Elm Hill School

As we head into our winter break I want to take time to thank everyone for their time, dedication and commitment they have shown the Elm Hill Community. I feel so fortunate to be part of such a wonderful school.

This is a great time for reflection over the past year of the many joys our family, school and community have experienced. It is a time to think about traditions - to continue our current ones and to start new ones that expand our circles. I hope you use this time over the holiday break to rest, recharge and create memories with family and friends.

In the past few months we have been doing just that at Elm Hill. Our learning communities have been thriving with next experiences and opportunities for growth while we have also been having some fun. Most recently our trips to the Claremont bowling alley have been filled with laughter and smiles. It has been a pleasure to see the children and staff build relationships and enjoy playful banter about gutter balls and strikes.

I look forward to seeing everyone return on January 6th and wish you a peaceful holiday season.

Best,

Rachel

December 23 - January 3 - No School, Holiday Break

January 8 - PTA Meeting @ Elm Hill School 6-7:30

January 20 - No School, Martin Luther King Day

January 21 - No School, District In-Service Day

If your student has lost an item please reach out to Ryan Seaver at rseaver@ssdvt.org. Ryan is the keeper of lost and found.

Hello families! Our class has been having so much fun inside and out this month. We are learning how to get dressed in all our snow clothes without help so that we can get outside faster! They are working hard to find the fastest sliding slope and the best snow to build with. Inside the classroom, we have been learning about gingerbread. We have read books about gingerbread, practiced building sight words with gumdrops, and constructed our own gingerbread houses to celebrate our learning. It is great to see the teamwork and growth our room is building together!

The first grade went bowling at Maple Lanes in Claremont.

We had a great time!

When I was rolling the bowl, I got a spare! By Reed

Nokomis was trying to take my turn so I had to run to the floor! By Tygen

It was giving people the balls. By Remi

I rolled the ball fast and long. I just like to bowl. By Gavin

I scored a spare. By Janie

I almost won. I like bowling. By Tanner

I won 9 points. I slipped and hurt myself. By Matthew

My bowling was good. By Adalyn

Bowling was good. It was fun. By Lyle

I got 56 points. By Noah

My favorite part was having my turn and being on the bus.

By Brynley

They had small balls. And I knocked off 9 and then 1 more.

By Marie

I won both rounds. I was happy. By Zaylee

It was fun. I was very good at it. By Seraphina

The best thing was I had 2 spares. I almost had 1 pin left.

By Alex

It was fun. I was the letter C. And I got my first spare. I did a victory dance. By Carter

Written by Mrs. Whaley’s Class

Visit from Springfield PD

Welcome, Officer Guzzo!

Officer Guzzo visited the first graders in Miss Cora's class this month. He read the book "Officer Buckle and Gloria", written by Peggy Rathman. It is a story about a police officer and his beloved police dog sharing safety tips with kids.

After the read aloud, students shared their own safety tips, such as wearing a helmet while riding your bike, never run with scissors, and never run a red light.

Students were excited to ask Officer Guzzo questions about his job as a police officer, and many students said that they hope to be a police officer when they grow up.

Thank you, Officer Guzzo!

Elm Hill School Library will soon be offering a new picture book format called Wonderbook.

Wonderbook is a physical hardcover book that includes a built-in audio player. Students can turn the page while following along with the audio narration.

Everything is built in - just open, press play, and enjoy!

There’s no need for Wi-Fi. Wonderbooks work anywhere, anytime. Plus each Wonderbook features a long-lasting rechargeable battery. Just plug it in via a Micro USB charger, charge it up, and enjoy endless storytelling!

Wonderbook will debut in early January as part of center-time activities to help students explore this fantastic new resources in a hands-on, fun way.

Hello from Ms.Courtney’s kindergarten class! We’ve been learning so much about winter and how animals hibernate this month!! Our students have learned what hibernate means, what animals hibernate, and which do not. We’ve followed up this lesson with an animal hibernation matching game and a movement break in which students get to pretend to ‘hibernate’ and then ‘wake up’ when someone says “Spring is here!”. We have been learning about snowflakes, how they are made, and how each snowflake is unique. We have also learned about Snowflake Bentley and his thousands of photographs of snowflakes. Our class followed this up with making snowflakes and they had a blast! Their beautiful snowflakes were put on our bulletin board in the hallway and are also decorating our class windows. In math, we are learning to associate quantities with numerals up to ten. The students learned a few games to help with this concept, but one of their favorites was to roll a dice and thread beads on a pipe cleaner. Our class also partners with Mrs. Whaley’s first grade class on woods walks each Thursday, weather permitting. Since it has snowed, we have seen lots of animal tracks in the woods!

As always, we appreciate the support of our families and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Warmest wishes,
Ms. Courtney

Welcome Winter! ❄️

Some Tips to Prevent Respiratory Illnesses 🤒 this Winter

• Wash, Wash, Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds

• Stay home if you are not feeling well

• Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow if you cough or sneeze

• Consider getting the Flu and/or COVID vaccines

****Free COVID tests can be ordered for your family at https://www.covid.gov/tests.***

Immunization Letters: Immunization letters have been mailed to those families of students who either don’t have an immunization record on file or have not yet received all of the immunizations according to the schedule set by the VT Department of Health. If you have any questions or choose for your student not to receive any immunizations either for medical or religious reasons, please contact me at 802-885-5314 or mchristman@ssdvt.org.

Some Friendly Reminders While Enjoying the Upcoming Winter Break….

• Although they may be having a lot of fun with winter activities/eating goodies during winter break, germs (even in their mouths) don’t take a vacation! Please remind your students to brush their teeth at least twice each day for two minutes and floss at least once each day is still very important! Thank you! 🦷

• If you find some spare time while keeping warm indoors during the winter months, here are some great (free) webinars for parents to view about various health topics: https://healthychildren.org/english/tips-tools/webinars/pages/default.aspx. There are also parent support groups to discover which are also offered free of charge.

Winter Gear 🧥 🧤 Please encourage your little ones to wear/ bring warm outdoor clothing (hats, gloves, snow pants, warm jacket, gaiter) to school, so that they can have fun outside safely. Thank you!

VT Food Assistance Programs: See https://www.vtfoodbank.org/ for the many resources available.

“Put a Freeze on Winter Fires!”: The NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) has some great tips on how to decrease your family’s chances of fires/carbon monoxide poisoning at home during the winter months. Go to: https://www.nfpa.org/winter for more information. 🔥

To a Safe and Healthy Winter, and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

With “Warm” Regards,

Nurse Mary