Butlerville Bulletin
November 2019
Principal's Update
Dear Butlerville Families,
Wow! I can't believe it's time for Thanksgiving. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. November is a great month to reflect on the things we're thankful for. Here at school, I'm especially thankful for our amazing PTO and our other volunteers. You are all such an integral part of the success of our school.
In the last month alone:
- The PTO organized a great fall party. The kids had a blast!
- Each student also received Boo Grams from their teachers and friends thanks to the PTO's hard work.
- PTO provided a spaghetti dinner for our Family Fun Night this month. We had a great time square dancing.
- Our PTO organized and assisted with our after school enrichment programs (Hill's Marital Arts and Shine on Yoga)
- They distributed class t-shirts
Currently, our PTO is planning a Thanksgiving breakfast for teachers, shopping for our Holiday Shop, collecting items for a game/puzzle drive for indoor recess, and organizing a Box Tops winter party.
In additional to PTO's support, each day we have a variety of volunteers in the building assisting with everything from sight word checks to library check out.
Whew! What would we do without you?
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break and enjoy time with your loved ones.
-Jamie Miles, Principal
Reading at Home
By Ann Marie Klein, Literacy Coach
Give the Gift of Reading
It’s easy to get wrapped up with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
Here are some tips for supporting literacy:
· Give at least one book as a gift ...even if it’s not on a child’s wish list!
· Bake together. Have your child read the list of ingredients for the recipe.
· Work together to write personalized messages or cards.
· Donate gently used, out-grown books to charities, homeless shelters or food pantries to be redistributed.
· Make reading a tradition - Create a collection of stories or books and only read from the collection during this time of year. Add one new title each year and revisit the same collection year-after-year.
The books in the collection don’t need to be about the holidays.
Each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my dad would pull The World of Pooh by A.A. Milne off our living room bookshelf and read a chapter or more a night to our family, until the book was finished. My family treasured this time together, laughing at Pooh and tromping through the Hundred Acre Wood, as if we were right there beside Pooh, Christopher Robin and the rest of the cast of characters.
Perhaps share books with favorite characters from your own childhood. Examples are: the Arthur series by Marc Brown, The Berenstain Bears, books by Robert Munsch or the Tales of Peter Rabbit
Keep reading and writing an enjoyable focus while enjoying family time this year.
Specials' Spot: Music
We have been having a lot of fun in music class this school year! I am always so inspired by my students and how they respond to music. They impress me every day. Our first graders have learned all about steady beats and rhythm. They are now reading the quarter note, quarter rest and eighth notes. They have played the classroom rhythm instruments using these three rhythms. This allows them to feel the steady beat and use the pulsations of the rhythms to accompany songs. They are also reading rhythms more fluently. We’ve just conquered reading rhythm cards to practice becoming what I call “Rhythm Masters”. A rhythm master can successfully clap and say all rhythms in our rhythm challenges. We are going to be moving on to other elements of music. They will be learning about pitch and echo/call response patterns within music over the next few months.
Second grade...we are VERY busy! We began the school year reviewing the rhythms from first grade. They have those completely mastered. We have added the half note to the list and have had great success including this longer duration rhythm to our rhythmic production. Over the last few weeks, we have been learning our music for the DECEMBER 5th MUSIC PERFORMANCE. They are learning curriculum while working on this music. I hold high standards for our performances and they are meeting them every day. This performance will take place at LITTLE MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL at 6:30 pm. Please bring your child to the high school by 6:15 that evening. This allows time for warm-ups and preparation for the performance.
I’m looking forward to seeing these students develop and grow as young musicians!!!
-Jennifer Southwick
Notes from the Nurse
Send in completed Mobile Dentist forms for Dental Care Day at Butlerville by Tuesday, December 3, 2019. For more information call 1-855-481-8639 or visit mobiledentist.com Butlerville students have the best smiles!
The Wellness No Prob-Llama wants to remind students to have 10 or more hours of restful sleep a night for readiness to learn and have fun. For the best sleep, turn off the digital screens two hours before bedtime, dim the lights and do quiet activities.
