We hope you and your family enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. I don’t know about you, but I enjoyed having the whole week to get ready for the big turkey day! With that being said, Thanksgiving leads off this month of anticipations and celebrations.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go…”

You can feel the magic in the air this time of the year~especially in an elementary school! The kids have an extra sparkle in their eye knowing that Santa will soon be here, as well as anticipating Christmas vacation of time spent with family, friends and looking for their names on gifts under the tree! Even though my boys are young men, I still catch them eyeballing the gifts under the tree, trying to guess their gifts (my husband does too). At school, I especially enjoy walking through the hallways seeing all the Christmas artwork happily hanging in the hallways. Memories of my own two boys proudly bringing home their homemade Christmas ornaments still fill my heart.

Christmas parties will look differently this year. Your child’s teacher will let you know of the plans for their class. Christmas vacation will be December 21st-January 5. Teachers will be participating in a required Staff Development on Monday, January 4th, so no school on that day! See you back on Tuesday, January 5th, 2021!

My wish for you is a joyous holiday season and a happy and peaceful new year.

Mrs. Sharon Ard

Assistant Principal

East/West Elementary

“For children, Christmas is anticipation~for adults Christmas is a memory.” -Eric Sevareid

East Elementary

Donnie Woods in Ms. Allen

Wyatt Bruce in Ms. Archibeque

Liam Kluver in Ms. Bell

Jace Clayton in Ms. Cabaniss

Alijah Martin in Ms. Hardin

Wyatt Lindamood in Ms. Richert

Leo Hollan in Ms. Smith

Rylee Adams in Ms. Sossamon

Bo Burdick in Ms. Bass

Bria Jarvis in Ms. Briggs

Areli Rodriguez in Ms. Cummins

Aracelli Espinoza in Ms. Farris

Ryan Brown in Ms. Price

Steel Paden in Ms. Roof

Castin Percy in Ms. Spoon

Taten Tippens in Ms. Whitefield

West Elementary

Jada Edwards in Ms. Anders

Skylar Caulkins in Ms. Barger

Addie Denton in Ms. Bozarth

Isaiah Saunders in Ms. McPherson

Kevin Juarez in Ms. Metscher

D'allas Sorto in Ms. Potter

Paisley Henley in Ms. Ridgeway

Sophia Saume in Ms. Schmitz

Makayla Dixon in Ms. Stark

Andrew Bates in Ms. Gossen

Addison Blackwell in Ms. Harris

Rachel Doyals in Ms. Howl

Jace Ebisch in Ms. Klassen

Maddie Childress in Ms. Lewis

Ellie Jett in Ms. Spradlin

Gracie Martinez in Ms Forbes

Karsyn Klaassen in Ms. Wilhite

We are doing everything we can to keep the WPS open for in-person instruction. We are still cleaning and sanitizing, hand washing, and encouraging masks. Please speak to your children and encourage them as well.

With COVID-19 cases being elevated in the state, we are having numerous students quarantining. Thank you for keeping us informed if your child has been exposed, and thank you for following the the recommendations of the Health Department and CDC guidelines before sending students back to school. It is okay to keep students home if someone in your house is displaying symptoms and you are waiting on test results. Please call the office and keep us informed, and we will help in any way we can.

When a student is quarantined, please remember all assignments will be on Schoology and completing the work will be the way we track attendance. If you need help, please reach out to your child's teacher. Click for a tutorial video on using Schoology.

1. Crosspointe Church - Thank you for all of the goodies you provide for the teachers. The pumpkin rolls were delicious and the teachers are loving the warm drink basket.

2. Parents- Thank you for helping your children with Schoology. Quarantines can get tricky, but we appreciate you keeping everyone safe.

2. We want to celebrate our teachers on December 16th. If you would like to bring drinks, desserts, etc., please contact Mrs. Ard at sard@wpsok.org. Thank you!

Mindfulness

In the holiday hustle and bustle, let us take a moment to practice being mindful. To be present in the moment. Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

Here is one mindfulness exercise we would like for our students, parents, and teachers to try. It is called "Observe Your Thoughts".

*Notice your thought as if it's floating by like clouds

*Notice your thoughts without judgement

*Notice your thoughts without holding on to them or pushing them away

*Do not react to your thoughts, just let them pass

Rationale:

*It is easier to recognize things that stress us out if we notice details about what we are thinking and feeling

*Just because we have a thought doesn't make it fact or true

*If we pay attention to what we are thinking and what is bothering us, we can deal with it more effectively

*Ask yourself, is the emotion worth the reaction

We hope everyone has a great holiday season! If you have any questions regarding Project AWARE, please contact Kelly Lackey MA LPC or Stephanie Perkins MS LPC-C.