Thomson Tidbits

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we step into the vibrant month of October, I am excited to share that we have a calendar filled with engaging and fun activities for our students! This month will be one to remember with several special events planned.

We are thrilled to welcome Baffling Bill to Thomson Elementary on Monday, October 14th! His magic show is sure to captivate our students and provide an entertaining break from their usual routines.

In addition, we are looking forward to Parent/Teacher Conferences, which will be an important opportunity for you to connect with your child's teacher, discuss progress, and share in their learning journey.

Dates and Times:

• Wednesday, October 16th - 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
• Thursday, October 17th - 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

**Just a reminder there is no school on Friday, October 18th!**

During the conference, we will discuss your child's strengths, areas for improvement, and any specific goals we have set for them. We will also provide insights into their social and emotional development, as well as answer any questions or concerns you may have.

To make the conference as productive as possible, please consider the following:

1. Prepare Questions: Think about any questions or concerns you'd like to address during the conference. This will help ensure that we cover all relevant topics.

2. Your Child's Perspective: Feel free to share any insights or observations from your child's perspective, as it can be valuable in understanding their experiences at school.

3. Be Punctual: Please arrive on time for your scheduled conference slot, as we want to respect the schedules of all parents and teachers.

4. Childcare: If possible, arrange for childcare for your Kindergartener during the conference. This will allow you to focus on the discussion without distractions.

If you have not already scheduled your conference, please contact your child's teacher to confirm your appointment or to request an alternative time if necessary. We will do our best to accommodate your schedule.

Finally, as the month comes to a close, we’ll celebrate with our annual Halloween Parade and Classroom Parties! Costumes, fun, and excitement will fill the halls as we enjoy the festive day together.

We can't wait to share these moments with your children and create lasting memories. Thank you for your continued support and involvement. Let’s make October a fantastic month!

Warm regards,

Andrew Criswell

Principal, Thomson Elementary

October is here so that can only mean one thing.....HALLOWEEN!

We will celebrate Halloween on Friday, October 25th, our last day of school before Intersession I. To ensure that everyone enjoys this very exciting day please carefully read the important information that follows.

Costumes: Thomson Elementary is home to 11 kindergarten classes, four DK classes and a preschool class. Because we have such young students in our building, it is important that Halloween be celebrated in a kid-friendly manner. When selecting a costume for your child to wear to school please keep in mind the following guidelines.

Keep costumes kid-friendly/not scary

No blood/gore/weapons

No costume masks for safety sake. Please keep masks at home.

If you are unsure about whether or not a costume is kid-friendly please contact your child's teacher or the office.

Classroom Parties: Most parties will be held in the afternoon but some teachers, due to specials, will choose to celebrate in the morning. Your child's teacher will have more information coming to you soon!

Due to food allergies, we ask that you do not send any food or treats that are not cleared by the classroom teacher in advance. Every Thomson student is precious and we want to protect our students with serious allergies. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Due to security and limited space we are limiting the number of parent volunteers. Teachers will select party helpers in the next few weeks. Parents attending class parties should follow the same costume guidelines as the students if they choose to dress in costume.

Halloween Parade: Everyone is welcome to attend our Halloween Parade. It will be held outside weather permitting. The parade will be cancelled if the weather is bad. The parade will take place on the sidewalk inside the fenced in playground. Guests are welcome to park in any parking lot and the stand along the outside of the fence to watch our Thomson Teddies proudly parade in their costumes. The parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. Staff members will be outside to assist you as you arrive.

Last Friday, we had our annual Thomson Walk-a-Thon over at Cardinal Stadium. It was a HUGE success and the kids had an awesome time running, walking and dancing around the track!! We raised over $15,000 as a school! WOW! A huge thank you to Mrs. Lints, PTO members, and volunteers for all their hard work and making it a successful event for our Thomson Teddies!

Just a reminder that Intersession I is just around the corner! I wanted to remind everyone that Thomson Elementary will be closed for our first intersession of the year Monday, October 28th through Thursday, October 31st. Registration for intersession is now closed.

