Shoemaker Newsletter
June, 2020
Dear Shoemaker Families,
I hope that you and your family are doing well. This is certainly not the way I had wished to bid adieu to the 2019-20 school year, but I would like to focus on some silver linings. There are many things that I have been grateful for during the past few months.
At the top of my list is the collaboration between our Shoe families and staff. I am very proud to be part of this amazing, caring community. Thank you for putting on your teacher hat, tech support hat, and countless other hats. We truly could not have done this without you!
I am beyond proud of our teachers and support staff. Thank you for persevering … for helping our students to stay engaged, learning, and enjoying some fun activities. I am certain that our families felt comforted knowing that our teachers/staff were there to guide our children during a very difficult time.
Sadly, our 5th grade students missed out on our traditional Shoemaker graduating activities, such as the 5th grade picnic. If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment to view (click HERE) our video that honors this amazing group of children. Thank you to the PTO for purchasing special t-shirts for the class (in your child’s bag) and to Mr. Shreck for designing them. We will miss you 5th grade 2019-20 graduating class! Please come back and visit.
I would like to bid a special farewell and offer very warm wishes to Kendra Gruber, our PTO president. Thank you for your leadership, kindness and generosity over the past couple of years. We will miss you!! The following Board members were elected during our last PTO meeting. Congratulations! We look forward to working with you all:
President: Linzi Gill
Vice President: Debbie Prosser
Secretary: Shirley Maldonado
Treasurer: Meghan Shankweiler
Please click HERE to read our Student Materials Drop off/pick up letter and click HERE to find out when you should come to school for this purpose. Unfortunately, yearbooks will not be delivered to our school until the end of June. Please stay tuned for further information regarding distribution.
Finally, if you have an incoming kindergarten student for the 2020-21 school year, be sure to register him/her online HERE as soon as possible.
If you have any questions throughout the summer months, please do not hesitate to email me at jvogel@eastpennsd.org.
I hope that you and your family have a safe and relaxing summer.
Warmest regards,
Mrs. Vogel
Links to learning:
Summer Learning Ideas
The students at Shoemaker really stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park with their online learning this spring. Now that summer is around the corner, I’m sure they (and you!) are ready for a break from all the screen time. But, that doesn’t mean the learning has to stop. Here are some ideas, both with and without technology, to keep your child’s brain engaged.
READ! Whether it’s a print or digital book, the more you read the better you get at reading!
Reading websites still available through the summer:
RAZ Kids
iReady
Libby, by OverDrive (app): Borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library. All you need is a library card!
Talk to your child about what they are reading.
Listen to audiobooks. This is a great way to hear stories that are too difficult for your child to read independently!
Create a hopscotch with sight words
Write
Keep a journal
Become penpals with a friend from school
Take it outside- use sidewalk chalk or a bucket of water and paint brush to practice spelling
Math
Practice your math facts! Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Use playing cards or dice to create the number sentence.
iReady
Cook/Bake- this is a great way to practice measurement and fractions
Collect change all summer. At the end of the summer count up how much you saved and buy something special!
Record Keeper- time yourself doing an activity (running, biking, swimming, etc.) several different times. Can you beat your time? Then, graph the results.
Wishing you all a safe, healthy and happy summer!
Mrs. Konjoian
Instructional Specialist
Health Room Happenings:
Summer Safety
Hello Shoemaker students and families!
Well, here we are at the end of the school year. I know none of us envisioned life as we are experiencing now, when we were watching the ball drop and welcoming in 2020. But, nevertheless we are getting through this together and certainly finding strengths we didn’t t know we had!
As we move through spring and summer and some of the restrictions are lifted I just wanted to review some summertime safety tips.
1, Protect skin from the sun. Apply sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher whenever your child is going to be outdoors. Reapply every 3 hours or immediately after your child has been in or splashed by water. Try to avoid the activities during peak sunshine hours and consider dressing children in sun protective clothing.
2. Keep watch to prevent drowning. It only takes seconds for drowning to happen. Actively supervise children at all times when around water. Make sure you have the right equipment to keep the pool safe.
3. Wear a life jacket on boats. A properly fitted life jacket is snug, yet comfortable, and will not move above the chin or ears when you lift it at the shoulders. The life jacket should be US Coast Guard approved.
4. Ride bikes the smart way. Bicycles are related to more childhood injuries than any other consumer product. Wear a helmet and make sure it fits properly. Ride your bike apart from automobiles.
5. Avoid bug bites. Apply insect repellant before spending time outdoors, avoid using heavily scented soaps or lotion and cover arms and legs as much as possible. Check with your Dr about which insect repellant you should use for your children.
6. Look for signs of heat exhaustion. This can be life threatening for children. Prior to heat stroke, ids often show milder symptoms such as heat cramps and heat exhaustion. Make sure children take water breaks and wear lightweight clothing when playing outside.
7. Drink enough water. Kids are more prone to dehydration than adults. The amount of water a child should drink varies by age, weight and activity level. However, a general rule is take half of your child’s weight ( up to 100 lbs)- and that is the number of ounces of water they should drink every day.
8. Don’t monkey around. Playground-related injuries account for more than 200,00 ER visits each year. Always supervise children on playgrounds, and chose the right play equipment for your child’s age and skills. It’s a good idea to touch equipment to check for hot surfaces before playing on it.
9. Check for car safety, make sure car seat is properly fitted before hitting the road for family vacation. Never leave a child unattended in a car. Temperature inside a car can rise quickly, and just a few minutes can be the difference between life and death.
10. Enjoy fireworks safely. More than 10,000 people are treated in emergency departments in the U.S. each year due to injury from fireworks, and of these, nearly a third are children under 15. Read instructions carefully, and never let young children touch or light fireworks.
Enjoy your summer, be safe!
Mrs. Freiwald