The Siple Scoop
APRIL 2021
A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Siple Families,
Welcome back from Spring Break! Whether you stayed home or traveled, I hope you and your family enjoyed a well-deserved break and time to slow down a little. We are in the fourth and final marking period of the school year. This is crunch time and your help is greatly appreciated. Spring fever sets in right about now. Students would rather be outside playing in the sunshine and let’s be honest, so would we! But there is learning to do and work to be done so it is important that we stay focused during this important time of year in order for students to be fully prepared to move on to the next grade level.
Good attendance is critical right now. This includes arriving on time and staying all day. Arriving late starts a student behind and they often have difficulty catching up all day long. Leaving early not only interrupts your child’s learning, but the entire class when they get called out of class and have to gather their belongings to leave. Every minute of learning time is precious. Thank you for working with us to teach this value to your child.
March winds and April showers all together bring crazy weather patterns in Michigan! It is the season of not knowing whether or not you need a coat, jacket or no outerwear at all during recess. This is a tricky time of year. Our students are still children and they need your help when they prepare for school in the morning. Please send a coat or jacket every day to ensure they are able to enjoy being outside during recess. Our teachers and monitors will encourage children to wear their coats or jackets if weather conditions dictate they do so. We are working with you to keep them healthy each day.
810-591-5104
PARENT DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP
Please help speed the line up by having your child dressed and ready to get out of the car during drop-off. Please also remember to have your gold dashboard cards in your vehicle's window for parent pick-up. If your card is misplaced, please contact the Siple office for a replacement. It is also helpful to have your children enter and exit on the side of the car toward the school. This keeps children and staff out of the line of traffic. If your child needs assistance buckling their seat belt at pick-up, please pull forward to the area where the cones are to park and help them. These small acts help the line move along quicker and helps everyone get on their way to their next stop. Thank you for your help with this.
KINDERGARTEN ROUND UP
Parents, if you have younger children at home we wanted to make you aware that we are now starting the waiting list for Early-5's. Our Early 5's program is for children that will turn 5 between June 15 and December 1, 2021. This is an excellent program to prepare young children for kindergarten. It is a full day program that focuses on kindergarten readiness. To add your child to the wait list please call the Thomson Elementary office at 810-591-0911.
Kindergarten Round Up will be held Monday, April 19 through Friday, April 23 at Thomson Elementary. Please call Thomson Elementary at (810) 591-0911 between April 1 through April 15 to schedule your child's registration appointment. The age required for kindergarten is that your child must be 5 by September 1, 2021.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS??
SIPLE STARS OF THE MONTH
Each month classroom teachers will nominate one student from their class to be entered into the grade level drawing for the STAR of the MONTH for that grade. Each grade level STAR of the Month will receive a certificate, medal, and their photo will be on display in the hallway during that month.
We are pleased to recognize students for consistently demonstrating excellent behavior. Thank you for sharing your outstanding children with us. I am pleased to announce our STARs of the Month for March are:
Kindergarten: Paige Goin
1st grade: Elijah Nelson
2nd grade: Cayden Cornell
3rd grade: Bryce Bennett
4th grade: Caleb Clark-Wilkerson
Our other outstanding nominees for the month of March were:
Kindergarten: Rylin Robertson and Doss Wearmouth
1st grade: Emma Cayer, Adilynn Green and Delaney Wells
2nd grade: Amelia Anselmo
3rd grade: Tiegan Beal, Kyleigh Morrish, Dominic Gorder and Ethan Goin
4th grade: Peyton Novak, Ainsley Perry and Jonathin Hinojosa
Congratulations to these outstanding young learners!
COUNSELOR'S CORNER
Calming Strategies for Test Taking
Many students struggle with anxiety about tests. In fact, one study showed that 25-40% of students experience anxiety about test taking. Symptoms of this include (but are not limited to): Headache, stomach aches, sweating, shortness of breath, crying, pacing, feeling of fear/dread, blanking out and racing thoughts. Please know that the amazing teachers at Siple Elementary work really hard to alleviate stress for students regarding standardized testing. Of course we want students to do well, but we do not want students to feel overwhelmed with pressure. Although being nervous is to be expected, a way to help your child is to teach calming strategies. Every person is different, so strategies that work for you may not work for your child. Below are four relaxation suggestions that children can use to help calm themselves.
