THE LIONS DEN
2017 Year End Newsletter
Albert Schweitzer Elementary School
Email: aorlando@neshaminy.org
Website: Neshaminysd.org
Location: 30 Harmony Road, Levittown, PA, United States
Phone: 215-809-6380
Facebook: facebook.com/schweitzeres
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE SCHWEITZER STAFF
Schweitzer Holiday Sing-a-Long
Albert Schweitzer Holiday Winter Concert 2017
2nd Grade Gingerbread House Making
Holiday Help
We wanted to take the time to thank all the people that participated and donated for Holiday Help this 2017 season. So many Schweitzer families and staff members donated to help families in our own community. The following organizations also participated to help: the Middletown Township Lion's Club, The Middletown Township Police, The Middletown Community Foundation, and the Queen of the Universe parish and parishioners. Many families are receiving gifts and gift cards for the holiday season thanks to all of your generosity.
Schweitzer Student Ambassadors also collected money from homerooms to have donations to shop for holiday gifts. The community donated more than $900. The Ambassadors shopped with Mrs. Pulak at Target and bought gifts for many families. Thank you!
Service Learning Club Visits Our Local Senior Center
Mrs. Exner's Class Visited Santa and Had a Delicious Lunch at Friendly’s Restaurant!
Title I Newsletter & Parent Right to Know
Box Tops Contest Winner
Mystery Motivator
Our last Mystery Motivator for 20017 is Mekhi Mendenhall from Ms. Garrison's 1st Grade Class. Mekhi received a certificate, CARES T-shirt and a Shady Brooke Farm Holiday Light Show Pass. Wow !!
Congratulations Mekhi !!
Who will be our first Mystery Motivator of 2018.......
Reading Cafe at Schweitzer
Ms. d’Entremont and Ms. Maurizi hosted a reading cafe soirée in honor of students that completed all 24 challenges of the Winter Schweitzer Reading Challenge. Students discussed the books they read and gave Ms. d’Entremont many suggestions on what she can add to her lending library.
Two lucky readers also won $10 Amazon gift cards. Second grader Daniel Mebs and third grader Brody Devlin were the raffle winners. In total, we had 52 students complete the challenge from second, third and fourth grade! Be on the lookout for the next challenge after the holiday break.
10 Tips for the Holiday Season
The holidays often remind children of what’s changed and what’s now different. For example, a child from a divorced family may feel sad on some level because he misses the “intact” family he used to have. A child whose parent is on active military duty may feel it’s particularly unfair that her daddy or mommy needs to be away over the holidays.
There are a number of things parents can do to help children cope with holiday stress. These include:
- Discuss holiday plans well in advance, and let kids participate in decisions to the extent possible. Kids need some degree of predictability. Prolonged uncertainty, constantly changing plans or last-minute decisions can all increase stress.
- If you’re traveling, leave plenty of extra time and bring child-friendly snacks, books, games and/or music.
- Don’t overschedule. You may not be able to do everything or see everyone. Kids can easily get “burned out,” overtired and cranky during the holidays.
- Give kids some “downtime.” Don’t expect them to be “on” all the time. Leave room for some quiet activities, like listening to music, walking in the woods or reading a book.
- Make sure kids get plenty of sleep. While it may be exciting to stay up late, lack of sleep often leads to increased irritability.
- Let kids be honest about their feelings. Don’t force them to act happy and excited if they’re feeling quiet or down.
- Don’t promise things you can’t produce. For example, don’t promise that a parent will be home in time for the holidays if the decision is really out of your control. Don’t promise that someone will call if they’re in an area with limited phone service.
- Uphold and maintain family traditions even if a parent is absent. Kids count on certain traditions, which can have an important grounding effect by letting kids know that even though some things have changed, other things have remained the same.
- Don’t try and compensate for an absent parent with extra gifts or toys. It won’t work. What most kids really want is time, attention and reassurance.
- Take care of yourself. Try and avoid getting overloaded with obligations. If you feel stressed, it increases the pressure and tension on your children.
Most kids, even those dealing with loss or family transitions, can and do enjoy the holidays. However, preparation, patience and honesty can help prevent conflict, reduce stress and enhance the holiday season for the whole family.
Dr. Fassler is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist practicing in Burlington, Vt. He is a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and the Director of Advocacy and Public Policy for the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day - January 15th - DISTRICT CLOSED
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He led non-violent protests to fight for the rights of all people including African Americans. He hoped that America and the world could become a colorblind society where race would not impact a person's civil rights. He is considered one of the great orators of modern times, and his speeches still inspire many to this day.
JANUARY UPCOMING PTO EVENTS:
9 January - School Store
9 January - PTO Meeting - Schweitzer Library @ 6:30 pm
9&10 January - Dine Out Night - Primo Hoagies 4pm to close
10 January - 4th Grade Committee Meeting - Library @ 6:30 pm
16 January - Joe Corbi's Orders Due
22 January - Dine-Out Night - Irish Rover Statin House 4pm to midnight
Schweitzer PTO is recruiting any interested people to serve on the BINGO and SWEETHEART DANCE committee. If interested please contact Bill Raczynski @ billaspto@gmail.com
SCHOOL RESUMES JANUARY 2, 2018
~~ WE BUILD FUTURES ~~