Dolphin Digest
September 2022
DEAR WINTER PARK FAMILIES:
Hope that you all had a nice weekend to kick off the month of December! Last week's newsletter began by talking about DIVE time, our intervention and enrichment block that happens at the start of each day. This month, I wanted to explain another part of the day that is built into your child's schedule no matter their grade: Power-Up. Unlike DIVE, where the entire school does it at the same time, each of our six grade levels has Power-Up at a different time during the day. This is so that all support members are available to help that grade level for those 30 minutes each day, and allows students to receive any services they need; this might include AIG, speech, special education, interventions with one of our instructional coaches, time with our multilingual language teacher, or just time spent in a group with their own teacher. All students are given what they need during this time and it does not interfere with the core instruction your child receives in reading, math, science, and social studies.
Since our last newsletter, many things have been happening at Winter Park! One exciting school community event happened when our STRIDE boys conducted a cereal drive to benefit NourishNC. We appreciate all of you that sent in cereal for this great cause. Last week, they delivered all the cereal (almost 100 boxes), and were able to sort it at the Nourish facility. Check it out:
There might be only two weeks left before winter break, but it is shaping up to be a BUSY two weeks! We are excited for all of the things coming up. Be sure to check out this month's newsletter for all the details, and reach out if you have any questions. Thank you for your continued support! ~Mr. Hall
Attendance
Did you know studies show that only 17% of students who were chronically absent in both kindergarten and first grade were reading proficiently in third grade, compared to 64% of those with good attendance.
Remember, the tardy bell rings each day at 7:40am and instruction begins immediately. If you are dropping your child off, just a gentle reminder to not let them out of the car until you see at least one adult on duty (7:20am). Thank you for continuing to make sure your child arrives on time each day, maintaining a pattern of responsible attendance!
Winter Arts Showcase Events:
We hope to see you either evening this week for book fair shopping, spectacular performances, and a look at all the art on display throughout the ENTIRE building.
If you haven't signed your child up to perform one of the two nights, it's not too late! Click HERE to complete the Google Form so that he/she can perform on their assigned night. Thank you!
Holiday Meal:
Our next holiday meal for families of students in grades 3-5 will be this Thursday, December 7th. Your child's teacher will contact you by Wednesday if there is any slight change to their lunch time in order to accommodate a large number of visitors. Adult/visitor meals can be purchased with cash or check, and all student meals are free. Please use the form below to RSVP if you plan to attend:
Making a SPLASH
We continued making a SPLASH in November:
- Spreading Kindness
- Promoting Safety
- Listening to Others
- Aiming for Excellence
- SHowing Respect
Check out the students that earned a shout-out from their teacher or another adult in the building this month:
G2G Sustainability Challenge
Winter Park has made a huge impact through our composting efforts so far this year! The average amount of food waste diverted each lunch period is 60 pounds. If you multiply that by 59 days of school in 2023, that means Winter Park has diverted an approximate total of 3540 pounds of food waste from the landfill this year! For reference, that is about the same weight as a Honda CR-V.
This week's Garbage to Gardens sustainability challenge is to check at your grocery store and see if they have a bin outside for recycling soft plastic like grocery bags, plastic wrap, etc. Save up clean, soft plastic items and drop them off there when you go grocery shopping. (Lowes, Harris Teeter, and Food Lion all have this bin outside their stores.) For more information about our Garbage to Gardens school composting efforts, click HERE.
NHCS Parent Academy Event:
Check out this event happening for families of first and second graders this Wednesday, December 6th at 8:00am.
Other Resources:
Dates to Know:
Monday, December 4th:
- Book Fair week begins!
Wednesday, December 6th:
- Winter Performance/Art Showcase (Grades K/1)
Book Fair open from 5:00-7:00pm
Performers should arrive by 5:30pm
Thursday, December 7th:
- NHCS Parent Academy Event for first and second grade families (8:00am)
- Holiday lunch for 3-5 families
- Winter Performance/Art Showcase (Grades 2/3)
Book Fair open from 5:00-7:00pm.
Performers should arrive by 5:30pm.
Friday, December 8th:
- Last day of Book Fair week
Saturday, December 9th:
- Girls on the Run/STRIDE race
Wednesday, December 13th:
- School Improvement Team meeting (3:00pm)
Friday, December 15th:
- Last day before winter break
- Family Movie Night!
Tuesday, January 2nd:
- Return from winter break in the new year!