Creston Community News

CIMS Families -

As you know, there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 18th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I hope you’ll take a few moments this weekend or Monday to reflect on the far-reaching impact of Dr. King’s actions and legacy.

After another week of fully virtual learning, we are excited to start welcoming some of our students back in the school building this coming week!

Grade 5 students are returning to in person learning, full time, starting on Tuesday January 19th. 5th Graders: Please make sure to bring your charged Chromebook, and ALL textbooks with you when you return to school!

Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will continue to have instructional days on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday virtually. Application Days will continue on Tuesday/Thursday. Some of our students in grades 6, 7, and 8 have been invited to in person learning hubs which take place during the day on Tuesday and/or Thursday, depending on their individual schedules. Learning Hubs end midday, and students living within CIMS boundaries will be provided bus transportation. If you have specific questions about learning hubs for your child, please contact the appropriate grade-level counselor or administrator.

For any situation in which a student is coming into the school building, please remember our safety procedures: ALL STUDENTS and staff must wear a mask, frequent hand washing / sanitizing is expected, and all students and staff are expected to maintain appropriate social distancing. Remember that if a student is feeling sick, or someone in your family is ill, please keep your child home and call our school so we can help with next steps to keep everyone safe.

Students in Grades 5 & 6 who were already virtual before our schools closed in person instruction will maintain their Black/Gold schedule this semester; this is the same schedule they've been using all school year.

Questions related to scheduling can be directed to your child's grade-level counselor or grade-level administrator.

Please make sure you scroll down to view videos from each grade-level counselor to congratulate our Honor Roll Students & provide a brief message for all cohorts!

ATTENDANCE REMINDER: If your child cannot attend a virtual Zoom class, please make sure a parent/caregiver calls CIMS to report the student as absent. The virtual learning environment is different from in person learning for many reasons; however, we still expect a parent/caregiver to notify us of an absence. Student self-reporting of absence reasons is not considered appropriate or official; we must hear from parents/caregivers.

UPCOMING DATES TO NOTE:

• MONDAY, JANUARY 18 = No School (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
• MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15 = No School (Presidents' Day)
• TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16 = District eLearning Day (ALL STUDENTS access learning materials virtually from home)
• WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 = Hybrid/In Person students in grades 6-8 return to school, resuming the black/gold schedule. Feb. 17th is a black cohort day.

Recent updates from health officials discourage the use of face shields as a replacement for face masks. All MSD of Warren Township staff and students should wear face masks unless an extenuating circumstance exists and a face shield is needed. School administrators may approve the use of a face shield in these cases. Please make sure your child has a face MASK if returning to school in person.

• For any students who received an invitation to in person learning hubs, please note that learning hubs will meet in person this coming week. These sessions are for specific students, by invitation only. Bus riders will follow the same AM bus schedule they did earlier this year - any major changes to bus stops and/or pick-up times were communicated by transportation. Students within CIMS boundaries will be transported home midday. Please check your voicemail in the event you may have missed a communication from our transportation office. If questions exist related to transportation, you can call 317-532-2820 OR your child's grade-level administrator.
• On Tuesday/Thursday afternoons from 2:30 - 4:00 PM, ALL 6th - 8th grade students can connect with teachers via Zoom for office hours. Teachers will also be inviting specific students to attend virtual small group sessions during those hours, as well. If your student receives an invitation, please encourage them to connect with their teacher virtually at the designated time - we hope to support students' efforts on Application Day to help them complete assignments, participate in personalized academic support as needed, and stay caught up with class work.

We are excited to offer walk-in tutoring opportunities for CIMS students in both math and reading.

WHO: Any 5th - 8th grader who needs reading or math support.

WHAT: Tutoring Sessions with CIMS teachers.

WHEN: Tuesday or Thursday, 7:45 - 8:45 AM OR 4:00 - 5:00 PM. Sessions will continue at least through mid-February.

WHERE: Creston - students should enter Door 1 if attending.

WHY: To provide additional support and instructional time to students who would benefit.

HOW: Students must be dropped off at CIMS at 7:45 AM for morning sessions, or 4:00 PM for afternoon sessions. **MSD Warren will provide transprotation, via school bus, home from tutoring Sessions. Any student who lives within Creston's district boundaries can ride the bus home at 8:50 AM (if not staying at school for classes) or 5:00 PM.

WHAT TO BRING: Students should bring Chromebooks and any accompanying textbooks or workbooks that support their current class work.

HOW IT WORKS: If your family believes your child would benefit from in-person tutoring, please make sure the student has not been around anyone who is ill, and that the student feels well themselves. Students must wear a mask at all times within the building. Drop your student off at Door 1 at the time listed above, with all needed materials. A CIMS Staff Member wil be waiting at Door 1 to greet your child and provide tutoring services.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO TUTORING? Please direct questions to your grade-level counselor or administrator.

Food Distribution

Food Distrubtion will continue on Tuesdays and Fridays from 4:00 - 6:00 PM, with UPDATED locations. Food will be available at Moorhead Community Resource Center, Warren Central High School, and Raymond Park Intermediate & Middle School. CRESTON WILL NO LONGER BE A FOOD DISTRIBUTION SITE.

Parent Technology Resources

Parents can reach the Technology Helpdesk at 317-869-4321.

