National Blue Ribbon School 2020 - Harris Elementary School

New from Harris

*All items subject to change if new guidance is received.

College Go Week!:

PTO Fundraiser:

We are so grateful for all you are doing to support our school through the PTO Fall Fundraiser. This is just a reminder that the sale ends Tuesday, September 28, 2021. All paper forms and funds are due in the provided envelope to your child's classroom teacher on Tuesday morning. Again, thank you for all you do to support us!

PTO does many great things for the Harris community. Did you know that they buy all the student planners and folders, Harris t-shirts for all k- students, a book for all Harris k- students, car tags, prizes for the PAWS store, treats for award winners, school safety items, treats for student award winners, Teacher Appreciation Week items, as needed school supplies, and items for classroom teachers to use with students, as their funds allow. They have also offset the costs of field trips, movie nights, and family events at Harris, which we are all hopeful can return in the future.

If you would like to check out our PTO, our next meeting is November 10 @ 2:30 PM in our library.

Fall Break: Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation will be out of session for Fall Break starting October 2nd through October 17th. We wish all Harris families a safe and relaxing fall break.

Parent Teacher Conferences: Parent teacher conferences are scheduled for Monday, October 25th and Wednesday, October 27th. Please check with your student’s teacher to sign up for a time to discuss your student’s progress.

Mask Requirement: Please remember that GC will begin our mask requirement starting Monday, September 27th. All staff, students, and guests at Harris will be required to where a mask, regardless of vaccination status. Face shields are not permitted.

Required Immunizations: If you child is missing a required immunization, we have attempted to contact you about this. Below is a link to required immunizations. If we do not have record of these immunizations, the GC exclusion date will be Oct. 22nd. Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Harris Spirit Store: The items shipped this week and have been distributed.

Picture Retakes: These are Tuesday!

Greenfield-Central School Foundation: You have an opportunity to contribute to the GC School Foundation and grant a teacher's wish. Please see this spreadsheet at the link below to see what items are still available to grant for teachers in GC. Thank you to our amazing school foundation!

Author of the Month: Congratulations to the these students who were recognized by their teachers as a an author of the month.

E-Learning Days: Please mark your calendars, Greenfield-Central School Corporation will have two eLearning days this year on Friday, November 12th and Monday, February 14th. Students will not come to school these days.

NWEA: Fall NWEA Student Progress reports are now available to be viewed in the PowerSchool Parent Portal.

COVID-19

COVID Guidance 21/22: Please click the button below for more information on the current COVID-19 procedures at GC.

Student Daily Self Screening: If your child is experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms [fever or chills (temperature greater than 99.9), sore throat, dough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing (especially new onset, uncontrolled cough), diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, or abdominal pain, headache (particularly new onset of severe headache, especially with fever), new loss of taste or smell or is a close contact of a positive COVID-19 person], please do not send your child to school. If your child is experiencing these symptoms, please contact the Harris clinic and speak to our nurse.

Masks: Beginning on Monday, September 27th, all students are required to wear a mask for in person learning. In addition, all staff and guests at Harris will be required to where a mask, regardless of vaccination status when 6ft of social distancing cannot be maintained. Face shields are not permitted.

Water Bottles: This is just a friendly reminder that water fountains have been turned off. Students should bring a sealing water bottle with their name on it. We will have refill stations available.

Hand Washing: Students will be asked to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer often throughout the day. Please reinforce with your child the importance of washing and sanitizing their hands well.

PTO

PTO: We have a wonderful Parent Teacher Organization. There will be more info from them on how and when they will meet. Each year they sponsor a fundraiser to support the students and staff at Harris. Your support will be helpful in continuing to have the great resources we enjoy for Harris students. Thank you in advance for your support and generosity.

PTO Meetings will be held in the Harris Library starting at 2:30 on the following dates:

*Masks are recommended, but not required at this time. All participants are encouraged to socially distance. Should you become positive after attending a meeting, we kindly as that you notify us.

• Nov 10
• Dec 8 - tentative
• Jan 12
• Feb 9th
• Apr 13

Transportation

Arrival

School Starts @ 7:50 AM

Upon entering Harris, students should report directly to their classroom, unless they are eating breakfast. Students eating breakfast at Harris can visit a breakfast station located around the building and select a grab and go item to eat in their classroom.

Harris AM Drop Off: Harris officially opens the doors to students beginning at 7:30 AM, using the car line off Elm Street on the north side of the building. Students left before that time are not supervised and left in an unsafe situation. Please ensure the safety of your child by supervising them until they are dismissed from your car by school staff. Please remain in your vehicle during drop off. Car rider should not be dropped off at Door 1 by the main office.

