Coralville Central Newsletter

Dear Coralville Central Families,

As we wrap up another school year, I want to take a moment to share how proud we are of everything our students have accomplished. This year has been full of learning, growth, and resilience. Our students tackled challenges, celebrated successes, and continued to build strong relationships and a caring school community.

Thank you for the partnership, support, and encouragement you’ve provided throughout the year. Together, we've helped make Coralville Central--The Place To Be.

As summer approaches, I encourage families to enjoy the break by staying active, spending time together, and making memories. At the same time, it’s important to keep those young minds engaged! Reading every day, exploring the outdoors, journaling, visiting the library, or playing learning games are just a few ways to keep the brain sharp while still having fun.

To all the students and families who are moving on from Coralville Central, whether to a new school, community, or the next stage in your academic journey, we thank you for being a valued part of CC. Your presence has left a positive mark, and you will always be part of the Coralville Central Family. We wish you nothing but the best in your next chapter!

We are already looking forward to the 2025–2026 school year and continuing our work together to help every child thrive.

Wishing you a happy summer!

Andy Gahan
Principal, Coralville Central

• Wednesday, June 4th - LAST DAY OF PK
• Thursday, June 5th - Kindergarten End of Year Celebration - 10:00am (in the gym)
• Thursday, June 5th - 5th Grade End of Year Outside Celebration - 12:30-2:30
• Thursday, June 5th - NO EARLY OUT (make-up 1 hour from missed school)
• Friday, June 6th - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - 12:55pm

Kindergarten will be having an extra special celebration at the Coralville Central gym on Thursday, June 5th @ 10:00am. Parents are welcome to come!

ALL parents of Kindergarten and 1st grade students - please make sure that your student has an extra change of clothes in their backpacks EVERYDAY in case of accidents. Please also make sure they are season-appropriate (sweats, leggings, shorts).

All unclaimed items will soon be donated, so students should check soon!

Can we drastically increase our finishing numbers for CPL's Summer Reading Program?

Sign up at the Coralville Public Library any time this summer.
We had 75 students finish in the summer of 2024.
Can we double it in 2025??
Can we work towards 150 finishers?
Let's just go for the grand slam!
YES! WE CAN DO IT!

We understand there has been correspondence through the district re: Chromebooks. We are going to stick with our original plan here:

If you want your child to take their Chromebook home for the summer, you must read through these expectations: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19yzaU-zRJkomY0kIdm1vT_ViNwlNWjqwAKDoI_B2l5g/edit?usp=sharing

and then fill out this form:

https://forms.gle/zhL6uwXTAUHrZrHu8

FIRM DEADLINE: Tuesday, June 3.

If you want us to keep the Chromebook here at school, you do not have to do anything.

Current 5th graders will all take their devices home.

ALL devices and chargers will need to be brought back to school in August.

Devin Redmond (she/hers)

Teacher Librarian

Coralville Central Elementary : ICCSD

Instagram @cclibrary

Facebook @coralvillecentral

Twitter @devinred

Healthy Kids Clinic

will remain open during the summer!

Hours will be:

Tuesdays at SEMS from 9:00 - 5:00

Wednesdays at NWMS from 8:30 - 12:30

Please call 319.631.3204 if you need an appointment for any of the following:

Immunizations

Acute Care Visit (illness)

Sports Physicals

Well Child Checks

Please click the link below to find the forms that MUST be filled out before your HKC visit. You can bring the printed forms with you to the appointment or email them to:

healthykidsclinic@iowacityschools.org

https://www.iowacityschools.org/services-supports/healthy-kids-clinic/clinic-forms

Have a safe and healthy summer!!

Students made frosting-style roses using Model Magic clay!

Band and Orchestra recruitment has moved to the end of 4th grade. If you are in 4th grade and would like to be in either band or orchestra in 5th grade, please make sure you sign up! Students should have already brought home forms with directions on getting signed up.

Sign up by Monday, June 2!

Do you have a child who will be 5 on or before 9/15/25? Or do you know of anyone in your neighborhood? Make sure you register your child for Kindergarten. You can do this by going to iowacityschools.org and go to Enroll or you can call to schedule a time to come in to the office to register (319.688.1100) in person.

There is still time to register your younger children for Preschool - the child must be 4 on or before 9/15/25. The process is the same - you can do the registration online or come in person to the school office.

