Leeton Elementary

Happy New Year! As we prepare to begin the second half of the school year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the successes our students achieved during first semester as well as take a look at data that will help guide us through the end of the school year.

Earlier this fall, an elementary parent survey was sent out in order seek feedback on a variety of areas. Of those that responded, here is a summary of the feedback:

• focus on minimizing distractions/disruptions within the classroom;
• ensure all students receive specialized instruction based on their needs;
• continued focus on student academic growth;
• share additional resources for at-home support;
• some concern of how the 4-day school week may affect student academic achievement;

Our building leadership team spent time going through this feedback and subsequently, all surveys that were completed will be shared with classroom teachers so we can further use the feedback to improve.

From the survey, there were a couple of questions raised that I wanted to take a moment to address.

1. Why did we choose Monday as the day off for our 4-day week? This decision was based around the fact that there are several holidays that fall on Mondays, which would have disrupted the calendar multiple times throughout the school year (i.e. Martin Luther King Jr.; President's Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc.) While we worked diligently to ensure our calendar was as consistent as possible there are two Mondays we are in session during the 24-25 school year. One of these was the week of P/T conferences while the other was the week of Thanksgiving.
2. I don't utilize social media. How can I remain connected with what is going on at the school? At the elementary level, in terms of building-wide communication, we utilize a variety of communication methods. Our monthly newsletters are sent out via email/text and in addition to social media, can also be found on the school's website in our live feed located at the bottom of the page. The district's website also contains a link to our monthly calendar. While we make every effort to ensure the district calendar is up-to-date, errors occasionally take place.

As we prepare to kick-off the second half of the year, we look forward to focusing on our goals while making adjustments based on student achievement data as well as your feedback.

Our 2024-2025 building goals include:

1. Providing targeted supports to assist with student needs (The Bulldog Way; WIN time, etc.)

2. Implementing building-wide SEL curriculum through our Character Counts curriculum (implemented both in the classroom and during whole class counseling)

3. Evaluating our written curriculum & updating as needed based on student assessment data (both statewide & local assessments)

January

7th: Winter Bus Routes begin (see flyer below)

10th: 2nd Quarter student success celebration

20th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

22nd: School board meeting @ 6 p.m.

24th: 3rd Quarter mid-term ends

30th: 3rd Quarter mid-terms sent home

On the horizon:

February 14th: Valentine's Day parties @ 2:15 p.m.

Three times throughout the school year, our students are assessed using iReady in order to monitor their growth. From this data, our staff make adjustments to their instruction, assessments, as well as student supports that are provided.

According to iReady, students falling in the "yellow" (one year below grade-level) at the beginning of the school year indicate they are prepared to be an on-grade level learner. This means they have the required skills to be successful from the previous year to access the grade-level curriculum for this year.

As staff, when we examine and dive into the data, we focus on multiple things: student growth, how does what the assessment says line up with what we see day-to-day in class, as well as what adjustments need to be made in order to help the student find success.

Additionally, we have data chats with our students to share their results and help them identify areas of success and growth. Students who are on grade-level will remain on grade-level when they meet their growth target. Subsequently, students who are below grade-level must not only meet their growth target, but meet their stretch growth goal multiple years in a row to move to on-grade level.

Updated family reports from our middle-of-the-year testing will be sent with your child's grade card at the end of our first week back. Additionally, if your child is on a Reading Success Plan (RSP), updated copies of this document will also be sent home at this time.

**please note, that while Kindergarten students take the benchmark assessments three times during the year, their testing timelines are slightly different in order to allow for students to adjust to the school setting. At this time, kindergarteners have taken one benchmark assessment. Their second benchmark will take place in February.

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

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.

Menus were not available for sharing at the time the newsletter was written. Once updated, I will include them in the newsletter. Menus will also be available on the school's website.

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.