December has arrived and Tucson is cooling off and our bright sunny days start later, which makes it difficult for us to get up and get going. As we enter the last days of the semester, please continue to have your students on time as learning begins at 7:45 a.m. daily. The month of December holds lots of family traditions, gatherings, special events and travels. As we prepare for these wonderful traditions, please be mindful of your child’s bedtime and completion of homework and projects. In our culture, December is about Family, Food and Fun and so it can be a challenge when all these exciting traditions are occurring while students are still in school and during this month. Please enjoy your children and family during these winter holidays, as we celebrate our families and cultural traditions, while staying safe and healthy. Our last day for school is Thursday, December 21st and we return on January 8th. We encourage you to have your student read daily and to utilize our access to our reading and math programs, IXL, ST Math, iReady, and Raz Plus Learning A-Z over the winter break to keep those beautiful brains learning!

In these last few days, we have a lot of upcoming events! Today is our middle school band and orchestra concert Friday 12/08 is out 5th grade band and orchestra concert. We will also have our first middle school dance this Friday for middle school students only. Next week is out Family Night at the Museum on 12/12 and our 12/15 we are celebrating winter holidays here at school. Student council is selling Spirit Grams this week and this week is also SPIRIT week!
Stay SAFE & Happy Holidays!

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Hello Roadrunner Families,

Announcements from the Counseling Department:

Please support the holiday food drive, sponsored by Robins PTO, and National Junior Honor Society. Dates are December 1-11. Donation boxes are inside the doors at the front office.

The holidays are a time for family and cheer, but making sure the house is clean, the food is ready, and the presents are wrapped and ready to be opened can be overwhelming. These factors can bring unwanted stress and depression in a time meant for happiness.

Some important, practical tips can help minimize the stress that accompanies the holidays. These tips may even help you enjoy the holidays more than expected:

Through the endless parties, cooking, shopping and cleaning, try taking one of 9 steps to ensure you have a stress-free holiday:

1. Plan ahead.

Between co-workers, friends and family, it's inevitable that some commitments will end up on the same day. Make sure to plan on what you can attend in person or virtually. If you're hosting the holidays, create a menu to help you stay organized and make grocery shopping easier.

2. Say no.

With holiday commitments, it is OK to say no to a few or all of them. It also will help relieve some stress. Try sharing your to-do list with other family members.

3. Plan spending.

The holidays mean spending money. Make a budget and stick to it. Spending money on your loved ones is important, but it's also important to pay your energy bill. Don't buy gifts that you'll be paying off for the rest of the year.

4. Create relaxing surroundings.

Turn on some music, light some candles or open the windows on a sunny day. Research has found that listening to music and the scent of citrus can boost feelings of well-being, and vitamin D is always a happiness booster.

5. Maintain healthy habits.

The holidays are notorious for ruining healthy habits. A short workout each morning will help your decision-making throughout the day. Encourage your family to try snow shoeing or sledding to get in

We are currently in the middle of benchmark testing for grades K-8. Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades will be taking the Dibels assessment to see how their reading skills are progressing. 2nd - 8th grade will be taking a writing, reading, and math assessment to measure how they are doing on quarter 2 standards. Please help your children be successful by ensuring they arrive to school on time, have a healthy breakfast, and encouraging them to do their very best. Thank you so much for your support!

Hello, Scholars!

This month we are still celebrating Native American Heritage month. There are books displayed all over the library, both fiction and non-fiction. You can learn about all the different tribes. The library is a wealth of knowledge, so make sure you take advantage of it.

Newly arrived books are still displayed on the shelf to the left once you come into the library.

AVID Night was amazing! I was glad to see many of you opted to check out books in order to your stamp. Some of you read with friends and family as well. That was really good to see. Do make sure to take care of the books when you have them checked out. We want others to be able to borrow them when you are done.

Happy December and see you in the library!

We are holding a Reading Challenge for all students, PreK-8th grades. The reading challenge paper will be sent home at the end of next week with with your child as well as an email to you. Students who complete 20 out of the 25 items on the challenge will submit their paper to me, the librarian. I will randomly select a paper from all the papers submitted to win our large DRAGON stuffed animal! The challenge starts on December 22nd and ends January 7th. Bring your paper to me on January 8th.