Yealey Families,

It's been a fun week here at school and I'm looking forward to next week being just as fun.  Everyone is looking forward to something whether it be Christmas, a long break, a trip, or visiting family/friends.  The excitement can be felt in the building and is such a welcome change from the December we experienced here last year. 

I believe you have received communication from district office about plans to call Home Instruction Days in lieu of snow days this year.  In anticipation of days like this being called in January and February, we will begin sending home Chromebooks with students in 2nd - 5th grades every night starting 12/17.  So that we have chargers at school and at home, we will be sending home one charger per family and these will come home with the oldest child in each family.  It would probably be best to leave Chromebooks in the backpacks unless they are being used for school assignments.  Thank you for your help with this. Kindergarten and 1st grade students will have a packet in their backpack each night starting on 12/17.  The packet should not be completed or worked on until there is a Home Instruction Day called by the district.  Be sure it gets back into the backpack after you have worked on it so that the teacher can review the work completed and give your child credit for attendance on these days.  And, the best part of Home Instruction Days is that they are not added to the end of the school year.  So, unless an actual snow day is called, the last day of school should remain as it was originally planned. 

We have three pairs of glasses that have been in lost and found.  Do you recognize these?

This will be the last blog entry for this year.  I hope everyone has a great winter break (12/18/21 - 1/2/22) and that you are able to spend time sharpening the saw with the people you are closest too.  I am looking forward to time with family and friends.  

See you next week and then not again until January 3rd!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families -

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and time off.  It truly is one of my favorite days of the year and I'm already looking forward to it again next year!  I have really enjoyed my time this week with your kids.  I have worked with some kindergarteners and have loved hearing them begin to read!  We really want to have our kindergarteners reading by the end of the year and are happy with their progress so far.  It's so fun to see them begin to put letter sounds together after they've learned them in isolation. The look in their eyes as they realize they are reading words is priceless.

Thank you to Ms. Mesha Holloway for volunteering to serve on our Site Base Decision Making Council.  Please add her to your list of parent contacts if you have a question you'd like addressed at SBDM.  She is joining Ms. Jamie Peck, and Mr. Richard McFarland. 

To help support our 5th grade Tremont trip, we have a couple of fundraisers coming up over the next two weeks.  Next Friday night we are offering a parents night out.  Students who have signed up will stay after school until 7:00 for a night of fun activities.  Cost is $25 per child with a multi-child discount available.  Please see the information that was sent home with your child if you want to sign up.  The following week, our 5th graders will be selling Frosty grams.  information on this will come home next week.  Thank you for helping support such an amazing experience for our 5th graders!

Next week the PTA will be running their Santa Shop.  Please look for information from your homeroom teacher on shopping days and procedures for having your child purchase gifts for their special people. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  

See you on Monday,

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

What an awesome week we've had here.  Our 2nd graders have been going to Makerspace and working with robots and coding. It is great to be able to start field trips back again.  Next week we will be filming for our virtual Evening With The Arts.  I am so excited to see all the work our kids (and teachers) have put into this presentation.  Please watch for information on when this will be available for viewing!

Next week we only have school on Monday and Tuesday.  I hope everyone has plans to spend time "sharpening the saw" the rest of the week.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  Gratitude and yummy food - what could be better?

There won't be a blog update until December 3rd. Enjoy your short week and long weekend next week!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

I hope you've had a great week!  We have been busy here.  I've been able to read with some new readers and watch them work to begin writing.  It has been a really great week as a Bobcat!

5th grade parents, I wanted to make sure you knew to look for Tremont information that has been coming from your homeroom teachers.  There are details at Tremont Information.  I know this is a trip that all students look forward to and is very special to our 5th graders.  Mr. Rice is hoping to attend this year along with some of our most awesome teachers.  If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Mrs. Clark or Mrs. Ashcraft!

Please check out the first aid room page for updated information.  Guidelines have been updated and will help you determine when your child needs to stay home or why they might be sent home.  Our attendance numbers have been good and we really appreciate everyone working so hard to be sure everyone is here each day and on time!

A BIG thank to Mrs. Brown, Mr. Dunlap, and everyone who helped make our virtual Veteran's Day presentation.  I am so hopeful that next year we will be able to host our traditional celebration and all come together to celebrate and honor our Veterans.  

