The Blackhawk Flyer

Primary Families,

Hello December! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break doing what brings you joy. We have had a busy November at the Primary and December is shaping up to be similar. Our teachers and staff having been working tirelessly to implement new ideas and strategies they have learned from our work with Visible Learning. We are excited to share more about our journey and the impact it is having on student achievement at our next school board meeting.

We are looking forward to several fun events and activities in the next three weeks. Please see our events below:

• December 7th-Picture Retakes
• December 8th-Blackhawk Bash-Christmas t-shirt
• December 12th-Second Grade Musical 5:30/6:30-See Below
• December 19th/20th-Kindergarten Caroling
• 19th-Stewart, Irlenborn, Pyle, Bell
• 20th-Shackelford, Cagle, Hale, Evans and Bounds
• Week of December 18-21-Dress up Days-See Below
• December 20th-Class Parties @2:15
• December 21st-Movie day and PJ day (last day before break)
• January 8th-School begins
• January 15th- No School

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas break and a Happy New Year. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your child's education.

For those of you who don’t know me, I serve as the building 504 coordinator and Special Education designee. I have linked some information here that helps explain the difference in a 504 and Individual Education Plan (IEP). If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at angie.day@pearidgek12.com.

Holiday breaks and chilly winter weekends offer the perfect excuse to encourage kids to

snuggle under a warm blanket with a cup of hot cocoa and their favorite book. Whether

you have an enthusiastic bookworm, or your child is less than motivated, here are a few

things to try to get them reading during the cold winter months ahead!

1. Try a Reading Challenge – Many children respond well to a little competitive

challenge! And research has shown that reading just 20 minutes a day exposes

children to 1.8 million words in a year and dramatically improves test scores.

2. Gift Books – What better gift than a book whether it is an old favorite to love or a

new adventure to discover! Maybe even one of your favorites from when you

were small!

3. Consider a Read Alike – Books that explore the same genre, similar subjects, or

storylines as ones your child already loves are sure to become new favorites.

4. Don’t Forget Nonfiction! – This is the most popular section in the school library

for most kids, but we tend to overlook it for our home libraries.

5. Read on the Road – If you are traveling, make sure to pack books! And don’t

forget about audiobooks! Listening is a wonderful way to read! If you have a

library card, you can download free audiobooks from the Libby App using your

library card for FREE!

6. Read Together as a Family – Kids of ALL ages love it when their parents read

aloud to them. Start by choosing a book the whole family will enjoy, then commit

to making time each day to slow down, snuggle together and enjoy the closeness

of reading together. *(Our One Book, One School event is coming in January!

Stay tuned for more information coming soon!)

(Scholastic Raise a Reader, 2018)