April 26, 2019 NEWSLETTER Message from the Principal Mike Pinto An Old Barn Needs New Paint Now and Again There will be dust in the air and the sound of construction this summer at Cole as our office gets a new secure entrance and our staff workroom is moved to the library. The new office will have an entrance which will be similar to the current setup. A guest will ring the buzzer in a new door which will be cut into the brick on the east side of the current entrance to be let into a new vestibule area. From there, the guest will be greeted by a person from the office who will have the guest sign in and then enter the building. The office is being reconfigured with the conference room toward the front, handicap accessible health office with restroom and show, and a lot of secure glass separating the office from the lobby. The lobby will be adorned with a new mural being created by Mr. Marks which will highlight the history of our school and community. The current front doors will continue to be used each morning and afternoon for entrance and exit as well as for Just Us Kids drop off and pick up. This too will have a new communication between the entrance and the cafeteria to heighten safety. Finally, the primary playground (nearest to the driveway) will have the pea gravel covered with a new soft surface which will allow for frienly fall zones and play experience. We also hope to have a new deck seating area in our Outdoor Education Center.thanks to a grant from Keep Stockwell Beautiful. Finally, we are making progress on the 21st Century renovation of the Kelley Library. Within the year we hope to have all the unattached shelving replaced with mobile shelves that can be arranged and moved for school events. We also will continue to offer more soft seating and reading areas. Our school opened in 1988 and it has held up so very well. Next year we will be at capacity as we add a third section of second grade. In the end, our gorgeous school will just get more lovely with age and your child will be the beneficiary of all of this new paint and goodness.
"Pop" In and Meet Your Teacher On Friday, August 9 from 6:00-7:00 pm, you are invited to "Pop" In and Meet Your Teacher for next year. The Cole PTO will be providing free popcorn in the lobby and the school will be open for parents and children to meet their teacher in anticipation of the start of school on Tuesday, August 13. We hope to have food trucks in the parking lot for this event and make this first welcome to the 2019-2020 school year a fun one for you and your family.
Parking Lot Procedures Thank you to all who are working hard to ensure proper and safe drop off and pick up of your child. To review, individuals are to park and bring their child to the sidewalk area to say good-byes. Please do not pull up and drop off your child in the morning if any buses are on the premises. Also, please do not have your child navigate the parking lot without you. Add a two minute margin into your morning and plan to come forward with your child and safely deliver him or her to the curb. Your help is appreciated in our continuous effort to keep children safe.
Public Schools Foundation Grants Congratulations to Mrs. Ferger and Mrs. Bredar for being selected for "Bee Boxes, Blueberries, and Best Friends: Teaching Empathy and Mason Bee Pollination in a Hands-On Way" and to Mrs. Burton who is paired with the Wea Ridge Elementary Counselor for "A World of Pausabilities; Calm Down Kits and Amygdala Resets". Both grants will be awarded on May 14 in a ceremony in Lafayette and will be implemented the first semester of next school year.
Affirmation The first week in May is typically set aside for Teacher Appreciation Week. In this age of quick comments on social media and the ease of email, a handwritten note goes a long way. If you are so inclined, please consider writing a positive note to any staff member including custodian, instructional assistant, teacher, secretary, bus driver, cafeteria - anyone associated with the school who has had a positive impact on you or your child this year. It doesn't take very long to do and it means a lot when a note like this is received. Thank you for your consideration.
Principal's Book of Excellence Those students who have signed the Book of Excellence over the past month are recognized in these two videos:
Cole PTO If you love Kindergarten Celebration or First Grade Mother's Day Tea or the Wax Museum in third grade or the Fifth Celebration, you are loving the grade level traditions that have been generously supported by the Cole PTO once again this year. Without the funding of these memory-making moments, they would be cost-prohibitive for parents or would require a constant hounding for volunteers and donations. Instead, they happen through the hard work of the Cole teachers and the support from all from PTO. PTO does so much for our school. They support the school when needs arise and help to make lasting memories for our students and their families. Thank you, PTO!
Class Lists for Next Year Each year teachers work to create class lists by academic and social needs as well as finding a best fit. Because of our small size, we cannot honor teacher requests, but if there are circumstances that need to be considered when these lists are developed, please make sure that you have reached out to Mr. Pinto prior to May 1. This information may be useful in placing your child in the classroom with peers that is the best fit for him/her. The challenge comes when this information is brought to light after lists have been finalized and changes can throw off the delicate balance created when the lists were formed. Thank you for any input that may assist our instructional mission.
Counselor News Chase Joshua Michael Burton Mrs. Burton will be away from the school for the remainder of the year on maternity leave as she welcomed her first child, Chase Joshua Michael Burton this April. Baby and Mom are both doing well. We are happy for their time together and look forward to meeting young Chase soon.
Health Office News From the Cole Health Office
We have our overnight field trip coming up for the 4th grade to Camp Tecumseh on May 9-10, and the trip to Chicago May 16 for 5th grade. We ask that parents bring any medications in to the health office during the week before the trips. We will not be accepting medications the morning of the trips to prevent chaos and increased possibility for errors.
Summer baseball and softball have also started up at Cole. GO COLE CUBS! Sports sometimes bring injuries. If your child has an injury that prevents them from participating in gym or recess please send in a note or call the office to let us know. Any exclusion from activities that will last longer than 3 days requires a doctor's note.
