New Manchester Elementary School
December 2023
A Message from the Principal
"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons"
December Calendar of Events - A December to Remember
12/1 Pajama Day
12/4 - 12/8 Santa's Workshop
12/4 Progress Reports
12/4 Frosty Fun - Wear a Hat and Scarf
12/5 4th Grade Banking Program
12/5 All the Stockings Were Hung - Wear Christmas Socks
12/6 Holiday Cheer - Wear a Holiday/Christmas shirt
12/7 Jingle All the Way - Wear Jingle Bells
12/8 4th Grade Field Trip to the Nutcracker
12/8 Candy Cane Day - Wear Red & White
12/11 Light Up Day - Wear Something That Lights Up or Is Shiny/Sparkly
12/12 Polar Express Family Engagement
12/12 Moe's Taco Kit Pick Up
12/12 Christmas Colors - Wear Red & Green
12/13 LAMP Family Training
12/13 Be Warm & Cozy - Wear Fleece or Flannel
12/14 Holiday Head Gear - Wear a Holiday Hat or Headband
12/15 Grinch Day - Wear Green or Dress Like a Whoville Character
12/15 OGMS visits with our Bearcats to read Grinch stories and do Grinch crafts
12/18 PTA Meeting at 6:00 p.m. with Pre-K Christmas Presentation
12/18 Reindeer Games - Wear a Red Nose and/or Antlers
12/19 All Out Holiday Fun - Wear Anything Christmas/Holiday themed
12/19 PTA Christmas Celebration and Read Aloud
12/20 Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
12/20 No Pre-K ONLY
12/20 Two Hour Early Dismissal (1:00 p.m.) for K- 4th Grades
12/21 - 1/1 No School - Christmas Break
Grab & Go and Lunch menus can also be found on our school website page under the tab "food service".
NMES Starting Line Up for December
Congratulations to the following students for earning a spot on the "Starting Line Up" for December!
Preschool: Randy Church & Lively Staley
Kindergarten: Lincoln Dunlevy, Lilah Gallagher, & Winafred Flanary
1st Grade: Lana Miscuk, Jace Kerchofer, & Easton Cunningham
2nd Grade: Wesley Crago, Karsynn McKinney, & Collin Cline
3rd Grade: Harper Dugan, Courtland Richmond, & Vance Gregory
4th Grade: Christian (CJ) Watikins & Ashton Shaw
One student per classroom will be chosen each month by the teacher to be recognized for our "Starting Line Up". The student will have their picture posted to our front lobby bulletin board, will be recognized in our monthly newsletter, and will receive a token of appreciation for their efforts at our PTA meetings.
Criteria for selecting the Students of the Month will include (but is not limited to) the following:
- Effort
- Character through compassion, honesty, trustworthiness, optimism, and responsibility
- Behavior and self-control
- Attitude toward others/learning
- Good citizenship
- Leadership and integrity
- Demonstrates responsibility.
- Respectful to peers and teachers
- Significant progress in the classroom and/or marked improvement in grades
Parent Involvement Is a BIG Part of Our Team
Strong parental involvement is an essential component to children, not only learning to read, but loving to read. Other than helping your child to grow up happy and healthy, one of the most important things that you can do for your child is to helpt them develop their reading skills.
Here are a few recommendations to help you in this endeavor:
- Invite your child to read with you every day.
- When reading a book, point word by word as you read. This will help your child learn that reading goes from left to right and will help them understand that the word he or she says is the word he or she sees.
- Read a child's favorite book over and over again.
- Read from a variety of genres (fairy tales, mysteries, poems, informational text).
- Read many stories with rhyming words and lines that repeat. Invite the child to join in on these parts. Point, word by word, as he or she reads along with you.
- Discuss new words. Talk about their meaning and practice using it in other sentences.
- Take a "picture walk" of the book. Stop and look at the pictures. Talk about what is happening in the pictures. Make inferences about what the story might be about.
- As you are reading, stop and ask questions about the story. Make predictions about the story. Talk about the setting, characters, and plot of the story.
- Ask your child to make up a new ending to the story.
- Allow your child the opportunity to read both silently and aloud to you. Take turns reading - your child reads one page and you read the next page.
- Read with expression when reading with your child.
BEARCATS - Let's Knock It Out Of The Park!
New Manchester Elementary School follows the Expected Behaviors in Safe and Supportive Schools – Policy JG. A condensed version is found in the New Manchester Elementary School student handbook. A complete copy can be obtained in the Hancock County Board of Education office or our school office.
Our theme for the students is "Bearcats - Let's Knock It Out of the Park!"
BEARCATS stands for a behavior we will focus on each month (B= Behavior/Striving to be your best self; E = Effort; A = Acceptance; R = Respect; C = Commitment; A = Attitude; T = Trustworthy; S = Supporting one another). Students will work toward earning a badge for each month related to the focused behavioral concept. Each student will receive a baseball diamond that will keep track if they met their goal for each nine weeks (which will be considered a base - 1st 9 weeks = 1st Base, and so on). If a student has made it around all 4 bases, they can attend the end of the year PBIS reward full time. If they earned 3 bases, they can attend 75% of the time; 2 bases = 50% of the reward time; 1 base = 25% of the reward time. Throughout each month, students will have the opportunity to turn their dojo points in for classroom incentives so that they are rewarded for positive behavior continuously throughout the year.
