Maple Monthly

Hello Families,

It was great getting the chance to meet with families and share all of the wonderful learning we have going on at Maple during conferences last month!

We have completed Report Cards and they will be sent home in backpacks this Friday, 12/6.

Friday, December 20th will be the last day of school before Winter Break. Students will return Tuesday, January 7th. We will continue to have Costco donations on Tuesdays through break and will have the carts out at 10:00, first come first served.

We hope you have a safe and enjoyable Winter Break!

Megan Knight, Principal

At Maple, we award "Hoorays" to students who go above and beyond. Hoorays are then entered into a drawing each week for a chance for students to pick a reward.

Recently, one of our amazingly talented Educational Assistants created this fantastic dragon who is Hungry for Hoorays! We are stunned by her creativity and it's such a fun way to be greeted when we go to the office.

Thank you, Ms. Chrystal, for sharing your talents with us. Go Dragons!

At Maple Elementary, every student belongs. This means that every student regardless of their race, religion, language, gender, or any other factor- will be loved and accepted as a member of our school community. Bias and discrimination in any form are not tolerated within our school community. If and when incidents of bias occur, we will respond with care for those who have been harmed and education and consequences for those who have caused harm.

As we head into cooler, wetter months, the potential for school delays or closures due to snow and ice becomes a reality. SPS announces delays and closures in several different ways. Our goal is to determine by 6:30 a.m. whether school will be delayed, closed or open as usual. Remember, no news means no change. You can ensure that you will receive announcements of delays and closures in several key ways:

1. Make sure that your contact information is up to date with your student's school.
2. Follow SPS on Facebook, Instagram and X.
   
3. Sign up to receive FlashAlert alerts.
4. Check our website.

The PBIS team looks at data every month to inform decisions around boosters for behavior. At the end of October data was reviewed and the school-wide data showed that we were averaging 2.95 major referrals a day for defiance.

The PBIS team created a booster to improve defiant behaviors in the classroom that looked like:

Who: Teachers chose an academic routine that is particularly difficult in the classroom, when defiance is more likely to occur (e.g. math, writing, etc.).

What: Each class had a giant hooray with five boxes and had ten days to fill the spaces with the class. Spaces were filled when students are following expectations and taking appropriate breaks when needed. Classes could earn one filled space per day. When classes filled the grid they could earn a reward chosen by the teacher.

At the conclusion of this booster, our data showed that referrals for defiance went down to 1.25 referrals a day! What a success!

This booster went so well, we are doing it again this month, focusing on a different routine.

Our Maple policy for food and drinks in the classroom:

Drinks: Only water is allowed during the day in the classroom. If a student brings another drink to school (such as hot chocolate, juice, soda) they will need to finish their drink in the cafeteria and be in class by 8:35.

Food: Teachers have different policies around snacks in the classroom. If your student has a snack time in their class, it is expected that they bring items that meet the district guidelines linked below.

If you have any questions about food and drink in the classroom, please call the office.

We now have an official Facebook Page!

This page will have information, events, information about staff and exciting info about what is going on in our classrooms and schools. Please click the link below to follow!

We are excited to continue our Weekly Walking School Bus every Tuesday. A Walking School Bus is a program supported by Safe Routes to School and Maple staff to provide a chaperoned walk to school every Tuesday morning. If you don't live directly on the route, feel free to drive your student to any of the stops before pick up time.

Healthy Moves is off to a great start this year. The program runs Monday-Thursday each week.

This is a 30-minute activity program that is done before school. A variety of physical activities includes a warm-up, cardiovascular activities, games, and a cool down/yoga stretch. Activities are adapted to be appropriate for each grade. This program is designed to stimulate physical activity for kids in grades kinder-to-5th, and this has the added benefit of preparing them to be able to focus better in the classroom.

• Healthy Moves Trainers will come to Maple at 7:45
• Beginning at 8:00, trainers will pull any student finished eating breakfast, or students who have already eaten at home to the gym to lead them in activity.
• There will be a cap of 80 students per day, no students brought after 8:15
• At 8:25 trainers will line up students by grade level and dismiss to class

Thank you Healthy Moves for continuing this program at Maple!

Come meet our new Family Resource EA, Jessica Thomas!

Our Family Center is located in our school right by the front office. Jessica is here to help students and families so that ALL students feel supported and able to participate in school everyday. Some of the resources we have available at the school are food, clothing and basic toiletries.

Please stop by the front office and visit the Family Center if you would like to pick up some items. We also roll out our Community Cart every other Thursday after school. If you have any questions please feel free to visit the office or call the school at 541-744-6395.

Morning Supervision begins at 8:00 each day. Please do not have your student arrive before that time.

Afternoon supervision: Dismissal time is 2:50. Please promptly pick up your student as we do not have afternoon supervision past 3:00.

Breakfast doors open daily at 8:00am. Students can enter through the cafeteria doors. We encourage any student who would like to eat breakfast to arrive no later than 8:20 to ensure they make it to class when school starts at 8:35. Any student that enters school after 8:35 receives a sack breakfast to take to their classroom.

We are now offering 2 main choices for lunch and breakfast each day. As students walk through the line, they are able to make their choice. Students have been excited for this change!

Just a friendly reminder that to keep the drop off line moving, we ask that you do not get out of your car. If you would like to walk your student to the door, please park in our lot.

Additionally, when parking on J street we ask that you not block off any of our neighbors' driveways.

Dismissal Information:

• Student dismissal time is 2:50 each day. Student dismissal locations are as follows:
• Kindergarten: Dismissed through Kindergarten gate, behind school off of J Street.
• 1st/4th/5th grade: Dismissed through Cafeteria doors
• 2nd/3rd grade: Dismissed through front doors by Main Office

Thank you for helping our Drop off and Pick up times go safely and smoothly!

Our students have PE every other day. Please send your student to school in tennis shoes.

We receive donations from Costco each Tuesday for our families. Jessica, our great Family Center EA, will push out carts at the end of the day each Tuesday afternoon around 2:50. Please be aware we have many families in need so only take what is needed.

All students received a new Maple T-shirt this year. We encourage both staff and students to wear their Maple shirts every Monday.

Please remember to send your student with their charged chromebook or Ipad every day!

December 13th: Early Release @12:30

December 16th-20th: Spirit Week

December 23rd-January 6th: No School; Winter Break

December 24th: Costco Donations @10:00

December 31st: Costco Donations: @10:00

January 7th: Students return

January 7th: Walking School Bus @7:45

January 20th: No School: Martin Luther King JR Day

January 24th: Early Release: Dismissal @12:30

January 31st: No School: Teacher Prep Day

Email: megan.knight@springfield.k12.or.us
Location: 2109 J Street, Springfield, OR, USA
Phone: 541-744-6395