April 14, 2023  *   Edition 17

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Dear Prairie Trace Families, 

I hope to see you at our Cultural Fair on Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. We will have exciting and informative booths as well as three different food trucks for dinner options. Come join us in our celebration of diversity at Prairie Trace!  

It is state testing time in the state of Indiana! The ILEARN window for students in grades 3 through 5 opens on Monday. The students took their practice assessment last week. Our students are ready to show what they know on the state assessment. Third, fourth, and fifth grade students will begin testing on April 17th. Parents, please make sure your student is well rested and eats a healthy breakfast in the morning. Another way you can help your child feel confident about doing his or her best is by writing a letter of encouragement and putting it in your school folder, lunch box, etc. Notes of encouragement can say, “You can do it!” or “I believe in you!” Remind your child how much you love them and how special they are to you! As parents, you are your child’s biggest cheerleaders and your support does make a difference. It’s also important for students to maintain good attendance throughout the testing schedule. If students come in tardy, and their grade level has already started testing, they will be in the office until the testing session is over. He or she will then be part of the make-up assessments at a later time.  

Please plan on attending the PTO Parents Night Out event on April 21st! The event will be held at Prairie View Golf Clubhouse. They will have trivia and a silent auction with awesome student experiences and grade level baskets! It will be a fun event for parents to meet others and support PTE.  We hope to see you all there!   

We wanted to provide a reminder to all PTE families about the policies in regard to student health expectations for school attendance. CCS follows the CDC recommendation of a fever threshold of 100.4 degrees. Any student with a fever (temperature at or above 100.4) should be kept home until the student has been fever free (temperature below 100.4) for 24 hours without fever reducing medication. Any student with a temperature above 100.4 will also be sent home from school. In addition, we want to remind you that childhood illnesses are very common and expected in the school setting, especially during the fall and winter months. This can include seasonal cold and/or allergy symptoms.  Students are expected to be present at school unless more serious symptoms and/or fever require them to remain at home. In order for absences to be excused, please remember to bring any medical documentation you have pertaining to the absence.  

5th Grade Parents: As a reminder, if you have not already scheduled your student for their 6th grade vaccines, please note that they will need 2 required vaccines (MCV4 and Tdap) prior to the start of school. If these are obtained prior to the end of the school year, please provide documentation so that we can update PowerSchool. Thank you to those parents that have already taken the initiative! If you have a child who will want to play sports (see Clay’s website), you will also need to schedule a time for a physical prior to the start of the school year.  

Upcoming Events:

April 17th-21st - Earth Day Spirit Week 
April 18th - ILEARN starts and goes until May 12th 
April 19th - Dine to Donate at Pizzology; Clay Open House from 6-8pm for 5th graders
April 21st - Parents Night Out Trivia Night
April 24th - April 28th - Guest Storyteller in Media Center for grades K and 2 focused on fairy tales
April 26th - Late Start; Grade 5 Performance 6:30 PM
April 28th - Pink for Pulley - wear pink for breast cancer in honor of a former PTE teacher, Mrs. Pulley 
April 29th - Pups Track Meet at Carmel High School 12:00pm  

Best regards, 

Mrs. Piper