Dear Graden Families,

As we move into September, I am happy to share that we have had a great start to the year. Thank you so much for supporting Graden as we welcomed all of our Hornets back!

All students grades 1-5 will begin taking the NWEA fall assessment this month. The NWEA assessment is taken three times a year and is used as a measure to help each teacher modify and adjust instruction. Parents and families will receive a score report after each testing window.

We will have Parent Orientation on Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a great night focused on learning information about your teacher and the classroom expectations for the year. There are two sessions for all families: 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm and 6:15 pm - 6:45 pm. You will find the orientation flyer below.

I would like to thank each of you for all that you do at home to support all of us at Graden. It takes a village to provide exceptional learning experiences for our Hornets and I appreciate all of your support!

Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, September 2nd - No School
• Tuesday, September 3rd - Fall Picture Day
• Tuesday, September 3rd - Parent Orientation Night
• Monday, September 9th - PTA Meeting - 6:00 pm - Graden Library
• Monday, September 16th - Friday, September 20th - Start With Hello Week (More Info. Below)
• Monday, September 16th - Friday, September 22nd - PTA Silent Auction
• Wednesday, September 25th - Graden DEIB Advisory Council Meeting - 5:30 pm in the Library
• Friday, September 27th - Hornet Pride Interest Group and Assembly Day

It's truly a GREAT DAY to be a HORNET!!!

Dr. Easley

Principal, Graden Elementary - Home of the Hornets

It is imperative that anyone that enters Graden's doors feel safe and comfortable. In our school community, we have students, staff and family members with severe latex allergies. This means items that contain latex can evoke a reaction if they are in the building.

For the safety of our school community, we are committing to do everything we can to prevent any individuals from coming in contact with latex.

Common items containing latex include:

• Balloons
• Rubber household gloves
• Medical gloves
• Rubber balls
• Rubber bands

Nurse Lindsey Baudoin, Graden school nurse, has been working with our staff and teachers to inspect our supplies and resources to ensure we have latex free items. Please do not send or bring any of the above items to Graden. If you have questions, please contact Lindsey Baudoin at 359-4344.

Thank you for helping us continue to keep Graden safe!

Thank you for your patience as we work the first few weeks of school to create smooth car rider procedures. We have over 160 car riders and appreciate your support during arrival and dismissal.

As we move into the second month of school, it is our practice to encourage and support students entering and exiting their cars independently. This may not occur perfectly every day, but please help us with this goal by following the below guidelines:

Morning Car Riders:

• Make ONE single line
• Have students ready to exit the car on the right side
• When you stop, have your student open the door and exit on their own
• Please do not leave your car to help your student.
• Our goal is that students are able to exit the car independently and move inside the building safely
• If your student has trouble exiting the car, move forward to the spot in front of cone one and notify a Graden staff member or assist your student on exiting the vehicle

Afternoon Car Riders:

• Make one single line
• Stop behind the gate
• The gate will be opened at 3:30 pm – Cars will not move forward until a Graden staff member signals to move
• Have car placard in your window (If you do not have a car placard after the first day of school, call the Graden office)
• Please do not leave your car to help your student
• Our goal is that students are able to enter the car independently
• If your student has trouble getting in the car, move forward to the spot in front of cone one and notify a Graden staff member that you need to assist your student
• A Graden staff member will call for your student and they will meet you at your car in front of cone one
• If you need to buckle your student, please move forward to the spot in front of cone one so that we can continue the dismissal process

SEPTEMBER 16TH-20TH

In every school and community, there are young people who suffer silently because they feel

left out, alone, or invisible. Social isolation is a growing epidemic in our schools and across the

United States. Young people who are isolated can become victims of bullying, violence, and/or

depression. Many then pull further away from society, struggle with learning and social

development, and/or choose to hurt themselves or others as a result.

This is why we are bringing Sandy Hook Promise’s Start with Hello program to Graden Elementary from September 16th - September 20th for grades K-5!

Start with Hello is an age-appropriate training that raises awareness and educates students

about social isolation and how to create a connected and inclusive classroom, school, and

community.

Welcome back, students and parents! I am so excited for the 2024-25 school year. This is my third year as the School Social Worker for both Hawthorn and Graden and I want to encourage parents to reach out for any assistance you or your student might need during the school year.

Below you will find the link for the Confidential Resource Checklist. It has both a variety of resources I can help with and a place for feedback about emotional support your student might need. I have also included my contact information so please feel free to reach out if you have a need.

-Allison Dawson

dawsona@parkhill.k12.mo.us

816-359-5051

Hornet Pride Days will replace early release days for the 2024-25 school year. Once a month we will celebrate our Hornet Pride with a full day of team building, class building, student celebrations, assemblies, and interest groups.

This year our leadership shirts will be grade level specific. On September 27th, our first Hornet Pride Day, we will have an assembly and engage in our first interest group of the year. Our assembly will be BMX bikers and all students will tie-dye their leadership shirts. All shirts will come home on the 27th in a zip-lock bag with at home directions for washing.

We can't wait to celebrate Graden and our Hornets during our monthly Hornet Pride Days.