In December we will focus on "RESPECT".
Teaching respect in the classroom helps students succeed. It is an important part of the learning process. In a classroom full of students from diverse backgrounds, it is important that students learn to respect each other and their teachers. Mutual respect improves the educational experience for both students and teachers. Having respect fosters student growth and helps to contribute to active learning. When children are able to treat each other respectfully, they respond to direction and instruction in a positive way. In effect, students are more likely to succeed in academics.
Respect is important because it means we treat others the way we want to be treated. Respect can be described as caring enough to consider how words and actions may impact others. Respect can be a big concept for elementary students to grasp. Respect has two parts - having respect and showing respect.
Having respect means that you feel positively toward someone because of how they affect others. For instance, you may have respect for someone because they treat others kindly or because they worked hard to achieve something.
Showing respect means that you act in a way that shows care for how your actions may impact others. This could be done in a variety of ways. For example, when meeting someone new, you would shake their hand or when someone is talking you would listen to what they are saying. Other examples include using kind words, using manners, accepting differences, and being careful not to damage places or things.
It is common for us to discuss respect as something we give and show to others; however, it is important to show yourself respect too. Respecting oneself could be respecting your body by eating nutritiously and exercising or treating yourself kindly when you make a mistake or are facing challenges.
To understand why respect is important, you must think about what life would be like if we didn't treat one another with respect. In a world without respect, no one would care whether they were hurting other people. They may do things that are mean or hurtful and could cause harm to others. If we want to feel safe and live happily in our world, we must treat each other with respect.
Nurse's Corner - Flu Season
Flu season is fast approaching so here are some tips to help protect yourself and others from the flu and help stop the spread of germs.
- The single best way to reduce the risk of seasonal flu is to get vaccinated every year.
- Avoid close contact. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
- Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others.
- Cover your mouth and nose. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk.
- Clean your hands. Washing your hands often will protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Practice other good health habits. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work, or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids and eat nutritious foods.
I want to wish all of the families of New Manchester Elementary School as Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!!!!
Coffee with the Counselor
December is known by many as a month of joyfully celebrating the Holiday Season with friends and family. It is also known by many as a month of self-induced additional stress as we strive to create the perfect holiday. Thus, I would like to commit this newsletter to addressing how NOT to have a “Picture Perfect Pinterest” Christmas.
Stress is not inherently good or bad. A reasonable amount of stress can motivate us and help us achieve goals and even excel. It can also stick around too long or be overwhelmingly high and cause us to get sick or be unable to enjoy the good around us. Below are some Holiday wellness tips to consider.
1. Accept Imperfection: As we prepare for the holidays, we might set the bar impossibly high for ourselves and then be disappointed when we do not meet those unreasonable expectations. It can be helpful to acknowledge that things may not go as planned BEFORE we start preparing. It is okay if it is not perfect; imperfection is healthy and normal.
2. Do Not Lose Sight of Really Matters: If we feel ourselves feeling overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle, we can ask ourselves, “Where does this fit into the grand scheme of things?” “How can I use this moment of frustration as an opportunity to reflect?” This could include taking moments in long lines to consider the good things that have happened or what we are grateful for. “Even if this moment seems stressful, what can I do to make it pleasant?” For example, connect with someone in line with a compliment or kind gesture. Paying it forward benefits both giver and receiver.
3. Respond with Kindness: We cannot control how others are acting, but we can control how we respond to situations. When we encounter difficult people, we can tell ourselves that they are suffering which explains why they are acting that way. That reminder can help us be more compassionate and not take their actions personally.
4. Applying Self-care: As we say at school, “Treat yourself like you do your BFF!” We can apply the same compassion and kindness, and patience with ourselves as we do those we care deeply about. Taking time for our favorite holiday family activities will be remembered longer than the “perfect” decorations or meal.
5. Dr. Jenn Hardy, a psychologist from Maryville, Tennessee, says, “What you give up in the spirit of imperfection, you gain back in moments of ease and calm.”
Happy Holidays, New Manchester School family!
Math at Home - Christmas Bow Graphing
- The more bows of a certain color, the longer the bar.
- The fewer bows of a certain color, the shorter the bar.
- How many bows are there of each color?
- How many bows all together?
- Which color has the most? the least?
For older students, add a second package of bows. For younger students, concentrate more on sorting the bows, counting them, comparing more or less of a certain color.
Fun Facts
- Pepsi was first served in December 1891
- The first Nobel Prizes were awarded on December 10, 1901
- December is National Fruitcake month
- December originally had only 30 days according to the early Roman calendar
- December's full moon is known as the Cold Moon
- December 26 is National Candy Cane Day
- The Wright brothers flew the first aircraft at Kitty Hawk, NC on December 17, 1903
- According to a survey completed in 2011, more dentists were born in the month of December than any other month
- A legend told by the ancient people believes that on Christmas Eve, forest animals are able to speak human language
- The popular song "Jingle Bells" was actually meant to be a Thanksgiving song but has become a very popular Christmas song
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
New Manchester Elementary School
Email: cyeater@k12.wv.us
Website: https://newmanchester.hancock.k12.wv.us
Location: 128 Frankfort Road, New Cumberland, WV, USA
Phone: 304-564-3242
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057713167536