November Newsletter
November 6, 2020
A Note from Principal Blume
It has been a beautiful week and we have had very mild temperatures as predicted. This makes it hard to believe we are in the month of November! October came and went in a blink of an eye! It was a busy month. Thank you to all of the families that attended virtual parent/teacher conferences and visited our virtual book fair. We love the opportunity to connect with our parents! Our PTO also provided staff meals during the conferences. This is always very much appreciated. Thank you!
We know that the cold weather and snow will be back. This is a friendly reminder for families to keep students home if they are ill or experiencing symptoms of COVID 19. Everyone has been very good about this so far, thank you. We want everyone to stay healthy and we are heading into cold and flu season which may complicate an already difficult health situation. Lastly, I want to provide a reminder of the winter recess guidelines for the students who go outside for recess each day: All students will go outside as long as the air temperature is above 0 degrees and/or the wind chill is above -10 degrees. We use WCCO Weather website as our reference. Exceptions will include: dangerous weather, overly wet weather conditions, water soaked playground, etc.…If students want to play in the snow, they must also wear boots & snow pants. If they do not have boots and snow pants they will need to stay on the blacktop.
During the next few weeks our students in the hybrid/dial model of learning will be taking the Measures of Academic Progress assessments in reading and math. Teachers will use this data to plan instruction for each student and set growth goals for the year. Parents will receive the results once all testing is complete.
Enjoy this wonderful weather!
Theresa Blume
Principal
HONEST is the word of the month for NOVEMBER
“Many children think honesty means you "don't tell a lie"-- and speaking the truth is a big part of being honest. But honesty means more than "not lying." Honesty means your actions are truthful too. ... So honesty is about both speaking and acting truthfully.”
How can I as a parent help support my child in learning about Honesty?
- Explain the meaning of honesty.
- Share your experiences with them. Let them know that you aren’t perfect. Explain a time when it was difficult for you to tell the truth and how honesty helped you.
- Explain that there are consequences of dishonesty, such as losing the trust and respect of others, covering up a lie leads to more lies, and often times will result in embarrassment or punishment.
- Praise and/or reward them when they display the trait of honesty.
Some books/stories that I found on Amazon that support the character trait include:
The boy who cried wolf. There are many versions and authors of this story.
Teach Your Dragon To Stop Lying: A dragon book to teach kids NOT to lie, by Steve Herman
Berenstain Bears tell the Truth, by Jan and Stan Berenstain Dishonest Ninja: A Children’s book about lying and telling the truth, by Mary Nhin Lying up a Storm, by Julia Cook
Sending love via heart swoosh!
Mrs. Faletti
Licensed School Social Worker
MN Timberwolves Read to Achieve Program
Each year at CGE we offer the MN Timberwolves Read to Achieve program to our students in grades 2-5. This year it runs from 10/26/20-12/6/20. Students read 500 minutes or more on their own and then return the score sheet with a parent signature and we send their name off to the T-Wolves who then send a prize pack which includes a special Timberwolves prize, a bookmark, poster and free ticket offer to a game. We also award a reading trophy to the readers from each grade (2-5) with the most minutes read. Since this is coming a couple days late, students can count any reading they did starting 10/26.
Here is a link to the score card that students fill out. Students may also have already received a score card from their teacher. Score cards will be turned into the CGE media center after 12/6 and prizes generally arrive at CGE by February and will be given out to students. Contact Ann Galbus with any questions agalbus@sowashco.org