As we move further along into the school year, I find teachers continuing to successfully reinforce our school-wide expectations. In the most successful classrooms, teachers have established specific routines for students to follow. This means giving students a specific place to find and keep materials, how to transition from group work to whole group, a set schedule for literacy instruction, etc. These routines, blended with the teacher’s consistent expectations, form the basis for an efficient running classroom where all students have the security of predictable procedures and routines, and teachers are able to save gobs of time.

This emphasis of ours on establishing predictable routines can be a good springboard for families to revisit a set of important routines -- getting to and from school safely. Whether they’re walking to the bus stop, walking in the parking lot, or walking the entire way to school, all kids are a pedestrian at some point during the school day. Which leads me to this alarming statistic: Every day 44 kids are hit by a car while walking in the United States. That’s 16,000 kids hurt every year. So let’s work together to do something about these preventable accidents.

When you talk to your children about everything that goes with setting routines, from homework to chores to brushing their teeth, please also talk to them about how to walk to and from school safely. So while there are a number of things you can do to start the discussion with children I am asking that all our families start by setting aside just 2.5 minutes each day. Why 2.5 minutes? Because that’s approximately how long it will take, I actually timed it myself, for a pedestrian to walk over to our crosswalk instead of crossing in the middle of Sultana or 6th street. That’s a pretty good investment of time when you consider that crossing someplace other than an intersection accounts for more than 70% of child pedestrian deaths in the United States. Thank you for committing to take just 2.5 minutes each day to use the crosswalk with your children. If you’d like a few more tips and resources to help start the discussion with your child check out this infographic.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you. You are always welcome to stop by my office, just call ahead and the door will be open.

Scientists estimate that up to 80% of infections are spread through poor hand hygiene. That means a simple step like -- hand washing -- is the best way to stay healthy and avoid missing school. Thank you for teaching your child to:

• Wash properly. Children should wet their hands, lather with soap and wash for 20 seconds. It takes about this long to sing the “Happy BIrthday” song twice.

• Include all parts of the hand -- front, back, fingernails, between the fingers etc.

• Wash hands often, especially before eating. Soap and water work best. If they aren’t available, have them use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Thank you parents for making attendance a priority. Together we are making a difference! (Source: P. Bosnell, “Hand Hygiene at Home and School”)

If there were an emergency at school could we easily locate you? Do you have a new home phone number? A new cell phone number or email address? A new home address? Please let the school office and your child’s teacher know right away -- (909)984-5618.

The 7th Annual 5K Reindeer Run and Rudolph’s Dash is quickly approaching -- come and join our amazing community as we support our students on the road to college. The City of Ontario has joined efforts with our award winning Promise Scholars program designed to help our Edison Bobcats get ready for college. All proceeds from the race are donated to our Promise Scholars program and each year the school with the most participants wins $1,000 for their school! So come and spend some time burning off that -- ahem-- “holiday cheer” while supporting a great cause. And who knows, you might even help our school win the grand prize! December 14, 8:00 am, Euclid Avenue in Downtown Ontario. Register today: https://secure.rec1.com/CA/City-of-Ontario/catalog

Families are in store for yet another amazing PFO event this month with our Annual Trunk or Treat Family Night! All families are welcome to come and join in on the festivities November 1st from 4:00-7:00 pm. There will be games, prize contests, and food for everyone. Interested in helping make this event even better? Please consider lending a hand or contributing treats and candy by signing up here: www.tinyurl.com/EdisonTrunkTreat. Our PFO is an amazing group of volunteers, thank you for supporting this group of dedicated staff and families!