Happy New Year
January 2024
Annual Christmas Program
Our annual program was held on December 20. All students participated in a Christmas performance. Pre-K through 5th grade students performed a play titled "The Christmas Cruise".
Middle school students wrote their own puppet show. Students not only studied play writing, they designed their set and puppets. They used paper mache for the heads and sewed their puppets' costumes.
These naughty penguins kept their biologist on her toes.
Everyone is grateful for Santa's reindeer!
Middle school students take a bow after their performance.
Birds of Prey Program
In December, the local, non-profit Birds of Prey Northwest visited our school and provided raptor programs for Calder School students.
Students learned about local wildlife and raptor rescue efforts. They were also able to see the wetsaw owl, great horned owl, peregrine falcon, red tailed hawk, and a golden eagle.
We are so grateful for Jane and Don Veltkamp who made the trip to Calder to inform our students.
Jane shows students a great horned owl.
Don holds a peregrine falcon.
Jane holds a golden eagle.
Jane is also an author.
The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal in the world.
The wetsaw owl had also imprinted on humans.
Presenters invited all students and their families to visit their facility near St. Maries to view more birds and learn more about the program.
If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer, please call ahead at (208)245-1367.
Plant the Moon Challenge Submission
5th-8th grade science students submitted their final video and report before winter break. Here is what they accomplished!
Inclement Weather Procedures
Children should arrive at school dressed for the weather of the day so they can safely and comfortably enjoy recess as they will be expected to go outside most days. All children will be expected to go out for recess except in extreme weather conditions: very cold temperatures, heavy rain or snowfall, and unhealthy air.
Please label all coats, jackets, hoodies, gloves, etc. with your child’s name so that items can be easily returned when dropped or misplaced.
Library News
As part of our commitment to increasing literacy and accessibility to resources, Avery School District students now have access to a virtual library outside of the school’s traditional library selection.
Your student can access library books by visiting the SORA web application provided by the Idaho Commission for Libraries
To access the digital library:
Using a smart device or computer, visit soraapp.com.
Click find my school.
Type in “Avery School District”.
Students can login with their school gmail.
Students can now check out free ebooks and audiobooks to read at their leisure. We encourage parents to monitor their child’s activity on the application. While precautions have been taken to only allow age appropriate materials, parents can help their children by filtering out unwanted resources using the filter tool.
Read 2 Ride
SORA will be a wonderful tool to help students achieve their goal of reading 10 hours between January 1 and March 21 to earn a FREE Silverwood ticket as part of Silverwood’s Read to Ride program!
While the program is limited to students in preschool through sixth grade, the Avery School District wants to encourage ALL students to complete this challenge, so we are extending the opportunity to seventh and eighth grade students too.
Your student must complete a reading log indicating they’ve read 10+ hours and turn in their signed log by March 21 to obtain a Silverwood ticket. Logs will be sent home the first week of January.
Building Upgrades
Throughout the past several years, you've seen great improvements to the school. These include a new boiler, new playground equipment, a new roof, and fresh paint.
Over winter break, workers were at it again installing new carpet throughout the school house. This update drastically improved the appearance of the interior of the school building. Those with dust sensitivities and allergies will notice a big difference too.
What's happening this month?
Remind App
Stay up-to-date with the Remind app. School staff sends out messages regarding your student using this mobile app. You can also reply to messages with questions or concerns.
Please contact me with any questions.