In addition to meeting with your child’s classroom teacher during Parent-Teacher conferences on either October 16th or October 17th, you will also have an opportunity to meet with their other teachers. This includes Mrs. Lints (Physical Education), Ms. Lockrey (STEM), and Mr. Romanik (Music). At these conferences you will have the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress in these “special” classes.

If you are interested in meeting with and talking with any or all of your child’s specials’ teachers, please sign up for a time slot using the links provided below. Each slot is only 20 minutes long. Ms. Lockrey’s conferences will all be done via Zoom/Google Meet due to her working in multiple buildings. Ms. Lockrey will reach out to you with further information if you sign up with her.

There are not enough time slots for the teachers to meet with all Thomson students, so please be sure to sign up sooner rather than later if you are interested. Any leftover time slots will be available at Thomson Elementary for “walk-in” conferences with Mrs. Lints and Mr. Romanik.

Thank you!

Leandra Lints, Physical Education

Wendy Lockrey, STEM

Michael Romanik, Music

**Music Conference with Mr. Romanik**

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DAEA922A0FAC61-51858266-music

**P.E. Conference with Mrs. Lints**

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DAEA922A0FAC61-51858556-pe

**VIRTUAL STEM Conference with Mrs. Lockrey**

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094DAEA922A0FAC61-51858555-virtual

Davison Community Schools is committed to helping all students succeed through our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) program. Our MTSS team, Megan Campbell (MTSS Coach) and Sara Howes (MTSS Interventionist), work closely with students and staff to provide targeted support. This includes strategies like "Name Building" to enhance letter knowledge, "Enhanced Alphabetic Knowledge" focusing on one letter daily, and "Walpole Coordinated Activities" to develop phonemic awareness and letter-sound relationships.

Additionally, our RISE program offers daily support in reading, writing, as well as speaking and listening in small groups. Through MTSS Coaching, Megan Campbell helps to enrich classroom supports using research-based strategies to meet the needs of all learners. Together, these interventions help foster a supportive learning environment tailored to each student’s needs.

If you are interested in learning more about the MTSS system at Thomson please visit the informational table at October parent-teacher conferences.

We’re excited to introduce a new initiative at Thomson Elementary this year—Sticker Behavior Charts and the Thomson Trading Post Cart! This system is designed to reinforce positive behavior through our school’s Cardinal Code. Here’s how it works:

Each student will receive a Sticker Behavior Chart. As they follow our Cardinal Code expectations, they will earn stickers that can be collected and later traded for small rewards at the Trading Post Cart. This is a fun and motivating way to encourage our students to demonstrate positive behavior!

To make the process smoother and more efficient this year, we have made some updates to how the Thomson Trading Post Cart will run:

• The Trading Post Cart will come to each classroom every two weeks or so at a scheduled time, which will take place right outside the classroom door. This will minimize disruptions to learning time and allow for a quicker process.
• Students will have two reward choices to pick from, with items rotating every two weeks.
• Students will be able to use up to two full sticker charts at a time (one for each reward choice).

We hope this system will be a positive and engaging way for students to take pride in their good behavior while keeping things running smoothly in the classroom.

Hi families! We have had a fantastic start to physical education. The students are learning the importance of exercise, teamwork, and spatial awareness. We had fun learning the rules of the playground, running the track, and learning the beginning steps to football. We kicked off a great fundraiser with our annual walkathon located at the high school track. Please be mindful that temperatures change daily and I really try to get the students outside as much as possible. Dressing in layers is important for your child's wellbeing. Having the appropriate shoes aids in the success of your child's physical activity. Please remember tennis shoes on Physical Education days. We will soon learn soccer and have a special Halloween themed unit! Remember a body in motion stays in motion!

Mrs. Lints

Happy Reading,

Fall is my favorite season! I am looking forward to reading lots of fun fall-themed books in the library. We will be celebrating the change of season all month long! I am planning to read Otis and the Scarecrow, Bats at the Library, Pick a Pumpkin and Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever! We will also be doing Halloween and fall-themed coloring sheets, along with activity worksheets like matching and color-by-number!!

