Miller Elementary Weekly Update

Hello Miller Families!

Happy New Year! We have slowly eased back into our routines here at school and we've loved hearing all about your winter break! I hope this message finds your family rested and ready to tackle the rest of the 2023-2024 school year. We always expect an adjustment period during these first few weeks as children begin to adjust back to their school and home routines. This could include an increase in tears, difficulty leaving the house, sleepiness in the morning, and some adjustments to your schedule. If you find your child escalated, remember to avoid making large demands, get down to their level, try to decrease sensory stimulation, validate their feelings and begin with one simple direction. As they start to calm down, you can walk them through the task that needs to be accomplished. We hope these simple steps can help you during transitions and moments of escalation at home.

The month of January also brings some fun and exciting things here at Miller! To start, we will be hosting our Miller Family BINGO Night on Thursday, January 25th from 6:30-7:30 PM at Leighton Elementary School. Please see the important flyer below. This is also the time of year when we start planning for the 2024-2025 school year! I have included important updates about our annual Kick Off to Kindergarten Parent Meeting for all future kindergartners. Additionally, we are starting the process to find interested families for our Integrated Preschool Program for the 2024-2025 school year. You can find specific information about both of these upcoming events below!

Finally, I wanted to share some important details about inclement weather. In the event that the district needs to call for a 2-hour delay in starting school, there are some specific reminders that impact Miller Elementary. Specifically, we do not operate our AM Preschool or AM kindergarten classes on days with a 2-hour delay. Please see the important reminder below.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and we look forward to our first 5-day week of 2024!

Happy New Year!

Maria Goodman

Miller Elementary School - Principal

330-562-6199

Email mgoodman@aurora-schools.org

We need to make a few changes to the lunch menu at Miller next week!

Wednesday 1/10 - We will be serving: Cinnamon Roll, Sausage Patty, Tater Tots & Juice

Thursday 1/11 - We will be serving: Ham and Cheese Stuffers, Mixed Vegetable, Apple Crisp & Diced Peaches

As a reminder, 2nd-semester tuition payments for preschool and kindergarten will be due on January 15th, 2024. We sent letters in the mail with your remaining balance and payment options before winter break. If you do not want to change your payment method, we will automatically charge the credit card we have on file with the remaining balance after January 15th. If you have any questions after you get the letter, please contact Vicki Wolf at 330-562-6199.

Miller Elementary is currently accepting names of families interested in having their child be a part of our integrated preschool program for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year as a role model peer. Please use the attached preschool form to be added to our list of interested families. Children must reside in the Aurora City School District, be 3 years old and potty trained by 8/1/24, have clear communication skills, and demonstrate age-expected social and emotional skills to be considered as a peer for our integrated program. If you have any questions, you can email Lauren Barker at lbarker@aurora-schools.org.

Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-2025 school year will begin in February! Please help spread the word to your neighbors and friends and we are super excited to start this process with our current eligible preschoolers. We will be holding our Kick Off to Kindergarten parent-only meeting on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at 6:30 PM at the Aurora High School Auditorium located at 109 W. Pioneer Trail.

Residents of the Aurora City School District who have a child turning 5 by September 30th, 2024 are invited to attend our Kick Off to Kindergarten meeting to pick up registration materials and learn all about kindergarten! We will be holding our registration days on March 6th and 7th. You will select a registration time slot using the links shared at the parent meeting. All presentations and registration information will be shared on our district website after February 20th if you cannot attend this parent meeting. Please don't hesitate to call Miller Elementary School with specific questions at 330-562-6199.

January

• Wednesday 1/3 - School Resumes
• Monday, 1/15 - No School MLK Day
• Thursday, 1/25 - Save the Date! Miller Family BINGO Night @ Leighton Elementary School 6:30PM

February

• Wednesday 2/14 - Valentines Day Celebrations
• Thursday, 2/15 - End of the Second Trimester
• Friday, 2/16 - NO SCHOOL - Staff In-service Day
• Monday, 2/19 - NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day
• Friday, 2/23 - Second Trimester Reports Will be Accessible (More Information to Come)

This is a reminder that we are using our Miller Attendance and Parent Pick-up Form as an easy communication tool to report your child will be absent or you need to pick them up from school early. You still need to use the Alternative Bus Stop Form linked in this newsletter if you need your child's bus to change. You do not need to report if they will not be riding the bus in the morning due to an absence or illness on this form.

