Graham Elementary Schools

Hello Falcon families!

Welcome into 2025! Quarter 2 at Graham Elementary is coming to a close, and we are excited to share all the excellent things your children are doing as learners with upcoming progress reports. When we return to school tomorrow, Monday, January 6, we are looking forward to students and our GES team coming back fully charged and ready to continue accomplishing great things! We finished 2024 having fun and wrapping up our learning. In 2025, students will be academically challenged, supported and loved through each day that we are privileged to serve them!

Please be sure to read this issue of News From the Nest in its entirety as it includes important information about...

*...Third Grade English Language Arts Ohio State Test score celebrations!

*...STEAM class learning on display!

*...exciting opportunities for our GES musicians, actors and actresses!

*...GES online days.

*...InfOhio as an at-home resource.

*...and more!

As our teachers continue to work hard to facilitate powerful learning opportunities for your children at GES, we are thankful for the support and partnerships we are developing with each family we are lucky enough to serve at Graham Elementary! Thank you for trusting us with your children's education and development both as learners and as people!

This school year continues to be filled with learning, achievement, success and LOTS of smiles!

Our Graham Elementary Staff is the best in the land!

Stay informed about all things happening at Graham Elementary by following us on:

Facebook: Graham Elementary School

ClassDOJO

Graham Local Schools website: grahamlocalschools.org. (Graham Elementary School)

Emily Shreve, Graham Elementary School Principal

Aaron Myers, Graham Elementary School Assistant Principal

At Graham Elementary, we are proud of our learners and our staff!

In October of 2024, our third grade students took the first round of the Ohio State Test in English Language Arts, and we are pleased to announce that the results are promising! Our goal is for each of our Graham Elementary learners to score proficient or above by the end of the third grade, and we are excited to report that 51% of our third graders have already scored at or above proficient on the Ohio State Test in English Language Arts! This is 15% higher number of students scoring proficient or above than we have seen in the past five years at Graham Elementary!

These scores are evidence of the hard work that our teachers/staff and students are doing each day to refine and develop their craft as readers and writers. Our kindergarten, first, second and third grade teachers provide explicit instruction on phonemic awareness, phonics, reading and writing. These instructional practices are aimed at developing learners who can both decode words and talk/write about their understanding of what they read. These third grade scores prove that the hard work is paying off!

Next steps for our Graham Elementary third graders will include teachers taking a deep-dive into the Fall Ohio State Test data to continue to create differentiated instructional opportunities for students. We will work to remediate and enrich students’ current levels of progress, and we will be excited to see the fruits of their labor on the Spring 2025 test results!

In the meantime, we will continue to nurture and celebrate all aspects of the students we serve both as learners and as human beings. At Graham Elementary, we believe that “A better me means a better we”, and we are proud of the greatness of our Falcon Family!

Graham Elementary students will have an opportunity to audition this Winter for and perform this Spring in this year's GES musical - Miss Nelson is Missing! Be on the lookout for more information being posted on ClassDOJO.

Thank you to Miss Sarah Hager and Mrs. Shelbi Jenkins for continuing this fun and impactful opportunity for our learners!

As the Winter season brings cold weather and precipitation, students who are dropped off in the morning will be able to enter the school building to wait for the day's learning to begin.

Families who park in the west parking lot are encouraged to continue walking students to the sidewalk at 8:43a.m.. Students who are walked to the sidewalk between 8:30a.m. and 8:43a.m. will enter the building when they arrive.

Please contact Mrs. Shreve with any questions.

Thank you for your continued partnership in your children's learning😊

Back by popular demand, please see the 2024-2025 Family Falcon Focus for important dates at GES. This document will be updated as the year progresses. Dates are subject to change if/when necessary.

Thank you!

January

6: Students return from Winter Break

9: Last day of Quarter 2

9: grades PK-2 Boonshoft day-long assembly activities

10: IN SERVICE/RECORDS DAY - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

13: First day of Quarter 3

13: PTO Meeting in first grade pod @ 5:30p.m.

16: GES Spelling Bee - grades 4 and 5 in cafeteria @ 2p.m. - Families of participating students will be notified soon

17: PTO Movie Night

20: MLK DAY - NO SCHOOL FOR EVERYONE

23: St. Paris Library visiting Kindergarten for Story Time @ 9:30a.m. to 3:30p.m.

27 - February 7 - Student Council Candygram sale

31: GES Club Day

31: 2-hour early release PD day

February

13: St. Paris Library visiting Kindergarten for Story Time @ 9:30a.m. to 3:30p.m.

