Blacklick Bulletin

Dear Blacklick Families,

Please be sure to read over the important information listed below. There is very important information regarding the reinstatement of the GJPS Cafeteria Meal Charge Policy outlined for families.

As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at 614-759-5100 or by email at grovesk@gjps.org.

Respectfully,

Kristen Groves

We are so excited to have Jim "Basketball' Jones visiting Blacklick this Wednesday, August 30! Students will meet with Mr. Jones during an assembly where he will emphasize our Blacklick PRIDE expectations of being Respectful, Responsible, Positive, Prepared and Safe through interactive games and activities. Mr. Jones is a motivational speaker and author that delivers inspirational school assembly programs for all grade levels.

If you are interested in ordering one of the books written by Mr. Jones, please fill out the order form below and send the form and payment to school with your child by Wednesday, August 30. Paper copies of the order forms will also be sent home with students in PRIDE folders on Monday. **There is NO obligation to purchase. The Blacklick PTO purchased copies of these books for the Blacklick library. Students will be able to check the books out during their library class.

Book Order Form

Thank you to the Blacklick PRIDE Partner PTO for funding this assembly for our students! We are incredibly lucky to have such a supportive PTO!

Due to excessive negative meal balances across the District, all Gahanna-Jefferson schools will be reinstating a previously used meal charge policy. Starting Sept. 5, 2023, any student with more than five lunch charges this school year will receive a substitute meal in the cafeteria. At the elementary level this means accounts with more than $13.75 in negative charges and at the middle and high school levels, this includes accounts that have accrued more than $15 in debt. The substitute breakfast will consist of a breakfast bar, fruit and milk and the substitute lunch will include a cheese (turkey for dairy substitute) sandwich, fruit and milk.

Families will receive a phone call and/or email starting with the second negative charge to alert you of the deficit in your student's account.

If you need to add funds to your student’s account, you can do so through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal or with a check or cash. Additionally, if you think your family would qualify for free or reduced meals, you can apply via the Infinite Campus Parent Portal, print a paper application from the District website or fill out a paper application found in the office at each building. Any student that is approved for free or reduced lunch for the 2023-24 school year will receive a regularly menued meal. Families with a negative balance from a previous school year will be contacted by the District office to ensure full payment by the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Please see below for important arrival and student absence information.

• It is extremely important that students arrive on time to school.

• Students can enter the building at 7:45 AM.

• 7:40 AM if they are eating breakfast.

• Instruction begins daily at 8:00 AM.

• Students must enter through the front office if they arrive after 8:00 AM.

• The back door for car drop off will be locked after 8:00 AM.

• Please make every effort possible to notify the school in ALL cases of student absence. Calls should be made to the school office (614-759-5100) between the hours of 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

• If you have an upcoming trip/vacation that will cause your child to miss school, please notify the classroom teacher and Mrs. Lindsey (lindseyk@gjps.org) in the front office. You will also need to complete the planned absence form.

• Students will be considered excessively absent if they are absent thirty-eight or more hours in one school month or sixty-five or more hours in a school year with a non-medical excuse or without legitimate excuse. If this happens, you will be notified via an excessively absent letter.

• Students will be considered habitually truant if they are absent without legitimate excuse for thirty or more consecutive hours, forty-two or more hours in one school month, or seventy-two or more hours in one school year. If this happens, you will be notified in writing via a habitually truant letter. **In addition, Mrs. Groves or Mrs. Gillens will also contact you to schedule a meeting with a truancy officer to develop an absence intervention plan.

Questions about student attendance? Please contact Mrs. Gillens at gillensl@gjps.org.

Your children have spent the last week getting to know their classroom and related arts teachers for this year! They might also come home talking about one of our academic support staff members. We are very fortunate to have the following staff members at Blacklick to work with our students in the areas of reading and math:

Mrs. Olivia Briggs, Instructional Coach (grades K-3)

Mrs. Casie Taylor, Instructional Coach (grades 4-5)

Mrs. MaryAnn Byrum, Reading Support

Mrs. Sarah Swisher, Kindergarten Reading Support

Mrs. Liza Kane, Intermediate Reading Support

Mrs. Mollie Kovacs, Reading Support

Mrs. Amy Scott, Math Support

The MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Assessment measures student achievement and academic growth over time. It also compares student, class and grade level performance with other students’ performance across the country. The MAP Assessment is web-based and adaptive to measure your child’s instructional level. Students take this assessment on a chromebook. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If they answer incorrectly, the next question is easier. The results are one data point that will help to provide a more complete picture of what your child knows and is ready to learn, helping staff better plan instruction to meet their needs.