Mrs. Hilton - Media Center Para

Hello Thomson families!

This month in STEM class we read the story “If I Built a House” by Chris Van Dusen. In the story, a little boy named Jack is imagining all of the things he would put in his house that he would build. We talked about how building things and engineering is a big part of STEM class: science; technology; engineering and math. The students got to use STEM bins with Keva planks in them to build all kinds of different things. Keva planks are special blocks that can be used for many things such as building and stacking, and the boys and girls really love them! We use these a lot in STEM class, and I am always so impressed with what they come up with! They also got to use their chromebooks to do some building on www.PBSkids.org. They worked on Daniel Tiger’s Build a Boat activity as well as several others.

It has been a great first month in STEM class!

:) Ms. Lockrey

Please be sure to check out Mr. Romanik's monthly newsletter titled, "Music Notes."

We work hard at Thomson to teach and reinforce the Cardinal Code behavior expectations in all areas of the building. We wanted to create a way to recognize students that consistently follow the Cardinal Code in an exemplary way.

Each month classroom teachers will nominate one student from their class to be STUDENT of the MONTH. Each student of the Month will receive a certificate, medal, and their photo will be on display in the hallway during that month.

We are pleased to recognize students for consistently demonstrating excellent behavior. Thank you for sharing your outstanding children with us. I am pleased to announce our Students of the Month for October are:

• Mrs. Harris' Preschool - Clare Diem
• Mrs. Romanik - Meridith Johnston
• Mrs. VanEvery - Lily Slezak
• Ms. Seeley - Grayson Johnson
• Mrs. Driskill - Nathaniel Wood
• Mrs. Williams - Marlayna Goodell
• Mrs. Ruzicka - Marzia Bautista
• Mrs. Schwab - Beau Brookins
• Mrs. Bell - Ella Romanik
• Mrs. Smith - Piper Wilson
• Mrs. Tober - Vivian Salinas
• Miss Maule - Luke Diamond
• Mrs. Newsom - Tabitha Kohn
• Ms. Wheatley - Walker Coulter
• Ms. Wheeler - Makyah Gritzinger
• Mrs. Waite - Henry Henk

Congratulations to these outstanding young learners!

Are you looking for Part-time Work?

We are hiring additional Playground Monitors and Paraprofessionals at Thomson Elementary. If you are interested in applying to be a Playground Monitor you can apply online at www.gecs-inc.org. If you are interested in applying for a Paraprofessional position you can apply at www.davisonschools.org. Please call the office at 810-591-0911 to let the office staff know you have completed your application. Also, please be aware that part of the hiring process is a complete background check and fingerprinting. If you have any questions please feel welcome to call us.

As the fall season sets in, we are beginning to experience cooler temperatures, especially during morning arrival and recess. To ensure our students are comfortable and ready for outdoor activities, we kindly ask for your support in helping your child dress appropriately for the changing weather.

Please consider the following as you prepare your child for school:

- Layers are key! Mornings can be chilly, but temperatures may rise by the afternoon. A light jacket or sweater over their regular clothing will keep them warm and can be easily removed if it gets warmer later in the day.

- Hats, gloves, and warm shoes are also helpful for those colder mornings.

- Please label your child’s outerwear with their name to avoid any mix-ups.

We value outdoor play and fresh air for our students, and they will continue to go outside unless the weather is too severe. Being dressed appropriately ensures they can enjoy their time outside comfortably.

Thank you for helping us keep our students warm and ready to learn and play this fall!

• Wednesday, October 2nd - COUNT DAY!
• Friday, October 11th - PTO Pals
• Monday, October 14th - Baffling Bill comes to Thomson!
• Wednesday, October 16th - Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Thursday, October 17th - Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Friday, October 18th - NO SCHOOL for staff and students
• Tuesday, October 22nd - Stranger Awareness Presentation
• Friday, October 25th - Halloween Parade and Parties!
• Monday, October 28th - 31st - Intersession I
• Friday, November 1st - No School!

Website: https://www.davisonschools.org/
Location: 617 East Clark Street, Davison, MI, USA
Phone: (810) 591-0911