We are looking for a minority parent to serve on our SBDM.  Kentucky Dept of Ed explains this as " For the purposes of SBDM, minority is defined as American Indian; Alaskan native; African-American; Hispanic, including persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central American or South American origins; Pacific Islander; or other ethnic group underrepresented in the school” [KRS 160.345(1)(a)]."   We meet once a month and council helps make decisions on budget and how the school operates.  If you are interested in serving in this position, please email be at renee.turner@boone.kyschools.us 

PTA is planning to have Santa Shop again this year.  Be watching for information from your teacher about shopping days and procedures.  I am grateful that PTA is able to provide this fun for the students again. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  

Mrs. Turner

 Hi Yealey Families -

It's been a great week at school.  We have been working hard during school and in our before and after school clubs.  It's so great to see all the kids here and back to so many fun activities!  Video club and chorus are working hard on our Veteran's Day presentation.  I can't wait to see their final product and share it with you.  Lego Leagues have also been busy each morning becoming engineers and solving problems.  Thank you to all our club sponsors for providing such awesome opportunities to our kids!

Yealey is scheduled to get a major renovation starting this summer.  It will be a 2 year project and will be a renovation of all parts of the building that are 30 years old (or older!).  This will include the main hallway and all the classrooms 1 - 27 and the 4th grade section and restrooms.  The 5th grade classrooms will not be renovated but will still receive upgrades.  The music room wing has already received some upgrades and so should not be touched.  The office, library, and cafeteria are not 30 years old - they were completed in 2001 so they will not be touched but the library and office already received new carpet last summer.  There will also be upgrades to a lot of our mechanics such as HVAC, electric, and plumbing.  I would love to gather parent opinions on things you'd like to see occur during the renovation.  While some ideas might not be feasible - there are lots of rules/laws when it comes to school buildings - I would still love to hear what you'd like to see.  I asked the teachers for ideas already and I plan to ask the kids in December to get their ideas as well. So please complete this 1 question survey by 11/23 to give me your top 3 changes.  I can't wait to hear from you! Parent Renovation Survey

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  Don't forget to set you clocks back in hour Saturday night and enjoy the extra hour of sleep!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

What an awesome day we have had here having a little Fall Fun!  The parade was so nice outside that I think we will keep this as a weather permitting tradition.  My favorite comment of the day - 

Me: Who is that behind that awesome mask?

Student: ME!

and that's all the info I got.  

Multiple first and second grade students let our counselor know that this was the best day of their lives which makes me think their bar is set a little lower after the last 18 months than other first and second graders but I'm really glad we could be a part of bringing them such joy!

We wrapped up CASE testing this week which is used by our teachers to check progress on specific standards.  We will analyze the data over the next couple of weeks to make instructional plans.  

Thank you to the families who completed the MRA survey to check in on our Leader In Me progress.  Overall we looked really good with an 80.5% effective rate. We will look into specific areas to adjust our plans to be even better by looking at individual questions and comments.  One comment that was made was a comment wishing we had a way to help families learn more about the program.  We have our Family Challenge going now that would be a great activity to help with that.  So, if you're interested, please let us know by emailing craig.dunlap@boone.kyschools.us 

I hope you all have a great weekend! Be safe trick or treating if you go!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

It was a great week at Yealey!  Kindergarteners were able to visit the farm.  Preschool and Kindergarten had a visit from Florence Fire Dept. Fifth grade wrapped up last week with a trip to Makerspace.  Not to mention all the great leaning that happened here in the building!  

As students begin to wear jackets in the cooler weather, please remember to write their names in them.  We are starting to get a collection of hoodies and jackets in the lost and found.  

Special thanks to the PTA for providing us a quick dinner before conferences.  It is very kind of you to think of us and keep us going on those long days!

Remember next week on Friday the 29th is our annual costume parade.  We will be parading all the way to Lincoln Woods and back so that parents may line the street and watch us parade.  This event is weather permitting and will start at 9:30.  Right now there is a chance of rain so please watch the weather.  If it's raining at all, we will NOT be parading.  Be sure costumes have no weapons, limit the blood and gore, and any masks must be able to see clearly through so there is no tripping hazard on the walk.  Costume masks will not be left on all day. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I'm hoping the rain stops so I can enjoy a bon fire and a little guitar music tonight.  

See you all next week!

Mrs. Turner

 Hi Yealey Families,

I hope everyone enjoyed the Fall Break last weekend.  It was such a beautiful weekend to be outside and enjoy being with family and friends.  Thanks to everyone who came out to our Breakfast with Bobcats events last week.  It was a great turn out and so many people stopped me to say how enjoyable it was to have it outside with the playground. Thanks also to the volunteers who put everything together.  Another awesome event!

