Dear Lions Park Families,

We had a wonderful morning at the Mount Prospect Veterans Day Ceremony. I was so proud of our choruses, led by Mrs. Koehlinger who performed a beautiful song. The veterans liked it so much that they asked them to sing it a second time!

The staff at Lions Park have been working with students on whole body listening. We have signs like the one below in every learning space and all adults are reminding students to use whole body listening. In addition to helping students to be engaged in their learning, these reminders will also help them to make good choices when going to recess, walking down the hall, or using our bathrooms. We appreciate anything you can do to support your child(ren) in making choices that are safe, respectful, and responsible. I sometimes ask my own children to give me examples of how they are doing these things well and areas where they can improve. I also ask them to name peers they see as being particularly safe, respectful, and responsible and to describe what those friends do that demonstrates those things. Approaching these conversations from a growth standpoint, rather than a punitive manner, will increase the likelihood your child will reflect honestly and make better choices moving forward, if there is improvement needed.

We were lucky to have warm weather most of this week, but we do know that colder weather will come to stay at some point in the coming months. Please help your child select clothing that is appropriate for the forecasted weather. We do take students outside for recess if the wind chill or "feels like" temperature is sixteen degrees or higher. We encourage children to stay in dry areas if they are not wearing boots or snowpants, but this can be difficult to enforce. If your child is not wearing boots and snowpants, it may be a good idea for them to put dry socks and dry pants in their backpack. We have a very limited number of dry clothing items available in the office.

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Warmly,

Katie Kelly