MUSKRAT NEWSLETTER

I sincerely hope you all had a fun and restful winter break surrounded by families and friends. Bonus points if you had some good, soul-filling meals in there as well!

As I type this I keep thinking about what a challenge this week might be for some... easing back into sleep & eating schedules, emotional student drop offs, long bus rides, and having less time with families can all be difficult for kids (and grown-ups!). I encourage all of us to bring a little extra patience and kindness with us this week and month. This is one of the harder parts of the year for kiddos. By Thursday we are all going to need some extra sleep!

You might also keep an ear out for our Recess Round-Up this week. The staff will be reviewing games, rules, and expectations with students throughout the week so everyone is clear about what's cool and what's not on the playground. Teachers may also be doing this exercise with classroom expectations as a way to "reset" after the holiday season.

See you Tuesday,
Principal Danforth

ps. Oh! and please remember, even though they will be excited to show friends, toys & electronics should stay at home unless they have teacher permission to be at school.

Not only were all your sweeties beautiful and brave as they participated in their Winter Concert (a first for many of them!!), but our community came together in a BIG way to catch up, sing-a-long, and celebrate the changing of the seasons. Special thanks to Julia Wasechek, Candace Mackey, and Cynthia Graves for masterfully manning the concession stand - we raised $415 for the music program! You all brought joy and life to our community through your hard work.

Thank you to Jessica Larsen for coordinating the online auction! We wish to thank the generous parents, grandparents, and local businesses and community that donated amazing items. And thank you to you all for bidding - there were some rapid last minute bidding wars that were fun to watch, and in the end, everybody wins! We wouldn't be here without the generosity of the parents and community that surrounds us. The end result was a total of $3407 raised for our General Fund! Your collective generosity makes a huge difference to the school and all our students.

Shout-out to Jacque Krumrey for sleuthing out a new way to raise money for our school - gift cards! Now, every time you buy a physical or eGift card from RaiseRight.com they will donate a percentage of their profit to Muddy Creek! They have hundreds of popular options from Starbucks to Roblox... Just use this link or enter Enrollment Code: 7XAXEIWNQ4ZP and the school will receive between 1-15% of the value of the gift card you purchased.

✔ Please remember to re-stock children's "extra clothes" bags, and return anything borrowed.

✔ It's getting colder out there! Please sign up for the CSD FlashAlert system for snow days, etc.

✔ Attendance is critical to the success of our students. Keep them home if they are sick, but please try to reduce unnecessary tardies and absences whenever possible.

The PTO is back together! We had our first meeting early December, and our next will be Thursday, January 11th, 7-8 pm on GoogleMeets. Please come and help plan the year ahead in terms of fun and fundraising! More info on the MCCS/PTO webpage.

As most of you know our 3rd-5th grade students will be taking their standardized Smarter Balanced Assessments in the Spring. Our staff will work with students to prepare them for these tests in the weeks prior to our testing window. That will include some keyboarding instruction, practice tests, and review of assessment behavior expectations. Teachers will communicate more when we are closer to those dates. Please contact Sarah Danforth or Ginger Whitehead with questions.

• More about standardized testing
• How parents can help prepare
• Parental opt-out info & form

1/4 - ICP Board Meeting, 7pm*

1/5 - All School Meeting, 8:40am

1/11 - Parent Teacher Organization Meeting, 7pm*

1/15 - Martin Luther King, Jr Day, NO SCHOOL

1/18 - CSD Board Meeting Presentation, 6:30pm

2/1-2/2 - NO SCHOOL

2/1 - Parent Teacher Organization Meeting, 7pm

2/8 - ICP Board Meeting, 7pm

2/9 - All School Meeting, 8:40am

2/13 - School Picture Day

2/14 - Valentine's Day

2/19 - President's Day, NO SCHOOL

*switched due to scheduling conflict