BACK TO SCHOOL INFO - 2019

Dear Parents,

It's almost time!! I can't tell you how excited I am to begin another year at Clarks Creek and I am thrilled that your child will be joining us this year! We will have many new friends to meet and even some new staff members. We know our CC "veterans" will help all of our new students and teachers have a super beginning to this new school journey!

As summer winds down, at least in terms of getting ready to head back to school, it reminds me to be grateful for all of the things happening in the "off season" here in the building. We've had teachers working tirelessly as they have had professional development opportunities over many different topics, our custodians have been working to shine the building from top to bottom, PTO has been making plans for exciting events for this school year, our office staff has been registering all the new students that we're anxious to meet, and so much more!

As excitement builds toward our opening day, we wanted to share some of the information that may make the first few days more smooth for you and your family as you begin to plan for the new year. Below you will find some answers to many "logistics" type questions and some other reminders about procedures and upcoming back-to-school events.

Some of this you have probably seen before, especially if you have been following along on our website. To find it, begin at the district site - www.plainfield.k12.in.us, then click EXPLORE to find Clarks Creek. I hope you find it helpful, and we look forward to seeing you and your child very soon! There are still many more updates to make on the website, so you'll continue to see changes.

We look forward to seeing you in the building soon!

Sincerely,

Marisa Donovan, Principal

Mrs. Donovan is beginning her sixth year as principal of Clarks Creek, Mrs. Perry will begin her fifth year here. We are excited to welcome Mrs. Mennonno to our team as Dean of Students this year, as well!

Friday evening, August 2, the building will be open from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. for an OPTIONAL supply drop-off, designed to be a very quick stop for you to drop off supplies and help remind students where they'll be going on Monday morning. We know your child needs to have some down-time before an early back-to-school bedtime, and so do our teachers! We hope this event will help everyone relax and allow everyone time to enjoy the weekend and get ready for the big day.

If you can't make it Friday between 3:00 and 4:00, you can send supplies to school with your child on Monday. If it's too much to carry, you can send things over a couple of days.

This event will also be a time to meet the teachers.

Those of you who have been to any of our "all school" events know that parking is tricky and patience is a must! Thank you for remembering that we "Put Safety First" at Clarks Creek! Please escort children to and from the parking lot into the building for their safety.

PTO has also arranged for the Frigid Frog truck to be on site that evening!

The good news is...we got a new phone system upgrade over the summer! The bad news is... when the phone system was upgraded, all of the messages that may have been left over the summer while the office was closed were lost. If you left a message, please call again and speak to our secretary or leave another message. At this point, we are also unable to change the voicemail message on the phone, so it states the wrong times for office hours, but we will still get any messages that are left. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Time to break out the new school year calendar and get organized with all of our Clarks Creek events for the year! I've shared our Google CC Parent Calendar with you! Here is the link to get you to the calendar anytime, but I'd love for you to find it on the website so you'll know how to get back to it. There are lots of things still being updated on the website for the new year, but this one is ready and I wanted to make it accessible to you so you can start putting things on your own calendars. In addition, when you go to the calendar through the website, you can choose to add the calendar to your own and the events will populate automatically! (Disclaimer: Every phone is different, and everyone will be able to access the calendar. If you have a Google calendar, it will work for sure; others will have different steps to follow, but your phone should prompt you.) Note - for Google, you need to be on a computer to add the calendar.

Link to VIEW ONLY the CC Parent Calendar:
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed…

To find it on the website, go to the main CC page at
http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/o/clarks-creek-elementary-s… . Then, click >EXPLORE, >PARENT INFO, >CC Parent Calendar. There you'll see the link at the top to just view the calendar, but further down you'll see two methods for adding this calendar to your own. For Google users, your best bet is to follow the directions at the bottom if you want to integrate the whole calendar.