Our MAP testing schedule is listed below:

Grade 5: September 5 (Reading) and September 7 (Math)

Grade 4: September 6 (Reading) and 8 (Math)

Grade 2: September 11 (Reading) and September 12 (Math)

Grade 3: September 13 (Reading) and September 14 (Math)

If your child is absent on an assessment day, we will be sure to have him/her make up the assessment when they return to school.

Students in kindergarten and first grade will not take the MAP assessment until the winter.

Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! We are excited to see students and help support their social and emotional needs this year. This year Blacklick Elementary school counselors are Nick Rediger and Ciaira Warfield. Mrs. Warfield is full-time and will work at Blacklick everyday Mr. Rediger is part-time and will work at Blacklick Tuesday, Thursday and Friday AM.

Mrs. Warfield will deliver monthly classroom lessons to grades 2-5 and Mr. Rediger will deliver lessons for K-1.

K-1 may contact Mr. Rediger by email: redigern@gjps.org or by phone: 614-643-0817

2-5 may contact Mrs. Warfield by email : warfieldc@gjps.org or by phone: 614-643-0773

Mrs. Dawn Jenkins will also support students in a new role of Mental Health Specialist. Mrs. Jenkins can be reached at Jenkinsd@gjps.org.

Gahanna Residents in Need (GRIN) will once again provide weekend snack bags to families who need support with food. This program is meant for those with a need to supplement food at home for their children.

You may follow this link - https://forms.gle/UBsm7G85rhHaVyg66 - to access and sign-up for the program. Please fill out the form and note any special dietary needs.

If you believe your family may qualify for free/reduced-price meals, please apply online for free or reduced-price meal benefits with these easy steps:

1. Sign in to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
2. Choose "MORE" in the left-hand column.
3. Choose "MEAL BENEFITS".

RELATED LINKS

GJPS Food Service Webpage

Free/Reduced-Price Meal Benefits Online Application Tutorial (PDF)

Free/Reduced-Price Meal Benefits Paper Application (PDF)

We want students to be engaged in learning and not distracted by devices. Just a reminder from our Student Handbook:

"CELL PHONES & SMART WATCHES

Cell phones are permitted at school, but must remain off and in the student’s book bags throughout the school day. Smart watches are also permitted, but should only be used as a clock while at school. Students are not permitted to send or receive text messages or phone calls on cell phones or smart watches during the day. Additionally, photos may not be taken with cell phones or smart watches at school. On state testing days, smart watches are not permitted to be worn. If a parent/guardian needs to reach their student during the school day, they should call the school office at 614-759-5100. The school is not responsible for cell phones or smart watches that are lost, stolen, or damaged."

Thank you for your help and understanding.

Let's Go Lions of Blacklick Elementary!

Pep Rally Apparel is holding a presale that will run until August 31, 2023. Orders will be printed at the close of the presale. At checkout, please select "STORE PICKUP" and BLACKLICK ELEMENTARY. Items will be delivered to your student at school approximately 3 weeks after the close of the sale!

A portion of the proceeds goes back to Blacklick Elementary PTO.

https://peprallyapparel.com/collections/blacklick-elementary-presale

Infinite Campus is our parent portal and student information system. This site will allow parents/guardians to access school information electronically. For example, Infinite Campus will allow you to update email addresses and other important information regarding your child as well as view your child's report card electronically.

ALL Families (either new to Blacklick or returning families) need to update your information in the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus. Directions for how to update Infinite Campus are linked below:

1. Log into the Parent Portal on Infinite Campus at: https://gahannajeffersonoh.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/gahanna_jefferson.jsp

2. Click MORE from the left hand column

3. Click on ONLINE REGISTRATION from choices on the right

4. Click START next to "Existing Student Registration"

5. Go through each step to complete the registration

Families New to Blacklick Elementary: If you are a new family to Blacklick (including all of our kindergarten families), you received an email from Mrs. Lindsey, school secretary, detailing directions on how to log into the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus to update your information. She emailed you an ID that you will need as you log in for the first time.

Returning Families: If you need assistance - please call the school office at 614-759-5100. Mrs. Lindsey will be happy to help.