School begins promptly at 7:50 AM. Any student arriving in the classroom after 7:50 AM
is late to school. Currently we are having a large number of students arriving to school late. Please know these minutes are counted in their absenteeism and can result in consequences.

Confused about attendance that is marked Unexcused?

Anything that is not a state exempt absence (Religious, Medical, Family Medical) is coded in Infinite Campus as Unexcused because it is counting the minutes missed from instruction.

Students are allowed up to 8 Medically Exempt (MEDX) absences per trimester. Medical absences after 8 must have a note to be exempt.

The District is committed to providing a safe and healthy learning environment for our students. Due to the increase in food allergies and concerns with childhood obesity, changes have been made to the district's Wellness Policy regarding classroom snacks, birthday treats, and classroom celebrations. Some elementary schools are celebrating without food, so please check with your child's school to find out their practice.

When food is served to students in the classroom as a snack, birthday treat, or during a classroom celebration, the following rules apply (ICCSD Wellness Policy 507.9):

• allow only fresh fruits/vegetables or purchased foods with the ingredients listed (no homemade foods).
• allow only foods that meet the Healthy Food Guidelines/Smart Snacks. The only exception to this would be food-tasting related to district-approved curriculum lessons.
• not allow foods with peanuts or peanut butter, or foods that were made in a factory where cross-contamination may occur.
• food that does not meet the guidelines will be sent home.
• a list of acceptable foods (Healthy Food Guidelines/Smart Snacks) will be made available to parents and teachers at the beginning of the school year (and can be found on the district web site).

Examples of Acceptable Foods:

• Veggie straws or chips
• Skinny Pop or Boom Chicka Pop popcorn
• Cheddar Goldfish or Annie's Cheddar Bunnies
• Gluten-free pretzels or pretzel chips (example: Snyder's brand)
• Carrots
• Applesauce
• Fruit leathers
• Benton's animal crackers (Aldi)
• Apples, bananas, cuties
• Pirate's Booty
• Mott's, Welch's or Annie's fruit snacks

**Snacks MUST be individually packaged.

**All snacks MUST be PEANUT/TREE NUT FREE and MUST NOT be made in a facility that processes nuts. The packaging should not have any NUT Allergy Warnings.

Read the ingredient label for any allergy warnings.

**Snacks that are not on the approved list will be sent home.

**Non-food items are always preferable so all students may safely enjoy a treat. Some examples include:

• Stickers
• Washable tatoos
• Bubbles
• Pencils/erasers

Here is the policy for all students' personal devices.

Personal Devices (i.e. cell phones, smart watches, tablets, personal laptops, etc.):

• ALL cell phones and other electronic devices, including smart watches, must be turned in at the start of the day.
• Phone calls can only be made from a school phone with adult supervision.
• If you need to contact a parent about an issue at school, you must first speak to a teacher or another adult about the situation.
• If it is discovered that a student has not turned in their device, parents will be called to pick it up from the office.

The district will not be held accountable for lost or stolen items brought to school by a student.

A further note, this policy extends to field trips. NO PERSONAL DEVICES WILL BE ALLOWED ON ANY FIELD TRIPS.

Please read below if you're interested in some options for school break nutrition with both school pick-up and delivery options from the Coralville Food Pantry. Reach out to Michael Mendoza for more information.

Job Opening:

Turtle Caregiver & Aquarium Maintenance. The PTO is seeking two volunteers to take over two jobs for next year. If you can take over one of these positions, please email cyndicrossett@msn.com. There are some brief descriptions below, but feel free to ask more questions!

Turtle Caregiver

The turtle needs 2 visits a week. Each visit he needs to be fed, and his filters need rinsed clean. You can make these visits during the day or evening (during the evening you’ll have to contact a

custodian to let you into the school). During one of those visits every 2 weeks, his water needs changed. This involves draining the water from his tank, rinsing his rocks and filter, wiping clean

his tub and then refilling the tub and restacking the rocks. We have a vacuum and bucket for the water, a spray cleaner for the tub, and food for the turtle. If you need any additional supplies, the PTO can buy them or reimburse you. The time commitment is probably about 3 hours every two weeks total.

Aquarium Maintenance

The aquarium has a two week auto-feeder, so each two weeks it needs to be filled. Usually, a few plants need to be removed to make sure the food can reach the water. They reproduce quickly, so we just take a few out and throw them away. Once a month the aquarium needs a partial water change, you remove about 1/3 of the water and refill it with clean water. There is a pump and hose for the water changes. You can refill the feeder day or evening, but the water changes need to be outside of school hours. A custodian can let you into the building. The total time commitment is about 2-3 hours per month.

