December Bulldog Bulletin

O. N. Hirsch Elementary School

Office Hours: 8:00am to 3:30pm

Phone#: (510) 657-3537

Principal—Ms. Christina Arroyo carroyo@fusdk12.net

School Secretary — Mrs. LeAnne Kodama lkodama@fusdk12.net

Attendance Clerk — Mrs. Vaishali Parikh vparikh@fusdk12.net

Dear Hirsch Families,

Can you believe that 2023 will be here in just a few weeks? How is your student doing with their Lexia, iReady, and IXL time? These programs help students strengthen their academics. As a team, we can support our students and see them flourish!

We hope to see you tomorrow night at our Giving Tree event! As a reminder, non-perishable food donations are welcome to support families in need.

We had excellent attendance at teacher conferences this year. If you did miss yours, please still reach out to the teacher to reschedule. Use the feedback from conferences to support and enrich our students’ learning at home.

Please read the entire Newsletter to learn about ways to support our staff as well as upcoming activities. Thursday, December 22nd will be a school spirit day called “Winter Spirit Day” and it is also an early release day at 1:26 for Grades 1-5. Creativity is welcome for winter spirit day!

Our entire Hirsch staff want to send out a big THANK YOU to our PTA and all families who have donated to the PTA, joined PTA, and donated to the Bulldog Jog. We felt so special with the catered Thanksgiving luncheon on Wednesday, November 16th. As a reminder, all families are encouraged to show support by joining PTA. This is how we have fun events like the Bulldog Jog, math competitions, band, Music for Minors, and field trips! We can’t do it without your donations and the support of PTA. Also, it’s not too late to donate to the Bulldog Jog and your student can still earn prizes!

We hope you and your family continue to remain safe and healthy. Many families have been letting their teachers know that students will be missing days in December and/or January. As a reminder, attendance at school is mandatory and travel should take place only during the breaks. Winter Break is from December 23rd through January 8th. School resumes January 9th. Happy Holidays to our Hirsch Bulldog families!

Ms. Arroyo

Principal

2 - Bulldog Jog

6 - Giving Tree Concert

7 - Early Release Day

13 - PTA Meeting

14 - Early Release Day

16 - Spelling Bee

21 - Early Release Day

22 - Early Release Day

NO SCHOOL FOR WINTER BREAK - 12/23/22 through 1/6/23

Looking for the perfect gift for your teacher? Starting Wednesday, December 7th, stop by the front of the office to take an "ornament" with your teacher's wishes. Attach the "ornament" to your item and you have the perfect gift!

Did you miss the Spirit Wear apparel sale? Not to worry. We now have an online store that will be open until the end of the school year. However, every order will now be an individual order therefore shipping charges will apply.

https://spirithero.com/collections/hirsch-1?sort_by=price-ascending

The Season of Giving

The "Season of Giving" is sometimes what comes to mind when thinking about December. When we give to others it often makes them feel cared for and it warms our hearts as well.

But, what's just as important as giving is understanding and truly wanting to give to others, whether it's giving others a smile, an act of kindness, or something else. To help us understand the season of giving, it's important to understand and practice empathy.

What is empathy?

Empathy is, “SEEING with the eyes of another, LISTENING with the ears of another, and FEELING with the heart of another.”

–-Alfred Adler

Practice Empathy

Help your child practice considering the needs of others. When you are watching TV or reading books, ask your child what he/she thinks the characters are feeling, and what they might need in that situation. Ask them about what they could say or do to help that person.

Talk about Empathy

•How can you tell how someone else may be feeling?

•How can you tell what someone else may need?

•Tell me about a time when you were empathetic towards someone else.

•Tell me about a time when someone else was empathetic towards you.

•What would things be like if people considered the feelings of others more often?

I love this time of year! So many wonderful holidays and activities to participate in.

Most of the new books that were purchased have been added into circulation. I have just a handful of books left that need to be processed. Hopefully, your student has brought a new book home to enjoy. I will be making another purchase with the remainder of the book fair profit before we leave for break. This will help add some non-fiction books in areas that need some additional attention.

I will be allowing students to check out one additional book over winter break, but I will need some help. If you will be traveling out of town, please make sure that any Hirsch Elementary School library books remain at home. We do not want to leave library books on airplanes, in an Uber, at a home we will be visiting, or being eaten by the car gremlin that always seems to take everyone’s left shoe. If you will be traveling during our break, please discuss with your student your plan for library books as any books that are damaged or lost will be assessed a fine which will need to be paid before your student can check out additional library books. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

I hope that you are all able to spend some quality time together with friends and loved ones during our two week break whether it is in person or via other means.

Take care and keep reading!

Mrs. Kristen Winmill

Dear Families,

This year Joshua's Gift is returning with its annual Holiday Toy Drive to make holiday gifts possible for families living with autism and other developmental disabilities. Over the past few years, the economic impact of COVID 19 in our community has been large, and we hope to bring joy to your families during these challenging times.

We would love to invite everyone to join us at this fun filled and highly expected Holiday Toy Give-Away on:

Saturday, December 10th

11:00AM - 2:00PM

Dale Hardware ACE

3700 Thornton Avenue

Fremont, CA 94536

Each family will need to Register Here. Please bring your registration confirmation with your ID to the event to receive your holiday toys.

Sincerely,

Kerry and Mizpah Rich

Co-founders

Joshua's Gift, Inc

www.joshuasgift.org

Please come and check out the lost and found racks at Hirsch! Items not claimed before our breaks will be donated to a local charity.

REMINDER: Be sure to write your student’s name inside their items (jackets, lunch boxes, umbrellas, hats, etc.) if there’s a possibility of it being lost. Either write your student’s name with a permanent marker or on a piece of tape to place on their items. Items found with names on them will be returned to their owners.