14: GES Club Day

14: GES Valentine's Day party day

19: GES PTO Meeting in first grade pod at 3:45p.m.

21: grades 3-5 Boonshoft day-long assembly activities

28: 2-hour early release PD day

In STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics) class, students recently applied what they know about electrical circuits to create instruments and play Christmas jingles. Collaborating and problem-solving are a couple of the skills that Mrs. Setty works to instill in our learners, and their talents were on full display as they rocked the class time away!

Students used Makey-Makey kits to demonstrate their ability to follow directions, persevere and enjoy the fruits of their labor with some fun holiday tunes.

As we return from the Winter break, be sure to talk with your children about what sorts of things are happening in STEAM class!

As the Winter season comes in full-swing, so might come calamity days. Ohio districts are "allowed" five calamity days each year and, at Graham Local Schools, we have currently used 2 of our 5 days.

In the event that all five of our calamity days are used, Graham Local Schools will implement "online learning days".

If/when we draw nearer to the five-day mark, your child's teacher will reach out via DOJO with specific information and begin sharing any needed paper/pencil materials that will be needed for the day(s). For now, this is what you need to know about online days...

*Students will be expected to complete paper/pencil activities and assignment that are sent home. So, when your child's teacher sends home any materials, please store them in a safe place for future use.

*Teachers will be available for questions or needs on both ClassDOJO and by email from 8:15a.m. to 3:30p.m. Also, on an online day(s), each teacher will share a Google MEET link through ClassDOJO. From 2:15p.m. to 3:30p.m. on an online day(s), families and students can use this link to check-in on camera with their teacher(s).

*Attendance will be taken on each online day. A day's attendance will be earned when a student checks in during the Google MEET link for an online day AND/OR turns in the assigned work on the next in-person school day. We recognized that not all students will have access to a computer/internet in their homes. Therefore, logging on to Google MEET is not required. However, in order to earn a day's attendance, all students must turn in assigned work on the next in-person school day following the online day(s).

If you have questions, please reach out to Mrs. Shreve or Mr. Myers. Also, please watch ClassDOJO and your child's take-home folder closely for online day information/assignments. Teachers will provide all necessary details if/when online days become necessary.

The temperatures are dropping quickly, and winter weather is here to stay for several months! Please see the handbook information on outdoor recess below and be sure children come to school dressed appropriately to be outside (weather-permitting).

RECESS

Children should dress appropriately as they will be going outside, weather permitting. A note must be sent every day that the child must stay inside. A doctor’s statement is needed if your child is to stay in on a regular basis or for an extended period of time. Children will have indoor recess when the temperature is below 25 degrees or when the wind chill is 25 degrees.

Children will be brought in immediately when responsible staff are aware of changing weather conditions. The official temperature and wind chill will be determined by The Weather Channel, http://www.weatherchannel.com. Graham Elementary trusts the judgment of parents in selecting weather appropriate attire.

InfOhio is a free resource to all Ohio residents, and we encourage families to check it out!

When your children see you excited about learning, they are excited to learn too!

Is your child an avid reader? If so, check out BookFlix (link embedded)! This site pairs fiction and non-fiction texts on many topics, and students will enjoy learning new things to share with you at the dinner table!

Do you have a curious/knowledge-seeking child? If so, take some time with your child and check out The World Almanac for Kids, IWonder or World Book Kids. Families can have a great time finding the answers to many of the things they wonder about!

Do any of you remember Highlights magazines? If so, you know how much fun you can have exploring this resource with your child!

Preschool families...check out the following websites (e-books and videos and Early Learning Portal) with your little learners. They are packed full of enjoyable and educational resources!

Enjoy!

**Previously posted on ClassDOJO (September 3, 2024)**

Hello Falcon Families! If you are interested in volunteering at Graham Elementary, please use this link - https://www.grahamlocalschools.org/page/volunteer-portal-and-information - to view updated information regarding the volunteer process at Graham Local Schools.

If you are considering volunteering and/or helping with classroom parties at Graham Elementary, you must complete an application and be approved through the Secure Volunteer site before you volunteer.

Please email Mrs. Shreve (shrevee@grahamlocalschools.org) with any questions.

Thank you for your partnership in your child's education!

This is a reminder that free and reduced lunch applications expire at the end of every school year. If your child qualified for free and/or reduced lunch last year and you have not completed a new application for this year, please do.

