Pawsome News
Mill Creek Elementary School-November 2021
GRATITUDE
"Embrace every new day with gratitude, hope and love." Lailah Gifty Akita
Vision Statement for Mill Creek Elementary School
Our students at Mill Creek will acquire literacies in multiple areas including English Language Arts, math, science, and digital media. They will become creators, problem solvers, and critical consumers of information. They will develop confidence, resilience, persistence, empathy, and compassion. Students will develop a love of learning through fun, challenging, and relevant learning activities. Their academic, physical, and social emotional growth will enable them to lead happy, productive, meaningful lives as contributing members of our democratic society.
Message from the Principal
The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621.
Every Thanksgiving, the current U.S. president pardons a turkey.
Macy's had put on a parade every Thanksgiving since 1924.
Thanksgiving is the biggest travel day of the year.
The foods eaten for Thanksgiving dinner haven't changed much since 1621.
Thanksgiving is a great holiday because it can be universally celebrated. We have reasons every day to be grateful, but we don't always take the time to remember that. Even in a time of need, thinking about what we do have enriches our lives.
The theme of this month is gratitude. Every night I do my gratitude countdown. I think about 10 things that I have seen or experienced in the past 24 hours for which I am grateful. They don't have to be big things. It may be some flowers I saw in someone's yard, a beautiful cloud formation, or my comfy slippers. When we focus on the good things we have in our life, it makes us happier. During this month of Thanksgiving, I encourage all of us to show gratitude for what we have.
Sincerely,
Dr. Vitella
News from the Office
Absences-If your child is absent, please send a note in upon your child's return with the reason for the absence.
We have masks to provide for students who forget theirs or lose it. However, we are going through them quickly. It would be appreciated if your child could have a backup mask or two in their book bags. Thank you!
Our neighbors in Violetwood have asked for parents to be considerate of their properties along Mill Creek Road. Please do not park there during school events.
November 2-Election Day-Schools closed-PD for staff
November 11-Veterans' Day-All schools closed
November 16-End of 1st marking period
November 18-24-Elementary conferences-Early dismissal for all elementary students at 1:15 PM. Evening conferences will be Monday, November 24. Further information will be forthcoming.
November 24-1/2 day for all students
November 25-26-Thanksgiving Break-All schools closed
Counselor's Corner-Ms. Lauren Kradoska
Our character trait of the month for November is GRATITUDE. Recent studies indicate that gratitude practices like counting your blessings or writing about things you are grateful for can actually improve your physical and mental health!
Sometimes it may feel like a struggle to find something positive to note—particularly for kids today who are dealing with so many stressors. Rather than blindly encouraging them to “look on the bright side,” researchers Jeffrey Froh and Giacomo Bono suggest listening deeply, empathizing, and acknowledging their feelings. This can help them cultivate resilience, which—along with other qualities like self-compassion and hope—could help plant the seeds for gratefulness.
If you take a look at the gratitude research conducted in schools and colleges to date, you will see evidence that gratitude may contribute to a greater sense of social support, school belonging, and satisfaction with the school experience, while lessening students’ stress and depression.
Try this: Practice identifying “Three Good Things” at home or in school. During this activity, children (and adults too!) are asked to record (write, draw, scribble) three positive things that happen each day. This can be done at a desk at the beginning or end of day, or even around a kitchen table in the evening.
The key to this activity is not just identifying rewarding experiences, but also considering how or why they happened. For example, a student begins by acknowledging how hard she worked on her math homework (the good thing), but she also digs deeper to answer the questions, “How did I accomplish that? What exactly did I do?” (the explanation). If time allows, students can also share at least one good thing with each other to reinforce positive thinking. In a study of around 600 students ages 8 to 11, the group who wrote about “Three Good Things” for a week reported being happier afterward and three months later, compared to the group who just journaled about their daily experiences.
*Adapted from an article written by Amy Leva, Greater Good Magazine
News from the Nurse
News from Grade 1
During the month of October, our first graders had the chance to learn about and celebrate fire prevention. For two days, firefighters from the Bristol Township Fire Department came to Mill Creek and talked with each classroom about fire safety. The firefighters discussed the importance of having smoke detectors in the home and what they look and sound like. Firefighters helped students learn about the "Stop, Drop, and Roll" rule with the new addition of a fourth step of making sure to always cover your face and eyes, if any part of them or their clothes were to catch on fire. Students had the chance to see the special clothing and boots that each firefighter needs to wear when fighting a fire. Fire drills at school as well as having a fire safety plan in case of a fire at home were also discussed. Students had the chance to explore the fire truck, see the equipment they use to help rescue people in an emergency as well as see all the types and sizes of fire hoses. Students even had the opportunity to climb up into the truck to see where the firefighters sit! In the classroom, first graders read several books about fire safety and even had a Scholastic News dedicated to learning about many of the jobs a firefighter performs throughout the day. Some classes even filled out the fire safety certificate saying that they are fire safety experts! First grade is always filled with fun, exciting things to read and learn about! Be sure to check out a few of our pictures from our first grade fire safety discussions!
SWPBIS News
In October, we were able to officially have our Tiger Pride kickoff assembly. Starting in November, we will start having our monthly assemblies again. At these assemblies we review our Code of Conduct, go over expectations in various areas of the school by reteaching lessons as needed according to our school data, pick our Pizza With Your Peeps raffle winners, and hand out our PAWSOME student awards. We hold these assemblies once a month and they really help our school build a sense of community. Students are able to use their Tiger Pride/PAWS tickets to get a chance to do the Code of Conduct or the Tiger Pride cheer at the assemblies. They are also able to enter as many tickets as they would like in order to win Pizza With Your Peeps. This entitles them to a gift certificate for one large pizza from Yordana’s. This is always a much anticipated raffle each month! Please continue to remind your children to follow the Code of Conduct and earn those Tiger Pride/PAWS tickets.
Transportation Issues
WHEN/IF YOUR CHILD’S BUS IS CANCELLED
As you are all aware, there is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers. Since the beginning of the school year, there have been several times when buses in the AM and/or PM have been cancelled. This problem may unfortunately keep happening throughout the school year.
Whenever you receive a notice that your child's bus is cancelled for the day or for the ride home, you must contact your child's teacher or the school to let them know how your child will be getting home that day. You have to decide if your child will be walker or car rider. When your child’s bus is cancelled, we have no way to dismiss them unless you communicate that information to us.
THESE ARE YOUR TWO OPTIONS
Walker – Parents or guardians meet their child in the back playground entrance. Kindergarten parents must have a responsible adult or older sibling meet them or they will not be released.
Car rider – Pull into the main entrance and follow the blue arrows. Provide your child’s name or PikMyKid number to the staff member with the iPad. Your child will be released from the gym once her/his name appears in the PikMyKid system. Please remain in your car. If you park your car, do not come to the main entrance to pick up your child. You will be directed to the back playground entrance to meet your child.