Perkins School News - December 2017
Monthly News for Parents
A Holiday Message the Principal
A Holiday Message the Principal
Dear Parents,
On behalf of the Perkins School Faculty, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all families and students for a wonderful holiday. We all appreciate your ongoing support of our efforts to help the children learn and grow each day as they work to achieve their goals.
Some of the highlights this year include our students engaging in new curricular programs that have given them the opportunity to develop skills in reading, writing and building skills to effectively interact with peers. They participated in spirit week, with daily themes, each class making a banner to show the pride they have in our school, aligning with the characteristics of HEARTS. This helped our students to build a sense of community within their classroom and throughout the school. Each month we have an assembly, which is a school-wide gathering where we also focus on community building. One class hosts the assembly where they have a greeting, recognize birthdays, have a contest, an activity and classes perform or present a song, poem or something they’ve learned. We also highlight one of the 7 Habits of Happy Kids, a program by Stephen Covey, that the children are learning about in their classrooms. Second graders participate as a student leadership group, helping to share ideas, make decisions and give input. Staff participates in professional development regularly to assist in strengthening their practice and to provide them with the knowledge and strategies to focus on providing students what they require to be successful learners. These are a few of the many things that are happening as we commit to meeting the needs of every student every day.
Once again, I wish you peace and joy with your family and friends during this holiday season, and best wishes for happiness throughout the new year!
Sue Achille
Donations for Newark's Food Closet
The Kindergarten and Pre-K classes at Perkins School will be holding our annual Food and Mitten Drive for the Newark Food Closet. The drive will begin on Friday, December 1 and will end on Friday, December 22th. Items for the food drive should be dry non-perishable goods. Examples include: cereal, pasta, peanut butter, jelly, soups, canned vegetables, canned fruits, etc. Items can be sent in with your child or dropped off in the boxes near the Christmas tree in the main lobby. Mittens and hats that are donated will be hung on the tree in the foyer in front of the Foxtail Gymnasium then donated to the food closet. Thank you for your support with this worthy cause!
Holiday Shop Time!!!!!
It is almost time for the Holiday shop! If you are new to the Holiday Shop, continue reading. If you are familiar, please skip to the 'how' section. (There are 2 major changes)
Who: all students at Perkins School What: shopping for gifts to give to family and friends
Where: Perkins School 3rd floor play room When: 12/6 + 12/7: 9-3p and 12/8: 9am-noon
Why: to give kids the opportunity to experience the joy of giving and a much lower cost than in the stores, this is not a fundraiser
How: This is where you come in!!
1. Before the end of the day, Thursday, 12/30 sign up for a shopping time slot in the Perkins School Main Office (right next to the door).
2. Grab the information and ordering packets from your mailbox, and send them home with your students right away. (There are a couple extra in each office.) Please encourage students to make a list from the flyer we sent home. There will be no preview day, like in years past.
3. Look for shopping time reminder slips to send home on Monday, 12/4.
4. Shopping day:
WE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING HEART BUCKS THIS YEAR, students should bring cash or gift certificates sealed in the envelope provided.
We are hoping to get enough volunteers* to allow us to escort the students that bring in money during your allotted time slot. It is our goal to avoid disrupting the school day of kids that aren't participating, and hopefully avoid upsetting kids that can't. We will let you know as soon as we can, but probably will not know until that day. If not, please try to send only the kids that will be shopping along with their lists and payment.
*If you know anyone that wouldn't mind volunteering during shopping hours, PLEASE encourage them to come help out.
Any questions? Please send them to Kate or Kelly at PerkinsSchoolPTA@gmail.com
Little Learnings
Winter Tips from Mrs. Bouwen's
WINTER SAFETY TIPS:
What to Wear
Dress children warmly for outdoor activities. Several thin layers will keep them dry and warm. Don’t forget warm boots, gloves or mittens, and a hat. Choose boots that are large enough to comfortably accommodate two pairs of socks.
Remove drawstrings from clothing which may get caught on tree branches or play equipment. Replace with velcro.
The rule of thumb for young children is to dress them in one more layer of clothing than an adult would wear in the same conditions.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia develops when a child's temperature falls below normal due to exposure to colder temperatures. It often happens when a youngster is playing outdoors in extremely cold weather without wearing proper clothing or when clothes get wet. It can occur more quickly in children than in adults.
As hypothermia sets in, the child may shiver and become lethargic and clumsy. Speech may become slurred and body temperature will decline in more severe cases.
If you suspect your child is hypothermic, call 911 at once. Until help arrives, take the child indoors, remove any wet clothing, and wrap him in blankets or warm clothes.
Frostbite
Frostbite happens when the skin and outer tissues become frozen. This condition tends to happen on extremities like the fingers, toes, ears and nose. Skin first becomes red and tingly, then gray and painful and finally white, cold and hard without pain. Blistering occurs after the skin thaws.
Playing in temperatures or wind chills below -15° Fahrenheit should be avoided because exposed skin begins to freeze within minutes.
Prevent frostbite by dressing in layers, covering all body parts when outside in cold weather. Bring children indoors if clothing gets wet.
If frostbite occurs, bring the child indoors and place the frostbitten parts of her body in warm (not hot) water. 104° Fahrenheit (about the temperature of most hot tubs) is recommended. Warm washcloths may be applied to frostbitten nose, ears and lips.
Do not rub the frozen areas.
After a few minutes, dry and cover the child with clothing or blankets. Give him/her something warm to drink and seek medical attention immediately particularly if blistering occurs.
Winter Sports and Activities
Set reasonable limits on outdoor play to prevent hypothermia and frostbite and make sure kids have a place to go warm up when they get cold. When weather is severe, have children come inside.
Never do winter activities alone, adult supervision is recommended.
Wear protective equipment for winter sport activities such as: helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, goggles during skating, snowboarding, skiing, snowmobiling.
Winter sport equipment should be structurally sound and free of sharp edges, loose bindings, no drawstrings, overall in condition to prevent injuries.
Ice Skating
Allow children to skate only on approved surfaces. Check for signs posted by local police or recreation departments, or call your local police department to find out which areas have been approved.
Advise your child to skate in the same direction as the crowd and avoid darting across the ice
Sledding
Keep sledders away from motor vehicles. Avoid sledding in crowded areas.
Sledding feet first or sitting up, instead of lying down head-first, may prevent head injuries.
Sled slopes should be free of obstructions like trees or fences, be covered in snow not ice, not be too steep (slope of less than 30º), and end with a flat runoff.
Snow Skiing and Snowboarding
Children should be taught to ski or snowboard by a qualified instructor in a program designed for children.
Slopes should fit the ability and experience of the skier or snowboarder. Avoid crowded slopes.
Avoid skiing in areas with trees and other obstacles.
Snowmobiling
The AAP recommends that children under age 16 not operate snowmobiles and that children under age 6 never ride on snowmobiles.
Do not use a snowmobile to pull a sled or skiers.
Travel at safe speeds.
Never snowmobile at night
Stay on marked trails, away from roads, water, railroads, and pedestrians.
Seven Habits Section
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0omos5jxiZA
7 Habits of Highly Effective Familes Summary of each of the 7 chapters in the book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful Families.
Perkins Elementary School
For additional information and photos of events and happenings check out the Perkins School web page at newarkcsd.org and Perkins School on Twitter by going to @Newark_PS
Email: susan.achille@newarkcsd.org
Website: newarkcsd.org
Location: 439 West Maple Avenue Newark, NY 14513
Phone: 315-332-3315
Twitter: @Newark_PS