One more thing you can do - if you only want to add certain events from our calendar to your own, by clicking on an event once you've opened the link shown above, you'll be able to see any details we've added, and you'll also get an option to click a button to "add event to calendar." For many of you, this may be the best option so you can pick-and-choose what you want to add.

We hope you can join us on the designated evening (see the upcoming events listed above) to hear from your child's teacher about what you can expect this school year. We strongly encourage this to be a "parents only" event, if at all possible. If you don't have alternate care for your children available, though, we would definitely rather that you bring them than to miss out on this important information. They would be welcome to attend with you and remain under your supervision in the classroom during the meeting.

Many of our families like to snap some memories outside of their new classrooms. We've also found that our "Town Hall" atrium is a great place for pictures because of the natural light, and using the big crayons as the backdrop makes for super-cute pictures! You can take these all-important new-school-year-photos on Friday night at supply drop-off.

If you have new neighbors with children who have moved in since summer began, please talk to them about the happenings at school and ask them if they've registered their child for school already. It's much more difficult for a new student if they walk in the morning of the first day without having been pre-assigned a teacher and waiting around while their parents get them registered. Of course, we will work with any family whenever they arrive, but this little step could help all of our new friends have a smoother beginning. Thanks for your help in providing a warm welcome to our new families!

Upon arrival at the building, you'll see that the main entrance is identified. You'll find it on the southwest corner of the building. This is "door 1," where you will enter any time you are coming to the office or going anywhere in the building.

During the school day, all parents will be required to present photo identification at the front desk before releasing your child to you (i.e. for an appointment) or before you will be permitted into the building for another scheduled activity.

I cannot stress enough to you how helpful it is for your child to arrive at school and depart from school the way he/she will typically go beginning on DAY ONE! I know as parents our inclination is often to ease our child into new situations when we can, but driving your child to school on the first day when he will be taking the bus all the other days is detrimental to getting your child acclimated to the process and makes it more confusing for everyone - the teachers, bus drivers, and especially the students! It also means that instead of one day of transition, it will spread into two. Your child will be much better off starting the "usual way" for him/her, whatever that is. If your child will be riding the bus as usual transportation, please send him/her that way on the very first day.

If you must bring your child to school by way of car, be sure to read the procedures below. Also, please be aware that we do not allow parents to walk children to their classrooms on the first day of school. We want our school to be as safe on the first day of school as it is every other day of the year! This would mean checking IDs of everyone who enters, and our priority simply must be helping all of our students find where they need to go on the first day. If you're hoping to take a quick picture, do that Friday evening at supply drop-off or as your child boards the bus Monday morning. If you need to relay important information to the teacher, do that by phone or email ahead of time so it doesn't get lost in the bustle and busyness of the first day.

Talk through your arrival and dismissal plans with your child every day between now and the first day, especially if this is your child's first experience in school. "Practice" in this way may not make perfect, but it will definitely build your child's confidence. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in making our first days of school run smoothly!

With over 950 students, picking up students as car riders is a lengthy process. If you must drop off and pick up your child as a car rider, please read the following arrival and dismissal procedures very carefully. Please also remember that bus transportation is available for all students living within the Clarks Creek district outside of walking areas and may be a better option for your child. If you must drop off/pick your child up as a car rider, it is imperative that these guidelines are followed; the safety and security of all students depends on your patience with this process. Slower speeds, patience, awareness, and caution are the keys to a safe arrival and dismissal of our students. All car riders should be seated in drop-off vehicles on the passenger side so they will be ready to exit and enter on the “school side.” This is for the safety of your child! At arrival and dismissal, vehicles picking students up should move as far forward as possible, as directed. This will speed things up for everyone.

Arrival for Kindergarten 1st, & 2nd Grade Car Riders*

Parents are to drop students off in the north parking lot only, beginning at 8:30. Parents should enter the lot off of Michael Drive. Follow the arrows around the parking lot in a single line until the car is parallel to the north doors 10 and 11. Students should exit from the passenger side with parents remaining in the cards. Cars should stay in line to exit back onto Michael Drive. Do not allow students to leave the car until parallel to the north side of the building and you see a staff member present for supervision. Students should never walk between cars.

