Prairie View Elementary
February 2022
Learning Colors Your World
A message from Mr. Ryan
It is hard to believe how fast the month of January seemed to fly by. As we endure another cold winter, I thought it would be a good time to pass along some information recently shared with me regarding the importance of limiting screen time for our young learners. The winter months are always a challenge for our students. It is often dangerous to play outside due to extreme temperatures, it gets dark early in the evening, and many of our families have hectic after-work/school schedules. All of these factors often lead to an uptick in screen time. I know this to be true in my own household. However, it is crucial to protect our students and help them develop healthy, lifelong habits. Research shows that the more time children engage with screens, the more challenging time they have turning them off as they become older children. Plus, screen time has been linked to eating more, having trouble sleeping, and poorer performance in school. Below are a few suggestions provided by a great resource (actionforhealthykids.org) to help reduce screen time, while at the same time increasing healthy habits for both your student(s) and your household. Click Here to access the entire list.
- Make bedrooms “no screen zones.” Kids who have TVs in their rooms tend to watch about 1.5 hours more TV per day than those who don’t.
- Designate one or more days per week as “screen-free” days, where physical activity, reading, and spending quality time together are prioritized. **see Mrs. Martin's fitness challenge below!**
- Turn off electronic devices during dinner. Make use of the time together to talk about the day. Ask about your student's favorite part of their day, a challenge they faced, something kind they did while at school.
- Try new hobbies. Replace screen time with something more active, join a club, discover a unique talent, or sign up for a hands-on class at your local community center. Perhaps assign chores/responsibilities for each of your students to complete to help the household.
- Avoid leaving the TV on for background noise to reduce the temptation to be in front of the TV (if it is hard not having the TV on, try programming your TV to turn off automatically after a certain period. Or, play music or white noise as an alternative).
Avoid using electronic devices as a reward or punishment. This makes screens seem even more important. Check out Healthy & Active Non-Food Rewards for other ideas.
Thank You Prairie View Paraprofessionals
Fastbridge Benchmarking Information
Valentines Day Celebrations
News from the STARS Room
News from the Resource Room
Miss Lumsden and her crew have been working hard through the Wilson Reading System substeps as well as the Fundations program. Pictured below is a student recalling her letters, letter sounds, and our key words in order to complete the puzzle. This is one of our favorite ways to review!
Physical Education News
Welcome back!
Happy New Year to all of our students and parents! Now is a great time to set healthy living goals for everyone in the family. Winter is a difficult time to get outside due to snow and cold temperatures, so I am including a workout challenge you can do inside, all you need is dice! Enjoy and have fun!
Click Here to access the workout challenge!
What’s to come in PE:
Since returning from break, all PE classes have spent time getting back on track by reviewing classroom expectations and rules. We’ve also spent time reviewing fitness terms and skills by playing various fitness games. We are currently in our basketball unit, working on a variety of dribbling activities, practicing shooting skills, and using teamwork to accomplish a variety of tasks. Our volley unit will follow.
A few friendly reminders:
- Please practice shoe tying with your child.
- We are concerned about the safety and well-being of every child that enters the gym and for that reason, we ask that your child wear appropriate and safe shoes to class throughout the winter months. If they need to wear boots to school due to snowy weather conditions, please have them pack their sneakers in their backpacks.
Warm Regards,
Mindy Martin
Music News
Students have been learning about musical instruments from all over the world. First they learned about percussion instruments, sound production and different styles of percussion instruments. Next, stringed instruments were the focus. We learned about, listened to, and viewed short video clips of musicians demonstrating how to play string family instruments. Following the strings, students learned about brass family instruments, and how to buzz into a mouthpiece to create sounds in brass family instruments. Finally, they learned about a very old family of instruments called the woodwind family. Once students became “instrument experts”, we began to discuss how instruments can be put together into ensembles or musical groups. This discussion led itself into a discussion of the symphony orchestra. Students learned about the organization of the four families of the instruments into the arrangement of instruments in the orchestra. We discussed the role of the conductor, and how he/she utilizes their knowledge of music to help all of the musicians in the orchestra stay together when performing a symphonic piece. Students even got a chance to “play” along with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra in their rendition of selections from the Star Wars movies. The whole Instrument Family Unit is very important as it gives the students an opportunity to not only learn about instruments from all over the world, but also to understand their ability to join the band program in Sandwich School District #430.
News From the Nurse
Heart Health:
February is American Heart Month! Here are some links to ways your family can increase their daily heart-healthy activities:
Motivating Kids to be Physically Active
From KidsHealth.org - Tips for motivating school-age kids to be physically active.
From U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services - An interactive way to meet the goal of 60 minutes of daily activity for kids ages 6-17.
