Warren Elementary
December 2023
School News
Message from Mrs. Wilkins, Warren Principal
Attendance Information
Please call the school office to excuse your child(ren)'s absence. We understand that many of you are able to message your student's teacher, and they often appreciation that communication. The teachers, however, are not able to excuse an absence from their class room. Though teachers try their best to deliver messages to the office regarding absences, they are often unable to do so. We thank you for making sure that the school office is also notified. If you are not getting a live person when you are calling - it is probably due to a high volume of emails, calls and other notifications regarding our students. Please leave us a message about your student's absence (date, name and duration of absence along with person calling). Due to the tight window between attendance submitted and when updates need to be posted, not all updates will be entered prior to the collection of information by the system that generates the automatic emails and phone calls to guardians. Please do not be concerned if you have left an attendance message and receive a call/email regarding that absence. The only time you need to be concerned is if you have not yet reached out to the office to excuse that absence.
406-324-1600, Wendy Hornby
REINDEER EXPRESS
Monday, December 18th- A beloved Warren tradition. Warren students can shop and purchase gifts for family members. Coupons ($2.00 each) will be sent home. Please complete the information on each coupon and return the coupons and cash to school by Thursday, December 14th.
Purchased gifts will be sent home with students the same day as Reindeer Express. A big thank you to Brandi Saatzar, Kim Wedde, and the Warren PTO for making this event possible. More information to come regarding volunteer opportunities
IMPORTANT WINTER CONCERT INFORMATION
Warren Elementary School will hold its Winter Concert on Wednesday, December 20th with one performance at 10:00 AM at the Helena Middle School Auditorium. Doors will open at 9:30 AM.
This concert is a big deal for our students (and their music teachers)! It is their one chance to show the hard work they invest in their music learning all year long. Will you do three things to help this big day go smoothly?
Before concert day:
1. Please help your student to pick out a special outfit that will reinforce the importance of our concert. This is a special day for all of us and we would like the kids to feel special in every way. Please keep in mind that they have to navigate stairs backstage as well as risers.
On concert day:
2. Remember that all students will ride the bus to and from the concert with no exceptions. We do this to ensure the safety of all of our students and appreciate your understanding.
3. Please show your student what a respectful audience looks like. We work hard in school to prepare students to be a respectful audience for their peers during the concert, but words only go so far. They will be looking to you for their audience etiquette example. Please plan to stay for the entire performance (about an hour) as it is disruptive to have audience members leaving throughout. The students are excited to share their hard work with you!
Thank you! We’ll see you at HMS at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, December 20!
Mrs. Albus - kalbus@helenaschools.org
Mrs. Nyhof - anyhof@helenaschools.org
Happy Holidays!!
NO SCHOOL December 22 - January 1
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR SIBLINGS!!
Kindergarten registration forms are available using the link below or by requesting forms from the office.
https://helenaschools.org/registration-and-enrollment/
To register with the Helena Public School District, please provide the following:
- Completed K-12 Registration Form
- Copy of your student’s birth certificate
- Copy of your student’s immunization records
- Proof of current residence (such as rental agreement, utility bill, tax statement, etc.)
- Completed Student Health Form
- Completed Home Language Survey
- Completed Indian Student Eligibility Certification Form (if applicable)
- Signed Request for Records to attain files from previous school (if applicable)
(Note: Students must enroll in the school within their home boundary/established residence area. If the enrollment at the neighborhood school has reached capacity, students will be placed in the closest school with availability).
If you wish to register your child in the Helena School District, but reside outside district boundaries, please fill out the following paperwork and contact the Assistant Superintendent’s Office at (406) 324-2047, 1325 Poplar Street, Helena, MT.
- K-12 Student Out-of-District Transfer Request Form
- Student Attendance Agreement (this form is required with your out-of-district request form).
If you wish to transfer your student to a school outside of your neighborhood boundary (an in-district transfer request), please fill out the following and give to your building principal:
- In-District Transfer form
If you have any questions regarding Kindergarten enrollment, please contact Mrs. Hornby at 406-324-1600 or whornby@helenaschools.org
LOST AND FOUND
All kidding aside, we strive to return lost items to students. Our sudden winter weather means new winter gear at school. Please label your children's items with their names. This will help control an already overcrowded lost and found! Please encourage your children to claim any left items.
