Crocker Chronicles

The Crocker Chronicles is a monthly e-newsletter for parents and guardians of students at Crocker Elementary School. Our goal is to keep you informed of the news and information you need in order to be involved and engaged in your student's education.

Registration for the 2023-24 school year opens February 3, 2023 @ 8:00am

ALL new student registrations, not just kindergarten, for the 2023-2024 school year open on February 3rd. This includes preschool registration, which will use the same registration process as K-12 for the first time. To begin this process, parents will need to go to the Ankeny Community School District website, click on the Register tab and follow the instructions.

All current ACSD parents can use the Parent Portal to complete their Annual Update of household information. This where parents will review and provide updates to phone numbers, emails and emergency contacts, if needed.

Families with students in K-12 that need to add a student to their current household, can do so easily using their current Parent Portal login instead of going to the website's New Student page. Simply click "more" in the left column, then click "registration" to review current information and add a new student.

On February 8th, we will announce our book choice for #CrockerReads. #CrockerReads is a PTO-sponsored, school wide event where ALL Crocker students receive a book that is read aloud by Crocker staff and guest readers. It is an opportunity to promote literacy and build a culture of community.

See the flyer below for details on the Ankeny High Dance Team Winter Kids Clinic February 9th & 10th! Scan the QR code in the flyer or use this link to register.

Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for February 27th-28th and March 1st. You should have already received a sign-up link from your respective teachers. If you did not receive this link, please email your student's teacher.

Our Crocker Library is excited to announce that we will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair during conferences! Our book fair will run from Monday, February 27th -Wed. March 1st with the following hours:

Monday, February 27th- 3:30-7:00 PM

Tuesday, February 28th- 3:30-7:30 PM

Wednesday, March 1st- 7:30-8:30 AM

If you can't make it to our book fair, you can use the link below to browse and shop the book fair virtually: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/crockerelementaryspringbookfair

Our library will receive a percentage of the sales. Please consider participating in one of our favorite events while helping to support our library at the same time!

If you would like to volunteer at the book fair please follow this link to our Crocker volunteer page. Thank you!

This month your student will learn about problem solving strategies. Teaching problem solving skills reduces impulsive behaviors, improves social competence and friendships,

and prevents violence. The skills taught in this unit are designed to build students’ ability to handle interpersonal conflicts effectively. Students capable of calming down and solving their own problems are more successful in school and their interpersonal relationships.

The problem solving steps being taught:

S- Say the problem in a non-blaming way

T- Think of solutions that are safe and respectful.

E- Explore the consequences – positive and negative

P- Pick the best solution

Mrs. Kennedy, School Counselor

marisa.kennedy@ankenyschools.org

Hello, Crocker Families!

The nursing office is getting VERY low on extra pants for students. Please send your student in with an extra set of weather appropriate clothes for accidents, food spills or clothing malfunctions! If your student comes home in borrowed clothes, can you please return them as soon as possible?

I try my best to communicate most health office visits with you so you know when your student is injured or not feeling well. I email the non-urgent visits, and call with more pressing concerns. Please make sure your email and phone number are current in Infinite Campus. If your student needs to go home and you are busy at work, please make a plan for someone who can pick them up if you are unavailable.

I have seen a lot of students in the office this month with sore throats and coughs, and there have been a lot of cases of strep throat! If your student has had a sore throat for several days that’s not improving, please check in with your doctor and get them evaluated. Thank you so much for continuing to monitor your students for symptoms and keeping them home when ill. No matter what virus they may have, students should stay home for 24 hours after having a fever, vomiting, or having diarrhea.

We are now on Instagram at @crockerelementaryschool!

Make sure to give us a follow to stay updated on all things Crocker!

Unforeseen accidents in the classroom, lunch room and playground can result in wet or soiled clothing. Please make sure your student(s) has the following back-up items in a grocery sack or large ziploc that can be kept in their locker for those unforeseen accidents.