Restful Sleep to all.
Wendy Gordon, Butlerville Nurse
Counselor's Corner
School Counselor's Corner:
During the month of November and December, my classroom lessons are focusing on dealing with big feelings and what strategies we can use to calm ourselves and gain focus. We talk about how big feelings, whether pleasant or not, can impact our ability to pay attention. We practice some different deep breathing strategies and students choose three they would like to try. We then spend about five minutes coloring and listening to relaxing music. I encourage the students to use these during the day when they have big feelings so they do not miss important information in their classrooms.
Core Essentials Program:
Our value for the month of November is Honor. Please check out our Schoology page for the Core Essentials Parent Newsletter. It was posted to our page earlier this month!
Upcoming Events from the School Counseling Department:
The first round of small groups is ending and a second round will begin soon. Small groups are currently running. If you have a question about your child and a group, please contact me.
Connect with the School Counselor:
If you have any questions or concerns, or need to connect with me, please reach out to me by phone or email. I would love to work with you!
Brittany Stultz, School Counselor
513-899-5200 ext. 45427
Speech and Language Tips
Hello from the Speech-Language Pathologist, Kara Detty! Here are some tips to add Language, Speech and Social Language into your everyday life with the holidays approaching!
Language: For Thanksgiving, an easy way to practice describing is to have a child pick their favorite dish they want to eat. They have to keep telling you (and everyone else at the table) until you guess it! Then switch and take turns!
Speech: Have your child come up with a list of things they are thankful for that all start with their “speech sounds”. If it is the sound /k/ they could be thankful for Kohls, candy, cookies, koalas, kittens and so much more! Make it a game and you try too!
Social Language: Holidays are just around the corner! An easy way to work social language skills into your days is to start talking about the routines your family and friends do during the season. What are the expected activities and behaviors for those traditions? For example, if you always go ice skating, you could chat about what happens at ice skating and how it is okay that we can fall when we go ice skating. It is expected that you get up and keep trying. It is not expected that you give up!
Fine Motor Skill Practice
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Here are some links to some fun family oriented fine motor activities you can do with your child to practice their fine motor skills:
https://buggyandbuddy.com/25-thanksgiving-themed-educational-activities-for-kids/
https://lalymom.com/fall-themed-fine-motor-activities/
https://funlearningforkids.com/thanksgiving-games-and-activities-for-kids/
https://www.wikkistix.com/thanksgiving-fine-motor-crafts-activities-kids/
Mrs. Houchins and Mrs. Ellis from Occupational Therapy
Gross Motor Activities
Every day is a great day to be active – whether it is raining, snowing, or sunny outside. Warm, sunny days are perfect for being outside, but what about the rainy, cold, or snowy days? There are plenty of ways to maintain your child’s level of activity through any of these days. Here are a few ideas:
1. Freeze dance: When the music stops, freeze in your pose and hold it until the music begins again.
2. Animal races: Hop like a bunny or frog; squat and waddle like a duck; and so on.
3. Balloon ball: There are endless ways to play with balloons indoors. Try to keep it off the ground or just play catch. Mix it up with balloon tennis!
4. Follow the leader: Add to the workout with energetic movements such as jumping, stomping, and squatting.
5. Clean-up race: Set a timer or put on a song to see who can right the room the fastest. (This is especially helpful at the end of the day when it’s time to clean up and get ready for bed!)
Setting time aside each day for a little fun and exercise can make a dreary day a little brighter.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Diana Batsch
Upcoming Dates
November 27-29: No School (Thanksgiving Break)
December 3: Mobile Dentist
December 5: 2nd Grade Music Concert (6:30pm at the High School)
December 11-December 12: Holiday Shop
December 19: End of 2nd Quarter
December 27 - January 5: No School (Winter Break)
Contact Us
Email: jmiles@lmsdoh.org
Website: www.littlemiamischools.com
Location: 8276 State Route 132, Blanchester, OH, USA
Phone: 5138995200
Twitter: @LM_MrsMiles