Wolverine Weekly #13

Dear AES Families,

I hope you each had a Happy Thanksgiving and were able to find time to enjoy family time and some rest and relaxation, too! And now we find ourselves already in December and halfway through the second marking period!

Here's what's planned at AES this week:

12/3 - 12/18 - Students will complete the NWEA Math and Reading assessments for the second time this year to help us determine how well they are progressing toward grade level standards. Your child's teacher will have two days schedule within this window to administer these tests.

12/4 - November Student of the Month Pizza Lunch with Dean and Principal

12/4 - ELGA Deposit Day 1-1:30pm

12/5 - 12 Days of Christmas Count Down Calendar begins

12/6 - The Santa's Secret Shop, sponsored by the AES Parent Group, is open during the school day for AES students, who bring money from home and a list for whom to shop, will have the chance to shop during the school day with help from our AES Parent Group volunteers and NHS students from AJHS. The Santa's Secret Shop will also be open for the public to shop from 4:30-7:30pm.

Thank you for your support!

Mrs. Fonger

AES Principal

Schedule for Polar Express Lunches:

Kindergarten & 1st Grade - 10:50 am to 11:20 am

2nd & 3rd Grade - 11:30 am to 12 pm

4th & 5th Grade - 12:10 pm to 12:40 pm

6th Grade - 12:50 pm to 1:20 pm

Mrs. Lueck and our 5th & 6th grade bands, middle school band, and Honors Choir invite you to join them for their Holiday Concert.

Please RSVP no later than December 9th if you are able to attend the Ok2Say Parent Presentation and Discussion on December 10th from 6:30-7:30pm. Please click on this link for more information on Ok2Say.

Thank you, November students of the month, for being such good friends!

Kindergarten - Jackson Steelman and Michael Bradford

First Grade - Autumn Fordham and Rapheal Lane

Second Grade - Violet Anzures and Justin Fowler and Avah Krumm

Third Grade - Arianna Flowers and Monica Belville

Fourth Grade - Angelina Thao and Hunter Shepard

Fifth Grade - Maliyah Morones and Payton Peters

Sixth Grade - Guy Peters

Teaching kindness in elementary school is crucial because it fosters a positive classroom environment, builds strong social skills, promotes empathy, reduces bullying, and contributes to children's overall well-being by enhancing their self-esteem and sense of belonging, laying the foundation for positive social interactions throughout their lives.

Here are a few ways we will be teaching kindness. Please join us in trying some of these at home!

• Model kindness: Teachers and staff should demonstrate kindness in their interactions with students.

• Discuss scenarios: Use role-playing and discussions to explore different situations and how to respond with kindness.

• Positive reinforcement: Acknowledge and praise acts of kindness from students.

• Kindness projects: Incorporate community service activities and kindness challenges.

• Read books about kindness: Utilize children's literature that focuses on themes of empathy and compassion.

Our District Nurse, Nurse Maddie Edwards, will present to our fifth and sixth grade classrooms on personal hygiene this week (Dec. 2-6). Here's the link to her presentation: Taking Good Care of Ourselves: Personal Hygiene.

Ms. Jenni, our AES Art Teacher, has been using Artsonia to document our AES student artwork. She has been notified that she's hit some milestones!

51% of our students now have one or more parents/guardians connected to their Artsonia accounts! She hopes to see this number closer to 100% in the future, but hitting the half way mark is great!

AND

Atherton Elementary School is now in the 1K artwork club!

Congratulations to you and your students for building a gallery of over 1K works of art! A badge signifying this accomplishment will be displayed in your school’s public gallery, and a congratulatory certificate is attached to this email. You should be proud of all your creativity, hard work, and dedication. See the badge in your public gallery!

https://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=170066

InPACT at Home is a home-based physical activity program designed to motivate students and entire families to get moving for 60 minutes a day. Their workout videos provide fun, easy ways to do a short workout with little to no equipment. Now get up and get moving with InPACT at Home. You’ll be surprised what these moments of movement can do for you and the rest of your family.

Check out Ms. AP's short instructional videos on our program website. They are also featured on the Michigan Learning Channel's Read, Write, ROAR! Restore With InPACT-demonstrating basic exercises, such as jumping jacks. These videos provide clear, step-by-step guidance to help viewers easily learn and perform these movements.

Click here to view: Read, Write, ROAR! Restore With InPACT

Feeling good reflects our overall well-being—physical, social, and mental health—and means something unique to everyone. This module shows how families can boost well-being by moving, thinking, and spending time together. Simple activities like walking, playing games, and sharing unstructured time strengthen bonds, build skills, and create lasting memories. Trying new things together helps families grow closer and feel good as a team!

Click here for the Feeling Good module!

From the University of Michigan Childhood Disparities Research Laboratory

• It's finally happened - winter weather has arrived! Please make sure that your child has appropriate gear for outside play each day as students will be going outside for their lunch recess. Also, if your child is missing any gear, the lost and found is located in the school lobby.
• Also, packing a spare set of clothes in your child's backpack is helpful in the event of an accident.
• And if your child is going to be absent from school, please make sure to call the office at 810/591-0604. It is important to do this each day they are out and provide a doctor's note on return to excuse the absence.
• Communicating Changes to Your Student's Transportation Plan: In the event you need to change your student's transportation plan from school for the day, our AES office must have that information before 3:00 pm. No changes will be made after 3pm. This is the only way we can maintain a safe, accurate, speedy, and efficient dismissal.

Wednesday, Dec. 4 - November Student of the Month Pizza Lunch with Dean and Principal

Wednesday, Dec. 4 - ELGA Deposit Day - 1-1:30pm

Friday, Dec. 6 - Santa's Secret Shop sponsored by the AES Parent Group

Tuesday, Dec. 10 - Polar Express Lunch - ticket sales end on Nov. 25th

Tuesday, Dec. 10 - Parent Connection - Ok2Say Presentation - 6:30pm

Wednesday, Dec. 11 - Early Dismissal - 1:58pm

Wednesday, Dec. 18 - ELGA Deposit Day - 1-1:30pm

Wednesday, Dec. 18 - AES Band Concert 7pm at AES

Friday, Dec. 20 - Popcorn Day

Monday, Dec. 23 - Friday, January 3 - No School for Winter Break

Mrs. Jane Fonger

Atherton Elementary School Principal

jfonger@athertonschools.org

810-591-0604