Simis Scoop
December 15, 2023
Principal's Letter
A Note from Mrs. Murray
Hi Simis Families,
Next week is our final week of this semester. Winter Break is from December 25-January 5th. As we approach this break, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest greetings to you and your family. This season is a time for rest, rejuvenation, and spending quality time with loved ones. It is also a time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the upcoming one. Our teachers are using the winter assessment data from FastBridge and MAP to inform instructional plans for the spring semester. Spring conferences will be the first week in February. You can expect a sign-up for conferences to be sent home the week of January 8th, and the next Scoop to be sent on January 12th.
A focus for our school is decreasing chronic absence rates. The state of Arizona considers a student chronically absent when they have missed 10% of the year (18 total absences for the school year). Excused absences are absences from school for family emergencies, illnesses, and religious occasions. This year we have already decreased our chronic absence rate from 14% in the 2022-2023 school year to 9% in the 2023-2024 school year. We appreciate parents making sure that students are coming to school to learn! This month, we have had an increase in students arriving to school ill and needing to be immediately sent home. Please make sure that your student stays home when they are sick and not feeling well, or have a visible rash or ailment that can be contagious; absences due to illness will always be considered excused.
As a reminder, Lost and Found items are available outside the music room. Any remaining items will be donated on 12/22 to a local shelter.
Wishing you a restful winter break,
Lindsay Murray
What's Happening in Classrooms?
DIGGS End of Semester Garden
Art Masterpiece Volunteers
Simis Spelling Bee Winners
1st Place: Hutch Kroehler
2nd Place: Henry Sperry
The runner up if either the first place or second place winner cannot attend is: Ariana Aminov.
The Madison District Spelling Bee will be on January 26th at the Madison from 9-12pm.
Congratulations to all of our participants!
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Notes from Mrs. Powers
Odyssey of the Mind at Simis
What is Odyssey of the Mind!?
Odyssey of the Mind is an extracurricular team activity that encourages students to be creative, expand their critical thinking skills, work as a team, and feel proud of accomplishment from hard work and figuring things out independently. Teams of no more than seven students work together on an ongoing project, a performance or technical solution to one of several open-ended challenges (called “long-term problems”) created by the international Odyssey of the Mind organization each year. The projects encourage students to think creatively and work collaboratively with their peers. Participating students also practice thinking on their feet and working together under pressure through fun activities known as “spontaneous problems.” The students have an opportunity to show off their skills and hard work at a Central Arizona regional tournament in the spring. Each team has at least one lead coach and a parent support coach, who supervise and facilitate the team meetings, but the students are responsible for coming up with all of the ideas, doing all of the work, and creating the final product.
Odyssey of the Mind at Simis
Odyssey of the Mind is open to Simis first through fourth grade students. Odyssey of the Mind is a program suited for students working at or above grade level with good communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills. This year, we are proud to have three OM teams. Ms. Deihl is coaching a fourth-grade team, Ms. Little is coaching a third/fourth-grade team, and Ms. Magnusson is coaching a third-grade team. The Central Region tournament is on March 2, 2024. Good luck to all the Madison Simis teams!
Updates from the Health Office
Notes from Nurse Megan
- Health Office reminder
Your student must stay home for a full 24 hours after fever, vomiting or diarrhea. For example, if your student is sent home with a fever on Monday, they will automatically be excused from school on Tuesday. We will welcome that back to school on Wednesday if they are symptom free without the use of medication. Thank you for being considerate of our school community and keeping your child home when sick.
Please do not send medication to school in your student's backpack. Administer medications before or after school. If your student requires medication administration during the school day, please contact the health office for assistance.
Please return any clothing (washed) that your student has borrowed from the health office. We rely heavily on these items and don't want to have to send students home when they need clothes.
Contact Nurse Megan at 602-664-7322 or mbefort@madisoned.org with any questions/concerns. Thank you!
Student Wellness
Helpful Hints for Building Consistency over Winter Break
School holidays are a perfect opportunity to find that sweet spot between relaxing and remaining responsible. It can be tempting to let structure fly out the window during breaks from school, but even as we want our children to enjoy their freedom, a little routine can go a long way. For kids, knowing what to expect provides a sense of comfort amidst all the excitement. Maintaining some consistency - like bedtimes, chores, and family time - helps eliminate power struggles at home. Some students may even start to feel anxious about not having the consistency in their school's daily routine once they are at home for break.
Incorporating a few simple routines make way for happier family time that creates lifelong memories. This may look like keeping a consistent morning expectations of getting up and getting dressed, having a clearly communicated expectation for screen time each day, or sharing a visual schedule with students of what to expect during the day. If you are interested in creating a daily schedule, this is a resource with free printables that can be personalized for home. This website has additional ideas for how to create structure while embracing the freedom of a break from school.
By balancing fun with consistency, we provide children with security in the midst of playtime. Here's to a winter break filled with laughter, adventure, and togetherness!
Important Dates
TCT 1pm Early Release
Wednesday, Dec 20, 2023, 01:00 PM
School Closed for Winter Break (Lost and Found Donated)
Friday, Dec 22, 2023, 07:15 AM
TCT 1pm Early Release
Wednesday, Jan 10, 2024, 01:00 PM
Feed My Starving Children Schoolwide Volunteer Event
Simis will be hosting another schoolwide volunteer event this spring! We will be volunteering as a community at Feed My Starving Children to help pack rice packs. The rice packs will be shipped around the world to feed malnourished children. We have 200 spots reserved for our group (anyone 5 and older can participate). Click here to sign up
Saturday, Feb 17, 2024, 02:00 PM
1345 S Alma School Rd, Mesa, AZ 85210, USA
Library Information
Did you know?
Families can browse through all the selections in the electronic library by browsing in the Destiny Discover website.
Hello Simis Families,
Please help your student return all their overdue books before their Library day next week. Students will not be able to check out any new books for winter break if they have not returned their old books. As a reminder, the maximum number of books they can have checked out at a time is:
Kindergarten and 1st Grade: 1 book
2nd-4th Grade: 2 books
If a book is lost, you can either pay the replacement cost or provide a replacement copy of the same book (used and in good condition is fine). Please contact me if you have any questions: kcrum@madisoned.org
Thank you for your help!
Mrs. Crum
Simis Site Council Updates
General Announcements
Parent/Guardian Opportunities
THRIVE Parent Information Series
Madison School District just placed 4 new modules in our THRIVE section of the Madison website. These short and informative videos with experts in the field provide families with resources to approach and support their child in ways that align with the students of the Alpha and iGeneration.
School Lunch Visitor Registration Form
Sign up for a lunch visit here! Please read the details on the sign up form for more information.
As a reminder, we ask that all parents sit with their child at the visitor's table in the cafeteria and say goodbye as students head out to recess.