Over Fall Break our amazing custodians started sprucing up our cafeteria.  We have purchased flags to represent all the countries our families are from.  We still have 8 flags on back order and we can't wait to get them here and hung up!  Take a look at how awesome it looks so far!

I am looking to gather parent input on different areas of the school over the next couple of months.  This month I'd love to get your feedback on our Leader In Me program and social emotional aspects of the school.  Please take this survey from the Leader In Me program to give us your thoughts!

MRA Survey - Leader In Me  

Next month I will be asking for input on our facilities so please be looking for that!

From Mr. Dunlap:

Every year we honor our veterans with a special Veterans Day program.  Part of that program is a salute to the special veterans in our lives -- parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and the like.  We need your help.  Please fill out the attached form no later than November 1 to ensure that your veteran is honored in the presentation. #family #bobcatlife 

More information about this virtual program will be coming soon.

https://forms.gle/ruRZkWSghGKncCo69

Be sure you've signed up for a virtual conference with your homeroom teachers.  We start those next Thursday night.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  See you next week!

Mrs. Turner

 Hi Yealey Families,

We have been working hard at school this week.  I've enjoyed working with some amazing kids this week in fifth grade on maid idea and supporting details.  And as always I love all the early number sense activities I've seen as we develop math skills!

Thanks to ALL the parent volunteers we had come together last week to make the festival such a success.  And, thanks to Mr. Rice for being a good sport with the over $5,000 prize.  Everything came together perfectly and was such a great night for the Yealey Family!

Fall Break is next Friday (the 8th) and the following Monday (the 11th) so there will not be a blog update next week.  Don't forget Picture Day is the 6th and track and field day is the 7th so be sure the kids are dressed appropriately for both.  

Today we celebrated our bus drivers with a special breakfast.  Our crew is amazing and even though the department as a whole is having lots of issues - our group stays positive and does all they can to be sure the kids are delivered safely and happily each day.  So, please send them some love when you see them at the bus stops.  I know they'd appreciate it.  

I hope everyone has a great weekend and you enjoy Fall Break next weekend.  

See you Monday,

Mrs. Turner

 Hi Yealey Families - 

I hope everyone had a great week! The Fall Festival is in full swing right now and it is so nice to see our families gathered together having fun!  

This has been a great week at school.  I've seen first graders figuring out how to make 10 and I worked with students as they practiced phonics skills.  Students are really starting to get in the swing of school.

Our SBDM asked me to share a link with you that I recently shared with them.  If you'd like more information on the standards we use to plan our lessons, KDE has developed family friendly guides to the standards.  These can be found at https://kystandards.org/standards-family-guides/

Picture day has finally been scheduled and will be 10/6.  Ordering information should come home next week.

We are planning to have our Halloween parade this year and have put together a route that weather permitting will allow for parents to come and view as well as allow students to see each other.  Information on this was sent home from the teachers with an opt out form attached.  Please only sign this form if you DO NOT want your child to participate.  We have had several families sign it when they really wanted their child to participate.  If you accidently signed it, please just email your homeroom teacher so that he/she knows what you really want to do with your child.  If you have any questions, just let us know.

I hope everyone has a great FALL weekend!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families - 

We have had another great week at school.  I have really enjoyed my time in classrooms this week.  I had two students explain to me place value and the value of a zero when using decimals.  According to this student, "When using a decimal you can add as many zeros as your heart desires at the end."  Good advice I think. 😊

One thing we have noticed is that students are taking a longer time getting adjusted to coming to school and getting used to a school routine than previous school years.  If your child is struggling with this, spend some time talking through the school day this weekend with statements like, if this were Monday you would be walking into class now, or it would be your lunch time. Also, remind them at 3:30 that it would be time to come home.  I know sometimes 3:30 can feel a lot earlier on the weekends.  It can also be beneficial to focus on the positives that have happened throughout each day.  If your child is upset about something minor (walking in to class, having to take turns or share, etc.) validate those feelings but follow up with a switch to something positive.  For example, "I know it's hard to take turns.  I don't always like to do that either.  But, tell me about your art project, how is that going?"  I know it's been hard for kids and parents to get back into this routine after the disruption to our normal but I'm confident we will all get there!  The good news is even the ones who seem the most upset in the morning are happy and laughing before we even get through the first hour of each day. 

The PTA is in full planning mode for our Fall Festival next Friday and they could use your help.  Please use this link to sign up and help make sure we have a successful evening!

Fall Festival Sign Up

I hope you all have a great weekend and get out and enjoy some Fall activities.  We will be football and farm tours all weekend long!