Please come to Coralville Central Night @ the Kernels game on August 30th, 2025 - 6:30pm.

Along with the baseball game, there will be fun for students and fireworks!

Below is a link for the Coralville Central Directory for this school year.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tWpw1Fzz5_yDsQ3i_y89bKZ33M9q5mqF/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115413838947360080083&rtpof=true&sd=true

If you need to come into Coralville Central for any reason, please come to the front of the school and ring the doorbell. We will let you in and then you need to come into the main office and sign in. Thank you!

The link below is the description of the expectations for drop-off and pick-up at Coralville Central. Thank you for following these guidelines. We want everyone to make it safely and on time.

Drop-Off and Pick-Up

PBIS Increases Student Engagement and Instructional Time
Establishing school-wide expectations with students sets the tone for the classroom. When we spend time getting to know our students and use strategies to deepen connections every day, we are building a healthy classroom environment. When students have clear expectations, are regularly acknowledged for the things they do well, and receive instructional consequences more often than exclusionary ones, they are going to spend more time in class than out of it. Not only that, when schools implement PBIS, students are more engaged in instruction.
(Source: https://www.pbis.org/pbis/why-implement-pbis)

Looking for information on Securly, our web filtering tool? Find all
the information here www.IowaCitySchools.org/Securly.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. Thank you!

CONTACT: (319) 688-1000 | pedersen.kristin@iowacityschools.org
EXPLORE: www.IowaCitySchools.org
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Mobile App

Technology continues to evolve and play a key role in learning. One recent emerging technology claiming to transform education is artificial intelligence (AI). As the district explores both the potential and pitfalls of AI, we wanted to gain your insights. The questions within the survey will help us better understand your knowledge of AI, what concerns you may have, as well as what hunches you have about its ability to enhance student learning. In addition, your expertise will assist in the creation of guidelines for both teachers and students as they use artificial intelligence in the classroom. Your anonymous feedback will play a crucial role in ensuring artificial intelligence is not only accessible but used responsibly and effectively to enrich student learning experiences. We greatly appreciate your time and thoughtful responses to the probing questions.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevjjZDHHv9QfHLmy9ek2YhScTmen739_hMp4Q_9Hdc4XdmLA/viewform

Please make sure you review the district student handbook for questions on policies, etc.

https://www.iowacityschools.org/Page/14338

With recent changes to federal immigration policies and practices, we want to assure you of the measures we have in place within our schools.

Our Safeguards:

• Requests from immigration officials to access information or communicate with a student will be immediately referred to the Superintendent’s Office. We will work closely with legal counsel to ensure compliance with the law while safeguarding students' privacy and rights.

• Any law enforcement action involving our schools must comply with proper legal authority.

• While following the law, we will prioritize protecting students' constitutional and legal rights. We will not share student information or grant law enforcement building access unless legally required to do so.

Important note: Please review and update your contact information in Infinite Campus to ensure we can communicate effectively with you. Accurate information helps us maintain our comprehensive school safety plans. Please take a moment to verify the following:

• Personal contact details (phone numbers and email addresses).

• Emergency contact information.

• Approved individuals who can pick up your child from school.

Please visit our Supports for Immigrant Students and Families webpage for more information.

Students, Families, and Employees - The Ombuds Office is here to help! Visit www.IowaCitySchools.org/Ombuds to learn more!

In order to achieve our goals of excellence and equity for all students, we have adopted a new school improvement model called High Reliability Schools. High Reliability Schools is a framework that supports fulfilling our vision of equitable outcomes for all students. It gives us a common language to name what we’re doing, assess our current reality, align our initiatives, and determine where to go next. It is a vehicle that allows us to balance shared responsibility and autonomy to make decisions that best meet the needs of all our students.

We are excited to get this work started and we are excited to partner in this process with all of you! We value the voice of our school community and we want to make sure that your experiences are reflected in our High Reliability Schools implementation. Throughout the year, there will be multiple opportunities for our students, families, and staff to provide feedback that will inform the work that we do. Please stay tuned for information on these opportunities. We look forward to partnering with you on this exciting new adventure!

It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Eric Howard, Director of Equity and Employee Relations, 1725 N Dodge St, Iowa City, IA 52245, 319-688-1000, howard.eric@iowacityschools.org.