Bus Riders:

All students that ride the school bus to school will enter the building through the front doors at 7:40 AM each day for breakfast. Students that do not want to eat breakfast at school will walk to their classroom. There will be duty teachers outside to assist students from the bus to the building. In addition, duty teachers will assist students that will be riding a shuttle bus to another elementary school.

Car Riders:

All students that are car riders to school will enter the building through the doors by the cafeteria. The doors will open at 7:40 AM each day for entry into the building for breakfast. Students will be permitted to walk to classrooms beginning at 7:45 AM. The car rider line follows the perimeter of the back parking lot.

*Duty teachers will be outside in the back parking lot until 8:00 AM. Any student arriving after 8:00 AM need to enter the building through the front doors and be signed in by a parent/guardian.

If you plan to drive your child to school, please follow the directions below:

1. You will need to enter the back parking lot and drive along the perimeter of the parking lot.

2. You can access the back parking lot from Reynoldsburg New Albany Road and follow the back access road or from Havens Corners Road.

3. Please follow the car in front of you - please do not try to drive around other cars - stay in the car rider line.

4. Pull up to the drop off sign - they are numbered.

5. Please have your child exit the car from the right side of the car.

6. Please do not get out of the car. If your child needs assistance, we will have duty teachers available.

7. Your child will enter the school using the doors by the cafeteria. We will have duty teachers available to walk your child to the classroom.

If you plan to pick up your child from school in the afternoon, please follow the directions below. Dismissal is at 2:25 PM each day:

1. You will need to have your child’s FIRST and LAST NAME in the windshield of your car.

2. You will need to enter the back parking lot and drive along the perimeter of the parking lot.

3. You can access the back parking lot from Reynoldsburg New Albany Road and follow the back access road or from Havens Corners Road.

4. Please follow the car in front of you - please do not try to drive around other cars - stay in the car rider line and do not get out of the car.

5. Pull up to the pick up signs.

6. Once you pull up, we will bring your child out to your car.

This drop off/pick up process takes awhile. We will try to move as quickly as possible. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we work through the beginning of the day drop off and end of the day pick up routine.

To increase safety and security protocols, all GJPS volunteers who may have the potential to interact with students in an unsupervised setting or may have access to confidential information will be required to complete an online application that includes a background check. The district will provide the background checks at no cost to the volunteer. Background checks are required EACH school year. If you completed a background check last school year, you will need to complete the process again for the 2023-2024 school year - a year after receiving the completed check. For example, if you received a background check for the carnival in May, you will NOT need a new background check UNTIL the following May.

EXAMPLES

• Examples of volunteer experiences include but are not limited to: cafeteria helpers, reading aides, mentors, hall monitors, field day volunteers, library helpers, office helpers, tutors, field trip chaperones, small group or individual student work in the hallway, party helpers, concession workers, fundraising volunteers, book fair volunteers, mobile dentist volunteers, etc.

STEPS TO VOLUNTEER

1. Contact your principal or teacher to express an interest in volunteering.
2. Your principal or teacher will send you a link to the Online Volunteer Application and background check.
   
3. Complete the Online Volunteer Application and Background Check at least 5 days before your initial volunteer experience.
   
4. Renew your Volunteer Application and Background Check yearly from the date of issuance.
   

Updated Volunteer Procedures (PDF)

The first PTO meeting of the school year is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 in the Blacklick library at 6:30 PM. Mrs. Groves will be sharing information about school safety. Mrs. Ball, school librarian, will be sharing information about our upcoming book fair and Community Night!

Check out the most up to date information from the Blacklick PRIDE Partner PTO by clicking on the link below:

PTO Newsletter - August 2023

August 30 Blacklick PRIDE Assembly presented by Basketball Jim Jones

September 4 Labor Day No School for Students and Staff

September 12 PTO Meeting in the Blacklick Library at 6:30 PM

September 14 First Grade Vision Screening

September 15 School Photos

September 25 Teacher PD Day No School for Students

September 28 Parent/Teacher Conferences

September 29 Custodian's Day at Blacklick

October 5 Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 10 PTO Meeting in the Blacklick Library at 6:30 PM

October 16 -20 Blacklick Book Fair

October 19 Blacklick Community Night (Details coming soon!)

October 23-24 No School for Students

October 27 Report Cards go home with students

2023-24 GJPS District Calendar (PDF)