Montgomery Elementary News

Dr. Amy Debelak, Principal

Ms. Sally Ganz, Asst. Principal

Office 686-1730

Absence Line 686-1736

FAX 792-6131

School Nurse 686-1733

Cafeteria 686-1735

Transportation 686-1785

Website: http://www.sycamoreschools.org/Domain/13
Location: 9609 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: 513-686-1730
Facebook: www.facebook.com/montgomeryelementaryofficial/?fref=ts
Twitter: @Montgomery_Elem

Hi!

One of the gifts of the pandemic is I don’t need to physically attend as many meetings and I have had more time to get into the classroom. I spent some time this morning in a kindergarten class and saw the books they were creating kindness. Examples they shared with me were making a card for someone and playing with someone who doesn’t have anyone to play with. It exemplified our Montgomery students!

We had a great week of MAP assessments at Montgomery. The students did a fantastic job and worked so hard. I am very proud of how seriously they took the assessment.

Thank you for all of your help with arrival and dismissal. We are still a work in progress and are looking for your support. Please do not arrive in the morning before 9 am. We are having cars arrive as early as 8:40 and traffic backs up on Montgomery Road quickly. Staff is in meetings until 9:05 and that is the earliest time we can start letting students in the building.

I heard from several parents this week about challenges with dismissal. Again, I am asking that you not arrive early. Students are still being instructed until 3:20 and then need to pack up and get to the gym. Parents are arriving well before 3 pm and Montgomery Road is backed up by 3 pm each day. The early car arrivals create a compounding problem. Our cars mix with general Montgomery Road traffic creating a back up as far north as Pfiefer Road. It is a volume issue. To try and decrease the volume of cars at any one time at Montgomery Elementary, we are asking families whose last names begin with A-K arrive from 3:25-3:35 and those whose last names begin with L-Z come from 3:35-3:50. Our goal is to start dismissal at 3:30 and be completed by 3:50. Please know we are constantly analyzing and talking to Montgomery Police to try and make this a smoother process.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Have a wonderful weekend.

Best wishes,

Amy

9/29 - Picture Retake Day

10/2 - PBIS Spirit Day - Wear Blue T-Shirt to School

11/9 - Teacher Records Day - No School

PARENT - TEACHER CONFERENCES

Please mark your calendars!

Evening Conferences - Thursday, November 19 (4:00pm - 8:00pm)

**Day Conferences - Friday, November 20 (8:15am - 4:00pm)**

Evening Conferences - Monday, November 23 (4:00pm - 8:00pm)

**NO SCHOOL K-8**

ABSENCE LINE

New this year: Sycamore Community Schools has established a centralized Sycamore Attendance Line. To report an absence for both face-to-face and virtual students, please call (513) 686-1707 and listen carefully to the prompts to make the appropriate selection for your child's school. We're asking both face-to-face and virtual families to report COVID-related illnesses by calling this line.

IMPORTANT DATES

SYCAMORE SCHOOL DISTRICT HIB POLICY & PROCEDURES

Reporting Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Incidence

In an ongoing effort to provide a safe learning environment, Sycamore is requesting parents, students, and staff to inform administration (or whoever) of any perceived incidences of harassment, intimidation, or bullying.

Per the Sycamore Board of Education policy JFCF, harassment, intimidation, and bullying are defined as any provoked and intentional written, verbal, electronic or physical act that a student has exhibited toward another particular student more than once and the behavior both:

1. causes mental or physical harm to the other student; and

2. is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.

To view the complete policy, visit www.sycamoreschools.org, under the Board of Education tab, scroll down to “Policies”, search for policy “JFCF” and “JFCG-P”.

Sycamore will do everything possible to address any complaints of harassment, intimidation, and bullying. We encourage students, staff, parents, and community members to report this type of behavior to the district if help is needed to solve a problem.

To report an incident of harassment, intimidation, and bullying:

1. Go to the district’s website, www.sycamoreschools.org or on the individual school’s website under “Bullying Prevention” to find the form.
   

2. “Report Bullying”

3. Fill the form on-line and submit it electronically.

4. Hard copies of this form are available in each of the schools.

5. Complete the hard copy of the report form and turn it in to the building principal.

The building principal or designee will promptly investigate all

reported incidences.

It is difficult to investigate reported incidences that are anonymously submitted. However, every effort will be made to maintain the confidentiality of the reporter. Deliberate false reporting of harassment, intimidation, and bullying is prohibited.

SCHOOL LUNCH

USDA and ODE passed a new waiver for all schools that participate in School Nutrition Programs. As of today, Sycamore Schools is now able to serve breakfast and lunch to all students for FREE until the waiver expires on December 31st (or until the allotted program funds are no longer available—whichever comes first.)