Hornet Pride Days:

Sept. 27 (Tie-Dye Interest Group)

Oct. 31(Q1 Celebration)

Nov. 22 (Interest Group)

Dec. 19 (Q2 Celebration)

Jan. 31 (Interest Group)

Feb. 28 (Interest Group)

March 19 (Q3 Celebration)

April 25 (Interest Group)

May 23 (Q4 Celebration)

Students may bring birthday treats into class to celebrate their birthday as long as they come from our list of treats that contain none of the major allergens.

Thank you for understanding that all classroom treats must come from this list, because we do not have the staff capacity to check for allergens that could threaten the health of some students.

Each classroom celebrates birthdays at a time that is conducive to their schedule. We do not allow parents or families to join classrooms for birthday celebrations as these are opportunities for students to celebrate with the teacher and classmates.

Approved Birthday Treats:

Please bring birthday treats ahead of time (two hours after the start of school, at the latest).

• Stickers
• Erasers
• Pencils
• Crazy straws
• Blow Pops
• Juice boxes
• Popcorn
• Smarties
• Dum Dum lollipops
• Jelly Belly
• Nerds
• Ring Pops
• Skittles
• Sour Patch Kids
• Starburst
• Swedish Fish
• Life Saver Gummies

We are looking forward to having parent volunteers support our classrooms this year. If you would like to volunteer in your child's classroom or on field trips, you will need to complete the volunteer screening process below.

Volunteer Screening Information:

• Any volunteer who will be alone with students must have a full screening, which includes a criminal background check, a check of the child abuse and neglect registry, and a check of the sexual offender registry. Volunteers must complete the paperwork (attached below) and return to the Park Hill Communications department or to the Graden office.

• Any volunteer that plans to attend a field trip with students must have a full screening completed which includes the above information.
• If you completed a background check with Park Hill before March 2020, you must do it again, because the earlier screening process did not include the criminal background check.
• If you have completed the full screening, you will NOT need to do it again.
• All volunteers must read and agree to the rules in our policy and procedure, and each volunteer will sign in and reaffirm the rules each time they arrive at a school to volunteer.
• The district will receive updates if a volunteer’s screening status changes. Someone’s volunteer status can change at any time.

• The district must pay a fee of $42.75 for each background check, as required by the state. If you would like to donate to help defray this expense, please enclose a check made out to the Park Hill School District for this amount with your screening form. This donation is not required.

The screening process can take up to two weeks or longer, depending on the time of year. Please be aware of this when submitting your application in anticipation of volunteering for specific events.

Lunch visitors are welcome each day at Graden. If you would like to join your Hornet for lunch, please bring your license upon check-in at the Graden office. If you plan to purchase a school lunch, please have funds in your student's account or bring payment with you.

Just a reminder, due to student allergies, you may only bring food items for your own child.

Visitors may also join recess after lunch. Please head immediately to the Graden office after recess to check-out.

Graden Lunch Schedule:

Kindergarten: 11:00 am -11:20 am

1st Grade: 11:20 am - 11:40 am

2nd Grade: 11:40 am - 12:00 pm

3rd Grade: 12:20 pm - 12:40 pm

4th Grade: 12:00 pm - 12:20 pm

5th Grade: 12:45 pm - 1:05 pm

September is an exciting month for PTA. We host two fundraisers annually: the Silent Auction in September and the Read-a-thon in January. We use the funds from these two events to directly impact our staff and students through teacher grants, the carnival, helping host field day, and many other events throughout the year.

The Silent Auction will be held September 16-22nd! The Silent Auction is hosted on an online platform called Auctria. On this platform, you will be able to bid on items to give your student(s) fun opportunities at school. You will be receiving further email communication as the Silent Auction gets closer. Remember, all the money raised from the Silent Auction directly impacts student and staff hornets.

PTA is excited to announce a new initiative to give back to our teachers this year: the Gift of Time. We are asking for screened family members to volunteer to cover teacher’s classrooms for one hour this fall semester. These one hour blocks have been scheduled to give teachers a chance to get much needed tasks done, collaborate with their teams, and get back some time they would be working before or after school. In September, fourth and fifth grade teachers will be receiving the Gift of Time. Look in your email for a sign-up genius to help support our staff!

Are you interested in receiving a Buzz Book? The Buzz Book contains the class roster for each class and the contact information for the adults of the students in the class. It is a great resource for organizing birthday parties and Playdates and much more! The only way to get one is by becoming a member of PTA! It is not too late to sign up. The link is: http://my.cheddarup.com/c/pta-membership-24-25

Important dates:

September meeting 9/9

Silent Auction: 9/16-22

Stone Canyon Fundraising Night 9/25

River Roll Private for Graden Skate Night 9/27

PTA Board Members:

President: Brittany Conklin

Vice President: Angie Liberty

Treasurer: Brooke Harvey

Parliamentarian: Betsy Verhoeff

Secretary: Marissa Sundeen

Teacher Representative: Maggie Wright

School Office (816) 359-4340

School Fax (816) 359-4349

Attendance Line (816) 359-4341

First Student Bus Company (816) 359-4560

Adventure Club (816) 359-5015

Email: easleyv@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Website: https://graden.parkhill.k12.mo.us/
Location: 8804 NW Highway 45, Parkville, MO 64152
Phone: (816) 359-4340