Central Park families,

Welcome to the new year! We hope your winter break was restful and provided opportunities to enjoy family and friends! We have many great adventures happening in 2025, stay tuned for more information in each monthly Cougar Chronicle. We hope this months edition finds you well, and enjoying the start of 2025. There is so much to be grateful and excited for, we look forward to a fabulous rest of this current school year.

During the month of December, all K-5th grade students began their winter MAP assessment. This is an important opportunity for us to gain information about the growth of each student. Continue to encourage your child to do their Cougar Best, get a good nights sleep and begin their day with a healthy breakfast. Every learning opportunity is an opportunity for your child's continued growth, we are grateful for the partnership in the success of your child. The school day begins at 8:50AM. If your child arrives after this time, your child is counted absent to school followed by an automated phone call to the parent/guardian to report the absence. Every minute absent is accumulated.

This edition of the Cougar Chronicle will include information on the following upcoming events:

• Kindergarten Round-up
• Common Sense Media
• School Selection and Open House Dates
• MAP Information
• Important Upcoming dates
• MTSS-B

If you should have any additional questions please don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher or administration if we can provide support or assistance.

Go Cougars!

Mr. Williams, Principal

Mrs. Cordoba, Assistant Principal

January 6

• Students return, 3rd Quarter officially begins

January 17

• No Early Childhood Classes

January 20

• No School in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 23

• Kindergarten Roundup 9:30AM

January 28

• 2 hour late start- students begin at 10:35AM

January 30

• Parent Coffee @ 3:15PM

February 14

• No school- Curriculum Day for Staff

February 17

• President's Day- No school for students

February 21

• No Early Childhood Classes

February 26

• Elementary Conferences 4:30-7:30PM

February 27

• No School for students
• Elementary Conferences 12:30-7:30PM

March 17-21

• Spring Break

March 24

• NSCAS State testing begins (grades 3-5)
• Spring MAP begins

March 28

• No School for students- building professional development

It is that time again! In January, we invite our families to visit our schools as part of Kindergarten Round Up. Families with children who will be of age for KDG during the 25-26 school year are invited to join the Kindergarten informational session on January 23, 2025 at 9:30AM.

The following timeline applies to all students who are at the final grade in their building and will go through the school selection process. The timeline also outlines the timeline for students who are eligible for district-provided transportation under the Student Assignment Plan.

January – School Selection Applications
The school selection process begins in January. Parents or guardians of any student at the final grade in his/her building (transition grade) will receive an email with a link to complete their school selection for the following school year and may apply to attend non-neighborhood schools. Students in non-transition grades may apply for a new school by obtaining a paper application from their school's counseling office and submitting it back to their school before January 31.

February – School Selection Processing
All school selection applications received by the deadline, are processed in a lottery using the placement criteria.

Placement Criteria

1. Neighborhood school – placement is guaranteed.
2. Students who have a sibling currently enrolled at the requested school and will continue to be enrolled for the next school year.
3. Students residing in the partner zone (eligible for transportation if living greater than 1.5 miles from an elementary and 2.0 miles from a middle school)
4. Students residing outside the partner zone (not eligible for transportation)

March – School Selection Notification

Middle School Open Houses:

• Beveridge Middle: Thursday, Jan. 23, 5:30-7 p.m.
• Bluestem Middle: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 5:30-7 p.m.
• Bryan Middle: Thursday, Jan. 23, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Buffett Middle: Thursday, Jan. 16, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Davis Middle: Thursday, Jan. 16, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Hale Middle: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 6-7:30 p.m.
• King Science & Technology Middle: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 5:30-7 p.m.
• Lewis & Clark Middle: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Marrs Middle: Thursday, Jan. 9, 6-7:30 p.m.
• McMillan Middle: Thursday, Jan. 9, 6-7:30 p.m.
• Monroe Middle: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 5:30-7 p.m.
• Morton Middle: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 5:30-7 pm.
• Norris Middle: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 6-7:30 p.m.

Omaha Virtual School Open House:

• K-12: Tuesday, Jan. 28, 5:30-7 p.m.

As we are retuning back to the school setting from Winter break, we are asking our families to review the MTSS-B expectations.