This does not change anything in the process of receiving breakfast or lunch at school for your Sycamore student other than that if a student makes a reimbursable school meal they will not be charged. A student has to take 3 components and one HAS to be ½ cup of fruit or vegetable for their meal to be considered reimbursable. Click on the links below for more information by learning model:

Virtual Learning- Free Meal Information

Face-to-Face- Free Meal Information

Change in Pre-Ordering Meals

The Child Nutrition Department has made a change to the pre-ordering deadline for Elementary students. Families now only need to order by Noon the day before, rather than a week at a time. This is to better serve our parents and students.

Please note: You can order up to 2 weeks in advance. If choosing to do this, please understand that if you ordered a meal for your student and they are present at school they need to take the meal that was ordered.

Thank you for being patient with this new program and way of providing meals to students in the safest way possible. The Child Nutrition Department is doing everything possible to fix any issues that are found in a timely manner.

Continue to send questions and concerns to warrenk@sycamoreschools.org or by calling the office at (513) 686-1796.

Kelsey Warren RD, LD

Child Nutrition & Wellness Director

Sycamore Community Schools

(513) 686-1796

twitter: @SycamoreCNS

MESSER MEDIA MEMO

UNITE FOR LITERACY provides free digital access to picture books, narrated in many languages. Bookmark this page for your children and let them explore!

https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

Free and Reduced Forms for Virtual Families and P-EBT

All families that qualify for free and reduced-price meals or feel like they might qualify this year need to fill out their application ASAP. Ohio Department of Education in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services is running another round of Pandemic-EBT cards, but ONLY for families who have children learning virtually 5 days a week.

The P-EBT program provides families eligible for free or reduced-price meals with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, in the amount of $5.86 (the federal reimbursement rate for breakfast and lunch) for each day a school has remote learning provided for the month of September. All children eligible for free and reduced-price meals are eligible for these benefits, including children who were approved through Direct Certification and children approved based on a free or reduced-price student meal application, as long as the student has remote learning periods lasting at least five consecutive days.

IF you want to be included on this list that will be sent to ODJFS early next week, you need to have your free and reduced applications for the 2020-21 school year turned in by 8:00 am on Monday morning either online OR o the Child Nutrition Office - 5959 Hagewa Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45242. We encourage whoever is able to do their application online to do so by visiting www.payschoolscentral.com. Online applications will have an automatic response. Find more information on filling out a free and reduced meal form by visiting https://www.sycamoreschools.org/Page/2292.

ATTENDANCE LINE

New this year: Sycamore Community Schools has established a centralized Sycamore Attendance Line. To report an absence for both face-to-face and virtual students, please call (513) 686-1707 and listen carefully to the prompts to make the appropriate selection for your child's school. We're asking both face-to-face and virtual families to report COVID-related illnesses by calling this line.

Dear Montgomery Families,

We are off to another great school year at Montgomery Elementary and whether your child is attending school face to face or virtually the PTO continues to strive to make sure you are kept up to date with information. Thank you for your patience and please see all the new information below in the S'more and also on the PTO website and Facebook!

The Montgomery PTO is an organization that consists of parents, teachers, and school staff that works together to enhance the education of every child. We support the school and teachers with volunteers, provide a forum for two-way communication, happily fund many school items/teaching tools, and host a variety of events. This year, obviously, looks much different than any other school year, but we want to let you know that the PTO is working hard to provide the same support as we always have.

Please make sure that you fill out the Membership Google Form (link below) as soon as possible! There will be no membership fees this year in the hopes that all families and staff will join and stay connected (whether your family is face-to-face or virtual). We do ask however that the Membership Goggle Form is completed by each family! The DirectorySpot App will be available again this year to all members but once again we ask for patience updating this as it requires data from the district (that may be delayed).

We also ask that you consider (if you are able to do so) making a donation to the PTO for this school year. Our typical membership fees usually only cover about the cost of our yearly DirectorySpot membership! In the past few years the PTO has been fortunate enough to donate a new sound system for the gym/cafeteria, a new kindergarten playground, technology like chromebooks/iPads, and countless activities/programs for our students, such as the Author Visits this past school year. A link for PayPal is available after completing the Google Form and can also be found on the PTO Website if you wish to make a donation. This school year will not have the traditional fundraisers (Boosterthon and Carnival) so we ask that you please take this into consideration as we are not able to do what we do without the generosity of our families. We are brainstorming ideas for additional Hassle-Free donations, in addition to Kroger, Box Tops for Education, and Pipkins (see below for more information) and considering adding a spring fundraiser if possible, but nothing has been finalized.

As always please make sure that you are following updates from the PTO via these three ways:

1) Montgomery Elementary Facebook Group

2) Sycamore District Montgomery Elementary PTO Page (https://www.sycamoreschools.org/domain/648)

3) Montgomery Elementary Weekly Newsletter (S’more)

A calendar with dates will also be posted in the upcoming days with dates for all of the General Meetings and PTO events. We ask that you remember these dates are subject to change and thank you for understanding! While we are still working on confirming dates for all of the General Meetings, and even some Virtual Family Fun Nights, please mark your calendar for the first General PTO meeting of the school year on Wednesday, October 21st from 9:30-11am.

