Philip R. Smith Elementary School

Thank you for a fantastic first few days of school! The students have settled in so incredibly and we are all looking forward to an awesome year. Thank you so much for helping to make this week a success for our students and staff!!

Important question: Please let me know if you would have a conflict with after school clubs/sports if we have Open House from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.? You can email me if you feel strongly that we should keep the later time and not shift our event 30 minutes earlier. Thank you! mdixon@swindsor.k12.ct.us

Our Open House is scheduled for Wednesday, September 18th which will be a 1:15 pm dismissal for students. Open House is an opportunity for parents and students to visit school together, and allows students to show off their classrooms, visit specials (Art, Music, PE, STEM, Media Center), families to engage in some fun learning activities together, and offers a time for parents to connect with your child's teachers.

Parents of grades 4 and 5 students, please see the link below to a letter explaining a Student Leadership opportunity. We encourage all grade 4 and 5 students who are interested in any leadership opportunity to "apply" as we use the letters to identify students for our SLT team and offer a variety of schoolwide leadership positions from those applicants who were not selected for the Student Leadership Team.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/174p-CNaQ5c15M25qC0W9ncFsX_WQvRSEDcT2MWxx41o/edit?usp=sharing

Welcome back! We hope you had a great summer and are excited to make great memories during the upcoming school year.

Here is the PTO newsletter, calendar of events, as well as the room parent sign-up! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ENC8eu3WNBFxcfAYc-VcnGN2EWXjTquN/view?usp=sharing

Jogathon Fundraiser

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n9pto2OiiQXWBdMi87RgDe-L_UcavozV/view?usp=sharing

This new section of our newsletter will provide articles and information to help parents support their children to be resilient. Check out the link below for some great tips and strategies for parents and teachers!

https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience/guide-parents-teachers

We still have the "Universal Stories" link available for students and staff to access. Take a look, it would be great for families to submit your story for our community to enjoy.

Here's the link...https://sites.google.com/apps.southwindsorschools.org/prs-universal-stories/home

9/2 Labor Day-No School

9/4 Full Day Wednesday

9/11 Early Dismissal Wednesdays begin with a 1:15 dismissal for students

9/18 Open House in evening (more specifics will be shared soon)

Yearlong Calendar

https://cdnsm5-ss13.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_239916/File/Calendars/2024-2025%20School%20Calendar%20SWHS%20Principal%20Update.pdf

Nurse's Blog

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QoYcCkcavl8PlOhe7qdj66idT1cmvLoV9IW4z_DOjl8/edit?usp=sharing

Attendance Flyer

Volunteer Registration: This is the newly revised Volunteer Registration form-In order to volunteer you must complete this form. If you have already completed it in the past and have been approved to volunteer, you do not need to complete it again. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-YY-42ZxOAK16oe0_MME6uberDFv5P_ubEefFX2knqcUmQQ/viewform

Cub Scouts https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eH41LfiCN9IIZ8O_wFEk4E33BYPngsYy/view?usp=sharing

CHET Dream Big! Competition (the “Competition”) launched on August 15! K-12 students in Connecticut have the opportunity to enter the Competition and be awarded a scholarship of up to $20,000 to help pay for their future education! This competition is brought to you by the Connecticut State Treasurer’s Office as Trustee of the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET).

We need your help to make sure students and their families in your district know about this opportunity to win contributions to their CHET 529 college savings plans!

This year, we will be awarding almost $350,000 in CHET 529 College Savings Plan – Direct Plan (“CHET 529 Direct Plan”) account contributions to students in grades K-12 and technology prizes to schools. For the winning students, we will be awarding:

• Three prizes of $20,000
• 24 prizes of $5,000
• 239 prizes of $500

To enter, students are asked to answer a question by submitting a drawing or painting, essay, or video. Younger students will be asked to answer a question focusing on lessons they’ve learned and their dreams for the future, and older students will be asked about an experience or person that has impacted them and how that will influence their future goals. Submissions must be uploaded by 11:59 p.m. on November 4. There is no cost to enter. For program details, rules and the entry process, visit:

www.chetdreambig.com

Downloadable entry forms and flyers are available on the website as well.

A school in your district could be a winner too! Each school that is represented by at least one student’s entry will be eligible for a random drawing for a technology prize worth $5,000 (a total of 10 schools will win a technology prize). Please see the 2024 Competition Official Rules for more information on prize structure and awards.

If you have any questions, please email asavio@mintz-hoke.com. And thank you for your support!

Amanda Savio
The CHET Dream Big! Competition Team