CES Weekly Communicator

Issue #19: December 20, 2024

This weekly update will be how we communicate with the school community. Please check your emails on Fridays for the most recent school news.

Principal Corner

Happy Friday, Chapelfield families.

Thank you for a great first half of the year. Your child has been Positive, Acted Responsibly, Worked Hard, and Showed Respect. We ended the 2024 year with our quarter 2 PAWS breakfast and PAWS sticker book vending machine winners! I want to also recognize 2 staff members that were selected by their colleagues for upholding the GJPS' core values! Mrs. Sinkey, our ELA teacher, and Miss Predmore, 3rd grade teacher, were acknowledged at the breakfast this morning.

I hope you end the week knowing that we care for each child. We hope you have a great holiday season and enjoy the 2 week break. We will welcome students back on Monday, January 6.

Stay warm and see you in the New Year!

Sincerely,

Nikki Miller

Mental Health Team

School Counselor's Corner with Mrs. Jasin

This month in classroom guidance we discussed random acts of kindness in grades K-5. Students learned that even small acts of kindness, like a helping hand, a kind word, or a simple smile, can have a ripple effect, positively impacting those around us and creating a more compassionate school community. Empowering our children to understand the power of one through acts of kindness not only benefits others but also fosters their own self-esteem and sense of purpose, making them feel valued and connected to their peers.

As a school community, we decorated coffee sleeves for the Gahanna Starbucks on Hamilton Road with positive, encouraging messages in hopes of starting a chain reaction of kindness.

"Acts and words of kindness do count. And it all starts with ONE."

Visitors

We kindly ask that ALL visitors follow the steps below each and every time you visit Chapelfield:

1. Once at the front, exterior doors of the school, press the buzzer. A member of the office staff will ask your reason for visiting Chapelfield.

2. Once inside the vestibule, you will enter your drivers' license or state ID into the scanner. ALL visitors/guests/guardians need to scan their drivers license EACH and EVERY time they visit Chapelfield.

3. Once your license has been scanned and processed you will be permitted to enter the main office area to pick up your visitor/volunteer badge.

4. If you have NEVER had your driver's licensed scanned at Chapelfield before, this will take a longer time. You will want to plan accordingly.

**As a reminder, if there is a non-guardian planning to visit Chapelfield for any reason (to eat lunch, read a book in the classroom, visit the bookfair, take your child to an appointment etc.), we ask that the guardian email the teacher and front office (gilzows@gjps.org ) to let us know prior to the visit.

Our Vestibule

The vestibule will be a place you have to wait if you are picking up a student, dropping off a book bag or lunch box.

The office is a busy place and there are times that we are dealing with student confidential issues. The vestibule will be a place to wait. It also allows us to keep our building safe. We want to keep students and staff safe including keeping confidential information safe. Thank you for understanding.

Related Arts Spotlight

Library Update from Mrs. Long

At the end of November we read Thanksgiving books and completed STEM challenges based on those books. Students in kindergarten and first grade read A Turkey for Thanksgiving and then built a hideout for a turkey. Students in 2nd grade read How to Catch a Turkey and built turkey traps. Students in 4th and 5th grades read Thank You, Sarah and completed an unplugged coding activity to review the different presidents Sarah Hale had to write to in order to get Thanksgiving to be a national holiday. Students in 3rd grade used the Lego Education kits to build submarines to “visit” the animals they researched in their classrooms, and learned how to code with repeating loops to make the submarines move.

In December every grade learned about digital citizenship and how to stay safe online. Students then participated in Hour of Code, which is a part of Computer Science Education Week. Students in kindergarten and 1st grade completed an unplugged coding activity by writing algorithms (step-by-step directions) for a gingerbread person to retell a story of the Gingerbread Man. We then tried to use Code Monkey Jr and Kodable Hour of Code activities. Students in grades 2 through 5 wrote music and coded dance parties on code.org. I was so impressed with all of their learning!!

Please make sure your student continues to read over winter break. Students can listen to people read books, read picture books, fiction books, nonfiction books, comic books, or even directions for board games. You can access nonfiction articles and eBooks through PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next. These resources are paid for by our PTO and INFOhio.

Please let me know if you need any support finding reading resources! Have a wonderful winter break!!!

PTO Updates

PTO sponsored a limo ride to Mod Pizza for our Read-A-Thon winners before break!

PTO Events

*Little Caesars Restaurant Fundraiser: Don’t miss out on the opportunity to help raise money for Chapelfield Elementary PTO by purchasing delicious Little Caesars pizza, bread, cookies, and meal deal codes!

HOW TO ORDER:

1. Click the link below to place your order now: https://fundraising.littlecaesars.com/fundraisers/support/b4dd580d-6bd1-4a54-9172-fe065acb7656

2. Share our link with everyone you know who loves pizza via email or text, and post on your social media pages to reach even more people.

Remember, you earn $6.00 on every item you sell.

Thanks for your participation! Our fundraiser ends 12/25/2024.

*Mark your calendars for Pancakes and Pajamas with The PTO on January 22nd 6:00-7:30 p.m..

*Save the date for Family Night will be held on Friday, January 24th.

5th Grade Committee Updates:

*Mark your calendars for Skate Zone 71 skate night on Monday, January 13th from 6:00-8:30 p.m.

Community Connections

GJPS Heart and Pride Award

The Heart and Pride Award recognizes two outstanding staff members each month who make a profound impact on our students and Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.

The Heart & Pride Nomination Form will remain available year-round and is open to any member of our staff, regardless of position.