Hey, Rocket Families! We are off to a phenomenal start to the new year! Our K-2 playground will be open for our K-2 students in February after a long wait for materials to be delivered and installed. Our main entry and 3-5 entrances will all be replaced over Spring Break this year! This will mean some changes in entrance protocol, so once the new main entrance is complete will send out information on the new system. Our PTO has several events and activities planned for the Spring, so be on the lookout for information. Our students have been using several learning platforms to help our school reach its academic goals, including Accelerated Reader, IXL, and Geodes. Ask your child about these programs and how it's going! Recent school data shows the majority of our students are making great progress toward reading and math goals, and we are so excited to share that growth with you!

• January 27th - Six Weeks Awards Ceremonies - Parents will receive a pink invitation if their student gets an award.
• Feb. 6th - Book Blast Kick-Off -Information will be coming home!
• Feb. 7th - Interim Reports
• Feb. 8-10 - NC Check-Ins Grades 3,4, and 5
• Feb. 17th - Teacher Workday - No School for Students
• Feb. 21st - Group & Spring Pictures
• March 6th - Spring Book Fair Kick-Off

Welcome to our newest faculty member, Ms. Kelly Harmon! She will be teaching on our 2nd-grade team, and we are so excited to have her with us this semester!

Child Sleep is an essential building block for your child’s mental and physical

health. Understanding their sleep needs is the first step towards providing

better sleep for your children. Through a combination of sleep hygiene,

age-appropriate routines, and close attention to any sleep disorders, you can

help your child get the rest they need to grow.

Talk to your doctor if you observe any of the following symptoms:

★ A child is having problems breathing or breathing is noisy

★ A child snores, especially if the snoring is loud

★ Unusual nighttime awakenings

★ Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, especially if daytime

sleepiness/behavioral problems occur.

AGE Amount of Sleep Needed Sleep Developmental

Milestones

School Age

5 - 12 years old

Total Average:

10 - 11 hours

Establish lifetime sleep and

health habits; Be alert for

persistent sleep problems

and daytime sleepiness

Tips for School-Age Children:

1. Introduce healthy sleep habits, disease prevention and health promotion

2. Continue to emphasize the need for a regular and consistent sleep schedule and

bedtime routine

3. The child's bedroom should be conducive to sleep: dark, cool and quiet. TV's and

computers should be off and out of the bedroom

4. Set limits

5. Avoid caffeine

6. Watch for signs of chronic difficulty sleeping, loud snoring, difficulty breathing,

unusual nighttime awakenings and frequent daytime sleepiness.

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful break and took time to refresh for the new year! The past few months, we have focused on learning and practicing Self-Regulation skills. I encourage you to continue building these skills at home by helping your kiddos figure out what helps them get back on track and reset when they are upset. Please scan the QR code to view some resources to benefit your discussion. This month's focus is learning about the size of a problem/situation and matching our reactions with the size of the problem. This lesson helps jump-start the discussion on solving problems when they arise. Please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance.

I am happy to announce that we will have an in-person Career Day again this year! Woohoo! With that said I would love to have some parent volunteers to come in for Career Day and share with students more about their job. If you would be interested in sharing more about your job, please contact me via email. Ashley Bell: abell@polkschools.org