Paper applications can be found here:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/.../Graham

Free and Reduced Lunch forms can also be sent home with your child. If you would like a copy, please contact the GES office and we will send one home.

Online applications can be found on PaySchools Central here https://www.payschoolscentral.com/

If you are in need of before or after care for your children, please see this flyer to learn more about this opportunity.

**Reminder...A.M. preschool students enter the building at 8:30a.m. to begin their A.M. session**

As stated in the Graham Elementary Student Handbook,

"All school fees must be paid in order for students to attend field trips (Glen Helen included) or participate in preschool promotion and/or 5th grade promotion."

Fees can be paid by cash or check (Graham Elementary School) or online at https://www.payschoolscentral.com/. Please contact Mrs. Shreve with any questions.

At Graham Local Schools, we take a proactive approach to attendance. If/When GES students accumulate 50 hours of excessive absence, families will be provided with Absence Warning Letter #1. When students accumulate 65 excessive hours of absence, families will be provided with Absence Warning Letter #2.

An absence intervention meeting will be scheduled when students accumulates 72 excessive hours of absence

Please see the GES Handbook language below for the steps to report an absence...

A. When a student is ill or for some other reason is unable to attend, the parent/guardian is ex­pected to contact the school office by phone before 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. For your convenience, you may call the night before and leave a message on the answering machine (937-663-4449).

B. A written reason for all absences properly signed and dated by a parent/guardian is required. Written notes not filed in the office within one day after the student returns to school following an absence will result in an unexcused absence. Administration reserves the right to excuse student absences with reasonable cause.

C. For each unexcused absence, the student is responsible for obtaining work and following make-up work policies.

The end of day pick-up procedure will make our out front pick-up safer for our students at Graham Elementary . Thank you for your cooperation!

Permanent Pick-Up

• Students will be dismissed at 3:25pm each day.

• Each student/family who is a permanent pick-up will be given 2 numbered tags and their child will have a numbered tag with a corresponding number for their bookbag.

• Those students who are picked up by a babysitter with proper transportation forms on file will have a number for their babysitter.

• Each grade level will have a designated area marked outside and the family will come to that area to pick up their student(s) from each area - families should have their numbered tag with them.

• Families must park and come to the sidewalk to pick up their students. There will be no parking in the fire lanes of the building.

Students who are not permanent pick-ups who will be picked up on a day must call the elementary office or send in a note to pick-up their child. When picking your child up, please follow the procedure below:

• Families who are not permanent pick-ups must come to the front doors, provide ID and sign out their student from inside the building.

• Students will be dismissed to their family once the family has signed them out at the front office.

We do understand this process takes time and we thank you for your patience and flexibility as we work through this process together. Our #1 priority is our students safety.

*In an effort to remediate behaviors through reflection versus consequence, Graham Elementary will institute Restorative Recesses when deemed appropriate. This opportunity is a consequence targeted at reflection instead of punishment. It provides students the chance to work alongside an adult to reflect on their behavior and make plans for corrective behaviors.

*Cell phones and Smart Watches are to remain off and in student bookbags upon entering the building and should not be used until after the final dismissal bell and students have exited the school building. In effect, cell phones should not be “seen, heard, or used” during this time. Also, cell phones should NOT be used to take any type of photograph, video, or recording at any time unless directed by a staff member.

Students cannot contact parents via a personal cell phone during the day; they are to utilize a classroom or office phone. If violations of this policy should occur, a CELL PHONE WILL BE TAKEN AND CAN BE PICKED UP AT THE END OF THE DAY.

1st offense – warning 2nd offense – parent called 3rd offense – detention/parent picks up phone.

*Clothing must cover the chest, stomach, back, buttocks, upper thighs, and undergarments when the student sits, stands, raises his/her hand, or bends over. Any article of clothing that reveals an excessive amount of skin will be deemed inappropriate for the school environment.

Emily Shreve - Principal - shrevee@grahamlocalschools.org

Aaron Myers - Assistant Principal - myersa@grahamlocalschools.org

Jon Comer - School Counselor - comerj@grahamlocalschools.org

Morgan Boggess - School Nurse - boggessm@grahamlocalschools.org

Kristina Thornton - Administrative Assistant - thorntonk@grahamlocalschools.org

Kayla Yoder - Administrative Assistant - yoderk@grahamlocalschools.org
Website: grahamlocalschools.org
Location: 9464 U.S. 36, Saint Paris, OH, USA
Phone: 937-663-4449
Facebook: facebook.com/FreddieFalcon
Twitter: @GESFALCONS