Wolverine Weekly #15

Dear AES Families,

For those who were able to come to AES for the Polar Express Lunch, we hope that you enjoyed the time you spent with you child at school. It was wonderful to see the smiles on kids faces and great to see you, too. If you weren't able to attend, we missed you! As we start the last week before a two-week break and the end of 2024, please take the time to consider how much your child has grown already this school year. Thank you for partnering with us as we support your child's growth! I wish you each a happy and safe break and hope you enjoy time with family and friends and time for yourself, too!

Here's our list of activities / events at AES for the rest of December:

12/5-12/20 - 12 Days of Christmas Count Down Calendar continues

12/16 - Board of Education Meeting 6:30pm at AJHS Collaboration Space

12/18 - ELGA Deposit Day 1-1:30pm

12/18 - AES Holiday Concert 7pm at AES

12/20 - AES Parent Group Popcorn Day - information will be sent through Rooms

12/23-1/3/2025 - Holiday Break - No School - Don't forget the Reading Challenge!

Looking ahead to the new year:

1/7/25 - Return Reading Challenge Sheets

1/10/25 - AES Glow Dance sponsored by the AES Parent Group

1/14/25 - AES Parent Advisary Meeting - 6-7pm - no RSVP required

1/23/25 - 3/27/25 - Winter Bowling Program - permission slips will be sent home the week of 1/13

Thank you for your support!

Mrs. Fonger

AES Principal

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

Here are a few ways to keep our math skills strong during the holidays by making math fun and engaging for the whole family!

This holiday season, focus on family time with these 3 holiday math activities:

1. Planning travel:

Heading off to visit the relatives tops the list of many family holiday activities, so invite your child to become a part of the travel plans by using GoogleMaps or other resources to map out the best route to your destination or have them make a schedule of all your activities. You can even play a math travel game by counting the number of different colored cars on the road or adding, subtracting and multiplying numbers on the speed limit signs.

2. Cooking and baking:

Bring your child into the kitchen with you and whip up your family’s favorite holiday treats! Read recipes out loud together and familiarize your young learner with fractions and units of measurement. You can cook up a great batch of holiday cookies together.

3. Gift shopping:

Set a shopping budget and ask your child to help you find gifts that maximize the budget. Holiday sales and discounts present great opportunities to explore percentages and demonstrate how math can help you make smart consumer decisions and make every penny count.

Enjoy your holidays and do some fun math together as a whole family.

Mrs. Vachon

AES Math Coach

Hello, Atherton Families!

What an incredible week we've had at AES! We kicked things off with the Polar Express Luncheon, chatted with Santa himself, and even got a FREE book (purchased with Title I Funds)! But the fun doesn't stop there—our Christmas Break Reading Challenge is officially underway, and we've got some exciting surprises still to come!

Please check your child's backpack for a special letter about Bridges Math, along with two awesome comprehension strategy bookmarks. These fun activities are perfect for the break and beyond, and they’ll help your child build math and reading skills in a playful, engaging way. We hope you enjoy working through them together!

But wait—there’s even more fun learning activities coming home next week! Stay tuned!

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 past week (Dec. 9-13). Here's the link to her presentation: Taking Good Care of Ourselves: Personal Hygiene.

• 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 allows us to maintain a safe, accurate, speedy, and efficient dismissal.

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

Monday, Jan. 6 - Return to School

Tuesday, Jan. 7 - Return Reading Challenge Sheets

Wednesday, Jan. 8 - December Student of the Month Lunches

Wednesday, Jan. 8 - Early Dismissal 1:58pm

Friday, Jan. 10 - Parent Group Glow Dance

Tuesday, Jan. 14 - AES Parent Advisory Meeting 6-7pm

Wednesday, Jan. 15 - ELGA Deposit Day 1-1:30pm

Monday, Jan. 20 - No School - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Wednesday, Jan. 22 - End of Second Marking Period

Wednesday, Jan. 29 - ELGA Deposit Day 1-1:30pm

Wednesday, Jan. 29 - Early Dismissal 1:58pm

Friday, Jan. 31 - Second Marking Period Awards - 8:45-11:45am

Friday, Jan. 31 - Popcorn Day - Parent Group

Wednesday, Feb. 5 - January Student of the Month Lunches

Wednesday, Feb. 5 - Early Dismissal 1:58pm

Friday, Feb. 7 - Mother Son Dance - Parent Group (Ties & Tiara theme)

Mrs. Jane Fonger

Atherton Elementary School Principal

jfonger@athertonschools.org

810-591-0604