Dismissal

School Dismisses at 2:10

Staggered Dismissal: We will stagger our dismissal prior to 2:10 to safely dismiss the various groups including: bus riders, car riders, walker, and daycare students. Student dismissal groups will be announced over our intercom system and the adults in our building will monitor a safe, staggered dismissal.

Special Transportation: Each student has a singular pick up and drop off location from their home in the Harris district. If you need picked up or dropped off from another location inside the Harris district, you must complete and Special Transportation Request form and have it approved. We do not pick up or drop off students outside of the Harris district. If your child attends daycare, the daycare is responsible for providing the transportation.

Leaving by Car: Students who are being picked up by a car should use the car line off of Elm Street on the north side of the school. When picking up a students, please remain in your car. Staff will assist in safely loading students, and you will need to follow their directions. Please leave your car tag visible until after your child has entered the car. It is also helpful to have your student sitting on the passenger side. If you wish, you can also check students seatbelt straps by pulling up to the parking lot near the playground/construction fencing. If you do not have a car tag, you may be asked to pull around so we can verify that an appropriate person is picking up your student.

• Shared GIS/Harris Students: Harris students may not walk to GIS to meet a sibling. GIS students meeting a Harris student will be escorted to Harris. These students may arrive after our dismissal has started, so please plan to not be first in line. If your GIS student does not make it on time, you may be asked to pull around to the end of the line.  As a reminder, younger elementary children take longer to safely load than intermediate students. Thanks for being patient as we adjust to construction related delays.

Leaving by Foot: For students who will walk home and leave on foot, they will exit out Door 1 by the office after 2:10 and after buses have moved on to GIS. For the safety of our walkers, cars are not to park in this area during dismissal. Parents on foot will meet their students outside of Harris near Door 1. Parents waiting to pick up their children should wait outside Door 1 after buses have left Harris and moved to GIS. Parents may not wait inside our lobby. At 2:10 or after buses have left, a staff member will identify the parent and retrieve the student one child at a time. Parents meeting students on foot are asked to practice safe social distancing outside and to follow all local and state guidance for safe social distancing and masking. Mask are recommended, but not required.

Other Transportation Information

School Dismissal Manager:  Starting on Monday, August 23, 2021, we will use just this program to plan for an accurate dismissal. Harris uses the School Dismissal Manager program or app to manage transportation arrangements for our students at the end of the day. Parents may also use this to report absences or schedule early dismissal for appointments. To ensure an accurate dismissal, any change you need to make to your child's after school transportation should be done through this prior to 1:30 PM.

Buses: As required by federal mandate, students riding a bus must wear a mask. On the bus, students should be assigned a seat, and sibling groups may be asked to ride together. Students should practice safe social distancing when entering and exiting a bus. When arriving at school, students should follow the directions of a staff member for safe unloading and report directly to their classroom.

Ride 360: This year you will have the ability to see your child's bus number, approximate bus pick up time and approximate, drop off time. Registering for this services is easy. All you have to do is go to your APP store, download the Ride 360 app, and enter your information that ties your student to your account.

School Services

School Services: This year, our school is fortunate to have several people who are able to assist you and your child in having a great school year. If your child needs school or community resource support, either the counselor or social worker is happy to assist you. Below is a message from our social worker and a note on our school counselor.

School Counselor: Mrs. Hall is the Harris Elementary School Counselor. Your child may have shared that Mrs. Hall welcomed a son to her family. We are so excited for her. While she takes some time with her family, Mr. Bill Paulin will fill the role of school counselor. Please feel free to reach out to him in the same way you would have Mrs. Hall. His email is bpaulin@gcsc.k12.in.us

School Social Worker: Mrs. Tanksley is our school social worker. Please see this message from her. If you would like to reach her, please contact her by email at jtanksley@gcsc.k12.in.us or give her a call at Harris.

Breakfast and Lunch

*For this school year, all students will have access to one free breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast:  This year, breakfast will be Grab & Go. As students enter the building, there will be several stations that they can stop at and purchase a breakfast to take back to the classroom with them. Students will have a grain choice, one cup of fruit, and milk. Breakfast will be available the first day of school.

2-Hour Delays & Breakfast: Harris does NOT serve breakfast on 2-Hour delays.