If you want to change your child from a bus rider to a parent pick-up, please scan the QR code below or click the button to fill out our Google form. This can be done from any device and your reply will be sent immediately to our secretary, Mrs. Wolf.

If you need an alternative bus stop or a change in busing, we also have attached the transportation forms to change your child's busing information. These forms need to be completed and sent to our transportation department at transportationinfo@aurora-schools.org

As a reminder, you can send in cash or check made out to the Aurora City Schools and we will add any amount to your child's lunch account. Please send in money in a clearly labeled envelope so we know to add this amount to your child's account!

Hello Families! I hope this latest message finds you enjoying all of the hustle and bustle that December brings! This month, during classroom guidance, the students learned the word, empathy. Empathetic is a term in our ACSD Strategic Vision, so there was no better time to start discussing this definition than the present! In simple terms, we discussed that empathy was understanding how someone feels and showing that you care. Please enjoy our Empathy Social Emotional Learning Room to revisit some read-alouds and videos the students enjoyed to learn more about empathy this month. The Kindergarteners will be practicing using empathy for the rest of their lives, so I look forward to all of the ways they will show their care as a Greenmen!

Mrs. Lindsey Ambrosia

School Counselor

lambrosia@aurora-schools.org

330.562.6199, ext. 5414

As you are aware, the current cold, flu, COVID, and RSV season has already hit Northeast Ohio and specifically our building. We continue to stress the importance of good hygiene, hand-washing, and proper sneeze/cough etiquette. Our youngest children are still developing skills to properly cover their cough and how to use tissues. We want to stress the importance of letting your child rest and recuperate when they are ill or showing symptoms.

Here are some important reminders to ensure the safety of our school community each day:

• Check your child each day for illness symptoms. If they begin to feel ill during the day, please know our school nurse, Jackie Pawlowski, will assess your child and make contact with a family member when necessary.
• Students sent home with a fever, may not return to school until they are fever free without medication for at least 24 hours. This means if your child was sent home on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. with a fever, he/she may not return to school until Thursday. If your child does return the next day, our school will be calling for you to come and pick him/her up. Please help to support our efforts in this area. This also is the protocol if your child is vomiting or has diarrhea. They need to be free of symptoms for 24 hours to return to school.
• We will send a Final Forms notification if there is a communicable disease reported in your child's classroom. This can help you monitor your own child and make informed decisions about symptoms.
• Please make sure your Final Forms medical information is up to date. We will closely read the health section to address any medical concerns.

Finally, please make sure your child has extra clothes in his/her backpack. Accidents and spills happen all the time and they often prefer to have their own clothes instead of wearing our spare clothes.

Hello Miller Families!

Below are your AEPTO updates.

1. Our next AEPTO meeting is Wednesday, January 10th at 10:00am. The location has changed and we're excited to announce Lotus Wellness and MedSpa will host our January meeting! 251 West Garfield Road Suite 290 Aurora, OH. We hope to see you there!

https://www.lotuswellnessmedspa.com/

2. Saturday, January 27, 2024 - AEPTO's Princess Prom! Tickets are on sale NOW! Please click the link below for more information and to purchase tickets.

https://secure.schoolze.com/leighton-elementary-school/c/onnfvx

3. Thursday, February 15 - AEPTO Family Night at Kalahari! The deadline to book is 1/15 but this is very popular and will sell out fast! So get your room now! See the flyer for more information.

4. Box Tops! Another easy way to help out our schools. Just download the app and then scan your receipts to earn box tops.

5. Interested in joining the AEPTO Board? My position, Vice President of Miller, will be open for next school year. If you are interested in this position, please let me know!

6. Save the Date - The AEPTO celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week February 5-9! More information to come!

Important Upcoming Dates

1/10 - AEPTO Meeting 10am

1/15 - MLK Day, No School

1/25 - Miller BINGO Night

1/27 - AEPTO Princess Prom

2/5-2/9 - Teacher Appreciation Week

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Jen
auroraptomesvp@gmail.com

Maria Goodman

mgoodman@aurora-schools.org

Principal

Vicki Wolf

vwolf@aurora-schools.org

Secretary

Email: mgoodman@aurora-schools.org
Website: aurora-schools.org
Location: 646 S Chillicothe Rd, Aurora, OH 44202, USA
Phone: 330-562-6199