Skinner Road School PTO Newsletter

Transcription

1 1 Skinner Road School PTO Newsletter Sept/Oct 2013 Volume 1, Issue 1 Principal s News Sandye Simon, Principal Sandye Simon Principal Skinner Road From the Principal s Desk: Upcoming Events 9/23* GR 4 Belding trip 9/24 * Open House 6:30pm 9/27* Dance Marathon 3-4pm 10/9* International Walk to School 10/10* PTO Meeting 6:30pm 10/11* EARLY DISMISSAL prof dev day 1:02pm 10/11* Htfd. Marathon Team pasta dinner 6pm 10/12* Hartford Marathon 10/14* NO SCHOOL Columbus Day 10/17* School Pictures 10/24* GR 4 N.E. Air Museum trip 10/29 Fall Fun Run 3:20 It has been a great start to the school year. Skinner Road School is going Green. This year SRS is using Friday Folders. Our goal is to send all notices home to parents in the Friday Folders. If your child has a dot on their folder, it indicates that they are to receive a copy of all notices. Families will only receive one copy of most notices. Regular attendance in elementary school sets up a good pattern for your child s entire school career. Keeping days off to a minimum for illness and family emergencies shows your child that school comes first. Whenever possible, schedule routine doctor and dentist appointments for after school or over school breaks. The Board of Education policy requires the school to send letters home when students are absent, starting with the third absence. Parents are important partners in their child s education. Ask your child what is in their backpack and you will be amazed with the things you will discover. Set aside time each day and go through papers. Try to do it first thing after school when his/her day is fresh in his/her mind. Look over your youngster s work together. Help her feel proud by making a specific comment about something she has done. Put special papers on the fridge. Ask him/her to talk through math or science experiments to show you what she has learned. The entire staff at SRS is here to help your child have a successful year. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your child s teacher or the office. Student Attendance Please remember to be checking the SRS website regularly! You will find a current list of reminders, forms and even pictures from our most recent events! Go to vernonpublicschoo ls.org, click on Skinner Road School and see What's New! Student attendance at school is very important. The best way to ensure student success is to be sure they are at school. With that being said, we understand the frustrated feelings regarding the district's attendance procedures. District policy requires parent letters be sent home when students reach their third absence, contact is made with parents at six absences, and a meeting is scheduled when students reach nine absences. This policy remains in effect if the student's absence is excused or unexcused. We ask that you please keep in contact with our school nurse, Mrs. Manfre, when your child is home ill. If your child visits the doctor please ask for written documentation to share with us at school. The district is trying to adhere to the guidelines regulated by our CT legislature.

2 SRS PTO Newsletter Page 2 School Pictures 2 SRS Newsletter Page 3 Individual and Class Pictures will be taken by Lifetouch Thursday, October 17 th. Payment is expected on picture day. Picture envelopes will be sent home in October. Morning Valet Services... We continue to try to improve drop off practices. For K-5 parents that drop off in the morning - we ask that you maintain a single file lane and drop your students off curbside (near the library). We have come to realize that many students are unable to open their child-proof car doors, which has led to a Valet style drop off - as we open and close doors each morning! Students then walk down the sidewalk to the teacher on duty and enter the school through the front door. The drop off system becomes dangerous, when parents pull off to the side and park in the fire lane. This causes families to cross in between moving cars. IF DROP OFF REQUIRES YOU TO WALK YOUR STUDENT TO THE DOOR, SUCH AS PRE-K PARENTS, WE ASK THAT YOU FIND A PARKING PLACE AWAY FROM THE DROP OFF LINE - AND PULL TO THE SIDE. SRS Volunteers We are very thankful for the many parent volunteers that join us on field trips, attend special classroom events, and help out in our classrooms. Please remember, all volunteers must complete the Volunteer/Chaperone Registration Form. After completing the form, we will contact you for a brief interview, and forward the documents to Central Office. Central Office performs a background check and notifies SRS to let us know when parents have been approved to volunteer. PT This process applies to all parents that would like to volunteer A HUGE - on an THANK infrequent or YOU... frequent basis. It also applies to parents attending special events scheduled in the classrooms! Volunteer applications are available in the school office and in the SRS Student Handbook. Did you know that Skinner Road School is now on Facebook? Be sure to LIKE our page and receive interesting updates and reminders through the week.

3 3 SRS PTO Newsletter Page 3 In Motion: News from P.E. The Grand Slam of Running News from Mr.Uthgenannt: The Grand Slam of Running is a series of four running events to take place during the school year. The first event will be October 29, The Fall Fun Run. The next events will be in April, May and June. Each Grade level will jog a certain number of laps around the field in the back of the school. For example Grades K&1 run one lap, Grades 2&3 run two laps and Grades 4&5 run three laps. The student finishing first for each Grade level will get a mini trophy. Students who participate in all four running events get a medal at the end of the school year. A larger trophy will be given to a student who wins The Grand Slam--all four events. The first leg of the Grand Slam will be held on Tuesday October 29 for Grades K-5. The event will be from 3:20-3:45PM. Parents are encouraged to watch. It is extremely important to be prompt in picking up your child at 3:45PM. For safety reasons I ask that you come around the back of the school to sign-out your child. Please fill out the permission slip with student name, grade and your signature. Return to Mr. Uthgenannt by Monday October 28 th. SRS STAR STRIDERS WALKING Recess Students will be able to walk during recess at their own pace. Cones will be set up for a walking course around the field during the fall and spring months of the school year. Students can record their laps on a log sheet that will be available to them at recess. Awards and certificates will be given out at the end of the school year. Awards will be based on miles walked. Cardio Club Cardio Club for Grade 3 will start Monday November 11. Cardio Club is on Mondays 3:20-4:00PM. Registration is required. Look for a flyer to be sent home. Games Galore Games Galore will kick off Tuesday November 12 for Grade 1. This school program featuring fun physical activity will be scheduled for each grade level during the school year. A flyer will be sent home soon.

