Heavilin Elementary Newsletter
December 2017
For Your Calendar
December
8 Spirit Wear Day
12 7:30pm at VHS TIOS
13 Team LEAD assembly (Heavilin PRIDE)
19 Buddy Class Day
20 2:15pm Holiday Parties
20 Dress Your Holiday Best Day
21 Half Day for students
21 Holiday Spirit Day
22 Snow Make-up day (Holiday parties if we have school)
Festive Spirit
December 21 is a half day, and we will celebrate the upcoming holiday break by having "holiday spirit day". Show your holiday spirit in a fun way!
Spirit Wear
The Heavilin Spirit Wear store is now open. There are some fun items – pajama pants, headbands, hats, scarves,… Place your orders by December 3 for delivery by the holidays!
Something for our parents...
Parenting the Love and Logic Way
We all love our children, but wouldn’t you like some help with:
· Putting an end to Arguing, Back Talk, and Begging
· Teaching responsibility without losing their love
· Setting limits without waging war
· Avoiding power struggles
· Guiding kids to own and solve their problems
· Teaching kids to complete chores…without reminders and without pay
Parents of Heavilin & Parkview Students
Join us for this series of seven consecutive Thursday nights.
January 11 - February 22
Dinner, workbooks and child care are all free!
These workshops will be held at
Heavilin Elementary School
2450 Heavilin Road, Valparaiso, IN
Call Mrs. Debi Sibray at 219-476-8820 x2257 to register
or email her at dsibray@valpo.k12.in.us .
Sessions begin Thursday, January 11 at 5:30 – 7:30 PM.
Famous 2nd Graders...
Maggie Rhoades was featured as a weather sketcher on Friday November 10th. Congratulations, Maggie!
This Is Our Story
THIS IS OUR STORY, the annual arts festival will be held on Tuesday, December 12 at the Valparaiso High School gym. This festive evening includes displays of artwork from VCS students in grades K-12 and a wonderful concert featuring VCS student musicians in grades 4-12. Heavilin's own 4th-5th grade choir will be singing with a combined elementary choir that evening. Doors open at 6:30 and the hour long concert begins at 7:30.
Choir students should have brought home a letter that outlines specifics for the evening and information about a rehearsal that day.
Geography Bee
Calling all 4th and 5th grade students who are interested in Geography! We will be having try-outs in Mrs. Strietelmeier’s room after school on Monday, December 18. Students that place in the top 10 will compete in a school-wide bee during the school day on Wednesday, January 24. There will be one additional before-school meeting after the holidays to go over rules, study information, and to answer questions. Permission slips for try-outs will be coming home the second week in December.
Gym Shoes
Heavilin PRIDE
We will encourage our students to show their Heavilin PRIDE (Positivity, Respect, Integrity, Determination, Empathy). Students will be able to earn PRIDE tickets for their "house" at school during the day by demonstrating PRIDE, and put their tickets in their "house" bucket in the office. Each Friday, a ticket will be drawn from each "house" to be announced to the school and the student will come down to the office for a special selfie to be displayed at school.
Students will be encouraged to wear their colors on the days they meet with their "houses". We will provide an opportunity for students to purchase a t-shirt in their "house" colors with a logo that says "This is our house." This is optional, of course. Students can always wear items in their colors that they already have. Stay tuned for more information on Heavilin PRIDE and t-shirts that will come out after December 13 when students find out which "house" they belong to.
Reading each evening
STEM gift ideas
Tis’ the season for gift giving! If you’re looking for gift ideas for your little ones, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) has published their 2017 STEM gift idea list for kids. The ideas are sorted by age range, which is extremely helpful if you’re looking for age appropriate gifts.
View the gift idea list at: https://www.pltw.org/blog/pltws-2017-stem-gift-list
Happy shopping!
-Mrs. Dan
Our Greater Good – Lunch Buddies
Our Greater Good is a local organization that works with the community to provide support to families and kids. One of their programs is Lunch Buddies. Lunch Buddies is a mentoring program where community members volunteer to meet with students and become another positive adult in their lives. The program is voluntary for both mentors and students. Our Greater Good is looking for more mentors in Valparaiso area to work with students (mentors will not be placed where their children attend). If you would like more information or are interested in becoming a mentor, feel free to check out the website, www.ourgreatergood.com or contact Garner Tullis at garner@ourgreatergood.com or by phone at 219-628-2922.
School Concert Series - 1st grade
This is the school year when we will feature all of our students in a concert at some point during the year. The First Grade Concert will be on December 14. All guests over the age of 18 that are planning to attend the concert MUST have a current Limited Criminal Background Check completed. Forms are available in the school office or through the VCS website. RSVPs and Background Checks need to be completed by December 5 in order to attend this school day concert.
From our Social Worker, Mrs. Sibray
The Countdown has begun…
I am sure your student is counting down the days until our extended break. For some families, this is a great time together to travel, play or just relax. For other families, I know the challenge of a new temporary schedule and child care can add stress to this time off. I wanted to provide some suggestions I have come across and found helpful with my family.
· Maintain a routine or schedule even while on break – Consistency is important. Some kiddos even benefit from a posted routine, especially when it differs greatly from the “normal” routine. It might even be fun to let your kiddo craft their calendar for the break.
· Utilize the resources in the community – Porter County has fun outdoor and indoor activities with a range of activity levels and fees. Weather permitting, the trails at Coffee Creek and the Dunes are fun, the bike trails in Portage and Valparaiso also are local options (more options can be found at www.indianatrails.com). The parks also offer ice skating and sledding. Some indoor options include, Inmans (www.inmansvalpo.com) here in Valparaiso, Fireflies (www.firefliesfamilyfun.com) in Chesterton as well as Liberty Zone (located inside Liberty Bible Church – more info can be found at www.findliberty.net/libertyzone). While this is not an exhaustive list, it is a great start.
· Home can be fun too – Have an indoor picnic or beach party. Play games. Read together (or better yet, act out the story). Maybe a pajama and movie day is exactly what your family needs. Most kids love quality time with their parents (even if they won’t admit it). Crafts are a fun way to pass the time. While slime is all the rage, there are many (less messy) options as well. You can color or draw together, or do paper crafting like origami. Pinterest has a wealth of ideas that can cover a wide array of age ranges and abilities.
· Have your kiddo help you plan the activities – Take the guess work out of the process. Involve the kiddos in the planning so they have buy in.
Most importantly, take time to enjoy each other. Each family is different, so celebrate your family and what makes you special!