Keller Elementary Newsletter
August - September 2024
From the desk of Principal Carroll
Greetings families!
Welcome back to a new school year! This school year our school wide theme is "Kindness, Love, Respect and Student Growth." To support our school wide theme, staff and students will be learning about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with our new 'Leader In Me" program. During our Social Emotional Learning classes, students will be learning the importance of being kind and showing respect to others and how to be a "Leader."
We will be implementing a new Grading Policy this year. The new grading system will allow teachers to better communicate with parents how their student is progressing with grade level standards. Instead of using an A to F grading system, we will be using a 1 to 4 grading scale as shown below.
1 = Emerging (Your student frequently requires assistance and demonstrates limited understanding of grade level standards)
2 = Approaching (Your student occasionally requires assistance with and/or inconsistently demonstrates understanding of grade level standards)
3 = Meets (Your student consistently and independently demonstrates understanding of grade level standards)
4 = Exceeding (Your student consistently and independently demonstrates understanding of grade level standards and can regularly apply/extend this understanding to new situations and may be learning standards for the next grade level)
*New Cell Phone Policy - Students in grades 4th and 5th will be required to place their cell phones in a security pouch at the beginning of each school day. The teacher will keep the cell phone pouches in an open container that is easily accessible in case of an emergency. This will help us in an our efforts to eliminate distractions in the classroom.
As a school community, we need your help in making sure our students are in school everyday. We are implementing a new attendance policy which will monitor student attendance, absences, and reward students and classes for good attendance. Students will not be allowed to miss more than 7 days of school (excused or unexcused) each semester. More information will be in your child's VIP folder that will come home with each student during the first week of school. If you need support with making sure your child is in school everyday, please contact your child's teacher or our school counselor, Ms. Redmond or our school liaison, Ms. Arroyo.
The VIP folder coming home with each student will contain important information for you to review. It will also contain important documents for you to read and sign and return to school with your student. Please make sure you review, sign and return these documents.
In a continued effort to keep staff and students safe during the school day, we have a new front door security system. Upon entering the front doors of the school, you will need to push the video camera button on the right side of the wall and wait for a response from an office member. You will need to show your I.D. in front of the camera in order to be allowed into the school foyer area. The office staff will buzz the second set of front doors and let you into the office area. We appreciate your patience and support as we all learn this new system.
Our Meet the Teacher Day will be Friday, August 9th from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Kindergarten orientation will be in the lunchroom from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. Class lists will be posted on the windows in front of the school by grade level. Please join us for this event so your child has a chance to meet their new teacher prior to the first day of school. This is not a parent teacher conference time but it's a time to say hello to the teacher and to look at the classroom that your child will be spending their day in.
The first day of school is Monday, August 12th. The front gates will open at 8:55 a.m. 1st through 5th grade students will enter through Gate 1. Kindergarten students will enter Gate 3 at the front right side of the school. Kindergarten parents will not be allowed to enter the gates with their child. Teachers and other staff members will be present to help them get to their teacher and assigned line. This policy helps your child adjust to attending school and being independent.
We look forward to an exciting school year full of amazing learning opportunities and a chance to partner with you to ensure the academic success of your student.
Thank you for your continued support!
~Mrs. Carroll
- Registration begins July 29th and registration hours are from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.
- Students should arrive at school on time at 8:55 a.m. There is no adult supervision before this time.
- Dismissal is at 3:21 p.m. Students need to be picked up on time. If you are going to be late to pick up your child, please arrange for them to be picked up by someone on your "Emergency Contact" list. There are no early dismissals after 3:00 p.m.
- Please check our school's website at cjkellerelementary.com for important school information, parent information, and student links to educational programs.
- Your child's success and safety at school is very important to us. If you have a concern, please address it with your child's teacher first. If your concern is not resolved with the teacher, please call the school office to talk about your concern with school administration. You may also come to the school office and complete a parent concern form during school office hours.
- School office phone number is 702-799-2140. Office hours are Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. excluding holidays and no school days.