The Crissman Connection

Happy Friday Crissman Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you doing well on this beautiful Friday afternoon! We are wrapping up another great week here at Crissman. Just a reminder that October 28th and October 31st are half-days of school with dismissal at 12:24 pm. Please read all the notes about the Halloween celebration when you scroll down.

Parent-Teacher Conferences- All the information you need to schedule your child's conference is in this Connection. Please scroll down to read that section. We are looking forward to connecting with you about your child's growth thus far this school year.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Papastamatis

MATH OLYMPIAD 2022-23.docx

• 10/27-Kindergarten Field Trip (Westview Orchards)
• 10/28- 1/2 Day of School
• 10/31- 1/2 Day of School
• 11/29- School Picture Retake Day

We are so excited to start the scheduling of our Fall Parent-Teacher Conference. Conferences are an important part of our partnership to make sure students are meeting our shared expectations. This year's conferences will be hybrid, which means you as a parent can choose to have an in-person conference or a virtual conference using TEAMs.

Again this year, parents will be using SchoolSoft to schedule. This system will allow you to schedule either an in-person conference or a virtual one.

Please note while you can register at any time, the appointment window will OPEN at 6 am on Wednesday, October 26th.

The appointment window will close on November 8 at 10 pm.

Many of you have used the SchoolSoft Conference Manager before, and already have an account set up. The first time you use the Conference Manager you will be required to register and create a parent account. This only takes a minute or two. You will continue to use this same account for the duration of the time you have children in the school, so please record your password so you can reference it later.

To create an account, please use the following steps (a tutorial is available at this link):

1. Click on the link above.

2. Register for a parent account. To register click the REGISTER NOW button and complete the registration page. Once registered you will be able to immediately log in to the Conference Manager. An email will also be sent to the address you specified. This email restates your username and password and should be saved, as you will use the same username and password when booking future rounds of Parent-Teacher Conferences. If you forget your password, you can reset it using the FORGOT PASSWORD link under the login button.

When registering, if you have multiple students, you should enter all of them at the same time.

Once registered you can log in to the Conference Manager any time.

3. Click the BOOK NOW button and select a conference date in the date drop-down that appears. Then, select the teacher(s) you wish to meet with and click the NEXT button. To coordinate bookings involving multiple teachers select all the teachers applicable to your child(ren) with whom you wish to meet.

4. Click on an available time slot for each teacher you selected and complete the booking form that appears. You should see the booking appear in the summary list on the right-hand side of the screen. A confirmation email is sent for each booking you made or subsequently cancel. You will also receive a reminder and conference itinerary by email.

5. Confirm your appointments have been booked by looking at the “CURRENTLY BOOKED CONFERENCES” box on the right of the screen or click on the MY CONFERENCES tab. Only appointments that appear in the CURRENTLY BOOKED CONFERENCES box or on the MY CONFERENCES page are confirmed bookings.

6. When finished booking, click the log off button located at the top right of the browser window. You will have the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the use of the Conference Manager to the school administration through a user survey before completely exiting. We appreciate you completing the survey as this helps guide our decision-making regarding how conferences are booked in the future.

7. Just prior to your scheduled conference time, you will receive a link to your video conference. At the appropriate time, click on the link and the teacher will admit you to the room. Please note, our conferences are scheduled for 15 minutes per student for K-5 conferences. 6th grade parents, please see note about your child's confernece.

If you are unable to book your own appointment using this system, please contact the school office at: officecrissman@uticak12.org

The 6th-grade conferences will run a little differently than our K-5 conferences.

• Homeroom 6th-grade teacher- 10 minutes- PLEASE SCHEDULE TWO -5 minute consecutive sessions.
• Switch Teachers and Specialists- 5 Minute sessions.

**Switch and Specialist Teachers are optional. We ask that you please meet with your child's homeroom teacher to review and discuss their growth.

Parade: Crissman students will be part of an outdoor parade that will begin around 11:15 am. Classrooms will exit the building through their classroom doors. Second Grade will start the parade and we will work our way around the building.

Parents/Guardians may come to watch the parade from the outside, leaving enough space for students to safely walk around the building.

The parade will begin with our 2nd graders and work our way through all the grades/classrooms.

There will be NO early dismissals this day through the office. With the number of parents/students moving outside there is not enough time to gather students after they finish their parade. Parents are welcome to remain on the grounds for a parent pick-up and sign their child out using the classroom sign-out sheet. Each teacher will have a sign-out sheet at their classroom door.

In the event of rain which would usually result in an indoor recess day, the parade will be canceled with no makeup date.

NO BUS LOOP parking. There will be limited space in the Crissman parking lot. Please be respectful of each other during this busy event.

Costumes: Students may wear their School Appropriate costume to Crissman on Monday, October 31st. School Appropriate means nothing overly scary, no blood/gore, and no weapons (even if it is part of the costume).

Just a reminder to always have ID when coming into the building. Thank you!

Calling in your child sick, an appointment or vacation? Please call the attendance line at any time of day at 586-797-4399.

Crissman Elementary PTA

info@crissmanpta.org · Facebook! · Instagram! · Remind!

Interested in Volunteering? Sign up here!

Upcoming PTA Fun:

• NOW - Online Pumpkin Contest due October 27, Voting begins October 28
• NOW - Pie Coupon sale ends November 2
• October 28 - Trunk or Treat at 5:30PM
• November 17 - Skate Night at 6PM, Turn the Rink Blue (with Crissman Gear!)

Trunk or Treating Details:

We look forward to seeing all our registered Trunk or Treaters on Friday, October 28--Rain or Shine! We are still in need of more volunteers! (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0844a5a822a5ff2-trunkortreat1) A few notes about this fun event:

1. YOU MUST REGISTER for this event. NO WALK-INS! Thanks for your help with this!
2. Arrive BEFORE 5:50PM (Trick or Treating starts at 6PM).
3. Please plan to bring 250-300 pieces of candy with you to pass out.
4. With your trunk, you can get as creative as you would like- or as simple as you would like
5. We will have a station for all of our families to enjoy cider and donuts
6. We will have a Balloon Backdrop for memorable photos
7. Let's have some fun, Cougars!!

The mission of Crissman Elementary School, in partnership with parents and the community, is to provide a safe, positive and productive learning environment that fosters academic excellence and recognizes individual uniqueness. We will strive to prepare students for their future in an ever changing world.

Email: sofia.papastamatis@uticak12.org
Website: http://crissman.uticak12.org/
Location: 53550 Wolf Drive, Shelby, MI 48316, United States
Phone: (586) 797-4300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crissmanelementary/