It’s that time of year again when all the hustle and bustle of Christmas gets everyone excited for a break.

We hope that everyone can take a moment to reflect on all the positives that happened in 2024. This time also offers a great opportunity to settle into a good book or two.

The students will be completing their winter benchmark testing when they return to school and sharing this reading time with their family and friends is an excellent way for the students to showcase their first semester progress!

Family is such a precious gift, and we want to thank all of our Longfellow Families for sharing their children with us. It has been a great first semester and the students have made leaps and bounds in our new phonics program. We can’t thank you enough for encouraging and reading with your child/ren. It truly makes a difference in their education, and we feel very fortunate to have your home support.

As we return to school on January 6, 2025, it will bring with it opportunities for families to be involved in numerous school sponsored events for second semester: continue LO Family Fitness Challenge activities, fourth grade recorder concert, fifth grade show choir performance, LO Family BINGO Night, and Parent/Teacher conferences. We hope everyone has a blessed Christmas break and fabulous start to 2025!!!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Mrs. Heckenlaible

Each year, families have the opportunity to nominate a Longfellow teacher or staff member for the honor of Teacher or Staff of the Year. If you would like to nominate someone, please click on the link below and fill out the form online.

A paper copy of this form will be sent out after our return from Christmas break if you'd rather fill it out that way.

NOMINATIONS ARE ALL DUE JANUARY 10th!

The cold weather has been & will be again at our doorstep. so we want you to be aware that the doors do not open and supervision doesn't start until 7:30 am. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

GBR's letter is E-Excellence. What amazing ways to exhibit Excellence!! Way to go GBR! They have challenged Longfellow to the letter R-Respect. Tune in to next months newsletter to see how Longfellow shows Respect!

Imagine you're a student at Longfellow. You are sitting in your classroom, working hard, when you hear Mrs. Heckenlaible over the intercom. She tells you to get on your coat, hat and gloves and meet outside along the sidewalk to cheer on teachers and other staff member for the first ever Turkey Trot! The halls were filled with, "What's going on?", "Why is she dressed like that?", and "YES! We're getting out of math!".

Staff members were given the choice to trot or help supervise. And of course, the students were supervising every step, making sure the turkeys were keeping a heel on the ground at all times. Runners spent the past several days putting together the perfect costume to trot in. From the looks of it, some of them even practiced (we're talking about you, Mrs. Ehlke!)

We had a few celebrity turkeys as well! Sarah Timmer (school district curriculum director), Mayor Jordan Hanson, MSD Superintendent Dr. Childs and one celebrity who needed NO introduction, Cornelia!

It was a very fun way to celebrate before our students left for the long Thanksgiving break! You never know what can happen at Longfellow! Ok, so most days do not involve a Turkey Trot but if you're not here, you might miss out on something awesome!

Mrs. Abts's class surprised us with their own Thanksgiving Day Balloon Parade! Forgive our loudness as we were so excited for our special parade.

We understand that families need to make doctor appointments and have family vacations. As you are scheduling those, it may help to be aware of these dates.

12/23-1/3 Mon-Fri-NO SCHOOL - Christmas Break

1/20 Mon-NO SCHOOL - MLK Jr. Day/Teacher Inservice

2/14 Fri-NO SCHOOL

2/17 Mon-NO SCHOOL - President's Day

3/13-3/17 Thurs-Mon-NO SCHOOL - Spring Break/Teacher Inservice

4/18-4/21 Fri-Mon-NO SCHOOL - Easter

We do the bulk of our statewide testing in April as well (3rd-5th graders). When a student

misses the scheduled testing time, we are required to reschedule for that student. Learners do

better when testing with the rest of their peers. We appreciate you doing your best to avoid

absences or leaving for appointments during those dates.

Eleven-year-old Melody is not like most people. She can’t walk. She can’t talk. She can’t write. All because she has cerebral palsy. But she also has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school, but NO ONE knows it. Most people—her teachers, her doctors, her classmates—dismiss her as mentally challenged because she can’t tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by her disability. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.

That is the plot of the book, Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper. Mrs. Abts's class read the book and had real-life experience with it. They were paired up with a partner, then given a sheet of typical pictures that would be on a communication board. They were also given sentences that they had to "say" to their partner, using only the communication pictures available to them. "This is SO frustrating!" was a commonly heard phrase.

As an added bonus, Mrs. Sides, a Longfellow para-educator, was in the room and she showed the students the communication devises that some of our Lions use. If they didn't understand the assignment, how can they "say" that to their teacher? If their shoes are too tight and hurt their feet, how do they "say" that? It's one thing to use that when you're calm and comfortable, but what about when you're angry, frustrated, tired, not feeling well? These challenges aren't just for people in a book or on a movie screen, there are people IN OUR BUILDLING who need to use this to 'talk'.

What an amazing life-lesson these kids learned!! If you have a student in 5A, ask them about it!

You are encouraged to fill out a free and reduced meal application at any time throughout the school year. When in doubt, fill it out. If you completed the 2024-2025 application already this year, then you should have already been notified of your status. If you have experienced a financial change due household membership or job change, you are encouraged to apply again.