Immunizations 5th Grade Parents, as soon as your child turns 11 they are eligible to receive their immunizations that are required for 6th grade. All 6th graders over the age of 11 are required to have a Meningococcal and Tdap vaccine BEFORE the start of the school year.
As the school year is coming to an end, please remember that you will need to come pick up any medications stored for your child at school including inhalers, epi-pens, and over the counter medications. These medications should be picked up on the last day of school or prior to the last day of school. Any medications not picked up by the last day of school will be dropped off at the Police Station for proper disposal.
Kroger Rewards Help us support Cole Elementary School by signing up for Kroger Rewards. Each time you scan your rewards card, Cole benefits. Information below that may help you sign up:
NEW NUMBER IS BD132 The Kroger Co. Family of Stores is committed to bringing hope and help to the local neighborhoods we call home. Our stores are on a mission to not just part of, but to help create a stronger community. We recognize that every community has unique causes that need support. Thank you for being such an important organization in our community. We have recently upgraded our system, and as a result your Non-Profit Organization (NPO) has a new account number. We recommend communicating this new number to your members, and updating any marketing materials with this change. Please reference the new number when contacting us for assistance. The previous number will continue to be associated with your organization, however, it will not be visible to your members when enrolling. We encourage you to ask your supporters to link their rewards card to your organization. Community Rewards is easy to use, The more your supporters shop with us, the more money your organization will earn! We are committed to carefully protecting our customer's personal information. In order to meet their expectation of privacy, we have adopted a simple policy to never share a customer's personal information. Our privacy policy applies to Community Rewards participation as well. Thank you for being such an important organization in our community, Community Rewards Staff
Cole Professional Academy We have once again been blessed with a generous donation from Caterpillar, Lafayette for support our efforts with the Cole Professional Academy for next year. Caterpillar's donation will provide the collared shirts for our fifth grade future professionals. The handiwork of Paula Holmes and The Udder Half is appreciated for the work of creating the shirts for our students. We are blessed to have such generosity and support of our schools in our community. Next year's fifth grade is reaping the benefits of this community-wide effort to support our students.
Big Events - Plan For Them Now
2018-2019 School Year
April 30: Grade 3-5 Running Club (3:30-4:30) May 3: Last day to check out library books May 7: Grade 3-5 Running Club (3:30-4:30) May 9 & 10: Camp Tecumseh Overnight: Grade 4 May 10: First Grade Mother's Day Tea 1:30 May 10: All Library books are due back to the library. May 13: First Grade Field Trip to Indianapolis Zoo May 14: Grade 3 Wax Museum Parent Show: 10:00, 2:00 May 14: Grade 3-5 Running Club (3:30-4:30) May 16: Grade 5 to Chicago ($80) May 17: Kindergarten Celebration 10:00 May 20: Fifth Grade Celebration 9:00-11:30 May 22: Awards Programs: Grades 1-2 (9:30), 3-4 (10:15) May 23: Cole Kids Clean Up Stockwell (12:00-2:30) May 24: Talent Show May 27: No School: Memorial Day May 28: Field Day May 28: Last Day of School *Subject to Change
2019-2020 School Year
Aug. 1: Walk in and New Family Registration: 12-7 Aug. 2: Walk in and New Family Registration 8-1 Aug. 3: Backpack Splash Event: TBD Aug. 9: "Pop" In and Meet Your Teacher: 6:00-7:00 PM Aug. 13: First Day of School Oct. 3: Fall Pictures Nov. 8: Veterans Day Program 9:30-11:00 Nov. 12: Retakes and Yearbook Pictures Taken Oct. 15 & 16: Parent Conference Evening Feb. 25: Students Share Their Learning NIght (4-7) March 11 & 12: Breakfast with a Buddy April 2: Cole Professional Academy Evening of Celebration April 7: Spring Pictures April 8: Kindergarten Roundup April 10: Grandparents' Day 9:30-12:00
Book Mobile The Book Mobile runs twice a week to Stockwell and Clarks Hill. Teach visit the Book Mobile stops at 9510 Pearl Street in Clarks Hill (The Church) from 6:30-7:00 and 6931 Church Street in Stockwell (The Church) from 7:15-7:45
Links You May Need
Volunteer Information It is a priority of the Tippecanoe School Corporation to provide a safe learning environment for all of our students and employees. In an effort to continue our due diligence, we now require all volunteers having ongoing contact with children and/or supervising students (field trips, etc.) to have cleared an expanded criminal background check. These background checks are conducted through Background Investigation Bureau (BIB).
E-Flyers TSC supports 'green' efforts and as such to help ensure students receive information about community services or events, flyers from non-profit outside organizations are posted online in a section called E-Flyers. All E-Flyers can be accessed from any TSC School Website: www.tscschools.com by clicking the 'students' or 'parents' link in the upper right hand corner of the webpage. E-Flyers will be posted on the 15th and 30th of the month so be sure to check regularly for newly posted information.
Register for TSC Alerts and Notifications
Kelley Library Renovation The Kelley Library renovation continues. Thank you to the John and Ruby Parks Trust, a new circulation desk has been added, some soft seating areas, and five new movable shelves. We love to read at Cole Elementary and we love our library. Stop in and see the changes. They are wonderful.
May - 2019
JAMES COLE ELEMENTARY 6418 E. 900 S. • Lafayette, IN 47909 • (765) 523-2141 |