YIS Parent Newsletter

Parents & Guardians,

Happy New Year! We were thrilled to welcome our students back today to begin the second half of our school year! Students were excited (and a little sleepy), but it was great being back in our routine at YIS.

As we begin the new year, I want to take a moment to ask that you set aside time this week to review a few important reminders with your child:

• Dress Code: We ended December with many fun dress-up days, but please review our school's dress code with your child to ensure he/she does not have to miss any class time correcting a dress-code issue.
• Behavior Expectations: Many teachers reviewed school and team behavior expectations today. Students are expected to follow our "YIS Top 10 List" of behavior expectations along with specific rules for each area within the school and the school bus.
• Cell Phones: Overall, YIS students have done a great job adhering to our Cell Phone Policy. Please remind your child that phones should be off and stored away in bookbags throughout the day.

*All of these policies can be found in our YIS Student & Parent Handbook Addendum. The link below also has access to our district's Student/Parent Handbook.

Parents, please refrain from using the Teacher Parking Lot to drop off students in the mornings.

We look forward to a successful 2nd semester at YIS!

Thank you,

Hannah Rescigno

Principal

Our Beginning Band Winter Showcase will be on Thursday January 16 at 6:30 pm in the YIS gym. This will be a combined performance with the Hickory Grove Sharon Elementary School's 6th Grade Band.

To prepare for this performance, 6th Grade Band students will have three required after school rehearsals:

Thursday, January 9 - all 6th grade band students after school until 3:30 pm. Pick up IN FRONT of YIS in the car rider line.

Tuesday, January 14 - all 6th grade band students after school until 3:30 pm. Pick up IN FRONT of YIS in the car rider line.

Thursday, January 16 - all 6th grade band students after school until performance time!

You can join virtually if would like to attend, but are unable to attend in-person. Below is the link to join virtually on January 22.

Our final PTO Meeting for the year is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26 at 4:00 in the Media Center.

We are excited to announce a new monthly student award called the Cougar Quest Award. Starting this month, each homeroom teacher will nominate a student who exemplifies academic dedication and quality citizenship. Each month, parents of Cougar Quest Award recipients will receive notification in their child's communication folder to attend the celebration.

Thank you to our School Improvement Council for this idea! Many YIS teams have celebrated their students with specific team recognitions along with our weekly school-wide Cougar Kindness winners, but we wanted one collective idea that allows students to be recognized on a monthly basis with parents invited in to celebrate!

All celebrations will be at 8:00AM on the following dates:

Tuesday, January 28

Tuesday, February 18

Tuesday, March 25

Tuesday, April 29

· Even if the absence is "excused," your child still missed valuable instruction.

· Even if the absence is "excused," the days count toward "chronic absenteeism."

· Chronic absenteeism is tracked by the state.

Chronic absenteeism is legally defined as "any students who misses 50% or more of the instructional day for any reason for 10% of the enrollment period." For elementary students, that equates to being absent for 18 days - whether excused or not - during the school year. Again, all absence types contribute to this number - excused, unexcused, suspensions, tardy arrivals, and early dismissals.

Another consideration with absences is whether they meet the threshold of truancy, which then becomes a legal matter. Truancy is defined as "a student between the ages of 6-17 who has accumulated 3 consecutive or a total of 5 or more unexcused/unlawful absences during the academic year. Continued unexcused absences after the truancy intervention process begins may result in referral to family court and/or the involvement of the Department of Social Services."

If you have any questions about your child's attendance please reach out to our School Counselors. If you are in need of some assistance or help regarding your child's attendance, please reach out to us. Your child will be the most successful when we work together!

Absolutely! When your child is sick, we certainly do not expect him/her to come to school. If you have any questions about sickness and when your child should return, please reach out to Nurse Myers.

After your child returns from an absence, you have a maximum of 3 days (per YSD1 policy) to submit an excuse. Excuses can be sent in your child's folder or via Remind to your child's teacher. You can also call the school to give information over the phone or submit the excuse electronically using the link below.

Show your YIS student just how much he or she ROCKS by painting a custom message for birthdays or other special events or accomplishments! Here are the guidelines for renting the YIS Spirit Rock:

January 9

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (wear blue!)

6th Grade Band- After School Rehearsal until 3:30

January 14

6th Grade Band- After School Rehearsal until 3:30

School Board Meeting at 6:30

January 15

Report Cards

January 16

6th Grade Band- After School Rehearsal until 3:30

YIS & HGSES Beginning Band Winter Showcase- YIS Gym at 6:30

January 20

Martin Luther King Jr. Day- No School

January 22

PTO Meeting- Media Center 4:00

January 27

SIC Meeting- 8:00

January 28

Cougar Quest Awards- 8:00

January 29

Mrs. Williamson's Class Field Trip

January 30

6th Grade Chorus Field Trip

January 31

Reading Program deadline

February 3

Teacher Professional Development Day- No School for Students

February 4

YIS Domino's Spirit Night

February 8

SC Elementary Honors Choir- Columbia, SC

February 11

School Board Meeting at 6:30

February 12

3rd Nine Weeks Interims

February 17

Random Acts of Kindness Day

February 18

Cougar Quest Awards- 8:00

February 24-28

Intersession Week- No School for Students