librarian

Miss Lowry - K-12 Art

Miss Fisher - K-12 Music

Mrs. Pinnell - Elementary Counseling & At-Risk

We are also excited to introduce our new members to our educational team:

• Noah Scrivener joins us as the new Elementary Physical Education teacher. Mr. Scrivener brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for physical fitness and wellness, and we are eager for him to share his passion with our students.

• Mr. Blizzard has taken on a new role as our Elementary Special Education teacher. With his extensive experience and dedication to supporting all learners, we are confident that he will be a tremendous asset to our special education program.

• Miss Andrea will be joining our team us as a classroom paraprofessional. Miss Andrea has worked in the district previously and we are excited to have her rejoin our team!

• With grant funding, our district was able to hire a social worker. Mrs. Jennifer Groseclose will be joining our team as our district social worker. She comes with a wealth of experience in social work and student support and we are excited to be able to offer additional supports for our students and families!

I am so excited to kick-off another school year with your child and family! My name is Heather Shaffer and this marks my 16th year as building principal and 23rd year with the district!

Whether you are a returning family or this is your first year with us, welcome!! Our staff have been working very hard to prepare our building, classrooms, and instructional activities to ensure we have an awesome year! I want to give an extra shoutout to our custodial staff (Tia Bond, Penni Rogers, Steve Detherage, and Tyler Young) for their work on our building this summer! They truly have outdone themselves making sure all the rooms are ready for our staff and students!!

Again, I am so looking forward to reconnecting or getting to know each of you and your child(ren) as we work to provide the best education for our Leeton Elementary students!

August:

15th: Open House @ 5:30-7 p.m.

20th: First Day of School: Doors open at 7:20 a.m.

29th: Parent Advisory Committee @ 6 p.m. (district conference room)

Save the date:

September 21st: COPE fundraiser - Celebrity Dinner (more information to follow)

As we embark on a new journey in adopting the four day school week, I wanted to take a moment to share a few pieces of information.

School hours: 7:40 a.m.-3:26 p.m.

Doors open: 7:20 a.m.

*students are considered tardy after 7:45 a.m.

We will be offering Monday Club for any Leeton K-5th grade student from 7:20 a.m.-2 p.m. Boys and Girls Club will be open from 2:00-6:30 p.m. on Monday as well. Please see the attached flyer for additional details.

The 2024-2025 school year calendar is also included below. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Arrival Procedures: Students will arrive at school in one of three ways; walking/riding a bike, riding the bus, or as a car rider. Please check the arrival procedures for each, which are included below:

• Walkers/Bike Riders: If your child walks or rides a bike to school, please encourage them to stay on sidewalks whenever possible. If they ride a bike, we ask that they get off their bike once they arrive on school property and walk it to the bike rack located at the front of the elementary building. Both walkers and bike riders will enter the building through the elementary entrance.
• Bus Riders: Buses arrive a few minutes before 7:20 a.m. and unload at 7:20 a.m. All elementary students should enter the building through the elementary front entrance.
• Car Riders: In the morning, parents are asked to travel SOUTH down Main Street and utilize the parking on the west side of Main closest to the bus lane to drop their child off. Please DO NOT pull into the circle drive to drop your child off. This space is reserved for buses only in the morning.

Regardless of which way your child arrives at school, once they enter our building, they will go to the elementary gymnasium to join their classmates. If they need to eat breakfast, they will go to the cafeteria from there. All students are released to their classrooms at 7:40 a.m. and are considered tardy at 7:45 a.m. After the tardy bell has rung, all students must check-in at the elementary office before going to their classroom.

Dismissal Procedures: Elementary students are dismissed at 3:20 p.m. beginning with bus riders, B&G club members as well as walkers (who go to the south doors by the H.S. gym). In order to ensure our youngest bus riders get on the correct bus, all K-2nd grade bus riders will be given a colored zip tie on their backpack that coordinates with the colored-cone/sign on the bus they will ride home. IMPORTANT: If you have a K-2 grade student who rides the bus home, please know that these students will not be let off the bus if a parent/care giver is not present at the drop-off location, unless the bus company has a letter on file that states you can do otherwise (i.e. let the child off the bus with an older sibling).

Walkers are dismissed from the south doors by the high school gym. If you have an older child who will be picking up an elementary student to walk/drive them home they will need to pick them up from this location.

