Dear Bethany Families,

It's been a busy week, and not always in the ways we want. The health room has been a revolving door of fevers, stomach bugs, and a few bumps and scrapes from recess sprinkled throughout the day. We simultaneously want good attendance AND for students to stay home when they are sick. It's a tricky balance for sure! Just know that there is definitely something going around and remind your child(ren) to wash their hands often (and we will remind them too!). 🙂

• Building Good Attendance Habits

• Too Sick for School - Please Keep Ill Students Out of School

There are two other things that we could use your help with:

#1- Please keep TOYS at home.

We're having some issues with toys getting lost, stolen, and/or broken and damaged at school. Personal toys can be distracting and sometimes cause a disruption to learning. When there are issues, it takes adults' time to help figure out what happened, support the upset child, and resolve the problem.

*Some students have permission to use fidgets, stuffed animals, etc. for a specific purpose as a TOOL. That is still ok. Teachers can help explain their classroom rules if your child has questions about what is allowed or not.

#2- Monitor your child's technology usage at home.

I cannot stress this enough; This is the time (in elementary school) to establish good technology habits, rules, and values with your child about what is appropriate and acceptable to do online and what is not. I highly recommend LIMITING and SUPERVISING your child's screen time. Look into PARENTAL CONTROLS to block certain content, set time limits, and check search histories.

The website https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ is an EXCELLENT RESOURCE for families. You can search movies, TV shows, video games, YouTube channels, and other media to see the age rating, content warnings, etc. Think about the media your child consumes as "nutrition" for their brain. If they are watching violence, explicit content, and/or things that are not educational and age-appropriate, they are not feeding their mind what it needs to be happy and healthy. It hurts my heart when I hear young children talking about horror movies they have seen or first-person shooter games they are playing. Often times families may not even be aware of what their children are doing online. For your child's emotional and sometimes physical safety, you need to know what they are seeing, who they are communicating with, and how much time they are spending on devices.

Check out this list of resources for the range of topics and supports that this website provides.

Here are a few books I recommend. If you don't have the "LIBBY" app....get it to access thousands of free books through Washington County Library Services.

• Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder

• Beyond the Screen, Lima Beans: A Children's Book About Limiting Screen Time and Focusing on the Important Things in Life (The Secret Life of Beans) [Free on Kindle]

• Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World

  
  

• The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind

Lastly, I want to end on a positive note. There are countless moments of joy, compassion, gratitude, and kindness woven throughout our days at Bethany. Music classes have been singing this beautiful song from West Africa called, Funga Alafia. The whole school will be singing it together at our Assembly on Friday. The sound of children's voices fills my heart with so much love that my eyes usually well up with tears! I'll take a video and put it on Instagram. Follow us at Bethany Instagram

With Love,

Toni

Here's a sneak peek of the song:

Art Lit is always in need of more volunteers. Can you hand out papers and use scissors? You do not need to be artistic to help. The lessons and art projects are already prepared. It is so much fun to watch the kids get excited about doing an art project and to see their creative abilities shine. If you are comfortable presenting the lesson to the class, there is a training each month we do an art lit lesson. If you are not comfortable with that, you can just show up the day of the lesson and help out. The kids love it when the art lit cart shows up in their classroom.

Contact Julie at julie.hardy@gmail.com or Danielle at dlsflagg@gmail.com if you are interested in helping.

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Please note that Immunization Exclusion Day is FEBRUARY 15, 2023. Your child's immunizations must be up to date by this day. According to Oregon state law, no student will be allowed to attend school if immunizations have not been completed. All absences will be considered unexcused.

Please see the flyer below for Student Immunization Clinic opportunities.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact AnnMarie McLeod at annmarie_mcleod@beaverton.k12.or.us

Please remember to include the office in any communications regarding your child's absences. You may leave a message on the attendance line at 503-356-2035 or email Mrs. McLeod at annmarie_mcleod@beaverton.k12.or.us

The most important information to include in these communications is:

1. Child's name
   
2. ID number (their library number)
3. Teacher
   
4. Date of absence
   
5. Reason for absence
   

Need help getting started with e-books, adding an app to your smartphone or updating your email contacts? Volunteers will be available at Open Lab to answer questions. Bring your own computer, tablet, cellphone or e-reader with you to get assistance or use one of our laptops to practice.

Drop-in sessions, no registration is required, but there is limited space each session.