Annual Cat vs. Griz Food Drive
The annual Cat vs Griz Food Drive proved to another HUGE success!! The Cats may not have won the Cat/Griz game, however the Cat fans pulled off another win in our food drive with 901 food items vs. 838 food items from the Griz fans. That's a total of 1,739 food items that were donated to Helena Food Share! Thank you for all of your support!
December Volunteer/Donation Opportunities
It was great seeing families at the Warren events this fall! Below is information regarding volunteer and donation opportunities in December.
Volunteer:
Reindeer Express is one of the most cherished Warren traditions. It would not be possible without our amazing PTO and family volunteers! More information to come regarding volunteers needed for setting up on Sunday, Dec 17th and the Reindeer Express Event on Dec 18th. Stay tuned for announcements via Dojo and the Warren Elementary School PTO Facebook page.
Donations:
Thank you to our families that have helped with providing snack donations to our students in our first trimester. Providing snacks for students helps provide support to social, emotional and cognitive skills.
If you have any winter formal/dress-up attire to donate, please drop them off at the school office before Dec 18th. We could use the following items to help students dress for the Warren Winter Program:
Girls
Girls dresses - all sizes
Tights - white or black - all sizes
Girls dress shoes - all sizes
Boys
Boys button-down shirts - all sizes
Boys pants - dress jeans or slacks - all sizes
Boys dress shoes - all sizes
HEART OF WARREN
Mrs. Komac's class enjoys reward time with drawing on their heads!
FRIDAYS ARE HAT DAY!!
Every Friday students may donate $1.00 (payable to their teacher) and wear a hat for the whole day. Wear any kind of hat you'd like! All proceeds to go the Technology Committee.
SNACK STRONG CHALLENGE
Win prizes for your school in SNACK STRONG challenge!
A) SNACK STRONG on crunchy vegetables with this creamy dip from @BuyEatLiveBetter. Cottage cheese is packed with protein and calcium. This recipe adds seasonings that make it taste like ranch dressing! https://www.montana.edu/extension/buyeatlivebetter/recipes/vegetablesandcreamydip/index.html . Don’t forget to post a pic with your school’s hashtag or complete this form - https://forms.gle/bzoi3WioJbUiCQJQ8.
#BroadwaterSNACKSTRONG #BryantSNACKSTRONG #CentralSNACKSTRONG #FourGeorgiansSNACKSTRONG #JeffersonSNACKSTRONG #JimDarcySNACKSTRONG #HawthorneSNACKSTRONG #KesslerSNACKSTRONG #RossiterSNACKSTRONG #SmithSNACKSTRONG #WarrenSNACKSTRONG
B) December’s #MTHarvestoftheMonth is carrots! Did you know just one medium-sized carrot can provide over 200% of your daily Vitamin A needs? Did you also know you can make fries with carrots?! Try another SNACK STRONG recipe and experiment with different seasonings such as the ranch seasoning you added to the Creamy Dip or spice it up with chili powder. https://mtharvestofthemonth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/HOM21_RecipeCard_Carrot_CrispyCarrotFries.pdf . Don’t forget to post a pic with your school’s hashtag or complete this form - https://forms.gle/bzoi3WioJbUiCQJQ8.
#BroadwaterSNACKSTRONG #BryantSNACKSTRONG #CentralSNACKSTRONG #FourGeorgiansSNACKSTRONG #JeffersonSNACKSTRONG #JimDarcySNACKSTRONG
Lewis and Clark Public Library Bookmobile at Warren School
Lewis and Clark Library Bookmobile
The bookmobile maintains a year around schedule and is an all ages library. Visiting the bookmobile is like stepping into any of our library buildings with items available for checkout, free Wi-Fi, a computer station, account access, programs for patrons, library cards, and staff are available for questions at the Public Services desk.
The bookmobile will visit Warren School biweekly starting Thursday, Sept. 7th from 3-4 pm. It will also be making a Leisure Village visit on the same days from 2-3 pm.
December dates: Thursday, December 14th
MIGHTY MANNERS WINNERS!
At Warren we like to hold monthly celebrations to recognize the students that have been chosen by their teachers for practicing the skills of our Warren Words:
Kind - Honest - Safe - Respectful - Responsible
Congratulations to the following students who were rewarded with an extra recess in November!