Building a strong Montgomery Elementary Community for ALL is a goal for the PTO. We are working hard on ways to increase student/teacher support this school year and thinking of ways to still have fun (and some FUN-draising) activities throughout the year.

I, and the rest of the executive board, look forward to working with you this year as we do our best to make a positive difference for our children, the staff, and our school. Please contact me anytime with questions.

Sincerely,

Kristy Felss

Montgomery Elementary PTO President

mtpto@sycamoreschools.org

If you are part of the Montgomery Elementary family, we encourage you to join us in making our school a great place for all of our kids! PTO membership offers you many opportunities to learn about what is going on at the school, to be involved and make some friends along the way. PTO members can vote on the PTO budget and receive access to our directory via the DirectorySpot app (More info coming soon!) Joining the PTO does not obligate you to volunteer; it's just a great way to show your support of Montgomery Elementary!

Also, to be included in our private Montgomery Elementary PTO Facebook Group, please contact Kristy Felss at mtpto@sycamoreschools.org to be added.

• 1. FIll out the PTO Membership Form!!!

• 2. Consider making a "Hassle-Free" donation...
  The PTO is not charging Membership Fees this year and we will be unable to hold our traditional fundraisers such as Boosterthon and Carnival (though we are considering other FUN-draising options potentially this school year nothing is set in stone due to Covid). If you are able, please consider making a donation to the PTO so we can continue to support our Students, Teachers and Staff at Montgomery Elementary!

• 3. Looking for a way to Volunteer this school year? There is no obligation to volunteer for the PTO, but we would love to have your help! It's a great way to meet other parents and to stay more directly involved with your child's experience at Montgomery Elementary. Due to the unique school year please contact Kristy Felss, PTO President, directly for more information about volunteering at mtpto@sycamoreschools.org.

Would you like to be your child’s

Room Parent?

Volunteers needed!

The PTO is looking for a volunteer for each Face-to-Face classroom to serve as the room parent throughout the 2020-2021 school year.

The role of the room parents will look a little different this year and each classroom may have unique needs. Room parents will work with their teacher to determine how to best support their classroom and teacher.

If you are interested in being a room parent for your Face-to Face student, please complete the online form below by next Wednesday, September 23rd. If you would like to be a room parent for your child in the Virtual Academy please reach out to Elizabeth directly (instead of filling out a form) and she will work with our Virtual Academy Executive Board representatives to connect you.

Questions? Contact Elizabeth Miller at elizabethkay2@yahoo.com or 513-375-4181.

Thank you!

Click here to fill out the form

HASSLE FREE MONEY FOR OUR SCHOOL

KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS

You can earn money for Montgomery Elementary PTO just by using your Kroger Plus card at Kroger. But first, you must log onto your Kroger account and designate Montgomery Elementary as the organization you want to receive Community Rewards. Here is how…

1. Log onto your Kroger.com account

2. Click “My Account”

3. Click “Community Rewards”

4. Choose Montgomery Elementary PTO (Organization # VP832)

5. You can verify if you are already set-up by looking at the bottom of your most recent Kroger receipt. It will indicate that you have designated Montgomery Elementary PTO as the organization you chose to receive your rewards.

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION

GOT CLIPS? Drop off all your unexpired Box Tops at school in the Healthy Drop Box (outside the front doors) between 10am-2pm Monday-Friday! Please make sure they are in plastic ziplock bags and at the school before October 19th!

GOT LABELS? Use the Box Tops app to scan your store receipt within 14 days of purchase. The app will automatically find the products and instantly add Box Tops to your school’s earnings online. No clipping required! NO MORE CLIPPING! SCAN YOUR RECEIPT! SEE HOW AT BTFE.

Click here for a video demonstrating how to scan your receipts and receive credit via the App. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bNcykyK5Y

PIPKIN'S MARKET

Anytime you shop at Pipkins Market they will donate a percentage of your spending to Montgomery Elementary PTO. All you have to do is bring your receipt(s) to school just like the box tops!

Bring Box Tops and Pipkins Receipts to school between 10am-2pm in a plastic bag and drop them outside the front doors in the Healthy Drop Box! Please do not send them to school with your child at this time or drop them off during Morning Drop Off or Afternoon Pick Up!

Questions about any of the Hassle Free programs or alternative ways to turn in your Box Tops and/or Pipkin’s Receipts before October 19th please contact Molly Duffey at mduffeyrn@yahoo.com

HOMECOMING

SHS Homecoming looks quite a bit different this year, with no fans at the game and no parade. But that doesn't mean we can't celebrate, Sycamore! Join us next week for Homecoming Spirit Week, both at home and in all of our schools! Share your spirited photos on social media using the hashtag #AvesHomecoming