The Leighton News

Dear Leighton Families,

We have officially kicked off the school year with the first week of school underway. This will be our first edition of the Leighton Newsletter followed by bi-weekly communications throughout the school year as well as frequent final forms communications for any important reminders and information. It was such an amazing first few days of school!!! The excitement and joy of learning are some of the best sounds in the world! It has been such a smooth start to the school year and students are already so hard at work earning "pom poms" for demonstrating our 3 Leighton Elementary Pillars of being respectful, being responsible, and being problem solvers. These three pillars are the hallmark of our PBIS or Positive Behavior Interventions Supports Programming and aligns with the six competencies and design specifications encompassed in our Strategic Vision.

Through PBIS we have developed a school-wide token economy of earning poms for demonstrating our three pillars. When students fill up their classroom jars, they celebrate that success through a whole class reward. Students then empty their classroom jars into the "Building Wide Pom Pail" in the main office. When we work as a building to fill it, the whole building celebrates with a building wide event. We are so excited to start filling up our Pom Pom Pail!

We are looking forward to our building-wide PBIS kickoff where students and staff will participate in fun skits demonstrating expected and unexpected behaviors in all areas of the school. Anytime throughout the day, students are exhibiting these pillars in the classroom, hallways, recess, lunch, etc they can earn poms. Likewise, while the silver spoons have left the lunchroom this year, the "golden forks" made their' first appearance. Classes in each grade level have an opportunity to earn the "golden fork" for earning the most positive compliments at lunch and recess. Leighton Pride is always Building Wide!!

The beginning of each school year is always so special but it was particularly special this year because we welcomed several new staff including:

Mr. Jeff Morris: Assistant Principal

Grade 5: Sarah Smith (Most)

Grade 3: Long Term Sub: Katie Snitzer

Grade 4: Short Term Sub/Grade 5: Erika Wolford

Math Specialist: Michelle Hart

Moderate to Intensive Interventionist: Jamie Blakey

5th Grade Interventionist: Kaitlin Catalani

Gifted Coordinator: Rebecca Quinn

Short/Long Term Counselor: Laney Mitch (Will be taking over for Mrs. Mazzella through September)

General Music: Donna Janoso ( 2nd section Grade 5)

Paraeducators: Halston Pratt, Hailey Villarreal, Taylor Paugh, Mariah George, Yuan Lu Beck, Amy Marn, and Makayla Hutchins.

I am one proud principal each day as I get to work with the most amazing, caring, dedicated, and hardworking staff who go above and beyond for our learners each day to ensure the best possible learning environments and education possible. Likewise, we value the support of our parent community and the blessing we are given each day to support such wonderful children and help mold their futures. Thank you for your continued support, teamwork, and partnership as we embark on another fantastic school year together!

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or feedback!

Enjoy the weekend!

Kind Regards,

Michelle Nizen, Building Principal

Jeff Morris, Assistant Principal

Thank you to Valerie from We Love Yard Cards for donating Welcome Back signs at all of the district schools! It truly made our opening days so much more special!

We are so excited to welcome Mr. Morris to our Leighton Family. Mr. Morris comes to Leighton from the Hudson School District where he served as the Assistant Principal for grades 3-5 for 12 years. Mr. Morris is overjoyed to be apart of our team and help our staff, students, and families with anything needed. Please be sure to stop in the main office anytime and say hello!

A Note from Mrs. Mazzella........

Dear Families ~ Please be aware that I will be out on leave caring for a parent for several weeks. In my absence, Miss Laney Mitch will be my substitute. She is not only a licensed School Counselor but also an Aurora City Schools graduate!!!

Should you need to get in touch with her, she can be reached at my office phone number 330-562-2209 Option 3 or at mmitch@aurora-schools.org

Thank you for your understanding during my absence. I hope each of you have an amazing start to the school year!

https://sites.google.com/aurora-schools.org/leightonschoolcounselor/home?authuser=1

A Note from Mrs. Ambrosia.............

Hello Leighton! It has been so fun to welcome your students to the 24-25 school year! Ms. Mazzella, Ms. Mitch and I are honored to introduce ourselves as the school counselors. We are available to support students and families in the areas of social emotional learning, academics and career exploration.

We encourage and welcome open-communication. During the school day, we provide individual counseling, small group counseling and classroom guidance lessons. Classroom guidance topics are shared on Ms. Mazzella’s Google Site.. Should your child be recommended for a small group or individual counseling, you would be notified in order to obtain your consent. Initially, we will ensure that all students continue to transition from summer break to their school day with ease.

