Dear Parents,

What an outstanding beginning to the school year we have had! I cannot thank those enough who have contributed to helping us begin our year so smoothly - from you, as parents, to our outstanding staff, bus drivers, and everyone else who has played a role, THANK YOU! We had many parent volunteers from our PTO helping our youngest students beginning on day one, and we all commented on how quickly all of our students were in their new classrooms on that very first day. This was thanks, in large part, to their help!

I'd like to extend a special welcome to all of our new students and their families. We also have several new staff members on board, as well. We welcome four new classroom teachers at Clarks Creek - Mrs. Keating in kindergarten, Mrs. Mennonno in grade 2, Miss Taylor in grade 2, and Mrs. Schaffer in grade 5. Little Quakers Academy also added a new teacher; welcome to Mrs. Fast! Welcome to everyone who is calling Clarks Creek your new "school home" this year!

As we go throughout the year, you will receive updates from your child's teacher frequently. In addition, this monthly newsletter will arrive in your inbox. Separate emails with specific information will also be sent, as needed. We strive to communicate the information that we know you'll need. As always, feel free to contact your child's teacher or the main office if there is other information that you need from us.

We are ready for another amazing year of learning and growing for all of our students!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Donovan

Your child’s attendance is one of the most important indicators of academic success. Although, we know that there are definitely days when your child/children may be sick and need to stay home, we want to encourage students to be at school every day when they are well. When students are at school, they are always learning. Teachers are instructing from the minute your child enters the classroom until the time they pack up and leave for dismissal. The engaging learning that is taking place in the classroom can’t be re-created once your child returns to school. Students who attend school every day are more likely to have higher grades and score higher on classroom assessments. Again, we know that there are going to be times that your child/children must miss school and we understand this, but wanted to make you aware of how attendance may impact your child’s success.

Some of the things that you can do to help support attendance are:

• Schedule all doctor’s appointments outside of the school day, if at all possible.
• Share with your child how important it is to be at school.
• Make sure to communicate absences in advance, if possible, so the classroom teacher can ensure that your child still has opportunities to learn skills that he/she will miss when they are absent.
• Help to make sure that your child arrives at school on time each day. The doors open at 8:30 and students need to be seated in their classroom each morning by 8:50 or they are counted tardy.

Working with your child/children each day is a pleasure. We want to make the most of each and every minute we have with your child.

PUT SAFETY FIRST - As we begin this new year, we have been working to ensure that all of our students know what to do in emergent situations. We have completed our first fire drill and lock-down drill of the year. We even had a real-world severe weather situation and had to send parents to our shelter location on the evening of a parent meeting! Students who ride buses to school will be participating in a bus evacuation exercise very soon, as well. Teaching students the procedures for these emergency situations is just one way we work to "put safety first"!

This year, we have also established district protocols. These provide for standard symbols and language throughout the district in any sort of emergency situation. Every classroom in all PCSC schools boasts the same poster with information regarding these procedures.

Students and teachers have been working daily on showing PRIDE. We had our first PRIDE credit drawing on Friday and are so excited about the number of credits that have already been given out to students who are meeting Clarks Creek's expectations! If you have not already asked your child about PRIDE credits, please take the time to ask him/her.

We are very close to earning our next school-wide credit award because of the hard work of our students last year, in addition to that of the students thus far in these first few weeks. We look forward to a special event - coming soon!

In our previous newsletter, you saw that we have implemented a new visitor identification and badge system. In order to eliminate 'wait time" once your photo ID is scanned, you can now pre-register for any visit that you will be making to school. Whether coming for lunch or coming for a scheduled volunteer time, you can input your information ahead of time, so that when you arrive, you will scan your ID and your name badge will immediately be printed. Pre-register here: https://secure.safevisitorsolutions.com/Safe/Visitor/plainfield2807

• 8/22 PTO Meeting 6:30pm- library (enter door 3)
• 8/24 Spirit Wear Orders Due - see link below
  

• 9/7 Trash Bag Fundraiser Kick-off

• 9/12 LQA Student Pictures

• 9/12 PTO Meeting 6:30pm- library (enter door 3)
  

• 9/13 Student Pictures - Clarks Creek and LQA
• 9/21 Trash Bag Orders Due

• 9/26 Parent Night - Body Safety Preview - 6:30pm @ Central Elementary
  

If you have some time to donate at Clarks Creek, talk to your child's teacher about current needs. In order to protect the safety of all of our students, all volunteers need to complete a Volunteer Background Check and have it cleared prior to the first volunteer experience. This can take a couple of weeks, so be sure to plan ahead! These are also needed prior to chaperoning field trips, etc. The form can be found at http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/o/clarks-creek-elementary-school/documents .

Another thing we ask all volunteers to complete annually is the Volunteer Confidentiality Form. This form is available in the school office and should also be completed before the first volunteer experience.

We appreciate the help of all of our volunteers! We couldn't do it without you!

We are happy to announce that Plainfield Community Elementary School District will again be partnering this year with Chaucie’s Place, a child advocacy organization in Hamilton County, to bring Smart Steps: A Body Safety Program for Children to our students. Smart Steps is a child sexual abuse prevention and education program that empowers your child to say “NO!” to any unwanted touches that make them uncomfortable from anyone.

