In this issue...

Preschool Screening
Food Support
Counselor Connection
Lindeman Learning
STEM After School
Tichenor Gratitude Grams
Arnett Integrates the Arts
Schools Honor Veterans
Homeless Youth Awareness Month
Holiday Festivities in Erlanger, Elsmere

Preschool screening scheduled

A Preschool Screening Day is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, at Arnett Elementary School.

COVID procedures are in place to keep everyone "healthy at school." Students can qualify based on the screening results if they are age 3 or older; students who will be 4 by August 1 may be considered based on family income qualifications.  

Please call 859.342.2427 if you have questions or to register for a screening appointment.

Preschool in Erlanger-Elsmere Schools is in full swing, and new students are joining the weekly. The preschool began the year 100% virtual and began a hybrid schedule last month. Preschool teachers have been hard at work to create video sessions of group activities and holding Google Meets with individual students. Staff members have also created hands-on material bundles and deliver them to homes to ensure every student has what they need.

"Our staff members are working hard and putting in long hours to meet the needs of all students," said Ms. Donna Schulte, Preschool Director. "Our students are adjusting to our hybrid model and love coming into the classroom. Our childcare partners continue to work with us on meeting the needs of all students. We have been reaching out to them to answer questions, help with any family in need, and arranging childcare for families in our district that may need assistance."

Food support available for district families

Take-home meals available every Friday
The School Nutrition Department is handing out meals to help curb the cost of feeding children while they learn at home. These meals are available for students whether they are back in school part-time on the hybrid schedule or remaining full-time virtual.

Our Food Service Department will continue to provide healthy, convenient carry-out meal on the following Fridays:

The meal bags contain breakfast, lunch, supper, and snack items for days of learning at home and can be used for any children age 1-18 who would like to pick one up. In October, we handed out more than 23,000 meals/snacks in our community!

If you have any questions regarding meal pick up, please call 859.342.4690 or email meal@erlanger.kyschools.us

When our students are learning in our school buildings, we continue to offer them meals free of charge.

"While your child's serving line may look different to keep our staff and students safe, our goals of providing nutritious meals and encouraging students to experience new food items have not," said Mrs. Amanda Ponchot, School Nutrition Director for the district. "Last month, we had homemade potato salad on the lunch menu for the first time, and we've added mango chunks to our fruit rotation due to its popularity from last year."

Food pantry remains available
The Erlanger-Elsmere School District continues to operate two food pantries, open to all families of students in the district.

Located at Arnett Elementary and Tichenor Middle School, the food pantries are open twice a month and have minimal conditions for use. To keep things simple, the only requirement is that a student living in the household is enrolled in a district school. Visitors to the food pantry complete a simple form consisting of just names of people living in the household. That's it! Plus, families can visit any time; there is no maximum number of visits.

As an added bonus, the pantries are "choice" food pantries, meaning families can choose the food items they prefer, decreasing food waste and increasing the benefit!

Food is available through a partnership with the Freestore Foodbank.

Here are dates and times for the rest of the calendar year…

November 24
December 8
December 15

Need more information? Please contact:

Mrs. Tracy Molley
859.342.2351  

Ms. Amber Evans
859.342.2426

Howell's program featured in Counseling Connection

Mrs. Sherry Ryle and Mr. Craig Dollins, counselors at Howell Elementary, were featured in a recent issue of Kentucky Department of Education's Counseling Connection publication.

Mrs. Ryle and Mr. Dollins were featured for their commitment to student well-being, as evidenced by their "bitmoji classroom" Character Effect videos, calming videos, educational stories, and much more.

"The two of you are truly amazing," observed Damien Sweeney, Ed.D., Program Coordinator for Comprehensive School Counseling for the Kentucky Department of Education. "I love the virtually perfect video, the mindful moment shelf, the Character Effect videos, and so much more… I'm so thankful for you and proud of your work!"

Check out the newsletter here!  

Lindeman learning is strong

The students, teachers, and staff at Lindeman Elementary have been making the most of this unusual school year.

"Students at Lindeman have done a great job of following our school-wide expectations of being safe, being respectful, and being their best," said Mrs. Angie Gabbard, Lindeman's principal. "Even though things are a bit different this year, our job at school is still to learn, and our students and teachers have stepped up to that challenge. Lindeman Lions are the best!"

To celebrate positive behavior, students were invited to dress up!

Students learning virtually got in on the fun. Even Mrs. Key joined in on the fun!

Fourth-graders celebrated with a pajama and hat day! Mrs. Siedenberg's class wore mustache disguises!

STEM... after school!

Our elementary schools continued to offer after-school programs while we were in our hybrid learning model. At Lindeman, there was a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities!

For example, students received challenge cards and were tasked with creating the item on the card with the materials they were provided. Leilani made an entrance to the zoo!

During October, the group explored pumpkins by hitting, decorating, counting, and discussing a pumpkin's life cycle.

After-school staff members are also providing children support with academic needs by setting up small, developmentally-appropriate groups to work on NTI packets, online work, homework, and more. They also play educational games, complete math challenges, and observe daily literacy time.

Tichenor gathering Gratitude Grams

Tichenor Middle School is getting into the spirit of the season of gratitude by offering students, families, and others the opportunity to complete Gratitude Grams in recognition of teachers and staff. Do you have a Tichenor teacher or staff member you'd like to show some appreciation? Fill out your Gratitude Gram here!

Arnett integrates the arts

Arnett Elementary School's Arts Integration Team was showcased in the recent Northern Kentucky Arts

Institution Newsletter for their video, The Science Gals. In Episode 3, hosts Ms. Kimberly Rockwell and Ms. Rebecca Nooe explore sound energy by delving into how sound works in various musical instruments. Check out their latest integration of arts and science here:

Schools honor our nation's veterans

Many of our schools have long-standing traditions for celebrating our nation's heroes on Veteran's Day. Pandemic life altered some of the usual plans, but our schools did not give up on their commitment to learning about and honoring the sacrifices of those who have served our country.

At Arnett Elementary, Ms. Emily Fitzpatrick, a student-teacher from Northern Kentucky University, coordinated a virtual Veteran's Day Program.

"Ms. Fitzpatrick has done a wonderful job," said Mrs. Amanda New, Arnett's principal. "We are excited to honor our Veterans during this special program."

At Howell Elementary, school counselors Mrs. Sherry Ryle and Mr. Craig Dollins hosted a special Veteran's Video to honor our military personnel.

And, in lieu of its regular Veteran's Day assembly, students at Lloyd High School created a moving tribute video to be used in a virtual ceremony honoring those who have served our great nation in the armed forces..

Thank you to all of our veterans!

November is Homeless Youth Awareness Month

Each year, more than 24,000 students across our Commonwealth experience homelessness.
Join us in recognizing November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month.

Erlanger Elsmere Schools would like to thank Kentucky's Education Commissioner, Dr. Jason Glass, for bringing attention to the prevalence of homeless youth in Kentucky. In this video, Dr. Glass helps us understand the educational and emotional challenges facing students experiencing homelessness.  Please take the time to educate yourself and others about this topic.  If you or someone you know is facing housing instability, we are here to assist.  Please reach out to our Families in Transition program.  

Click here for more information.

Holiday festivities in Erlanger and Elsmere

The Cities of Erlanger and Elsmere both have festive fun planned this holiday season!
*Events subject to change based on COVID-19 restrictions. Check each city's Facebook page for the latest information. 

City of Erlanger Facebook
City of Elsmere Facebook