Happy Friday, Lil Steamer Families!
February 12, 2021
From the desk of: Principal Hoese
Lil Steamer Families --
"If someone hasn't told you today they love, I'm telling you... Mr. Hoese loves you!"
I say that every day in the morning announcements to our students and staff. I thought maybe there were some of you that could use a reminder as well :)
Happy Valentine's Day, #SteamerNation!
JAGH
From the desk of: School Counselor Mrs. Meumann
As Valentine’s Day approaches, consider making a valentine for your child. Writing personalized and sentimental messages in your child’s greeting card can make them feel extra loved and special on an otherwise ordinary February day.
Here are some cute messages for your most lovable mini valentines!
“Life is filled with lots of things that make it all worthwhile, but none is better than your little smile.”
“Thank you for filling my life with love.”
“Know what I like about you? Everything! Happy Valentine’s Day”
“May your every heart’s desire come true for you today.”
“It’s so sweet having a [daughter/son] like you. Hope your Valentine’s Day is extra sweet, too.”
“May your life be filled with the kind of heartfelt beauty that you bring to mine.”
“Even in a fairy tale where every dream comes true, I could never hope to find a son/daughter as sweet as you.”
Preschool to Start Daily Attendance on Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Lil Steamer Families --
As the pandemic school year unfolds and changes, we are continually looking for ways to best meet the needs of our students, staff, and families. Back in September, we explored moving to 2 sections of PK students (morning and afternoon) instead of 4 sections (anchors and boats). Per our survey sent out then, 50% of families were in favor of staying with 4 sections and 50% of families were in favor of moving to 2 sections. We took a conservative approach since we had only been in school for a month and half and remained with 4 sections.
We again explored the same option in November, but made the decision to stay with 4 sections with the holiday seasons approaching to avoid potential exposure concerns among students and staff.
In January, we sent another parent survey out. The responses from this survey showed that 30% of families were in favor of staying with 4 sections and 70% of families were in favor of moving to 2 sections. Based on the responses from the families and the limited number of quarantines of students so far this year, we will be moving to 2 sections (morning and afternoon) with students attending every day starting on Tuesday, February 16. This will allow parents time to make necessary childcare accommodations moving forward and for students to have a smaller Valentine’s Day celebration with their current peers before introducing new students.
As such, each section will have approximately 25 students. Our staff has worked diligently to determine a system that would help prevent the need for a full shutdown of the preschool should a COVID-positive case arise. Due to the play-based nature of the learning environment, it is difficult to keep young children socially distanced from one another.
Our staff will be utilizing a pod system for groups where students will interact primarily with certain students and staff throughout the day. This helps us keep students socially distanced and will hopefully negate the need to close the preschool for a period of time due to student and/or staff quarantines. This format essentially would work like the bulkhead on a ship. In those instances, if one compartment floods, the ship can still operate and stay afloat.
This is similar to the pod system. If one pod has to quarantine, that will allow the other pods of students and other staff members to hopefully avoid quarantine and keep other students on-site. Obviously, every case is unique and is handled individually, but this is our goal with our format. There have been other schools in our area that have had to close for a few weeks due to quarantines, but we feel confident that this format will keep our students safe, increase their opportunities for learning, and prevent unnecessary quarantines.
Thank you for your support and patience throughout the entire year. Our #SteamerNation community has been wonderful to work with during this pandemic school year. As always, if you have any questions please let your child’s teacher or myself know.
Warm Regards,
Mr. Jeffrey Hoese
Principal
Preschool Screenings!
100th Day of School!
Kindergarten celebrated 100 day on the 101st day of school this year! Carter Russell wore 100 legos on his shirt to help us celebrate!
3D Printers in 2A
During STEM with Mr. Dail the students had so many questions about our brand new 3D printer at FES! He made our wish come true and made us pieces straight from the printer! The students in 2A are now much more knowledgeable how the 3D printer works! They are surprising their parents for Valentine’s Day with the heartfelt keychain from the 3D printer!
Second Grade STEAM
The second grade students celebrated Valentine's Day is a whole new way. They had a chance to participate in a variety of STEAM activities including, Unlock the Box, Cupid's Arrow, Plastic Cup Heart Challenge, Gumdrop Towers, Balloon Rockets, and making candy dispensers. As you can see from the pictures, a good time was had by ALL!
Additionally, Students in 2B had a chance to learn about simple circuits and the basics of electricity during their STEM class this week. They made a paper “text message”, Valentine card, that included a light-up emoji kiss, using paper circuits. The kiddos had fun making the cards and showing off their maker skills. A special thank you to Cheryl Piercy and Ryan Dail for helping us with the project!
Virtual Silent Auction for Robotics!
2021 5 Essentials Parent Survey Now Open!
Lil Steamer Parents --
Please take a few minutes to complete the following survey, which provides us comprehensive feedback regarding our school. We use this information to then look at ways to improve in all areas. We need at least 20% of families to complete the survey in order to receive a report. Please, please, please take a few minutes to help the Greatest Little Elementary School in the Universe become even greater!
COVID-19 Decision Tree for Symptomatic Individuals
February Lunch and Breakfast Menu
Upcoming Important Dates
No School - President's Day
Monday, Feb 15, 2021, 08:00 AM
Fulton Elementary School, 7th Avenue, Fulton, IL, USA
Board of Education Meeting
Wednesday, Feb 17, 2021, 07:00 PM
Fulton High School, 12th Street, Fulton, IL, USA
Fulton Elementary School
Email: jhoese@riverbendschools.net
Website: riverbendschools.org/fes
Location: 1301 7th Avenue, Fulton, IL, USA
Phone: (815)589-2911
Twitter: @FultonSteamers