See you next week!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

What an awesome week we've had! Our first huddle since Covid started was Thursday on a beautiful morning.  It was a great feeling having all the Bobcats together saying the pledge and celebrating each other for showing the 7 habits.  

We have been busy in the classrooms also.  It's been fun for me to see Kindergartners beginning to develop their writing skills by answering questions and providing a reason.  And, it's always a blast for me to see spend time talking to students and helping them make plans to be successful.  

We have an exciting announcement from Mr. Dunlap!

We are looking for twenty Yealey families to complete the Family Challenge this fall. This is an amazing way for you to learn about The Leader In Me and the 7 Habits while completing activities to help your entire family learn the habits as well. Sign up with the form below to participate. #family ##bobcatlife

https://youtu.be/GgNz2j3zvtA

https://forms.gle/pDzZBnNJLfZygzob8

This challenge is a lot of fun and is a great way to have your children teach the family about The Leader In Me. 

PTA has a dinner night at Red Robin this coming Wednesday.  Flyers should come home soon on this. They will also be getting info out soon on ways to volunteer and help out at the FALL Festival coming up on 9/24.  This will be a completely outside this year and should be a lot of fun!  So mark your calendars and look for ways to help out!

I hope everyone can enjoy the beautiful weekend!  I will get more football than I can stand while squeezing in a family birthday party too!

See you next week!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

It's been a great week here.  We have been working hard and having some fun too!  Everyone is starting to settle in to the school routine.  I can definitely see the procedures becoming habits at arrival, lunch, and dismissal.  Next week we will be adding a new routine - our monthly morning huddle!  I'm looking forward to seeing that happen again. 

We started STAR testing this week and will finish that up next week.  This should give us a good idea of where each student is so that we can plan instruction appropriately. 

Many of our lessons have focused on the 7 habits and our Leader In Me expectations.  Be sure to ask your child about these lessons and what they plan to do to be successful.

There is no school on Monday for Labor Day.  I hope everyone has the chance to enjoy the day off.  

See you all on Tuesday!

Mrs. Turner

 Hi Yealey Families,

I hope you've had a great week!  It's been awesome here to have a full week of in-person learning.  I have had the privilege of reading to 2nd graders, teaching math to 4th grade, and spending some quality time with kindergartners - which everyone should do at least once a week!  Nothing will make you smile quicker than a talkative five year old! 

Our morning bus transportation is still arriving at school after our start time.  So, you should receive a letter today letting you know of new pick up times for morning bus riders.  Hopefully this will get everyone here for breakfast before school starts.  If your child is absent today, you may not receive the letter, so please ask a neighbor for information on new times or just plan on being out at your stop 10 minutes early Monday morning.  Thank you!

For any student who completed the Boone County Public Library Summer Reading program please email Ms. Wilson at megan.wilson2@boone.kyschools.us .  The library forgot to get parent permission to share information so they are not able to give us the names of students but we would like to celebrate them here like we usually do with a picnic at Lincoln Woods. 

I hope to see you at the PTA playground party this evening!  It is 5 - 7 and should be lots of fun as long as the rain stays away!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Turner

 Hi Yealey Families - 

What an awesome first week it has been!  We are so happy to have all the students back in person to start the year.  I have loved seeing smiling faces and hearing everyone so happy to see each other again.  

I know the arrival and dismissal process has moved slowly.  I expect this to get better next week like it usually does.  Remember to let us know before 2:00 if you'd like to pick your child up.  We are going to try a different flow of traffic on the streets for cars waiting for parent pick up.  Officer Lavender will be out to help us.  Hopefully this will help!

Please check out Mr. Rice's page for the yearly letter from Mr. Turner explaining terroristic threats.  And please visit this link for our Yealey Handbook.  Yealey Handbook

Be sure you have returned all the beginning of the year forms: emergency card, AUP, early dismisal, photo permission, and 13 and under online programs. 

I hope you all enjoy the weekend!  Get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families-

Thank you to everyone who attended our back to school fair yesterday.  It was awesome to see so many of us back together again!  This year we are using an online handbook instead of paper copies.  Please review this handbook and then sign the paper stating that you have reviewed everything (the form was given last night or will be sent home next week).  We will review the handbook with students sometime during the first week.  

The only updates to the handbook are due to Covid restrictions that are in place currently.  We will ask all students and any visitors to the building to wear masks while indoors.  We will be limiting visitors until further notice.  So, unfortunately we will not be able to walk students to the classrooms on the first day like we would like to.  