• The behavior matrix highlights the behavior expectations for each common area of the building. These behavior expectations are taught and practiced daily throughout the course of this school year to empower students to be their Cougar Best!
  
• Our students know these behavior expectations as Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible.
• Please review and reinforce these school expectations with your child at home!

Safety is always our top priority. We are focused on providing safe, welcoming and supportive environments for our students, families, and staff.

Proactively Setting Expectations

Each school in our district is teaching student expectations to begin the new year. We build from the same model: Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior, or MTSS-B. It focuses on common expectations from the classroom to the lunch room and recess, or extra-curricular activities. Our district uses one Student Code of Conduct. The discipline outlined in our Student Code of Conduct reflects how seriously we take the safety and well-being of our students and staff. Consequences are designed to be a learning experience for students.

We are now in the second semester, before we know it the end of the year will be here! Let's work together to ensure your child is in attendance more than 95% this school year!

Attendance is a vital component to the success of Central Park Elementary students. Attendance is taken daily. If your child is unable to be in attendance, we ask that you please contact the office at 531-299-1200.

Families with children not marked present before 8:50 AM will receive an automated phone call alerting the parent that their child is not present and requesting that the parent contact the school to follow up on your child’s absence. If your child enters school after 8:50AM minutes late will be accumulated. Doctor’s notes can be provided to the front office upon return from the school to excuse your child’s absence.

Did you know that children who attend school 95% of the time are significantly more likely to graduate from high school and achieve on or above grade level? In addition, attendance habits developed in school impact attendance once students enter the work force. It may seem to be in the distant future, but ensuring your child is at school, on time daily, can help your child be successful!

At Central Park Elementary we are dedicated to celebrating student achievement, which includes that of attendance! Please reach out to the office with any questions or concerns you have regarding attendance.

Throughout the semester, your child has been learning important digital citizenship topics, learning how to navigate and interact safely and responsibly in the digital world. As partners in your child's educational journey, we encourage you to support their development in these skills by talking with them about media balance. You’ll now see a new icon on your child’s school iPad that directs you to the Common Sense Media website. This website contains research-backed advice on technology’s effects on learning and development and ratings and reviews to help you choose high-quality, age-appropriate content for your kids to watch, listen to, play, and read.

Here are some talking points:

Understand Emotions and Feelings

Transitioning from online to offline activities can sometimes be challenging. Talk to your child about how they feel when it's time to put the device away. Help them recognize these emotions.

Reflect on Media Habits

Guide your child in reflecting on their media habits. Whether it's TV shows, movies, apps, or video games, help them categorize their screen time into passive consumption (mindless watching, scrolling), interactive (co-viewing, video-chatting, playing games with friends), or creative (editing, making videos, coding). Not all screen time is created equal, and the quality of our online experiences is most important.

Help Boost Kids' Safety and Privacy Online

Our kids are online a lot! Whether it's playing a game, browsing videos on YouTube, or using an educational app, it's essential they understand the basics of online privacy and safety. Mrs. Aliano has been teaching students lessons in the library about keeping personal information private, using strong passwords, and avoiding clickbait. Here are a few reminders to reinforce with your child:

Discuss personal vs. private info. Talk about the difference between what's OK to share online (favorite color) and what's not (home address), especially if your child interacts with strangers.

Use privacy settings. Together, go through the settings on apps to ensure you both know what information your kids share. For example, is your child on Snapchat, and are they sharing their live location? Who should have access to their whereabouts at all times?

Power up passwords. Reiterate with your child the importance of using complex passwords that are hard to guess but easy to remember. Remind kids to keep passwords private and change them every so often. Many bad actors are trying to gain access to personal accounts, data, and information, so starting these best practices as soon as kids begin going online will better equip them for the future.

Avoid clickbait. Help kids identify clickbait and special offers that are too good to be true. The more we enter our personal information online, the less secure it becomes, increasing the risk of a cyberattack.

Click this icon on your child’s school iPad for more great advice on raising kids in the digital world from Common Sense Media.

Thank you to all families for your participation and enjoyment during our FABULOUS Gingerbread House event! What a phenomenal turnout it was! Children and families enjoyed building creative, well structured gingerbread houses that were unique to each.

Central Park families, THANK YOU for your continued support and partnership in the success of Central Park! WE appreciate you!