You can create an online account to monitor your child/ren’s meal account, balances, and add money to their account. Visit the district
the school website and click on

“Mealtime Online Access”

Den A put on another terrific Densgiving this year. The students of Den A make placemats and help put up tables and chairs. The teachers "Turkey Squad" prepare the food. Wonderful volunteers help serve as well as the Turkey Squad. The students of Den A get to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving feast!

The learners in Mrs. Borgan's class put on a poetry reading. They did a great job! It's not easy standing in front of others but they rocked it!

We are very proud of our attendance rates at Longfellow Elementary as we had a 97% attendance rate for the 2023-24 school year!! We are currently at 97% and want to keep that going! We want to thank our parents for continuing to bring their child/ren to school each day and on time.

Attendance is extremely important to the success of each child's education.

Thank you for making attendance and education a priority in your child's life!!

The school doors open at 7:30 am. Even if it is cold or raining, we do not have staff in the building to supervise so students will wait until 7:30 am to enter the building. Likewise, our staff leaves by 3:45 and students will need to be picked up before that time. We appreciate you making arrangements to have your children dropped off and picked up within those times.

Building doors open 7:30 am

Breakfast served 7:30-8:10 am

First bell rings at 8:10 am

School begins at 8:15 am (meaning a student is tardy at 8:16 am)

School dismissed at 3:15 pm

If your child needs to leave during the school day or will come late due to an appointment, simply alert the school office at 605-995-3092. If you need to take your child out early, we appreciate you alerting the office ahead of time, if possible. Your child will remain in class until you come inside to sign them out and we will do our best to have them prepared and ready to go as quickly as possible.

If your child is in need of a winter coat, please sign up for a Caring Closet pop up. The link is in this newsletter. Mitchell also has The Salvation Army and Goodwill. Due to all of these wonderful resources, we no longer keep extra coats/boots/snow pants on hand and ask that YOU reach out to them yourselves.

Please remember that students will always go out for recess unless it is raining or below zero with windchill. Thank you!

Our PTO has been working, behind the scenes, to do some wonderful things for our Lions! When they host events such as The Decade Disco or our Raffle Tickets Sales, the money goes many different directions.

This year, they purchased books for each Lion from the Book Fair. Not only does that put a book in the hands of every child, but it also contributes to our record breaking Book Fair total! The PTO also purchased a camera for the school staff to use for the yearbook and newsletter.

And they aren't done, ether. They have another big project that we are so excited to reveal to our Lions!

Thank you, PTO, for all you do for our students and staff!!!

Pick up and drop off can be a very stressful time for parents and students. Everyone is in a hurry and ready to move on to the next part of their day. However, safety is the most important factor! Please remember to go to the corner and cross the street with the crossing guards. Please do NOT encourage your child to cross in the middle of the street. We want to keep our students safe and set a good example.

From the squeals of fun we hear coming out of the gym, it sounds like they have a blast with whatever Mrs. Eitemiller and Mr. Borgan challenge them with.

Highlights in November include:

• Boost Ups
• Fitness Testing for 4th/5th Grades
• Pacer Running
• Yoga
• Turkey Challenges

PLEASE remember that students need proper shoes on gym days. Sandals, cowboy boots, snow boots, fashionable boots, flipflops, crocs, etc., are fine shoes but not appropriate for PE days.

Longfellow does not have spare shoes for students to borrow. Thank you.

**Prizes will be awarded 1st week of December for our Oct/Nov challenges. Just a reminder, everyone who submits a picture will be entered into a drawing for the prizes!

Nov 22-Dec 2 - Papa Murphy Days

Tues 3 - K & 1 Music Concert

Tues 3 - Parade of Lights

Sat 7 - Downtown Kids Shopping

Mon 9 - School Board Meeting

Fri 13 - Student Council Candy Cane Store

Sat 14 - Caring Closet Pop-up

Fri 20 - End of 2nd Quarter

Dec 22-Jan 3 - CHRISTMAS BREAK

Mon Jan 6 - School Resumes

Tues Jan 7 - PTO Meeting

Please ask your child if they have headphones for school. If you forgot to send some or they are no longer working, we have headphones in the office available for purchase for $5.00. Our lions use headphones daily.

Mrs. Schoenfelder's 2nd graders made balloons for their very own Thanksgiving Day Parade! It's always fun to see what they come up with. Such creative minds.

All medications must be administered through the office. Students may keep cough drops in their lockers or desks but allergy meds, cold & flu, antacids, inhalers, etc., as well as all prescription medications will be held in the nurse's office. Please stop in to see Mrs. Snoozy, Longfellow's nurse, or call 605-995-3092 and ask for our nurse, if you have any questions.

Mrs. Snoozy's hours at Longfellow vary but she will be available at open house and will call you back should you leave a message.

Please remember that students are NOT ALLOWED to carry any medications on them (even aspirin). It is not safe to have elementary students carrying meds as we don't want them to get into the wrong hands. We are happy to keep OTC medications in the office for your child when/if they need them.

In the next couple of months, we will be screening all K-3rd graders, as well as any new students, for hearing and vision. You may receive a letter or phone call from our nurse if any results are at all concerning.

If your child had any health concerns in the past (milk allergy, asthma, etc.) our nurse may be contacting you via a letter in your child's backpack, mail or phone call to confirm. If your child HAS any health conditions we need to be aware of, please fill out the form below so we can be prepared