4 SRS PTO Newsletter Page: 4 4 Dance Marathon Hartford Marathon Relay team will be hosting the 6th Annual Dance Marathon on Friday, September 27th from 3:00 to 4:00 in the gym. Join us as we dance to 26 of our favorite songs and raise money for our charity, the Liver Foundation. Students must turn in a permission slip to participate. The cost is $1.00 which will be donated to the Liver Foundation. Join us for a great time! Hartford Marathon Relay Team Students and teachers are practicing hard to prepare for the running of the Hartford Marathon. Students will run 1 or 2 miles with teachers through Hartford, East Hartford and South Windsor. After 26 miles of relay the team comes together for the final.2 race to the finish. The true winner in this event is our charity, the Liver Foundation. Please consider making a donation to this important cause.

5 5 SRS PTO Newsletter Page: 5 International Walk to School Day is October 9 Wednesday, October 9, SRS will participate in International Walk to School Day for the 7th year. Students from schools all over the world will walk to school with their teachers. Some of the goals of this Safe Routes to School program are to encourage physical activity, teach safe walking and biking skills, decrease traffic congestion and speed around the school and increase a sense of community. All students may participate, because buses drop off students (with parental permission) about 1/2 mile from school. Teachers meet walkers and bused students and we all walk to school together. We encourage parents and families to join us in this event. We will continue to have Walk to School Days about twice a month throughout the school year. Bike Smart...Wear a Helmet Do you know that it is a Ct. State Law that all children under 16 are required to wear a helmet while riding a bike? Wearing a helmet can prevent head injuries and disabling injuries in the event of a bicycle accident. A helmet also can increase the visibility of the bike rider. Skinner Road School wants you to ride safely. We have bicycle helmets in a variety of colors for sale for $8.00. They come in extra small to extra large sizes, so we can fit preschoolers and adults alike. Check your helmet to be sure that it fits well. Contact Judi Manfre, the School Nurse, to buy a helmet. Cleaning Out Your Closets? Many students come to the nurse's office for a change of clothing or sneakers due to rips, spills and other messes. I try my very best to find something that fits well enough to finish their school day. I am finding that I am running low on tee shirts and pants in smaller sizes (6-12). I take donations and pass on what I cannot use to various charities. We do not take used underwear or socks. A Word About Lice At the beginning of each school year, I do preventive "head checks" on the students. The students come to my office by classrooms and I part their hair with little sticks. This gives them a tickly feeling, some call it their "head massage". My purpose is to prevent the spread of lice as quickly as possible. Lice are insects that live on the scalp. They lay eggs (nits) around the hair shaft. Lice are difficult to find because they move quickly, but you can usually detect the tiny nits. They reproduce rapidly, so the sooner they are detected, the better. It takes a special shampoo to kill the lice. I have special combs that we lend you to remove the nits. Head lice do not hop or fly. They only crawl. You must have direct contact (head to head) to transfer. Head lice live for about 3 weeks. If they fall off the head, they starve quickly and die. Please contact me if your child does have lice. I can help you with the treatment. Judi Manfre, School Nurse

6 SRS PTO Newsletter Page: 6 6 Did you know that each Box Top coupon is worth a dime to Skinner Road School students? One dime may not seem like much, but it adds up to a real change for the school. My name is Denise Schmidt and I am thrilled to be the Box Top for Education Coordinator again this school year. Last year our school goal was $1, and we collected almost $1,800.00!!! What a huge difference we are all making here at Skinner Road School with the extra money we have from Box Tops!!! The Box Top Administration sets our school goal for us and since we did so well last year our school goal has been raised to $1,646 this year!! We are having a great start to the new school year from the results of the Summer Contest being over $250.00!!! I want to thank the 50+ families that participated in the contest. We had 5 lucky winners that were thrilled to receive the prizes which contained all different products that participate in the Box Top program. I will be continuing our bi-weekly raffles this year. The students get excited to hear their names announced on the loud speaker to come down to the office to pick out their raffle prize when they win. I will be sending home the Box Tops for Education collection sheets in the Friday folders with the next raffle date on it. The students have fun coloring, doing the activities and attaching the Box Tops to the sheets but you can also submit the Box Tops in an envelope or zip lock bag. The Box Tops have expiration dates on them so please send them in before they expire because expired Box Tops are not accepted and will not count towards our school goal. Please remember to ask your friends and family to save their Box Tops for our school. Also, you, your friends and family members can log onto to learn more about the program and earn money for our school!! Please contact me at smiles133@comcast.net if you have any questions or suggestions. Let s make this another successful year! Join Pack 382 Come see what the Cub Scouts from Pack 382 at Skinner Road School are up to! There will be an Open House at Skinner Road School on Tuesday, September 24 th, from 6:30 to 7:30. Stop at our table and see all the exciting things the scouts do!! Pack 382 has openings for scouts Grades K - 5 for this school year. Join the fun!!

7 7 SRS PTO Newsletter Page 7 Skinner Road School 90 Skinner Road Vernon, CT Office Phone: (860) Nurse Phone: (860) Fax: (860) Principal Sandye.simon@vernonct.org Lost & Found Please remember to check occasionally!!! We have quite a collection Vernon Public Schools Mission Statement The Vernon Public Schools, in partnership with family and community, is committed to provide a quality education, with high expectations, in a safe environment where all students can become independent learners and productive contributors to society. Superintendent of Schools - Dr. Mary Conway Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Burt Director of Personnel - Patricia Buell Vernon Public Schools Central Administration Office 30 Park Street, PO Box 600 Vernon, CT (860)