Miller Elementary Weekly Update

Hello Miller Families!

We had a great five day week at Miller Elementary! Our preschool classes ended the week experiencing Music with Ms. Abbey who is a community partner that brings an additional musical experience each month to our preschoolers. Her message of falling snow and cold days was certainly on display this week with our unique weather patterns. She sang songs about snowflakes falling on our heads and recreated that feeling inside with pretend snowball tosses and falling snow canopies. I hope everyone stays warm in the days ahead as the snow falls this evening and cooler temps look to be in the forecast all week long!

Have you heard your kindergartner share we have "unlocked" all our letters on our sound wall? One of our components in our literacy instruction is our implementation of UFli which is an explicit and systematic program that teaches students the foundational skills necessary for proficient reading. It follows a carefully developed scope and sequence designed to ensure that students systematically acquire each skill needed and learn to apply each skill with automaticity and confidence. Our learners have carefully learned and practiced each letter, what they look like, what sounds they make, how to write the letters correctly, and how to blend and segment letter sounds together to read and write words. I'm sure you've seen your little one show off their reading or writing skills and we are so proud of their success!

As a reminder, this is a 3-day weekend with NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend!

Stay Warm!

Maria Goodman

Miller Elementary School - Principal

330-562-6199

Email mgoodman@aurora-schools.org

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

• Monday, 1/15 - No School MLK Day
• Monday, 1/22 - BOE Meeting and the Conference Center 7:00PM
• 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)

Happy New Year Miller Families! This has been a great week of visiting classrooms and seeing your students’ smiling faces. During classroom guidance, we practiced mindful breathing and learned about the ZONES of Regulation. The ZONES of Regulation helps categorize feelings. As a Kindergarten student, your child can identify how they feel and practice selecting a coping skill or strategy if they choose to feel differently. In class, we learn that all feelings are okay! We will continue working on identifying feelings, learning new coping skills and discussing what “triggers,” or events, may cause us to feel a certain way. Please enjoy these read-alouds from The ZONES Book Nook to help your child practice identifying feelings.

Separately, another resource that has been helpful is On Our Sleeves. This site is a simple way to gather community resources, contacts, talking points and activities to benefit your family’s well-being and mental health. I found the How-To articles super helpful because as a counselor and a parent, I know how I want my students and children to think of themselves, but am often refining the process in which I use to correct their thinking in a more positive way. I hope you find this resource helpful!

Mrs. Lindsey Ambrosia

School Counselor

lambrosia@aurora-schools.org

330.562.6199, ext. 5414

The AEPTO is considering hosting a Give Back Event at the Akron Children's Museum; however, we would like your feedback before proceeding with the event. Below is a survey link that will only take a few minutes to complete and will help us tremendously. We appreciate your time!

Here is the website to the Akron Children's Museum if you would like to learn more! https://akronkids.org/

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!

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. Thank you to all our members who attended our January meeting in person and via zoom. Also, thank you Lotus Wellness and MedSpa who graciously hosted us! We truly appreciate the community support!

https://www.lotuswellnessmedspa.com/

Our next AEPTO meeting is Wednesday, February 7 at 6:30pm in the Aurora Conference Center (119 W Pioneer Trail).

2. AEPTO Akron Children's Museum Event - The AEPTO is considering hosting a Give Back Event at the Akron Children's Museum; however, we would like your feedback before proceeding with the event. Below is a survey link that will only take a few minutes to complete and will help us tremendously. We appreciate your time!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-FBLejHIs3_dkK-vSQjiqngHqq77RyWiigBQBqI9wto/edit?ts=65a057c8

3. 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

4. Save the Date - The AEPTO celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week February 5-9! More information is coming soon!

5. 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.

6. Spring Flower Fundraiser - The Fortmeyer & Sons spring flower fundraiser kicks off February 27th and will close March 12th. Flyers will come home next week.

7. Save the Date - AEPTO's Mother Son Event at Fun 'n' Stuff on April 25h from 5:00pm-8:00pm! More information is coming soon!

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

9. 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!

Important Upcoming Dates

1/15 - MLK Day, No School

1/25 - Miller BINGO Night

1/27 - AEPTO Princess Prom

2/5-2/9 - Teacher Appreciation Week

2/7 - AEPTO Meeting 6:30pm

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