Andrews Elementary
On Wings of Excellence - 12/01/2017
Dear Andrews Family,
It has been a productive week at Andrews. We hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving week spent with friends and family. Please read the following newsletter for more information about our upcoming week!
Dr. Joy Lovell, Principal
Andrews Elementary
Social Emotional Learning
Each month we will focus on a new topic, and our topic for December will be teaching students about the brain. We will be learning about specific parts of our brain, how to grow our brain, and things we can do to calm our brain down when we are upset.
Parts of SEL at Andrews:
Community Circles in the Classroom
Circles build community and help children learn to respond to one another through dialogue. Community circles help to build a bridge between social/emotional wellness and learning. Research tells us that learning new things is much easier on a brain that is free from stress. When children are emotionally regulated and have an opportunity to de-stress with their peers, they are better listeners, leaders and learners.
Brags
Students and staff will have the opportunity to write "brags" to one another when they see someone doing something positive at school. December will be "Brain Brags" and focus on when we are using our brains positively at Andrews. The brags will be read on the announcements, and students will receive a sticker when one is written about them. We will collect the brags at the end of the 9 weeks and use them for a drawing at our 9 week assembly.
Bulletin Boards
A bulletin board that corresponds with our monthly theme will be up in the main hallway. We will try to make these boards as interactive for students as possible so that their learning is posted as well.
Below is a short video introducing Social Emotional Learning and why this is an important subject to teach to students.
Upcoming Events
Monday, December 4th
5th Grade Choir rehearsal after school
Tuesday, December 5th
Spelling Bee - 8:00 a.m.
Wednesday, December 6th
Walk ‘n Roll Wednesday
STUCO meeting after school
Thursday, December 7th
NTCC choir rehearsal after school
PTA Board meeting - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, December 8th
Rice performance (cafeteria) for grades 3-5 - 10:45 a.m.
Monday, December 11th
5th Grade Choir Concert - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 12th
Math Olympiad after school
Wednesday, December 13th
Walk 'n Roll Wednesday
Thursday, December 14th
NTCC rehearsal after school
Monday, December 18th
5th Grade Choir Party
Tuesday, December 19th
Winter Class Parties - 1:30-2:30
Wednesday, December 20th
Last day of first semester
Early release for students - 12:00 noon
Report cards go home
Nine Week Assemblies
2018 Science and Engineering Fair
- Student letters were sent home this week with permission slips on the bottom
- Please return permission slip to receive a student handbook
- Science and Engineering Fair projects are due on Wednesday, January 17th – submit to your homeroom teacher
- If you have any questions, please contact Meagan Gilleland at Meagan.gilleland@pisd.edu or Shelly VanDoren at shelly.vandoren@pisd.edu
Nurse's News
Facts About Lice
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
Lice have plagued humankind for centuries. Mummified lice and eggs have been found on ancient Egyptian mummies dating back over 5,000 years ago.
Examination of ancient lice show they are identical to those we deal with today. An estimated 6-12 million people get head lice each year. These are equal opportunity parasites: they don’t recognize socio-economic class distributions.
WHAT IS THERE TO KNOW?
Head lice infestation is more common among children than all other childhood communicable diseases combined. Head lice prefer clean heads and should not be equated with poor personal hygiene. The head louse found on humans are specific to people. Lice cannot be contracted from the family dog, cat, or any other type of animal. Lice cannot jump like fleas, fly or hop. Lice cannot transmit disease, they are a nuisance, NOT a health hazard.
SURVIVAL
Head lice seek any human host, and will take the first opportunity that comes along. Head lice are looking for food, warmth, and shelter to create a happy home. They can survive temperatures between 59 F degrees and 100.4 F degrees. Adult lice feed on human blood by stabbing an opening through the skin. They then pour saliva to prevent clotting, which in turn, causes itching. Lice feed for approximately 45 seconds, 8-12 times a day, every 3-4 hours, if not disturbed.
LIFECYCLE
Lice eggs are called nits. They are oval in shape and usually yellowish-white. The adult female louse lays these eggs close to the scalp, usually within ¼ of an inch, on a single hair. A female louse will lay approximately 5 eggs, twice a day. The nits are attached to the hair with a quick hardening glue that the female louse extracts from her body. After 7-10 days, the nit will hatch and become what is known as a nymph. After hatching, the egg shell is left behind. It is nearly impossible to tell visually which nits are incubating and which are hatched. The eggshell may remain attached to the hair for up to 6 months.
Nymphs mature into adult lice within 9-12 days. Nymphs are usually tan or white in color and mature into adult lice within 9-12 days. As long as there is a food source, a mature louse can live for about 3-4 weeks on a human head.
Take a Taste Tuesday
Take a Taste Tuesday
Each week, one class will get a chance to try a fruit or vegetable that starts with the letter of the week. The students learn about the food on the morning announcements. This week for the letter E, Nurse Sherbert and Ms. Adkins introduced eggplant. The eggplant is part of the nightshade family and are related to bell peppers and tomatoes. They are actually considered a berry, so they are a fruit. They are native to Sri Lanka and southern India, but China is the world’s top producer. Eggplant can be served grilled, fried, sauteed, or steamed. They are known as brain food because eggplants contains a special plant chemical that protects our brain cells. Ms. McCartney’s fourth grade class got to taste eggplant and gave a unanimous thumbs up! We hope that this will encourage your children to try new things. Try to incorporate eggplant into a healthy meal this week!
Walk 'N Roll Wednesday
Feeder School News
Join the Jazz at Panda Express!
Stop by and grab a bite to eat at Panda Express in Plano (Spring Creek and Coit)
on Thursday, December 7th from 11am - 10pm.
Present the attached flyer when ordering and mention the Jasper Jazz.
20% of proceeds will benefit your Jasper Jazz!
Thank you for your support!
eNews
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