Click here for our handbook  Yealey Handbook 2021-2022

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I look forward to welcoming all the kids back on Wednesday!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families - 

It's BACK TO SCHOOL time!  I hope everyone has had a great summer so far.  Just like fun always does - mine has gone way too fast.  We will have our back to school fair next Thursday 8/12.  It was originally scheduled for 4:00 - 7:00 but the teachers and I spoke today and decided we would like to extend the hours and add an afternoon session 12:00 - 3:00. It is our hope that this gives more opportunities for people to attend the fair and be able to spread out how many people are in the building at once.  We really want you and your child to be able to visit the classrooms prior to the first day of school.  We know that would help relieve nerves about coming back to school and we want to start the year off as positive as possible! Weather permitting, we will have tables set up outside to take care of PTA, lunch forms, fees, YMCA before/after school care, and transportation.  That will also help limit the number of people in the building at once.  So, here is what we need from you -

• Choose a session to attend. Either the afternoon between 12:00 and 3:00 or the evening between 4:00 and 7:00.  Plan to be here 20 - 30 minutes.  The building will be closed 3:00 - 4:00. 
• Please wear a mask when inside as all visitors will be required to wear masks this year.
• Limit the time you are in the classroom to 15 minutes or less.
• Be prepared to complete a form for our lunch program, pay fees, and get transportation information. 
• Sign up for the PTA and YMCA before/after school care if you'd like. 

I wish we could have our traditional pot luck dinner and house everything indoors but we want to do everything we can to make sure we start the school year on time and healthy.  We are all excited to have a "normal" school year and want to do everything we can to make that happen.  We really appreciate your help in this and can't wait to see you next week!

We have several new staff members to welcome to the Yealey Family this year.  Mr. Hogle will be teaching Kindergarten as well as Mrs. Bramlage has moved to Kindergarten.  Mrs. Shutt and Mrs. Curren  will be working in the Kindergarten rooms with them.  Ms. Norton and Ms. Midgett are joining the 1st grade team.  Mrs. Tippett is joining the 2nd grade team.  Mrs. Kohake has moved to an intervention position and Mrs. Rechtin has taken Mrs. Courtney's spot as an intervention teacher and Title 1 lead.  Mrs. Duncan is joining us in the office and library.  Mrs. Beutel took over as the secretary this summer.  And, Mrs. Dunn is returning to work part time on special projects. 

Enjoy your last few days of summer break!

See you in a week,

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

This will be my last blog update for this year.  WE DID IT! The Yealey Family weathered this pandemic together.  While I don't know for sure what school will look like in the Fall all indications at this point look like we will get a normal school start.  And nothing will make me happier!  I know this year has been hard and it's easier sometimes to focus on how hard things are instead of looking for the blessings.  But in my reflections on school since March 2020, I see many great things.  At the top of my list is I believe we have a stronger school - parent partnership.  We have definitely walked this year together gaining insights into each other.   I believe this will just mean we are stronger going forward and I can't wait to see all we will accomplish in the next few years without a pandemic!

We have wrapped up K-Prep testing this week except for a few make-ups everyone is done. Next week we will finish any "have to's" that are left in the classrooms, have field days during specials, and celebrate our 5th graders going to middle school.  Fifth grade parents look for an email detailing this process.  

We also have our yearbooks on sale now.  Information will be sent home soon and the electronic flyer will be on Facebook. 

I know I say it every year and I want to be sure you hear it again. I am so grateful that I can serve your children as their principal.  I really consider it a privilege.  Like most of you, this year has provided so many difficulties for me personally and professionally and each one comes as just another reminder that I am truly grateful for the school and family life I have.  I hope each of you feels that same joy and you have a summer to celebrate that.  

My hope and plans are that we will have our traditional back to school fair picnic on August 12th.  School starts for kids on August 18th.  Watch for emails coming towards the end of the summer with all the details.  

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

What an amazing week we have had here at school.  Lots of learning going on and the opportunity to show what we know on the K-Prep tests.  We will have two days of K-Prep tests next week also.  Our end of year Star testing wrapped up and we will use that data to begin making plans for next year.  

If you have any neighbors or friends who will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall, please remind them to come and register as soon as possible.  We would love to have more of our kindergarteners registered before our K-Camp this year which will be June 2nd and 3rd.  We are busy preparing for full day kindergarten and having solid numbers would help with our planning!