Appropriate back-up clothing suggestions:

• Shirt
• Long pants
• Underwear
• Sock
• PE shoes

Per the Student & Parent Handbook, when the temperature and/or wind chill is at 0 degrees or below, as reported by the National Weather Service, students will not go outside for recess and safety patrol will not be on duty. If at any time the recess supervisor(s) believes it is too cold for students to be outside, s/he will bring students inside. Students are expected to have appropriate dress for weather conditions.

Please remember to send the following with your students so they can enjoy their outdoor recess time!

• Coat
• Hat
• Mittens
• Snow Boots
• Snow Pants
  

As winter weather approaches, it’s instinctive to be “Iowa Nice” and hold a door open for someone approaching, however, Ankeny Schools requires all visitors to speak with the office staff before entering any building. This means that access can only be granted to a visitor once they have been “buzzed” into a building by the front office. The District will continue to restrict visitors to our buildings for the foreseeable future, which includes limited classroom volunteers and a hold on lunchtime visits.

Stay informed with what is going on with Crocker PTO by visiting their website CrockerPTO.org

Please contact the school if your child will be absent from school, arriving late or leaving early. Crocker's telephone number is 515-965-9710. Another option is to send an email to croffice@ankenyschools.org along with your student's teacher. We do have to have the reason why a student is not in school. If the school is not notified of an absence, the office will attempt to contact the Parents/Guardians at their primary number listed on Infinite Campus.

While it is encouraged for students to have appointments outside of school hours we understand that at times this is not always possible. When you know your student has an appointment and will need to be picked up from school during the day please call the Crocker Office to let them know you are coming. When you come to the school, ring the Aiphone doorbell and state who you are here to pick up. We will ask for you to remain outside to wait for your student.

If your student forgets to bring something needed that day for class, we ask that you ring the Aiphone doorbell and we will ask for you to put the items on the table just inside the door. Please label item with the student's name and teacher.

Please remember that delivery's of flowers, candy, balloons, or presents are not accepted for students as stated in the parent handbook and will be sent back with the delivery driver.

Every Wednesday, school begins at 8:55 am, which is 1 hour later than other days. The doors to the building open at 8:30 am. Students may enter the building at this time and either go to the gym or lunch room to eat breakfast. Please do not drop your students off before 8:30 am on Wednesdays, as there is no adult supervision for them until that time.

Please remember to send a water bottle with your child everyday! This promotes hydration throughout the day and fewer classroom disruptions by cutting down on the student need to leave class and visit the drinking fountain.

The Ankeny Elementary Physical Education Department recommends that students keep an extra pair of tennis shoes at school to use. This promotes better safety and full participation in all physical education activities.

The information distributed in the Virtual Backpack (vBackpack) is provided as a community service to inform members of the community of available activities or services. The majority of information included in the vBackpack is from community organizations. Community groups can submit their information within certain guidelines, governed by Board Policy #1004.25.

Virtual Backpack

February

05 - PTO Open Gym 2:00-4:00 pm

10 - Friendship Parties - various times during school day

13 - PTO Meeting @ 6:30

20 - ~NO SCHOOL~

27-28 & March 1st - Conferences & Book Fair

Email: croffice@ankenyschools.org
Website: crocker.ankenyschools.org
Location: 2910 Southwest Applewood Street
Phone: 515-965-9710
Facebook: facebook.com/CrockerElementarySchool
Twitter: @AnkenyCrocker

Ankeny Community School District does not discriminate based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, physical attributes, physical or mental ability or disability, ancestry, political party preference, military affiliation, socioeconomic status, or familial status. Inquiries or grievances may be directed to Kenneth Morris, Jr., Equity Director, 306 SW School Street, P.O. Box 189, Ankeny, IA, 50021-0189, (515) 965-9600, kenneth.morris@ankenyschools.org; or the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Grimes State Office Building, Des Moines, IA, 50319-0201, (515) 281-4121; or the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 500 West Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661.