The Winn Word

Can you believe it's almost Halloween?!? As we get ready for the big day, I would like to share our plan to celebrate Halloween at Winn Elementary!

Helpful Reminders:

• Inappropriate “props” such as plastic weapons (guns, swords, knives, etc.) should not be brought to school.
• Costumes should be school appropriate.
• Please have your child bring their costume to school in a bag/backpack. Students should NOT wear their costumes to school.
• They will be changing into their costume in the classroom before the parade. They should just be able to put in on over their clothes. We won't be using bathrooms to change our clothes.
• Masks may be worn in the parade as long as they are school appropriate. Bloody or gruesome masks are not allowed.
• Please do not have your child wear hair paint, makeup or face paint to school. You can save all that for the big night :)
• We are going to parade around the whole front parking lot so your child needs to be able to walk all that way with their costume.

Parade Tips:

We will have a special parade that begins at 12:30pm. Our parade will be outside. We will make a big loop around the entire front parking lot. You are welcome to park in the parking spots on our side and the FlexTech side. We will be closing the parking lot at 12:15pm to prepare for the parade. Please be in the lot prior to 12:15pm. We will parade through the building first and then head outside. We ask that you do not offer candy or throw candy to the students during the parade. You are welcome to take lots of pictures! In the event of rain, we will do our parade in the building and families will be invited to sit in the cafeteria to watch. You must have an ICHAT on file to be in the building to view the parade.

Halloween Classroom Parties:

Halloween parties are being hosted in each classroom. As soon as the parade is done, classrooms will be having their parties. Your child's teacher will give you more information about their party and what they need families to bring. If you plan on helping at the party, you will have to have a background check. The ICHAT form (background check) needs to be filled out and turned in to the office by Friday, October 27 at the latest. If you know you are helping, you are encouraged to do the ICHAT form as soon as you can.

Background Check Reminder:

• If you plan on being in the building that day, you must have an approved background check for the year. You can fill out an ICHAT form (background check) here in the office any time to be "approved."

We know that dropping off and picking your kids up can be a tricky procedure. We know many of you have next stops in your journey that day too!

Helpful Reminders:

1. Once you enter through our gate into our loop, the speed limit at most is 5mph. Please follow that all the way through until you get to our exit gate. Please be cautious as you are moving through the drop off/pick up lane. We want to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and you :)
2. Please do not get out of your car if possible. If you need to get out, please be mindful of the people behind you. They are waiting to let their students off or pick up their students too.
3. Pull in as far as you can each morning. The further you pull down, the more people can get into the lane to drop off their kids too.
4. Thanks for bringing your name plates! If you need an extra name plate, please contact the office.
5. If you are going to pick up your child and they normally ride the bus, please use the "blue notes" OR you can call the school to let us know. We need to know any changes to the normal routine. If your child tells us there is a change, we still need you to confirm it.

Thank you to all of our families for following our protocols for drop off and pick up. We have a nice flow going and we appreciate your help in following our procedures.

This month, our school-wide theme is "skills for learning": listening, focusing attention, using self-talk to stay on-task, and being assertive when asking for help with learning a task. In our morning announcements and in our classrooms, we will be reminding students of these skills, which help students be successful learners and good humans!

If you are able to focus your attention and listen, you have the ability to learn easier. Try this fun activity out at home:

Ask your child: How do focusing your attention and listening help you be a better learner at school? Take a second to practice. Sit quietly in a room. For five minutes stay silent and really listen to everything you hear. As soon as the five minutes is up, take a piece of paper and write it all done. Talk together about what made this easy. What strategies did you use to remember as much as you could?

Second Step lessons teach skills for learning. You’ll be receiving Home Links from your teacher and in our newsletter describing why these skills are important and including fun activities to do with your child to practice them. We hope you enjoy them!

This is your chance to get picture retakes on Monday. If you would like your child to have retakes, please tell your child and communicate with your classroom teacher. Guys and Dolls wanted to thank you for the opportunity to photograph your child this year!

Welcome to Winn Elementary! Winn Elementary, in partnership with parents and community, will educate all students to be productive, responsible, lifelong learners. We are so happy that you are a part of our school. If you ever have questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me at school or via email.

Email: lrichards@shepherdschools.net
Website: https://www.shepherdschools.net/
Location: Winn Elementary School, West Blanchard Road, Shepherd, MI, USA
Phone: 989.866.2250