A message from our school nurse:

"We are coming to the end of the school year, if you have a student that has medication in the first aid room, please pick up by May 27^th or it will be discarded. Any questions please contact Millie or Noelle in the first aid room.” 

I hope you all have a great weekend and are able to enjoy family and friends!

Mrs. Turner

 

 Hi Yealey Families,

THANK YOU to all the families who donated to teacher appreciation week.  The support of you and the PTA for our spoiling this week is greatly appreciated.  There were so many funny and sweet moments this week it makes my heart happy.  It's a great week to walk in each morning to everyone laughing and cheering as they would spin for prizes.  And, then to see all the random acts of kindness happening this week is exactly what I needed!  The prizes and treats you donated just made the week perfect.  So, thank you so much!!

From our Title 1 Coordinator, Mrs. Courtney:

Our 2020-2021 Title I Parent/Family Engagement Survey is now open.  This annual survey helps us review and revise our communication practices.  You should have received an email earlier this week with the link.  If you’ve already completed the survey, thank you!  If you haven’t, please do so by May 14, 2021.  Thanks so much for your help!

 

Title I Parent/Family Engagement Survey link: https://forms.gle/dvphqZ1QT2Hti1SYA 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Enjoy the sunshine while it's here! 

Mrs. Turner

principal

 Yealey Families,

I hope you've had a good week at home.  It's been a great week here.  I have enjoyed watching 2nd graders work on their math facts by playing games and they would be very happy to tell you they beat me every time!  I also had the privilege of  going to music class with a different group of 2nd graders and I got to play with the parachute.  So much fun practicing our music skills outside with movements!  

I have a reminder from the PTA:

Make sure to vote for your parent representative for the SBDM (site-based decision making) positions that work with the school to help make key decisions for the school:

https://forms.gle/9ZNepEbZxPcNXgYVA

I hope you all enjoy the weekend and you all pick the Derby winner!

Mrs. Turner

Hi Yealey Families,

I hope everyone had a great spring break. It was much needed and appreciated in my house and thankfully everyone seems to be on the mend!  I have really enjoyed being in school this week for five full days with everyone.  You really have the best kids and I love spending time with them!

Please take a minute to look over the following Title 1 information.  We normally share this at a spring event but with the restrictions we still have in place, we are sharing electronically again this year (hopefully for the last time!).

Title I News -

Due to COVID-19, our annual Spring Celebration of Learning in which families have an opportunity to review and help revise Title I required documents for the following school year has been postponed. Since this requirement has not been lifted, we still need your input in helping to revise our Family Involvement Policy and School/Family Compact for 2021-2022.  Please complete the Title I Document Review google form by May 7, 2021.  The documents are embedded in the google form and are also attached below. Thank you!

 Title I Document Review Form:  

https://forms.gle/jzX32eQqWMBMHQxT6

2021-22 Family Involvement Policy Draft: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qBsaN2BUwRAz-_X_RT5OPtRwC1f4dk9s/view?usp=sharing

2021-22 Family/School Compact Draft: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17v978GoIfEOq-NNVOFLbExtidXL-FEUo/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11IKASl0_pFCdkJaOzjTfvfu6L8PcGelk/view?usp=sharing

I also have a message from the PTA:

Teacher Appreciation is May 3-7 this year and the PTA is planning a lot of fun things with parents throughout the school to show our support for our teachers & staff. Check out the Yealey PTA Facebook Page for details of upcoming opportunities to participate. If you want to do your own thing, we hope that this Teacher Favorites Link will be helpful as you plan to show your support to the Yealey teachers & staff! 

Please also check out their page for information on voting on our next SBDM members and PTA board.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!  See you next week!

Mrs. Turner

 Hi Yealey Families - 

It's been a while since my last blog update and I'm sorry about that!  My husband had surgery a few weeks ago that took an unexpected turn which led to a few days in the ICU.  It has definitely been an experience that puts things in perspective and leaves you with gratitude for the things you sometimes take for granted.  Thankfully all is doing well now and he is recovering amazingly fast!

The transition to 5 days a week has gone very smoothly.  We are still getting calls asking for students to change their instructional model.  I would really like to stay as consistent as possible for the rest of the year.  So, if you have concerns about your instructional model, please let us know as soon as possible. 

The district is planning to offer summer school.  Final plans are being made but it looks like we will be sending invites out at the end of the month and it will run during the month of June.  I will send more information once all the plans are finalized.

