October Newsletter
Principal Dangleis
Off To a Great Start!
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year! We've had a wonderful first few weeks with your children, getting to know them and helping them get to know one another. The first six weeks of school are so important in establishing a positive climate and expectations. We believe that by investing time at the beginning of the year teaching social skills, character values, and setting rules together, children will benefit all year long by knowing they are in a place that is welcoming and safe. You can support us by talking to your child about the rules their class created for themselves and how showing CARES traits helps everyone do well in school and make friends.
Stony Hill C.A.R.E.S.
As you know, our character education program focuses on the CARES traits of Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self-Control. For each trait, we read a related story in class and hold several discussions on how we can show that trait. Then, teachers and their classes take turns presenting an assembly for the whole school that focuses on that trait. The assembly follows a Responsive Classroom structure where students come together to read a common message, greet one another, share personal experiences, and participate in an activity. After all assemblies are done, we will continue to reinforce the traits throughout the year with celebrations and activities. Our mascot, Junior, will also make appearances to encourage children to continue showing the traits and making them part of their daily habits. Whenever possible, talk to your child about ways s/he has shown these traits at school or at home. Students are currently learning about Cooperation and reading the book, The Great Fuzz Frenzy. Ask your child how the characters showed cooperation.
Bus Safety Rules
Thank you for helping us keep our students safe. Here are a few things to remember:
Remove excess items from backpacks. Items dangling from backpacks can get caught in bus doors and cause injury to a child.
Toys must be left at home. Taking toys out on the bus can (and has) led to arguments and other unpleasant experiences for our kiddos.
Put a 'Back Pack Book' in your child's back pack so that s/he always has something to read when waiting for dismissal.
Parent Drop-Off /Pick-Up
Parents/Guardians, these rules must be followed for the safety and well-being of our children and staff members.
Always yield to buses.
If you need to park in the ‘spillover’ area along the sidewalk, be sure that your entire vehicle is off of the driving lane.
Only enter the pick-up circle when there is enough room.
Children can only exit or enter a left hand door on your vehicle.
Keep your name card clearly posted on your dashboard.
If a car is in front of you, do not pull to the right of the vehicle to exit the line.
Seasonal Safety
Temperatures are holding pretty steady lately but can drop from day to day. It's a good idea to send your child to school with chilly weather gear (sweatshirt, hat, gloves) that can be kept in his/her locker.
Halloween is right around the corner! Please remember that that we adhere to our District Wellness Policy by having food-free parties.
All staff and students are invited to wear black and orange to celebrate the holiday. Students cannot wear costumes or bring any props.
Thanks very much for your cooperation!
School-wide Instructional Focus
Last year, all schools in the district worked to create a School-wide Instructional Focus tailored to the needs of their students. This process began with looking at multiple data points and surveying staff in regard to the needs they see in the classroom. Our Instructional Leadership Team used findings from our data and feedback from teachers, to hone in on the skill we believe will best serve our students throughout their school careers. The focus we chose is Problem Solving. In all areas, but specifically in Math and Social-Emotional situations, we are teaching children to follow the W.I.N.G.S. steps to problem solve. What is the problem? Identify strategies to solve. Narrow it down to one. Go for it! See if it worked. These five steps are universal, but we tailored them to connect to our mascot, Junior Falcon, i.e. "Junior says, use your WINGS to problem solve." As you come into the school lobby, you will notice a display that explains this further. I will create a special edition newsletter that will go into greater detail about the work we have already done and what we plan to do this year. Most importantly, I'll give you ways you can integrate this thinking process at home. Our goal is to foster students' perseverance, creativity, flexibility, and independence by showing them ways to move beyond, "I'm stuck!"
Below is a link to a read aloud of the book, What Do You Do With a Problem? Either I, or the classroom teachers, have been reading this story to every class. There are only a few classes who may not have heard it yet. Feel free to watch this with your child.
Principal Connections
Let's build connections! I am happy to begin a monthly opportunity for us to sit down and chat about the topics that are important to you. Parents/Guardians are invited to come and share ideas, ask questions, and hear about school news. Light snacks will be provided. Children are welcome to read quietly in the Library while we meet. If you can't make it, but wanted to talk, please know that my door is always open. The safest bet is to make an appointment just to be sure I'm available. I look forward to building bridges with you so that our partnership leads to greater student success.
Thursday, Oct 24, 2019, 03:00 PM
Stony Hill Library
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Important Dates
There are several October field trips coming up. They are all listed on our school's website calendar found here https://sh.hwrsd.org/apps/events/
Looking ahead to November:
11/5 Parent/Teacher Conference Day (no school for students)
11/8 Half Day District Professional Development Day (dismissal at 11:45)
11/11 Veteran's Day (no school)
11/15 Thanksgiving Festival 5:00-6:30
PTO related dates are shown below.
PTO Updates
Our class lists were distributed this week. If you notice your child's name missing and would like them to be included, please follow the link at the bottom of the class list.
Our Soule Road/Stony Hill skating party at Interskate 91 will take place on October 27th. An admission ticket will be sent home closer to the date.
Scholastic Book Fair - November 12th - 15th. The book fair will be open on the evening of the 15th during the Thanksgiving Festival.
The last day to order Stony Hill Spirit-wear is this Sunday, 10/20. The link is https://stonyhillschool19.itemorder.com
Thanks for Reading!
Email: mdangleis@hwrsd.org
Website: https://sh.hwrsd.org/
Phone: 4135991950