The Blackhawk Flyer
Pea Ridge Primary-October
Principal's Corner
Over the next few weeks our instructional pace will steadily increase. We have wrapped up most of the beginning of the year assessments and teachers have determined the areas of strengths and areas of growth for each student. We ask that you support your child's academic growth by setting aside time for them to read to you each evening. Reading at home consistently has an enormous impact on your child's literacy success. If you child does not read yet, reading aloud to them is equally as important. In class we work on developing strategies to help students become flexible and efficient in math facts. Giving your child a single digit by single digit addition problem or single digit by single digit multiplication problem while driving in the car is a great way to support their progress in math.
Our parent teacher conferences will take place the week of October 11-14. Our conference late nights are October 12th and 14th from 4:00-7:00. Please be on the look out in the next week or so for your parent teacher conference sign up. We will be offering a virtual and in person option this year.
We are still singing the National Anthem on Friday's. If your child would like to sign up to sing the National Anthem please sign up with this link.
We are so excited that our car rider lines are working efficiently. We are still seeing many parents exiting their vehicle to either open doors, buckle car seats, or wave to their child each morning and afternoon. We are asking again, please do not exit your vehicle. This is for the safety of all the individuals involved. If you need to buckle a car seat, we ask that you pull forward to a parking spot and take as long as you need to buckle your child in. Don't worry about getting out to open a door for you child, we can handle any door you have! :)
We finalizing plans for our fall party on October 29th. Unfortunately, we will not be able to have parent volunteers again this year. We are hopeful we may be allowed volunteers for the Christmas party. Stay tuned for more details about our fall party.
Don't forget about our sticker sale! They are only $5 and can go anywhere!!
PBIS Update from Mrs. Trent
Happy Friday, Blackhawk Families! We are so excited to be working with our Primary Hawks this year on our school wide behavior expectations. As a school community, we will Have Respect, Act Responsibly, Work Together, and Keep Safe. Throughout the month of October, each classroom will teach the expected “HAWK” behaviors for each area in the school, including the classroom, restroom, lunchroom, hallway, and playground. Our Primary Hawks have had a great start to their year so far and we are so excited to reward their positive behaviors at our Blackhawks Bash. You can help your Hawk at home by having conversations about what it means to do their best and making good choices.
With gratitude,
Sam Trent
Assistant Principal
Next Week is Spirit Week!!
Library News
Hello Blackhawk Readers!
I am excited to announce that we will be having a BOOK FAIR October 11-14th during Parent/Teacher conference week! Despite our restrictions, we had a very successful fair last Spring and I am looking forward to another great event in October! This year I am happy to announce that the book fair will be open to families after school each day, Monday and Wednesday from 3:45-5:00 and Tuesday and Thursday 3:45-7:00! This year, students will have a scheduled day and time for their class to shop, so please be mindful of that because their scheduled day will be their ONLY during school hours to shop. I will make sure you have a schedule posted in advance!
The library will also be hosting an All for Books Sucker Pull Fundraiser the week before book fair to raise money to buy books for our students and our classrooms! Each pull is .25 and students get the sucker and the chance to win a small prize! You can also make donations of any size to this fund if you are passionate about our students having great books! Every donation helps get books into the hands of our students!
If you are interested in volunteering during the October book fair, please email me at dhamilton@pearidgek12.com and let me know what days and times would best fit your schedule. Please include your cell phone number so I can text you your volunteer time once I get a schedule made. (I know it can be difficult, but we do ask that you not bring younger siblings with you if you volunteer. Thank you for understanding!) Please check out the Pea Ridge Primary book fair page which includes information about eWallet at the following link: Book Fair Homepage
If your child will be shopping during school hours, I highly recommend eWallet to keep their money safe! I am excited to see you all at the book fair! Let’s grow readers!
A note from Nurse Draper
We successfully made it through the first 6 weeks of school! I will be so glad for a break from the heat, and I know your children will too! It is probably a good idea to start sending them to school with a light jacket or sweatshirt either on or in their backpacks. Also, please continue to send them with a water bottle to school. Hydration is important in keeping our children healthy and immune systems up!
The Flu Shot Clinic is coming up next month (October 12th). It will be similar to last year, where the Health Department travels school to school to administer shots. We will be sending more information home soon about this!
At this moment, there are no children in our building in quarantine due to Covid exposure from school. (Hooray!!) With that being said, please continue to keep the school updated on illnesses/Covid exposure in your home, and please, please, if your child is ill, do not send them to school, even medicated. I have also seen an increase in RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) cases which is highly contagious and generally more severe for asthmatics. I know for allergy sufferers, this time of year can be trying with the seasons changing. We have many with sniffly noses, watery eyes, congestion, etc, but if you think it may be more than allergies or a fever is present, have your child seen by their doctor. Thank you for your help with this! We are all in this together!
Lastly, I know the mask mandate was not desirable for many families, but I want to take a moment to say how AMAZING our Primary kids are!! I love them all! They did a great job wearing their masks when asked to!
As always, if you ever have any questions/concerns about your child's health, don't hesitate to reach out to me! (800) 451-5395 (direct line) or laura.draper@pearidgek12.com God bless!
Literacy News
Counselor's Corner
The school year is off to a great start! I have had the pleasure of meeting with many students already, and have loved getting to know your kiddos! Counselor lessons are in full swing, and this month we are learning all about feelings and how those feelings affect our day to day. In Kindergarten, we read "The Color Monster," and matched feelings with different colors. We talked about how our bodies feel when we are happy, sad, mad, scared, etc. In First and Second Grade, we are talking about "Zones of Regulation" and which feelings belong in each zone. For example, when we are in the Green Zone our bodies are calm and we are feeling happy, but when we are in the Red Zone, we are feeling mad/frustrated/out of control of our bodies. We also practiced some strategies to help get back into the Green Zone such as Balloon and Pretzel breaths. For this age group, sometimes it is hard to verbalize how we are feeling. Using colors and zones of regulation are some tools to help kids explain how they might be feeling. I encourage students to help one another if they see a friend who might be showing some of those "yucky feelings" like sad, mad, nervous.
Please continue to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. :)