Arrival for 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grade Car Riders* - Parents are to drop students off on the south side of the building. Cars will proceed down the hill, then come up next to the sidewalk near Door 2 to drop off students. The exception to this would be if a 3rd, 4th or 5th grade student has a younger sibling. In that case, they are to be dropped off in the north lot.

*Families with students in grades that would be dropped off/picked up in two locations should use the grade level of the younger student. As you come up the hill, please be mindful and stop at the crosswalk, as this area is used by our preschool families coming and going.

Dismissal – Students are to be picked up on the same side as arrival. Parents should line up in a double line following the parking lot markings in the north lot, and in a single line in the south lot. As traffic moves, please reduce space between vehicles to allow more cars into the lots. Students will be allowed to only enter cars that are moved up far enough so as to be parallel to the building along the sidewalks. Students must enter vehicles from the passenger side. Students in the north lot must receive permission from a staff member before crossing to a vehicle. Students should never be called to walk between cars to access their ride. Once the line ahead of you has moved, you may then pull up parallel to the building and your child will get in the car. Watch for signals from staff members motioning you forward.

In order to better monitor the adults arriving to pick up students in the car rider lines, families will be provided with a car-rider hang-tag during the first week of school. Families who have been with us before will still get a new tag. This tag should be prominently displayed in the vehicle that will be used to pick up the child from school. Until then, be prepared to show your ID as you pick up your child.

To identify your child as a car rider or as a walker, please sign up at this link. All car riders on this form will be issued a car hang-tag to place on your mirror for our reference as you pick up your child. The walker sign-up will help us know which students to be watching for as they line up together.

We typically have very few students ride their bikes to school. However, students who live close enough to walk but prefer to ride a bike are welcome to do so with parent approval. Bike riders should follow the exact same procedures as walkers, listed above. Riders must wear helmets and park bikes at the rack near the flag on the west side. While certainly not required, students wishing to lock their bikes up should provide their own chains and locks. This is another situation where students should have adult supervision with many times to practice the route and procedures prior to ever riding to school.

What’s my bus number? Where’s my bus stop? When will the bus pick me up and drop me off?

As we get closer to the beginning of the school year, we know you are interested to know how bus service will work for your child this year. Beginning Monday, the 29th, you may use your parent PowerSchool account to find your child's bus information. This will include the bus number, the pickup time, and the pickup location. If you have a kindergarten student or are new to Clarks Creek, you should also receive a call from the bus driver no later than Friday, August 2 to tell you a pick-up time and location.

In addition to those two sources, you can also download the Here Comes the Bus app now! Once you download it, use our corporation ID #82021 and your student's ID number (it's the same as your PowerSchool login without the letter P) to get started. This app will give you a real-time snapshot of where the bus is, both coming home and going to school. (Technology is COOL!)

Have you moved recently? If your child rides the bus, we want to make sure your child is picked up on schedule and dropped off safely to your home. If you have changed addresses since you did the online registration in PowerSchool, we will need to have you fill out a transportation form so we can pass the information to the transportation department so your child's bus route can be updated. You can find this form on our website. Please return this form to the main office as soon as you can, so the appropriate changes can be made. Call us if you have any questions!

As a reminder, if you have moved out of the Clarks Creek district, even if you're still in Plainfield or can drive your child to school, you must start the school year at the school in whose district you now reside. If that is the case for you, let us know and we will be happy to help talk you through the transfer process.

It is always best for a child's transportation to and from school to remain consistent. However, at times we know there are reasons that come up that require a change in the usual plan. If a transportation plan must be changed with your child, please talk to your child ahead of time about the change in plans, unless there is an emergency. Changing a child's plan during the day is often very confusing for him/her and should only happen on a very rare occasion in a true emergency.