Next week is spring break.  I hope everyone carves out time to enjoy the beautiful weather and each other.  When we return we will be on the countdown to summer by finishing the year strong!  So, rest and sharpen the saw next week so we can end the year working hard!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

What a great week having almost all our kids back together again! I have had the privilege of working with a group of 2nd grade students on regrouping subtraction problems and working with 4th graders to figure out which fraction is bigger - 2/3 or 3/5 using Hershey Bars to motivate us to get to the biggest possible fraction.  We have done our best at masks, keeping some space, and clean hands.  We will continue to work hard and enjoy the last 11 weeks of school. 

Our Kindergarten registration information is now on our website.  If you know of any future kindergartners, please let them know they need to sign up for an appointment to register for Kindergarten on March 24th.  We really need all our future kindergartners to register as soon as possible so that we can effectively plan for next year.  So, please help us spread the word!

I hope everyone enjoys our hint of spring weather this weekend.  Get some fresh air while you can!

Mrs. Turner

principal

 Hi Yealey Families,

It's been great to have a normal week this week with no weather interruptions!  We are really looking forward to next week when all hybrid students will be back in the building four days.  Please remember that Monday will be like another first day of school.  Be lenient on bus times and patient with us as we dismiss.  Like I outlined before, we will keep students socially distanced as best we can but majority of students will not be 6 feet apart.  We will wear masks and hand wash/sanitize often.  We will be cleaning between use of common areas for grade levels at this time.  Students will have temp checks upon entry and we will begin unloading buses and cars at 8:25 each morning. 

We still will not have before/after school childcare offered in the building.  But, the YMCA has arranged transportation with Boone County Schools for bus service to and from Yealey.  So, if you are looking for childcare on our bus route, you now have another option to finish out this school year.  Next year, our intention is to go back to having in house YMCA before and after school care like we did before NTI started last year. 

I hope you all enjoy your weekend.  Fingers crossed see a little warmer temps and some sunshine!

Mrs. Turner

principal

 Hi Yealey Families,

Well it was nice to see smiling children back in the building today.  I hope everyone weathered the cold and snow well this week.  It has been great to see the pictures of the kids out playing in the snow.  

We have one more week of the hybrid instructional model.  Starting March 1st, the model will change to four days a week for the hybrid students.  Remember that bus pick up and drop off times might be adjusted due to the increased loads they will be running.  Please talk to your bus driver or call transportation to find out if there will be a big change at your stop.

I hope you all enjoy the weekend.  It looks like next week will hopefully be free from weather interruptions and I will see you on Monday!

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families -

I hope you've been able to enjoy the snow this week.  It has been such a long time since we had snow like this to play in!  I know my daughter is not happy - she loves playing in it and can't right now.  She is doing great - on the road to recovery after the surgery last week.  I truly appreciate everyone who sent well wishes our way.  

As you may have heard, the board voted last night to return to four day a week instruction for all hybrid students beginning March 1st.  They then plan to determine if five days a week can begin at the March 11th meeting based on the impact of the four days.  The board was also informed that the guidelines  of 6 feet social distance can not be followed in all areas of the schools.  I want to be sure to give you a clear picture of what returning all hybrid students will look like here.  If after reading this, you feel like you would like to switch your child from hybrid to virtual, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/aSo594QdH2K9VkJj9

We will be able to accommodate moving students to virtual but will not be able to move any students to in-person instruction.  With all hybrid students returning four days a week we will:

• have to eat breakfast in the classrooms like we have been but there will be more kids in each room
• have more students in 14 out of the 22 homerooms than square footage allows to keep students 6 feet apart
• have students between 4-5 feet apart when eating lunch in the cafeteria and they will not all be facing one direction but will be facing each other.
• potentially will have to move students to new homeroom teachers.  grade levels affected by this will be given the chance to volunteer for the move but if we don't receive enough volunteers students will be chosen.  (no student that was chosen previously and has already moved this year will be moved again)
• buses will not have space to keep students 6 feet apart

The main thing I want you to know is that we will not be able to keep kids 6 feet apart.  In the Fall when we made this move there were less hybrid students and arrangements could be made to keep everyone socially distanced.  But, now, there are just too many students to accomplish that. We will continue to wear masks, clean common areas between grade levels, and use hand washing/sanitizing often.  And, when the weather cooperates we will be outside as much as possible.  We are excited at the prospect of getting back to a more normal schedule but I really just wanted to be sure you are making an informed decision about what returning to four days a week will look like. 

If this is not something you would like, please complete the form above by Monday so that I have a compete list of all hybrid students coming back on the 1st.  We will work out schedules and any homeroom switches after we hear from you by Monday.  

