Rolling Prairie Elementary

I would love to take this opportunity to introduce myself as your new principal at Rolling Prairie Elementary! I am humbled to have the opportunity to serve the students, families and staff at a school with prestigious excellence. Our school is just getting started and I am excited to be part of the great things to come.

To share with you a little about my background, I am starting my 17th year in education. I’ve been fortunate to have served as a teacher, instructional coach and principal in several different school districts. With each role, I’ve loved building relationships with students, families and staff to help create a school atmosphere where learning happens in a safe, inviting and exciting atmosphere. I am also blessed to be a dad of four kiddos that range from 6th grade to preschool. So the elementary life is one that I live both at school and home.

I have been spending the past month getting familiar with the community, meeting the staff and asking lots of questions :). This year will be one of learning as I get to know the students and continue the momentum already set in motion by the tremendous efforts of this school community working together. My passion is for helping to create and maintain a school where kids love to come and learn. To accomplish this, I am committed to serving all with an openness to grow and striving for excellence each and every day. Feel free to contact me along the way so that I am attentive to concerns, questions and celebrations.

Our office staff are back in the building again as of July 23rd, so please let us know if you need help with registration. Teachers are looking forward to meeting your child at our Back to School Night on Wednesday, August 7th at 5pm and starting school on Thursday, August 8th! See you all very soon!

Sincerely,

David Burden

Join us for our annual Back-to-School Giveback & Title I Night on Wednesday, August 7th from 5-6pm. Before doors open the Rolling Prairie PTO have partnered with Hot Rod Snow Cones from 4:30-6:30pm. This is a great way to enjoy dinner and get to know your child's teacher. Excited to see our new and returning Bulldogs back walking the hallways!

Donations of clorox wipes and tissues are always welcome though not required. Thank you!

I am excited to join Rolling Prairie as a 4th grade teacher this year. I have been teaching for 10 years and earned my undergraduate from Indiana University and my masters from Ball State. I am married with 2 children that are also transferring to New Prairie this year. My daughter will be in high school and my son in middle school. I look forward to getting to know the families at Rolling Prairie and being a part of the New Prairie community.

Starting this year, NPUSC will not be offering before school childcare. After school childcare will be offered through the Boys & Girls Club at Prairie View Elementary with a targeted start date in October. The program will be free to families through a grant and offered Monday-Friday.

Until then, the Health Foundation of LaPorte has provided grant funding to sponsor after school clubs. More information and details about both of these offering will be coming soon.

As you know, social media is a part of our daily lives. Our students are bombarded daily with social media, but they do not always have the tools to manage all of it. As parents, educators and community members, our learning curve on social media varies by our own experiences. We are excited to share with you a great new partnership between NPUSC and SmartSocial.com. We believe the library of resources they offer will greatly benefit your work with students in our community.

We want to help keep all our students and families safe online and on social media. Our partnership with SmartSocial.com, the leader in online training resources, provides us with access to more than 400+ resources that teach us about the most popular social media apps and trends our students are using.

As a teacher or staff member here, you can access these resources. Many of the SmartSocial resources have videos and activities specifically geared towards students in addition to the parent/adult training.

We encourage you to create your own SmartSocial.com VIP account using our unique registration link. CLICK HERE When you go through the link included, there is no cost to you to register.

Once you have logged in, feel free to explore the library of resources and consider how you might include social media safety topics in your day-to-day daily interactions with our students.

Register today, start learning how to be safer on social media, and tell us what you think about this partnership and how you think we can help more parents in our community learn how to help students stay safe on social media!

Arrival

• Doors open at 8:20am with the tardy bell ringing at 8:40am.
• Students will enter the building on their own.
• Breakfast is available to students before going to class.
• There is no before school childcare at the school.

Dismissal

• Walkers will be released at 3:05pm
• Car riders will be released in waves starting at 3:10pm.
• Once all buses have arrived, students will be released to their buses.
• There is no after school childcare at the school.

*If you need to make a transportation change, please notify the office by 1:30pm. Changes at the last minute are difficult to communicate effectively so that your child is safe and accounted for.

The first late start Friday is August 9th... the second day of school :). School starts 45 min later every Friday. Students may still arrive via parent drop off at 8:20am, but all bus times will be delayed 45 min. On late start Fridays, the schedule is as follows:

8:20am - Students can arrive via parent drop off

9:05am - Arrival Bell

9:25am - Tardy Bell

NPUSC values professional development and our Professional Learning Community culture. During late start Fridays, teachers meet to learn and grow together. Across the district teacher teams spend time answering and planning for the following questions together:

1. What do we want students to learn (essential standards)?

2. How do we know they've learned it (common assessment development, scoring and analyzing)?

3. What do we do if they didn't learn it (remediation planning for RtI blocks)?

4. What do we do if they did learn it (enrichment planning for RtI blocks)?

In addition, we spend time learning together about new and innovative strategies to become the best teaching staff we can. Thank you for your continued support and partnering with us to bring the best learning opportunities for all students at Rolling Prairie!

Applications for free/reduced meals can found here: https://www.npusc.k12.in.us/nutritional-services/

Account management for My School Bucks to add money to your child's meal account can be found here: https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/getmain?requestAction=home

Student Prices (2024-2025)

Breakfast = $1.80

Lunch = $2.60

Snack = $1.10

Extra Milk = $0.45

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.

Volunteer Background Check

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

For more important information about a variety of topics, please refer to our General Elementary Handbook on our website.

8/7 - Give Back Night from 4:30-6:30pm (CST)

8/7 - Back-to-School & Title I Night from 5-6pm (CST)

8/8 - First Day of School!

8/9 - First Late Start Friday

9/2 - Labor Day, No School