Check out our Parent & Caregiver Resource page for resources and tutorials on Canvas, ParentVUE, and more must-haves to support your child's learning, all in one place!

**Visit our district website's transition to virtual learning page for more information and resources.**

Semester 2 Calendar - Grades 6, 7, 8

The schedule below applies to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. 5th grade students will return January 19th in person unless they are 100% Virtual. All 5th & 6th graders who are 100% virtual will maintain their black/gold schedule by last name for all of semester 2.

• The Learning Environment Change Request Form for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 is now open and will close Jan. 29th at 4:00 P.M. The second semester schedule placements will begin February 17, 2021.
• Your family ONLY needs to fill out this form if you wish to change your child from 100% virtual to Hybrid/In-Person, or vice versa. You can access the form HERE or by visiting the Creston website.
• If your child was hybrid/in-person prior to schools closing district-wide at Thanksgiving, your child is still considered "hybrid/in-person."

Families considering remaining/moving to 100% VIRTUAL for the remainder of the school year should be aware of four factors:

1. Indiana schools are required by state and federal legislation to administer assessments, such as WIDA, ILEARN, IREAD, and IAM. These statewide assessments may not be given to students remotely; they must be taken in-person at school. Your student will be required to attend school on designated days to take their assessments.

2. Second semester schedule placements for 6th - 8th graders will begin February 17th. Choosing to move to 100% Virtual for the remainder of the 20-21 year means you are agreeing that your student will follow the schedule provided by your teacher(s) and will log into Zoom for instruction provided by teachers each day during the scheduled times.

3. When the Learning Environment Change Request window closes, staffing changes will be made if/as needed. Due to these staffing changes, it is possible that your student may be assigned to some new teachers for the remainder of this semester.

4. This is the last window to request a learning option change. There will not be another opportunity to communicate a change. Students will finish the school year in this option.

• January 26th from 5pm -6pm.
• Please attend the Virtual 21st Century Scholars Event open to all 7th and 8th grade Warren students and families.
• Here is the link to the virtual session: 21st Century Virtual Event Zoom Link
• We hope to see you there - via Zoom!

As you know, we have rescheduled school pictures numerous times already. Hopefully, the dates below will work out for students & staff to get their pictures taken! More information will be shared as we get closer to picture day; all ordering will be done online.

• Grade 5 Students - Pictures on February 1, 2021
• Grades 6, 7, 8 Students - Pictures on February 24 & 25, 2021
  
  

*NOTE: Picture day in February applies to IN-PERSON/HYBRID students only. Fully virtual students had an opportunity for pictures back in November.*

Students - ask yourself the following questions BEFORE you leave home to report to school for any athletic or extra-curricular event, practice, or game. If you answer YES to any of the questions, you should stay home and notify your coach/sponsor. If you answer NO to all of the questions, you can enter the building between 4:00 - 4:15 PM. Please contact your coach or sponsor with specific questions!

Please note that in order to follow guidance from the Marion County Public Health Department, we will be limiting spectators at all upcoming athletic events to PARENTS and GUARDIANS of our current student athletes ONLY. Only up to TWO (2) parents/guardians of the athletes participating will be permitted into each athletic event. We cannot safely accommodate younger siblings, Creston students who are not athletes, extended family, or friends. We appreciate your understanding of this.

Want to get updates from the CIMS Athletics Department sent to your phone? Join our Remind Group -- see below!

The registration to enroll for the Purdue Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute’s (GER2I) Spring Super Saturday program held in February 2021 is now open! At these GER2I camps, students take challenging classes related to their area(s) of interest. We offer hands-on classes in a wide range of subjects, including STEM and the humanities, all designed to be one to two grade levels above traditional classroom content. These classes are taught by esteemed professors, graduate students, and teachers from Lafayette and surrounding areas.

GER2I's Virtual Super Saturday program provides learning experiences that explore advanced material and develop critical and creative thinking. We offer a caregiver-child format for children in PreK - 5th grades so caregivers can spend quality time and gain experience working with their children. This is required. The participation of caregivers of students in 6th - 12th grades is not required, but parents are invited to our parent interest sessions.

2021 virtual spring Super Saturday program will fall on February 6, 13, 20, 27 in 2021. REGISTER ONLINE at: https://cvent.me/2PdBln The registration fee per student is $145. All the students are eligible to enroll, with no prerequisites.

Our 2020 Spring Super Saturday courses are:

Gr.3-5:

Colonizing Mars

Fun Filmmaking

The Magical World of Harry Potter

Gr.6-8:

Games with Python®

Get Protected from COVID-19: A Biomimetic Engineering Challenge

Psychobabble: Let’s Talk Neuroscience!

Please visit our Facebook or email Yao Yang at yang1707@purdue.edu for more information!

For more information about Spring Super Saturday program, please visit our website https://www.education.purdue.edu/geri/youth-programs/super-saturday/

School Calendar - English Version

School Calendar - Spanish Version

Student Success Handbook - English Version

Student Success Handbook - Spanish Version

Creston Student Passport (Handbook)

You can locate a copy of the CIMS Dress Code by clicking here.

Face Covering Guidance - English Version

Face Covering Guidance - Spanish Version

Email: noreply@warren.k12.in.us
Website: https://creston.warren.k12.in.us/
Location: 10925 East Prospect Street, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 317-532-6800
Twitter: @CrestonIMS