Lunch: Due to construction, lunch will be served in our gym.  Students will eat in the same assigned area and assigned seat daily. Students will be distanced to the greatest extent possible. Tables will be cleaned between each group of students. Visitors are not permitted at lunch.

Lunch Accounts - Greenfield-Central is once again using www.ezschoolpay.com to put lunch money in your child’s lunch account (there is a small fee and you will need your child’s student number found on Powerschool). Lunch money may also be submitted by check when you come to registration. Please be sure to keep your child’s lunch account in good standing. Additionally, our cafeteria computer system does not have the capabilities to put a “block” on student lunch accounts for purchasing extra lunch items. You will want to make sure your child is on the same page as you when it comes to spending lunch account money. You can also pay textbook rental fees and iPad insurance on ezschoolpay as well!

Visitors to the Cafe: Due to limited seating and contact tracing requirements, visitors will not be permitted to eat in the student lunch room.

Stay Connected with Harris

Future Dates at Harris

*The following dates are tentative and are subject to change based on national, state, and local guidance.

Harris Specific Dates

• Picture Retakes: September 28, 2021
• Fall Break: October 4-15
• Parent/Teacher Conferences: October 25 & 27, 2021
• PTO Meeting: November 10, 2021

Opportunities Around GC

The Imagination Library program provides FREE age-appropriate books to children from birth to five who are residents of Hancock County. Books are delivered monthly to the home and in the name of the enrolled child, building their own personal library. So far, more than 2,600 children have registered and are receiving free books at home.

• $26 gift provides a child 12 books for a year
• $130 gift provides a child 60 books over five years

Neighborhoods Against Substance Abuse (NASA) is excited to announce that they have extended their agreement with both Legacy Cinema and Strike Force Lanes to continue hosting Hancock County Student Days through August of 2022. This means that on selected dates each month any of our students can receive a free movie or 2 games of bowling and shoes when they present their Hancock County School ID (for those who don’t have a student ID, a NASA ID card can be obtained). Upcoming dates are: Legacy Cinema -- September 12, October 10, November 14; Strike Force Lanes --September 3 & 17, October 1 & 15, November 5 & 19. For more information, please visit the NASA website https://nasa-hancock.com/ or call 317-477-0200.

Families who attend the Rise Above It! event on September 28th can come to Greenfield-Central's booth to enter in a drawing to win a Family 21-22 All Sport Pass. The drawing will be held after the end of the evening and one lucky GC family will be awarded the pass.

Rise Above It, the annual Hancock County emotional health and wellness event, will be held in person, unless the need to go virtual presents itself, on September 28, 4:30-8:30pm, at New Palestine Intermediate School. There are two main parts of the event….breakout sessions covering these topics: Depression/Suicide, Anxiety, Self-Regulation, Substance Misuse, Smoking/Vaping, Grief and Loss, Social Media...and vendor fair sharing community based resources. Break-out sessions will be presented for both a live and virtual audience. This event is for anyone ages 12 and older.

Below is the schedule of break out sessions to be held. Individuals may attend one or more sessions. These sessions will also be held virtually if you are interested in the topic(s) but unable to get away from your house. To register, www.behealthy365.org/riseaboveit

5:30-6:00 and 6:40-7:10

• Anxiety --- Room 103
• Self-Regulation --- Room 104
• Substance Misuse --- Room 105
• Grief & Loss --- Room 106

6:05-6:35 and 7:15-7:45

• Depression/Suicide --- Room 109
• Vaping/Smoking ---- Room 107
• Social Media ---- Room 108
• Mind-Body --- Room 110

7:55 – 8:25

• Q&A with panel of presenters – Theatre Room 125

Greenfield-Central will have a display table with flyers from the different programs offered at the schools. Included on the table will be a raffle for Greenfield-Central families, with the winning prize being a Family All Sports Pass from GCHS Athletics. Be sure to check us out!

Below is the schedule of break out sessions to be held. Individuals may attend one or more sessions. These sessions will also be held virtually if you are interested in the topic(s) but unable to get away from your house.

Bowen Center Services

Greenfield Central has partnered with the Bowen center to establish a Student Assistance Program (SAP). This program is a benefit to ALL students and provides three PREPAID (free to students) telephonic counseling sessions. This is private and confidential. No one is informed of your decision to access this program. To schedule an appointment, you may call 1-800-342-5653 or go to www.bowencenter.org and click on “Schedule an Appointment”. There is no co-pay or pre-authorization required for these three prepaid visits.

24 Hour Crisis Hotline: 1-800-342-5653