This school year, Mrs. Ambrosia will be at Leighton two days each week. Those days will typically be Tuesdays and Fridays.. Ms. Mazzella or Ms. Mitch will be present at Leighton daily..

Next week will be a longer one for your child, so I thought it would be beneficial to share Tips for Back to School Anxiety from Akron Children’s Hospital.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time. We look forward to an excellent school year!

A Note from Len Spacek........

Hello Leighton Families,

My name is Len Spacek. This school year, I will be supporting students in grades K-5 from a mental health perspective. I will be working with students that are dealing with anxiety, depression, self-regulation, and other aspects of their mental well-being. This may be in an individual setting, a small group setting, or educating classes about tools that can help with emotional wellness.

I have been a teacher and a coach in the Aurora City Schools for twenty-eight years. My first 20 years were spent in the classroom as a language arts teacher at Harmon Middle School. Over the past eight years, along with teaching PE at Leighton Elementary school, I have earned my school counseling license and my license as an LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor). Also, during the past eight years, I have done counseling at Spire Institute in Geneva, Grand River Academy in Ashtabula, and Ubuntu Wellness in Chagrin Falls.

I am looking forward to supporting students in grades K-5 and helping them to become the very best version of themselves.

Ms. Tami Mazzella (Ms. Laney Mitch, substitute)

(330) 562-2209, option 3

tmazzella@aurora-schools.org

Mrs. Lindsey Ambrosia

(330) 562-6199, ext. 5414

lambrosia@aurora-schools.org

Mr. Len Spacek

(330) 562-2209, option 3

lspacek@aurora-schools.org

We are so excited to start a new tradition of holding a Pancake Breakfast for our Leighton Families to kick off the start of the school year and our foster of theme for the '24-'25 school year of "Building Community". There is no cost associated with the breakfast instead donations will be accepted and go towards our outdoor learning spaces: Leighton outdoor garden, trail, and the revitilization of the old ampithethre. Please RSVP on the link provided by October 12th if you are interested. You must RSVP to attend so that our committee has an accurate count of attendees. Please note the staggered times by last names. We hope to see you there:)

Welcome back to the 2024-2025 School year, it was exciting to welcome students back into the building this past week. Below you will find information and links regarding our lunch program:

Pricing Information:

• Paid Lunch: $3.40

• Milk $.50

• Ice Cream $1.00

• Free & Reduced: Both are no charge (Please complete the free and reduced form online located in the Aurora City Schools website ).

Payment Information:

Payments can be made thru My Payments Plus. Parents can either send their child in with money to pay for lunches (exact amount, or more that can be applied to their account) or they can go to the Aurora Schools Website and go to Lunch Accounts under the quick links tabs to get to the MY Payments Plus section and add money to their kids account that way. It is preferable to pay online in advance but students may also bring in money during lunch.

• https://www.mypaymentsplus.com/welcome

• https://www.aurora-schools.org/

Please be sure to keep tabs on your child’s lunch account balance to avoid going into a negative balance. We will always ensure all students have lunch, but it is appreciated by our lunch staff if a positive balance can be maintained.

The August Menu is linked for your convenience below. This menu is also located on the school website as well.

If you have any questions please reach out to:

• Krista Guerini, Director of Food and Nutrition, at kguerini@aurora-schools.org

• Sal Arquilla, Director of Facilities, Maintenance and Operations at sarquilla@aurora-schools.org

We are no longer mailing out transportation information. You can go to: https://versatransweb04.tylertech.com/Aurora/elinkrp/Login.aspx (cut & paste into your browser or use the button link below.)

The login information is as follows:

User name = jane.smith (That is the student's first name period last name with no spaces) Password = students date of birth 01012021 with no characters or spaces between mmdayyear

Once you are in, go to "Work with students" and then "View my students"; you should see all your students to choose from. Routes do change from time to time when new students are added so please check back over the next week to ensure your pick-up and drop-off times.

All students are assigned a bus route using their home address. If your child will be using an alternative stop such as a daycare or caregiver, please make sure you submit an alternative bus stop form as soon as possible.

We also now have GPS on all of the school buses. You can see when the bus is to arrive at your home. Download the app "versatrans my stop" from the app store and sign in the same as above. If you have any questions or concerns with transportation, please email us at transportationinfo@aurora-schools.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Note, we are never sure how many students will be riding the buses. Once schools open we will make necessary adjustments for buses that may be full.

Thank you and have a safe school year, Transportation Department

Please be sure to utilize our attendance and transporation form found below as we have moved away from handwritten notes and morning attendance calls in our K-5 buildings.