If you are picking up your child as a car rider, please use the east side of Main Street to wait for students to be released. Once the buses have left, parents may pull into the circle drive to pick up their child. Staff will be outside to assist students getting in vehicles and to ensure they get in the correct vehicle :) If we spot an unfamiliar face, we will be asking for a photo id. We don't do this do cause a hassle, but rather to ensure our students all make it home safely. If you are new to the pickup line, please be ready to provide your id for verification.

We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with West Central Boys and Girls Club of America to provide afterschool care for our students K-8th grade. B&G Club is open from the end of the school day until 6:30 p.m.

If you are interested in signing your child up for B&G Club, please complete the online registration attached below. If you need a paper copy of the enrollment packet please reach out to the elementary office. Additionally, there are three days throughout the school year that B&G Club is closed due to staff training. A flyer with these dates is included below.

If you have any questions or need assistance with B&G club, please don't hesitate to reach out to our Site Director Daynelle Wolford: dwolford@bgckids.com

On the first day of school, we invite our Kindergarten families and students to join us at our Kindergarten welcome tent, which will be located on the playground. Mrs. Carr (kindergarten teacher) and Mrs. Pinnell (guidance counselor) will be waiting for your child at this tent to greet them and help get their first day of school off on the right foot. Please feel free to visit with our school staff and take as many pictures as you'd like. We ask that when you're ready to say your goodbyes, you do this at the tent. Mrs. Pinnell will help get your student into the building where other school staff will help get them to the gym or the cafeteria. We have found this process helps reduce the number of tears for our students (no guarantees on parents 😁). We look forward to a great start of their school career!

Each year, our students have the distinct opportunity to show off their leadership skills by applying to participate in our ambassador program. There are 4 different ambassador positions available to our students; however, some positions are only open to students in 3rd-5th grades. Please check out the attached application for descriptions of each position as well as deadlines to submit the application to participate. Please reach out to your child's teacher or myself should you have any questions regarding the ambassador positions.

Don't forget to join us for our annual Open House on August 15th. Please feel free to stop by anytime between 5:30-7 p.m. that night to visit your child's classroom, chat with their teacher and get ready to kick-off our school year!

Several years ago, I was given the opportunity to trial a daily scheduling tool which helps me focus my time on activities that support our staff and students. This may look like a variety of things such as working with students, observing classrooms, providing feedback and support to staff, holding collaborative meetings to improve our instructional practices, celebrating successes, supervising students, and yes, occasionally dealing with student discipline, among other things. The goal is to schedule more time doing instructional focused tasks than anything else each day. I have found this format works very well for me as I can ensure I focus on what is most important, our student's success!

However, there may also be times during the school year that you will need to meet with me. When this need arises, I simply ask that you call and schedule time with Kelly rather than showing up at the office. Sometimes, I am available to meet at that moment, but generally speaking, I have obligated time to another staff, student, or community member and don't want to cause frustration by making you wait or making you make two trips.

Here are a few tips to ensure your needs are met as quickly as possible:

1. If you need to make changes to your child's pick up routine, please contact the elementary office @ 660-653-4731.
2. If your child had a rough evening or start to their day, please reach out to their classroom teacher to let them know either by phone or via email. Please remember that once the school day starts, any phone calls received for a classroom teacher will be sent to their voicemail so as not to interrupt their instructional time, therefore, emailing your child's teacher may be the most effective means of communication initially.
3. If there is an immediate emergency that involves your child (i.e. death in the family, ER visits, etc.) please contact the elementary office and Miss Kelly will notify me so we can make a plan to support your child and family.

I do not want to put off your needs, but want to be respectful of everyone's needs. I appreciate your help in supporting not only your child, but all of our students.

Student meal prices:

Breakfast: $1.60

Lunch: $2.80

Reduced Breakfast: $0.30

Reduced Lunch: $0.40

There are two ways you can put money on your child's lunch account:

1. Submit payment to the elementary office. If you are sending the money with your child, please make sure to place the money in an envelope and that it is clearly marked whose account it goes to;

2. Pay online via the parent portal. Please note, there is a small service fee associated with this type of transaction.

Your child is allowed to charge up to $5.00. After this point, they will be given their meal each day, but no seconds will be allowed. Please also note that seconds are not offered to K-1st grade students. However, there is a fruit and vegetable bar available every day and students are allowed to have as much of these items as they would like as long as they are not being wasteful.