Weekly Update
12/11/20
Kids Are Still Kids
Families,
One thing that really brought me joy today was the snow. And...it wasn't the snow as much as it was the reactions to the snow. I was standing outside at the end of the day, and I noticed SO many children marveling in the big flakes. Several students took down their masks (for a quick second) to catch snowflakes on their tongues. Children commented about snowflakes falling on their eyelashes, and I heard a kindergartener ask if he could go home and build a snowman.
What I appreciated in those moments was that kids were still being kids. Often times, I reflect on how school looks different throughout the day. Students are still learning, growing, and gaining skills. But, to say that things are all the same would not be accurate. Lunch and recess look different. Halloween looked different. Next week's Winter Blasts will be different. I've heard it said often that kids have "lost a lot of things."
Although things have to be different, I love the moments when the world still seems somewhat the same. Kids are still kids throughout the day. The snow falling at the end of the day reminded me of that, and it made me smile.
Together we can.
Together we will.
Mrs. Brittany Sidders
West Dodge Station Principal
Screening Children
School Breakfast Hours
Water bottles
Please remember to send your students with water bottles that can be refilled at school. The water fountains remain closed at WDS for student and staff safety. But, we do have bottle fillers a way students can get water throughout the day.
Exposures and Quarantines
Kindergarten Registration and Round-Up
If you have a child who will be 5 before July 31st and attending kindergarten in August of 2021, we are taking names and preparing for Kindergarten Registration and Kindergarten Round-Up.
The dates are listed below as well as on the West Dodge Station website calendar.
January 25th-29th Kindergarten Registration Week
April 5th - Kindergarten Round-Up Parent Meeting (Zoom)
April 9th - Kindergarten Round-Up for incoming students
(no school for students currently in kindergarten)
Pick-Up, Drop-Off, and Traffic Tips
**Please pull your car forward if you are able.
*If you are getting into the 2nd moving lane, please make sure to only be in the pick-up lane or the 2nd late--not both.
Important Dates
December 9th - Picture Re-Take Day
December 15th - Student Council Spirit Day - Wear White or Dress Like a Snowman Day
December 18th - End of 2nd Quarter
Remote Learner Pick-Up 9:00-11:00
December 19th-January 3rd - Winter Break (No School)
January 4th-8th - Distance Learning Week
*Remote learner MAP testing
January 8th - Remote Learner Pick-Up 1:00-3:00
January 11th - In-person school resumes
*Winter MAP testing
January 13th - Report Cards come home (2nd quarter)
Wear White or Dress LIke a Snowman
Wear white or dress like a snowman
Tuesday, Dec 15, 2020, 08:00 AM
West Dodge Station Elementary, California Street, Elkhorn, NE, USA
Counselor Corner
December is often when several children at school begin sharing the adventures of a mischievous elf at their homes who manages to move about every night, showing up at new and peculiar locations each morning. I did have to chuckle when one student this week shared that his elf had been quarantined and was not allowed to leave his box!
I happened across a similar activity online but it took a different turn and it really stuck with me. Each day the child is asked to do an act of kindness. I realize that sounds like an additional burden during a season which already is filled to the brim in preparation, but many of these activities are very simple yet meaningful. The activity I saw was based on the religious focus of Christmas, and I would be willing to share the website with anyone who would like it, but acts of kindness could be practiced by anyone. They could be written on slips of paper, put into a container and drawn out each day. Each child in your family could have the same act or they could have individual ones. Your family could have one you work on together for the day. There are many ways to spin it, but I love the focus on giving rather than receiving! Practicing kindness reminds all of us to become less focused on ourselves and appreciate the positives in our crazy world! I’ve included a few of the suggestions from the article I saw - feel free to make it your own. Enjoy!
Go through your toys and clothes and donate things you don’t want anymore.
Make cards for your grandparents.
Do a chore for someone without them knowing.
Call your grandparents to say hi and ask about their day.
Set the table for dinner.
Take out the trash.
Bring your neighbors’ garbage cans up for them.
Send drawings or cards to a nursing home.
Rake leaves, shovel snow or do a little yardwork/weeding for your neighbor.
Help a sibling clean up (or with homework or anything).
Write a poem for someone.
Make mom or dad a cup of tea (for older kids).
Grocery shop for foods to donate to the local food pantry.
Make a treat for a neighbor.
Write a thank you note to your teacher.
Do a chore you don't normally do without being asked.
Read a book to your younger sibling.
Send some snail mail to friends.
Do a sibling's chores for the day.
Send a letter to a quarantined family member or friend.
Make a gratitude list.
Write a thank you note.
Share your favorite toy with a sibling.
Let your sibling go FIRST at something.
Play a game a sibling wants.
Mrs. Jean Herold
402.289.2773
District Information
PTO News
Purchase Your WDS Yearbook:
Yearbook Prices:
$25- Purchases made 11/2/2020 - 2/226/2021
Place Your Order Here: http://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A01122087.
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact me any time if you have questions, concerns, feedback, or want to share your great news. ~Mrs. Sidders
Email: bsidders@epsne.org
Website: https://www.elkhornweb.org/westdodgestation/
Location: 18480 California Street, Elkhorn, NE, USA
Phone: 402-289-2773
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElkhornPSWD
Twitter: @ElkhornPS_WD