Thank you!

As a reminder, you can find our arrival and dismissal procedures here.

Car rider lines reminders:

Morning Arrival - Car riders will start being unloaded at 8:50 am and then will be able to enter the building at 8:55 am through the 3rd Grade Wing Doors (Door 2) Our goal is to make sure all students are in the building by 9:05 am.

PM Dismissal - Dismissal procedures will be the same as last year by having students line up in alphabetical lines. A staff member will be calling last names for students to line the loading lanes to get into their cars when they pull up.

1. Please remind your child to load cars quickly to keep the line moving

2. Pull all the way up to the top of the pick-up lane to the sign for loading cars. We have found this allows us to load the maximum number of cars possible.

3. Please be sure to have your orange car tag in the rearview window so staff can visibly see it when calling students' last names by Friday, August 23rd.

** Please see the traffic flow pattern included below for drop off in the mornings and afternoons.

Thank you for your patience as we have worked very hard to ensure a safe, smooth, and rapid arrival and dismissal process. We appreciate your support with these few reminders.

August

20 1st Day of School for Students with Last Name A-L (M-Z Stay Home)

21 1st Day of School for Students with Last Name M-Z (A-L Stay Home)

22 ALL STUDENTS Report to School

30 Autumn Assessment Day for Students with Last Name A-L (M-Z Stay Home)

September

2 NO SCHOOL ~ Labor Day

3 Autumn Assessment Day for Students with Last Name M-Z (A-L Stay Home)

4 PTO Kickoff Meeting at the Aurora Inn (6:00 PM)

10 School Picture Day

October

11 NO SCHOOL ~ NEOEA Day

14 NO SCHOOL ~ Teacher Professional DayOV1725656

18 End of 1st Grading Period

21-25 PTO Book Fair

24 LES Band Concert at High School (7:00 PM)

25 Report Cards Distributed

31 Fall Festival

Please be sure to update your Final Forms information for this school year to ensure you can receive the newsletters each week. If you need any help with updating your Final Forms please contact lschoenman@aurora-schools.org

Please use the following link: https://aurora-oh.finalforms.com

Three ways to pay your student's school fees:

1. Send in with your student a check made out to Aurora City Schools.

2. Call the Board of Education office to make a credit card payment between the hours of 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM at 330-954-2228.

3. Go to the Aurora City Schools website and go to the Parent Page and click on Fee Payments On-Line.

Greetings from the Leighton Clinic!

As we begin the 2024-25 school year, I would like to provide some important reminders related to school health:

First, if you have not done so, please be sure to log in to your Final Forms account and review the information entered for your student regarding health concerns, medications, and emergency contact numbers. Make changes or updates as needed to reflect what we would need to know for the current school year. Health information is reviewed by the nurses and shared with teachers as is appropriate*. Please check the emergency contact phone numbers to be sure that they are current. If your cell phone number has changed please make sure this is updated in Final Forms so we have correct contact information to reach you if your child is sick or injured.

*Information you include in the Health Concerns/Medical History section of Final Forms will appear on Emergency Cards viewed by teachers. If there is information you wish to only share with the nurse please contact the nurse to discuss.

Also, while it is best for medication to be administered at home by parents, we realize that sometimes it is necessary for medication to be given at school. Please remember that a medication administration form signed by your health care provider needs to be turned in for your child to be given any medication while at school. This is required for all medications, whether prescribed or over-the-counter. Forms provided the previous school year need to be renewed by the provider for the current school year to confirm that the medication order is still appropriate. Forms are available at each of the school buildings and can also be downloaded and printed from the School District web home page under Quick Links>Forms and links>school nurse>medication administration. Your provider may use their own forms, as long as they include your student’s name, complete medication information, the provider’s signature, and are dated for this school year. Please remember that medications need to be provided by parents in the original bottle with the correct label, and they cannot be expired.

Lastly, please consider sending in a spare change of clothes for your student to keep in their locker, as accidents, lunch spills and mud do happen.

Andrea Tanski, RN BSN

Email: atanski@aurora-schools.org

Clinic phone #: 330 954-2285

Mrs. Michelle Nizen - Principal

mnizen@aurora-schools.org

Mr. Jeff Morris - Assistant Principal

jamorris@aurora-schools.org

Email: lschoenman@aurora-schools.org
Website: aurora-schools.org
Location: 121 Aurora Hudson Road, Aurora, OH, USA
Phone: (330)562-2209
Twitter: @michelle_nizen