Stonegate Elementary Newsletter

It's hard to believe that after this Saturday, we only have one more Saturday that's part of our school year! With nine days left, it's now "ofFISHally" time to start our STONEGATE SEND OFF! Details of this event are in the Counselor Corner section.

This past week was filled with celebrations and the sound of spring! Read below to find out the details! Last but not least, if you are a parent of an incoming Kindy student, please join Mrs. Largent on the SGE playground today from 12-1 PM for a casual meet and greet!

Looking ahead to the final weeks:

• ZCS School Calendar Survey - We value your input! Please take a moment to participate in the ZCS School Calendar Survey highlighted below. Your feedback is crucial in shaping our future calendars. Click here to access the survey.
  

• Lunch Visitors - This Friday 5/24 is the last day to sign-up to have lunch with your child.
  
• 24-25 Registration - Registration is now open for the new school year. Please complete this as soon as possible. Details were sent in an email. This information helps for planning purposes. The school who has the highest percentage of completed registration also gets bragging rights around the district!
• Family Input Survey- Final Week! If you wish to share anything regarding your child for the 2024-2025 school year, please click the link included before May 24th .
• Stonegate Sendoff- This starts on Monday!
  
• Field Day and Kona Ice- Mark your calendar for Friday, May 24th!
• NO SCHOOL: Memorial Day- School is not in session on Monday, May 27th.
• Last Student Day- Friday, May 31st.

Enjoy this sun-filled Saturday and Sunday!

Mrs. Connie Largent, Principal

Mrs. Kathy Drake, Assistant Principal

May

22 - 4th Grade to Indiana State Museum

23 - 2nd Grade Insect Expo

23 - PTO Dine for Dollars at Papa John's

24 - Field Day

24 - PTO Spirit Day: Hat Day

27 - No School: Memorial Day

31 - Last Student Day & 4th Grade Graduation

31 - Registration for the 24-25 school year is DUE

Please follow the instructions you received in the personalized email from Zionsville Community Schools on Tuesday, May 7th. Registration information is vital for ensuring that you receive information about the 2024-2025 school year, for maintaining records to ensure student safety, and in compliance reporting required of us on behalf of all enrolled students (for various state and local agencies). Please remember that this notification may have been sent to multiple parent/guardian contacts. Only ONE registration record may be submitted for each student. A parent/guardian who starts a registration for a student becomes the only registrant possible for that student.

Please complete this registration by Friday, May 31st, 2024.

If your student will not be returning to Zionsville Community Schools next year, please complete the online student change form found here so that you won’t continue to receive registration notices.

As we plan for the year ahead, we welcome your input! Please provide feedback about your child's school experience this year.

We also welcome valuable information about your child's personality, learning style, and areas of strength and growth. These important details, along with the teacher's anecdotes about your child's classroom performance, assessment data, and social/emotional needs, provide us with crucial information that we consider when making the best teacher match.

Finally, if you have any new neighbors who move in during the summer, please encourage them to register as soon as possible. Any time a new student is added, class lists need to be reevaluated. This form will remain open until May 24th.

Stonegate Families – The last day to eat lunch with your child for this school year will be May 24, 2024. We will resume our lunch visitors next school year starting September 3, 2024. Thank you!

We were thrilled to have Mrs. Knueven as SGE's 23-24 Teacher of the Year! During this past Monday's school board meeting, all of the Teachers of the Year were recognized and honored. The amount of talent and dedication we have to support our students was remarkable.

Miss Tooley's Stonegate Singers performed a spectacular spring concert! It was a great way to showcase their hard work and practice this spring semester. It was evident they also had fun, which is really what it's all about!

The mission of the Office of Special Projects is to provide value-added, enriching, fee-based services for families of Zionsville Community Schools and to also provide important links between our schools and the greater community. On this site you can find additional information about Eagle Rec classes, childcare, universal preschool, and much more!

Summer is ofFISHally on it's way so Stonegate will be doing a "school"wide sendoff starting the week of May 20th! The days for the sendoff include spending extra time outside, visiting with the teachers who are in the next grade level, field day, and much more! Each grade level with celebrate some of the days in their own way so be on the lookout for communication from your child(ren)'s teacher. For the first day (Summer is on its way), teachers and students are encouraged to wear bright color clothing!

Most of our students are beginning to learn about problem solving during their Steps to Strong in Every Way time! Students will learn the STEPs to solving a problem.

· S: Say the problem

· T: Think of solutions

· E: Explore consequences

· P: Pick the best solution

As you can see, the first letter of each step spells the word ”step.” Remembering “step” helps students solve problems with each other in safe and respectful ways.

Second Step lessons specifically teach students to use each step and reinforce the message that solutions need to be safe and respectful. Below are the grade level home links about the steps that describe why solving problems is important and including fun activities to do with your child to help him or her learn and practice the steps. We hope the steps will be helpful for you and your child when there are problems at home!

Kindergarten

1st grade

2nd grade

3rd grade

4th grade

When basic needs are met, students are better able to focus on education and learning. Therefore, there is assistance available for our students and their families to help with various needs that may arise throughout the school year. If you are currently in need of assistance, please fill out this Family Assistance form. This information will be kept in strictest confidence.