National Institutes of Health - Heart-healthy lifestyle ideas.
Dental:
February is also National Children's Dental Health Month. Our district received some dental health kits and educational materials from Delta Dental. Please watch for these to be coming home with your students in the month of February and take some time to review the handouts and supplies together.
Reminder: Completed Proof of School Dental Exam forms are required for current Kindergarten and second grade students by May 15, 2022. If you are unable to obtain the required dental exam, please complete the Dental Exam Waiver Form.
District News
Emergency Day (E-Learning) Information
- An E-Learning (Emergency Learning) packet has been/will be sent home with your student(s). Please place this packet in a safe place in the event that an emergency day/snow day is enacted.
- Each packet contains enough learning opportunities to last three days (if necessary) and a suggested daily schedule is included for your reference.
- Please save this Smore with the link below to access a pdf version of your student(s) emergency day packet. That way, if the paper copy is misplaced you will have access to a day of learning opportunities.
- Click Here to access the Kindergarten pdf
- Click Here to access the 1st-Grade pdf
- Click Here to access the 2nd-Grade pdf
- Click Here to access the 3rd-Grade pdf
- If an emergency day is enacted, you will receive communication through the School Messenger service. You can also check local radio station WSPY at 107.1 FM and WGN-TV Channel 9.
- During an emergency day, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher with any questions you may have.
Substitutes Needed!
Adopted 2022-2023 School Calendar
- The 2022-2023 school calendar has been adopted, setting the first day of school as August 17, 2022. School will be dismissed at 1:10 pm on this day.
- The SHS Class of 2023 graduation date was set for May 21, 2023.
- 8th grade promotion for this year’s class is set for May 24, 2022 (additional details forthcoming from SMS for 8th grade families).
- The 22-23 calendar is located on the district’s website or by clicking here
2022-2023 Registration Season Launched – Current Students
- Sandwich CUSD 430 uses a fully integrated online registration system. This system can be accessed through the Tyler Parent Portal link, where parents check grades, lunch account balances and any other fees that have been or need to be paid.
- For convenience, parents and students may use the shortcut to the Tyler Parent Portal on the "Taskbar" located at the bottom of the students school issued Chromebook. Additional registration information is located on the district’s website.
- Click Here to access additional information on our district website.
Kindergarten Registration!
- If your child will be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2022, he/she is eligible for Kindergarten.
- Please click here for additional Kindergarten registration information.
Pre-School Screening Info
Valentines for Vets
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Congresswoman Underwood invites residents and families in the 14th District of Illinois to participate in “Valentines for Vets,” an opportunity to share valentines and greetings with local veterans.
Veterans make our community stronger, and it’s up to us to make sure these sacrifices are never forgotten. So please join us in sharing our gratitude in this small gesture of appreciation with those who have served to protect our freedom and way of life.
We invite students, teachers, and anyone interested in participating to send their notes to those who have served! You can submit a video, drawing, or even just a simple message of thanks. Get as creative as you like or keep it simple! Our office will compile all the messages we receive from IL-14 and share them with our local Veterans. Please share the link below with your friends and neighbors and let me know if you have any questions.
SUBMIT A VALENTINE FOR VET HERE
- You can also mail your Valentines for Veterans to: Office of Rep. Lauren Underwood 333 Commerce Drive, Suite 700
- Crystal Lake, IL 60014
- Please submit greetings by February 9, 2021 via this Google form. Digitized card, photo, video, original music, or other greetings can be uploaded within the form.
School Messenger Text Messages
- When important information needs to be communicated our district often utilizes a service called School Messenger. If you would like to receive updates via text message please click on the image below. Next, access the QR code and reply with a "Y" or a "Yes".
PPA News
- The next PPA meeting will be Thursday, February 3rd at 1:00 p.m.
- If you would like to receive a Zoom link, invite please reach out to the PPA at
PPA meeting dates are scheduled for the first Thursday of each month and will begin at 1:00 p.m. Dates are listed below!
- March 3rd
- April 7th
- May 5th
St. Jude Mathathon
Upcoming Important Dates
February 3rd- PPA Zoom Meeting
February 4th- St. Jude Mathathon ends
February 4th- Fastbridge reports sent home
February 8th- Board of Education Meeting
February 21st - No School - Non Attendance Day
February 25th - End of Trimester II
February 28th - Pizza Fundraiser begins
March 4th - Report Cards go home
March 14th-18th- Kindergarten Registration
Menus
Learning Today Shaping Tomorrow
Prairie View Elementary
Email: gryan@sandwich430.org
Website: pv.sandwich430.org
Location: 1
Phone: 815-786-8811
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PVElementary430/photos/a.1722040771455599/1722040774788932/?__tn__=%3C