January Newsletter

Greetings Thurston Elementary Families,

This has been a crazy and unexpected January that feels like it has been much longer than a month. I know many of you were greatly affected by the recent ice storm and are still recovering from its impact. We are so grateful that our school was able to be quickly cleaned up, power restored, food replaced and heat on so we could get students back in school. We are still without internet at the school, but we are making due and revisiting what it was like to teach and learn without technology. In some instances, it has been really nice to have a break from screens. If you are in need of resources or support, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Our wonderful family resource coordinator, Alicia Williams, is happy to help connect students and families to resources in our community.

We are happy to welcome in February and get back to a much more typical routine. We are excited to bring families in for some of our upcoming events. Our first and second grade music performances on the 15th, Family Movie Night on the 23rd and the Bookfair from the 20th to 23rd. We look forward to seeing you there.

Warm Regards,

Amber Mitchell, Principal

If you would like to stay up to date on the latest announcements and TES events, check out the links below.

TES Parent Teacher Group

TES Facebook Page

TES Website

The ice storm impacted many areas in our city. It also impacted our school year calendar. The SPS School Board approved the following calendar earlier this week. Please note that we WILL have school on February 19th. Also, three previous early release days have been converted to full school days: February 23, April 12 and April 26. Please discard your previous calendar and use this one.

Alicia Williams is our Family Resource Coordinator. Alicia is available during the typical school day to help you coordinate appointments and can guide you to other resources available to our school community. If you have continuing impacts from the ice storm, please feel free contact her here or by phoning the school office.

The Battles (Battle of the Books) have begun! Students are quizzed on the content of the books they are reading. They are available in our office, a small number in the TES library, through the SPS library, and our local bookstores and online outlets. Click here for a list of titles and authors. If your child is participating, you can help by encouraging reading of the books, and quizzing at home on author names and asking about details in the book(s) they are reading.

Sluggo visited Cheetah Club in November! The annual Eugene Emeralds reading challenge will go through March 1st. Students read books, complete the bookmark, and will earn a voucher for a ticket to a 2024 Ems game. Sluggo's visits are always a hit (pun intended!)

If you would be interested in the next Hallway Heroes event, February 9, you can contact Collin Waldahl for more information. You must have an approved volunteer application through the district's Raptor system in order to volunteer in any capacity in the school.

Our Student Voice group is working on ideas to improve our school. We are planning on doing a bake sale at Family Movie Night, with proceeds going to Bags of Love or American Cancer Society.

February 1 - Parent Teacher Group Meeting 6 pm

February 2 - NO SCHOOL for students/Teacher Prep day

February 5 - 4th Grade NAEP testing

February 8 - Papa's Pizza flyer fundraiser begins

February 9 - Early Release 12:30

February 9 - Hallway Heroes (formerly WatchDOGS) 10:30-12:30

February 15 - 1st Grade Music Program 6 pm

February 15 - 2nd Grade Music Program 7 pm

February 16 - Popcorn Day!

February 17 - Dinners Out Chipotle

February 20-23 - Book Fair

February 21 - Papa's Pizza flyers due

February 23 - Family Movie Night 6 pm

March 4-8 - Classified Appreciation Week

March 7 - Parent Teacher Group Meeting 6 pm