Deep Breathing: Breath in through your nose, out through your mouth. It is important to slow the breathing from shallow breaths to deeper ones. Sometimes it helps to imagine blowing bubbles through a bubble wand.
Positive Self Talk: Use positive words to encourage yourself. “You can do it!” “You’re doing fine!” “I believe in myself!”
Guided Imagery: Close your eyes and imagine yourself in a calming location, a beach for example. Try to feel the warm sunshine and rough sand. Imagine that you can smell the water and hear birds.
Muscle Relaxation: Flex, tighten, or raise each area for 3 seconds, then release - Eyebrows, jaw, shoulders, right arm, right hand, left arm, left hand, stomach, legs, whole body.
Mrs. Simonsen, Counselor
810-591-0227
DID YOU KNOW.........
Did You Know This Service is Available
There are many great resources for families in the area. This section of the Siple Scoop is dedicated to introducing you to a FREE resource each month.
This month we are featuring Free Healthcare Coverage Enrollment Assistance. Alexis Sharpe from the Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) would like to help answer questions about healthcare coverage (physical and mental health). Call her at 810-244-7178 or email her at CKC@geneseeisd.org
FUN TO BE FIT
Hopefully everybody had a great Spring Break! Can't wait to get back and see all my Siple Stars! We will be finishing up our fitness month and moving on to basketball. Some of the things we will focus on during this month is: Dribbling, Passing & Shooting a basketball.
The weather is getting warmer so hopefully we will be able to get outside a few times and get some fresh air while practicing our basketball skills. Please make sure to dress for PE and wear those tennis shoes on physical education days!
March Madness is here for both the women and men college basketball - Cheer on your favorite team and see how far they can go!
Mr. Sipley, Gym Teacher
810-591-0231
MUSIC NOTES
4th Grade Musical News
Important Notes:
· We will be Recording on April 13th without an audience! The recording will happen during the school day on April 13th.
· The following week, I will send each 4th grader a Link to the finished presentation through their school email and I will post it onto their Siple Music Google Classroom so that our families may enjoy it together!
· Although this will be a different type of performance, I am still looking forward to having the students experience PRIDE in their hard work!!!
Your child received a musical packet containing all of their songs for their performance. Please encourage your child to PRACTICE these songs (ALL students) or extra parts (for those that received a solo or skit) as much as possible for memorization!! Thank you!
Mrs. Odglen, Music Teacher
810-591-0238
STEM FUN
Happy Spring! I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break. We are learning so much in STEM class and the students are really showing so much growth with their technology skills.
I have some reading and responding lessons planned for the lower grades this month and the upper elementary students are going to be working on web quests and computer programming.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. ecarr@davisonschools.org.
810-591-0238
PTO NEWS
The Siple PTO is currently working on plans for our Siple Stroll fundraiser. We will not be able to complete the Stroll as a whole school due to the Pandemic, but we have found some creative ideas to allow each class to have fun walking the track to raise money for the school.
Be watching for more details in May! The best way to stay informed is to connect with the PTO on their Facebook page. They are listed as Siple Elementary PTO.
UPCOMING EVENTS
April 1-2: NO SCHOOL/Spring Break
April 5: Back to School!
Siple PTO meeting via Zoom 6:30 pm
April 13: 4th Grade Musical/Virtual
April 19-23: Kindergarten Round Up @ Thomson (by appointment only)
April 19: Teacher Request window opens
April 30: Teacher request window closes
May 3: School of Choice Window opens
May 5: Early Release Day for Teacher Professional Development
May 17: School of Choice window closes
Siple Elementary
9286 E. Coldwater Road
Davison, MI 48423
Christy Flowers, Principal
Follow Mrs. Flowers on Twitter: @Principal4Kids
Office Phone: 810-591-5104
Office Fax: 810-591-5102
Attendance: 810-591-5100