South Side Family Newsletter

Trailblazer Families,

It has been a great start to a new school year. I want to thank all of you for trusting our school and staff with the responsibility of caring for your child and their educational needs. We really appreciate your feedback as the year goes on, so please contact us as much as needed if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for how we can make our school a great place to be! I will send a newsletter each month that will serve as a brief update about things happening in our school. Each teacher will also have independent ways to share information about their classroom. Be sure to connect with them via Seesaw, Class Dojo, or Canvas. If you don't know which one to use or how to access classroom content give us a call because we like to help!

Sincerely,

Jeff Harper

Principal

Email: jharper@eastnoble.net

Phone: 260-349-2200

Grades 1-5 are bringing devices home this week. Kindergarten students will bring their iPads home on Tuesday, September 3. Please maintain parental control on when you allow your child to use their device at home. All iPads and computers issued at the school are East Noble property, but you are still the limit setter when it comes to technology use at home. Obviously we want students to complete school work, but you are the guide when it comes to any activity that is not required on their device.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook for lots of information throughout each week. Search for "South Side Trailblazers" to find our page. Our school website is also a great source of information about what's happening in school. You can find the website at http://ss.eastnoble.net/

The t-shirt designs above feature our new school colors of East Noble Blue, white, and grey along with the new compass logo. T-shirt order forms are available in our office. All order forms and money are due back by Friday, August 16.

Please continue to collect Boxtops and send them into school with your student at any time. The Boxtops program is changing by becoming an app for smartphones. Please download the Boxtop app, follow the quick and easy process to sign up and choose South Side Elementary in Kendallville, IN as your school. Then, when you take photos of your receipts in the Boxtop App, South Side will earn points. You will see fewer Boxtops to clip as the app becomes the main source of earning points. This app is similar to Shoparoo, a second app that we use to earn money for our school. Shoparoo also has users take pictures of store receipts to earn points. By using both apps, South Side will earn more money to make your child's educational experience even better.

The Blazers' Bookstore is open every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning before school. School supplies are available for purchase including earbuds, pencil pouches, notebooks and folders. If there are any supplies your student still needs or will need to replace throughout the school year, the bookstore is a convenient and cost effective way to get them. The earbuds are just $1!

Also, mark your calendars for the Fall Festival. It is scheduled for Friday, November 8, 5:30-7:30 pm. The PTO is busy organizing this event and looking forward to a fun filled evening.

Please like us on Facebook at South Side Elementary PTO to stay up to date on PTO sponsored activities and meetings. Our next meeting is Tuesday, September 10 at 4 pm in the library. Feel free to join us!

Pearson support for ISTEP+ ends September 30. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) supports ISTEP+ assessments beginning Summer 2019. Schools must download and save Individual Student Reports and desired school/corporation data for Spring 2015 - Spring 2019 ISTEP+ administrations prior to this date. Schools must also notify parents that access to the parent portal will end on September 30.

Mrs. Cooper, our speech pathologist will conduct a hearing screening for all 1st and 4th graders. This will be completed by the end of September. You will only receive a letter if your child failed the hearing screening. If you are ever concerned about your child’s hearing (no matter what grade they are in), please contact the office with your child’s name and grade and Mrs. Cooper will complete a hearing screening as soon as possible.

If you have a child (or know of a child) ages 3-5 that are having trouble with their communication skills (speech sound production, vocabulary or speaking appropriately for their age), please call Mrs. Cooper at South Side. We look forward to helping your child with any concerns your have with hearing or communication.

Morning Car Riders

Thank you for your cooperation in the car rider line as the school year started. With all students entering door one (even breakfast eaters) we are aware that more cars are entering off Brillheart Ave. In order for the line to continue to move smoothly, it is important for us not to get out of the car with our student. If you need to come in with your student, please park your car in the parking lot and then walk inside.

Afternoon Car Riders

Every family who has requested a car rider tag, should have received one. If you will be picking your student up on a consistent basis, you will need a car rider tag. Please let the office know if you need one. When you come to pick up your student, please display your tag in the car. If you don't have a tag, staff will ask you who you are here to pick up.

Please call and let the office know you are picking up your student so that we don't put them on the bus. The earlier the office knows the smoother dismissal goes. Thank you for your cooperation.

We are going to be doing a Career Day in April. Mrs. Carden would like volunteers to come in to talk about their career. The students would visit the volunteers in a “speed dating” style. Don’t worry about being shy! You would only be talking to a small group of students at one time. The idea is to share your career with our students to get them excited about their future career options! We need a wide variety of careers from stay-at-home moms to factory workers to doctors! You name it, we want you to share your career with our students! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Jessica Carden at jcarden@eastnoble.net or 260-349-2200. We look forward to hearing from you!

Click here for the 2019-20 East Noble School Corporation Calendar

September 4 Picture day

September 9 Fundraiser kick off

September 10 PTO Meeting in South Side library at 4:00 pm

September 24 End of fundraiser sales and all student forms due back

September 26 Fifth grade trip to Camp Potawotami

September 27 Staff professional development and student eLearning day

October 6-12 Fire Prevention Week

October 7 National Stomp Out Bullying Day

October 8 American Red Cross Blood drive at South Side Elementary 2:30-7:00 pm

October 23 Fundraiser item delivery and pick up

October 24 Third grade field trip to Merry Lea

November 1 Ed Camp day for staff and student eLearning day

November 8 Fall PTO Carnival 5:30 to 7:30 pm

November 21 and 22 Mobile Dentist at South Side

December 4 Parent meeting for cyber safety Time TBD

December 5 Fourth and fifth grade music program 6:00 pm

March 17 2nd and 3rd grade music program 6:00 pm

May 5, 2020 Fifth grade visit to Junior Achievement Biz Town

May 7 Kindergarten and 1st grade music program 6:00 pm