We invite you to attend a Chaucie’s Place Parent Night to learn more about the Smart Steps program at Central Elementary School on Monday, September 26th from 6:30pm – 7:30pm. This meeting is open to all parents and/or guardians of Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade students. Please be advised that Parent Night is not open to children. To learn more about Chaucie’s Place visit: www.chauciesplace.org.

Undoubtedly, as the year goes on, you will need to contact the school for any number of things and we may need to contact you about others. Meet some of the people you may interact with (from back to front, left to right):

Mrs. Ellis - Home-School Advisor, Officer Salisbury (officers vary from day to day), Mrs. Coffelt - nurse, Mrs. Cutler - secretary/treasurer, Mrs. Rosenbaum - technology assistant, Mrs. Spencer - receptionist

Mrs. Donovan - Principal, Mrs. Perry, Assistant Principal

Mrs. Scott - Preschool Director/Administrative Assistant, Mr. Greene - Security Assistant

Just a reminder...

School BEGINS at 8:50. This means that students must be in the building, have emptied their backpacks, and be seated at their desks by this time. If you bring your child to school by car, plan on arriving by 8:40 to allow your child plenty of time to accomplish all of this.

We l-o-v-e to take pictures at school! When posting pictures on our website, on Twitter, or on Facebook where they can be viewed by anyone, we only post pictures of three or more students at a time, and they are posted without student names, unless a parent has approved the picture ahead of time. We know that most of our families love to see pictures of their students that highlight their experiences at school. However, we know that sometimes there are circumstances why a parent is not comfortable with use of a student's image. If you would prefer that your child's picture never be used in this manner on our sites, please complete the form from the "Documents" section of our website and submit it to the office. Please complete this form annually. You can find it here: http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/o/clarks-creek-elementary-school/documents

Our car-rider procedures were detailed in the "Back-to-School" edition of the newsletter. Please refer back to that if you need specific information. However, just a reminder to please limit the distance between yourself and other vehicles in the parking lot so we can get everyone in off of Elm Drive at dismissal. Thanks for your help!

You can find our school menus by clicking the red button below. Student lunches are $2.30 (including milk). Breakfast is $1.30. Extra milk (or for those bringing their lunch) is $0.50.

We know that parents often want to come in and eat lunch with their children on special occasions. You are welcome to do so by following the usual school visit procedures - beginning with stopping in the office to sign in and get a visitor tag. Please be aware, though, that space in our cafeteria is currently VERY limited. Please be prepared for the possibility that you may have to eat in another location with your student when you arrive. Staff members working in the cafeteria will direct you, as needed.

This year, Mrs. Ellis will be working with all of our kindergarten students on social skills in the first few weeks of school. They will begin with learning about feelings and coping skills.

They will continue to work on additional skills through the end of September, including: listening/following rules, sportsmanship/friendship, tattling, respect for others, and empathy. We hope this builds on what you have already worked on at home and gives all of our youngest CC Quakers a good foundation for developing friendships and being "good citizens" throughout their lives.

With several weeks of what could still be very warm weather, please keep in mind that our dress code does not allow for tank tops/spaghetti strap tops; all shirts worn to school should cover the top of the shoulder. Flip flops, slides, other strapless shoes, and heels are also dangerous on the playground and should not be worn to school. Please refer to the Student Handbook for more information. Thanks for your help!

We will include student opportunities in our newsletter when possible. However, some of them may end prior to the next newsletter coming out! You can bookmark the link below to check out the variety of camps, contests, and athletics that may be available to your child throughout the month, more frequently than the newsletter may arrive.

Sno-Cone/Meet the Teacher Night

PTO would like to thank all the students and families who celebrated the start to a new school year during the Sno-Cone/Meet the Teacher night. It was a great way to say “Good-bye” summer and “Hello” to the new school year!

Staff Appreciation

Our first staff appreciation lunch will be held on 9/15. This will be a tailgate theme lunch. PTO will be asking 2nd and 3rd grade parents to donate items. Please look for an email with the donation sign up in the next few weeks.

Nightmare on Elm Drive

Our annual Nightmare on Elm Drive will be held on 10/29 from5-8pm. The Planning Committee will be forming soon and will hold their first planning meeting early in September. If you are interested in being a part of the planning committee, please email the PTO at clarkscreekpto@yahoo.com .

Spirit Wear

Spirit Wear orders with payment are due on 8/24 and will be delivered no later than the week of September 12th.

Trash Bag Sale Timeline:

Our annual trash bag fundraiser will begin on September 7. Information and order forms will be sent home that week. Orders and money will be due on September 21. Prizes will be awarded to the top selling class, as well as the top selling students. Order pickup will be held during conferences on October 20th.

Important Dates:

8/22- First PTO Meeting

8/24- Spirit Wear money due

9/7- Trash Bag Fundraiser Kickoff

9/12- September PTO meeting

Textbook rental is due by Sept. 1st. Our school treasurer is happy to help you work out payment arrangements if that is necessary. Please contact her at dcutler@plainfield.k12.in.us . If you think you may qualify for free or reduced lunch support (which includes assistance for textbook rental), please click the link below to apply.

Email: clarkscreekinfo@plainfield.k12.in.us
Website: http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/o/clarks-creek-elementary-school
Location: 401 Elm Drive, Plainfield, IN, United States
Phone: (317)839-0120
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClarksCreekElementary/
Twitter: @ccquakers