I'm sure you will be watching the weather for more snow next week.  It looks like our winter wonderland may continue!  Enjoy your long weekend - NO SCHOOL MONDAY!

See you Tuesday,

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Families,

What a joy it was seeing pictures of happy kids playing in the snow yesterday.  As much as I hate snow myself, I do love at least one day of sledding and cold fun.  We had a great week here at school too.  I had the joy of hearing a class play "Are You Sleeping?" on the ukuleles!  It's amazing how quickly they are picking that up.

We are almost 100% complete with STAR testing this week.  We will use this like we do every year to check on the progress being made and make instructional decisions for the rest of the year.  This assessment also has the added benefit of being given for many years previously.  So, I will be able to look and see how each grade level is doing compared to their scores last year and in comparison with previous students at their grade level. The iReady diagnostic is not really a summative test like STAR.  We are almost complete with these diagnostics.  These will be used to gauge progress for each individual student within that program and then help the program create purposeful learning paths for the second semester.  We decided to give these assessments when the students were here in person because of the stress they caused many families in the Fall when we gave them at home.  We hope that it has been less stressful on most of you.  And what we really hope is that this is the last time we have to worry about if assessments will be given at home or at school!  The CASE assessment is a district requirement and we will tackle that next week.  Be sure your kids know that all we want is for them to do their best and have fun showing off what they know. 

Information about Friendship (Valentine) Celebrations will be coming home from each teacher.  The teams are working on plans for Covid friendly celebrations.  We want to try to do something even if it is different than our normal to celebrate the relationships we have here at Yealey.

There will be no blog update next week.  I will be out with my daughter who is having shoulder surgery.  Please send positive vibes our way.  Enjoy the weekend - stay warm and dry.

See you next week!

Mrs. Turner

principal

 Yealey Families,

What a beautiful sunny two days we have had in the middle of January.  Such a nice pick me up!  Makes me even more excited about spring - you know my love of warm weather!  It has been an amazing week here welcoming back our hybrid kids.  Again, the kids have rolled right in like they just had a long weekend.  They are happy to be here, happy to see each other, and ready to get to work!  

We are doing our mid-year assessments to check on our progress for the year.  Over the next couple of weeks we will complete STAR, iReady, and CASE assessments.  Please encourage your child to do their best and show what they know.  We will use this data to plan for the rest of the year so we can finish strong. 

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.  Get outside while the sun is shining.  And, I will look forward to seeing students Monday morning!

Mrs. Turner

principal

 Yealey Families,

I hope everyone had a great week at home and is staying healthy.  We have been working hard to get ready to transition back to hybrid instruction next week.  The transportation department said that their system should be updated and correct at the beginning of next week.  So, if you've had issues figuring out bus information, please check Monday.  As always on the first day of school allow for extra time as we figure out bus routes and get the kids back in their routines.  We may roll buses out after school a little later than normal on Tuesday and Thursday just to be sure we have everyone in the correct spot before we go.  We will be following all the same procedures that we followed when we were hybrid in the Fall.  So drop off can begin at 8:25 with temp checks by Mr. Rice and Mr. Boh.  

Food services will continue to provide food for students on their at-home days but they are asking you to sign up for this by using the form virtual students have been using.  I believe the link for this form can be found on the Boone County Schools website.   "A" hybrid can be picked up at the kitchen door on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 to 2. "B" Hybrid can be picked up on Friday and Monday at the same time.  If you have any questions, please just call and ask for Shawnda Burns, our awesome cafeteria manager.

We had a parent volunteer to serve as our minority SBDM member!  Thank you Mrs. Reddy!  To make this official, the PTA has to hold an election.  So please use this link to vote so that Mrs. Reddy can begin working with us at our January meeting.  Thank you so much!!

https://forms.gle/N7fe9arffrojUucj8

As always if you have any questions, please just let me know.  I hope everyone enjoys the long 3 day weekend and we will see some of you next week!! :)

Mrs. Turner

 Yealey Family,

Welcome Back!  I hope everyone enjoyed the winter break.  We have enjoyed being back and at least seeing everyone online.  We are working on placements for students who are joining the hybrid group on 1/19.  You should receive something next week letting you know if your child is A/B and who the homeroom teacher is.  We have had to coordinate with the middle and high schools to be sure families are all on the same schedule.  If something happens and we have missed something, please let us know and we will fix it. It's just been a lot to try to organize. As far as I know, the district plan is still to return to hybrid instruction on 1/19!  We are all anxiously waiting for this.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  Stay warm!

Mrs. Turner