Warmly,

Jessica Wetzel

School Counselor

The last Dining for Dollars event will take place at Papa John’s Pizza on Thursday, May 23rd. Please enter the school promo code: ISS006. Important: This promo code must be entered online or given over the phone for Stonegate Elementary to receive credit. Please see the attached flyer for additional details. Thank you for supporting Stonegate PTO through our Dining for Dollar events!

Field Day is coming up on Friday, May 24th. We are collecting empty rectangular Kleenex boxes for a fun activity. If you have any boxes to donate, please bring them to the school by Monday, May 20th. Thank you for your help!

Please help us celebrate our teachers and staff who have birthdays in the months of April, May, June and July! Simply signup at the link below, then email the teacher or staff member to schedule a day/time to bring them a birthday lunch or treat. Thank you for showing your appreciation to our teachers and staff!

Birthday Signup: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D4DACAE2DA1FF2-april2#/

Students in grades 3 and 4 concluded ILEARN testing last week. We expect final scores and Individual Student Reports later this month and will share those with you at that time. Indiana Code 20-32-5.1-12(d) allows parents an opportunity to request a review for specific open-ended item(s). Click here for more details.

The Indiana Department of Education requires school districts to identify gifted students and provide them with appropriately differentiated curriculum and instruction. In ZCS, we consider ability and achievement data of all students each spring to identify any who may need advanced curriculum and/or instruction. This spring our team of teachers, licensed in gifted education, will look at all data to make sure that we understand the needs of each student.

Our school district is committed to continuous progress for all students, regardless of designation. Accelerated content is common in our classrooms as are heightened expectations, instructional levels and high-achieving peers. Whether or not a child is identified as needing advanced curriculum, our teachers are committed to regular assessment of skills and knowledge and matching experiences to challenge each child and help him or her make maximum academic growth. While we have approximately 20% of students who are formally identified in elementary school, more than 40% of students take advanced coursework in high school. We are proud to be a high-performing school district with high expectations for all students.

For students currently in grades K-3: Programming at the elementary level is based on student need for acceleration and enrichment within a cluster group in a general education classroom and not on labels. All student data is reviewed each year to look for several indicators that a child needs advanced instruction in order to grow academically. Our identification team looks at achievement (NWEA), ability (CogAT/OLSAT) and teacher observational data (KOI/SIGS). Since these vary from year to year with young students, we re-look at every student each spring. Parents will be notified by June 1 if their child has been recommended for more advanced curriculum. If your child was not identified through our extensive process, parents/guardians may appeal the decision. Parents/guardians can complete the appeal process by June 15. Forms are located on the Academics tab of our website under “Advanced Curriculum”:

https://4.files.edl.io/039c/01/28/20/182123-3d4a9f45-de63-4549-95a9-0341f67290eb.pdf

For students currently in grade 4: All students are considered and more formally identified for high ability each year throughout middle school where they are placed in a class with high ability curriculum. Our identification team considers either achievement (NWEA) or ability (CogAT/OLSAT) when making decisions. Parents will be notified by June 1 if their child has been recommended for differentiation based on the need for accelerated instruction and curriculum. If your child was not identified through our extensive process, parents may appeal the decision. Parents can complete the appeal process by June 15. Forms are located on the Academics tab of our website under “Advanced Curriculum”: https://4.files.edl.io/9ed3/07/24/19/163425-9b8daab0-04e6-4efb-acd8-f68c3aec4318.pdf

Note: If your child is currently identified and receiving more advanced curriculum in grades 1-4, you will not receive an email because this placement will continue for the next school year.

We had a group of special guests today, the Air Bears! The students had a terrific time watching them do their jump roping stunts. The Indy Air Bears offer a summer camp to all boys and girls, 2nd grade and older). If you are interested in finding out more information, please visit their website at https://indyairbears.org.

Stonegate Elementary will be having some updates made this summer to the interior of the building. During this time, the school will be closed, and the office team will be working from home. We will still be available by phone or email. Our hours will be as follows:

• June 4th–14th 8:00am-2:00pm
• June 17th–July 19th Closed
• July 22nd 8:00am-2:00pm
• July 29th - Resume normal office hours of 7:30am-3:30pm

We are hopeful that office construction will be complete by July 22nd. Please be sure to check ParentSquare updates throughout the summer. Thank you!

Please note that due to the summer renovations, classrooms might not be fully decorated prior to Meet the Teacher Nights. Thank you for your flexibility and understanding!

During the school day, all volunteers are expected to check in at the front office. Prior to the volunteer opportunity, all volunteers must sign a Non-disclosure Acknowledgement Form and have successfully completed a Full Criminal History Background Check.. Necessary background check paperwork is available on the ZCS website at the Volunteers/BRAVO link and should be submitted at least 10 days prior to the intended volunteer date. Volunteers must also view the state mandated confidentiality/bullying video, provided on the Volunteer/BRAVO website. The volunteer will pay the fee for the full background check which will expire after 5 years.

During the school day, all visitors must enter via the front door and sign-in at the front office. Visitors need to be prepared to present a government issued photo ID which will be scanned against the National Sex Offender Registry. All visitors will be issued a visitor badge/tag to be worn inside the building at all times. Visitors other than parents/guardians must be prearranged and organized through the main office.

Please click the link below for information about many community actitivities going on in our area.

https://www.zcs.k12.in.us/apps/pages/community_flyers