Mrs. Ralph - Levi
Mrs. Tabaracci - Finley
Mrs. Horne - Kinzie
Mrs. O'Brian - Faith
Mr. Arpin - Araya
Mrs. Kimball - Joe
Mrs. Merritt - Alexis
Mrs. McNay - Rowan
Mrs. Madsen - Alison
Ms. Penninger - Finley
Mrs. Solomon - Jason
Mrs. Klemp - Marshall
Mrs. Komac - Leah
A Note from Mrs. Ozburn - School Counselor
Greetings, and Happy Holiday Season!
It's hard to believe it's the time of year already! Our December Social Skills lessons will focus on empathy, compassion, and emotion management. We will continue working on identifying other people's feelings, understanding them, and thinking about what we can do to help others. Empathy is a critical skill that should be taught and practiced at both school and home. If you would like some tips on "how" you can practice building empathy in your children, I have attached the article "5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy." We will also begin discussing emotion management, and how to identify and cope with our own feelings. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to me via phone (406-324-1624) or email (cozburn@helenaschools.org).
https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/resources-for-families/5-tips-cultivating-empathy
5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy — Making Caring Common Empathy is at the heart of what it means to be human. It’s a foundation for acting ethically, for good relationships of many kinds, for loving well, and for professional success. And it’s key to preventing bullying and many other forms of cruelty. The following are five guideposts from Harvard’s Mak
DECEMBER LIBRARY
Students in K-5 Library/Information classes will continue to learn and practice how to locate and navigate databases to find information and answer questions. December lessons will continue to focus on the various genres of fiction and nonfiction as we explore award-winning literature examples together. We will finish the month by improving our problem-solving skills and cooperative learning skills with hands-on STEM activities.
DECEMBER MUSIC
K-2 Strand-December
- I am learning to perform with artful expression.
- I am learning how to be a good audience member and performer.
- I am learning to demonstrate the difference between my speaking voice and singing voice.
3-5 Strand-December
- I am learning how to be a good audience member and performer.
- I am learning to hold my own part in a group.
- I am learning to follow musical roadmaps using repeat signs and double bar lines.
- I am learning to perform with artful expression.
DECEMBER PHYSICAL EDUCATION
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Students continue to learn how to perform a variety of locomotor movements. A variety of games are learned to practice those skills. Basketball- Students learn to dribble, pass, shoot, and play modified games. Ask your child if they can remember what BEEF stands for when shooting a basketball. Holiday games - students will be playing a variety of activities. During these games we focus on teammates, cooperation and good sportsmanship.
December Calendar
December-
December 4 - Beginning of Trimester 2
December 8 - Report cards sent home
December 12 - Mrs. Ralph Gingerbread House Building
December 13 - Mrs. Tabaracci Gingerbread House Building
December 18 - Reindeer Express
December 20- Warren Winter Performance~ HMS @ 10:00, doors open @ 9:30
December 22 through Jan 1- Winter Break - NO SCHOOL (School resumes on Jan 2nd)
Important Warren Dates:
January-
1/10 - 5th Grade Ski Trip, Great Divide
1/11 - PTO Meeting - 6:00 -7:00, Library
1/15 - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Day
1/22 - NO SCHOOL - K - 12
February
2/6, 2/8 - Parent-Teacher Conferences 3:30 - 6:30
2/19 - NO SCHOOL - President's Day
2/23 - Coffee with the Principal - 8:00 a.m.
March
3/4 - Trimester 3 begins
3/7 - PTO Meeting - 6:00 -7:00, Library
3/8 - Report Cards sent home
3/25 - 3/29 - NO SCHOOL - Spring Break
April
May
5/3 - Noon Dismissal - Vigilante Day
5/20 - Kindergarten Roundup
5/27 - NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day
5/29 - Warren Family BBQ
5/31 - Field Day
June
6/5 - 5th Grade Party
6/6 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - EARLY DISMISSAL - NOON
Helena School District Wellness Newsletter-- Exciting Snack Challenge!
Montana History Portal Lego Challenge
School Hours
Monday- 8:30- 2:30
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday- 8:30- 3:15
*Warren playground coverage does not start until 7:45. Playground coverage ends at 3:30 Students cannot be dropped off prior to 7:45 and picked up later than 3:30*
Click the links below to view previous newsletters:
August/September
https://www.smore.com/tg7ez-warren-elementaryOctober
https://www.smore.com/47tfp-warren-parent-conferences
November