If your child is to go home a way different than their normal arrangement, the school must be notified before 2:00 p.m. This can be in the form of a written note to the teacher with instructions as to how the child is to go home. We will not allow a child to go home a different way without proper notification. The bus driver also needs a note if the child does not normally ride that bus. Be aware that at times it is not possible for a student to ride home on a bus other than their own (i.e. to a friend's house) because of lack of space.

Another method for communicating a transportation change would be to call the school. This should be used only for unexpected changes. Such phone calls must be made prior to 2:00 p.m. In order to make a change over the phone, we will need to verify that we are speaking to the child’s parent/guardian through caller ID on our phone system. To make this smoother, please call from one of the phone numbers that you have registered with our school as contacts. If this is not possible, please bear with us as we ask you other identifying information.

Finally, please note that e-mail notifications for the end of the day ride home are not accepted, as we are not able to ensure that the email will be read in time.

Here are some important pieces of information about lunch at school:

If you think that you may qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches and textbook rental for your student(s), it would be great if you would go ahead and fill out the paperwork. You can find that link on the red button above. This need-based program is a great help to many of our families! Even if you are not sure if you will qualify, it doesn't cost anything to fill it out and see what you may be eligible for. Click the box below to begin your application today!

Students may choose to bring a lunch box from home or breakfasts and lunches may be purchased at school. Students who choose to bring their lunches may purchase milk. Prices for 2019-20 will be: $1.50 – breakfast, $0.50 – milk, and $2.50 – lunch.

Student meal accounts are expected to be prepaid before meal service begins. You may send this on the first day or establish an account to be debited from a bank or credit card.

o Debit or credit card Funds may be applied to a student’s lunch account by debit or credit card through E-funds or SendMoneyToSchool.com. These may be accessed and you can find more information about the different programs on the Food Services webpage: http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/food-services--4

o Cash or checks

• Students in grades K-5 may bring money to school in a sealed envelope marked "LUNCH," with the child’s name and teacher name on the outside of the envelope.
• No change is given at any grade level.

Expectations for Visitors

As you know, all external school doors are locked during the school day. All visitors will be required to show their driver’s license or a valid state-issued photo ID to the school police officer or office personnel when entering the building. Your license or ID will then be scanned and processed through our “Safe Visitor” security program, which runs a quick background check. You will be required to have your photo taken which will appear on a temporary, time-sensitive sticker which will be printed with your name and purpose of your visit to wear during the time you are in the building or on a school field trip.

If you need to speak to your child's teacher in person, please email or call the teacher to set up a time to meet, rather than stopping by during the school day. We need to be sure our students have our teachers' undivided attention, but we are always happy to answer your questions and will make arrangements for a meeting as soon as possible if one is needed.

The Student-Parent Handbook is available online. This document has answers to many of your questions that may come up throughout the year. This will also be located online on our website under the "parent info" section. You can link to it here and bookmark it for future use. It's full of our school rules and other information you may find helpful.

• The Plainfield School Corporation app is available in the Google and Apple apps stores.
• Bookmark our website: http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/o/clarks-creek-elementary-school
• Follow Clarks Creek on Facebook - @ClarksCreekElementary
  
• Follow us on Twitter - @ccquakers
• Follow Clarks Creek PTO on Facebook - @ClarksCreekPTO
• Download the "Here Comes the Bus" app, if your child rides a bus. Remember to use corporation ID #82021 and your student's ID number (it's the same as your PowerSchool login without the letter P).
• You may find the PowerSchool Mobile app useful, especially with older children. (They just l-o-v-e when you monitor their grades!)
• Many of our teachers also have accounts for parents on various sites. Watch for this information to come home from your child's teacher.

Email: clarkscreekinfo@plainfield.k12.in.us
Website: http://www.plainfield.k12.in.us/cc
Location: 401 Elm Drive, Plainfield, IN, United States
Phone: (317)839-0120
Facebook: facebook.com/clarkscreekelementary
Twitter: @ccquakers