Knights News
Unity Elementary School
Happy New Year, Unity Families!
We hope you all had a fantastic holiday break and are ready for 2025. January has a lot of things happening. The second quarter ends on Wednesday the 15th. Thursday the 16th will be a workday for teachers, and therefore, there will be no school for students on the 16th. Friday, January 17th will be the first day of the third quarter. The 17th is also an early out day for students (1:30 dismissal)
Friday, January 10th will be 5th Grade registration. Both East Middle and North Middle School’s will be at Unity. Students will attend registration with the Middle School according to the boundary areas that the family lives in.
Parents are reminded that each Friday we will be having an early out. Students will be dismissed at 1:30 PM. Also, please remind your students that we are in a part-of-the-year where weather can change dramatically throughout the day. Our policy is that we will have outside recess when the “feels like” temperature is above 15 degrees. We have had several students who come to school in very lightweight coats and the cold is concerning.
I hope that 2025 is a great year for everyone!
Studies show a strong connection between eating breakfast and improved academic performance. To support a healthy learning environment, our school provides breakfast daily in addition to lunch. Breakfast is served at our building from 8 am to 8:30 am (elementary school) OR 7 am to 8 am (middle and high school).
Visit the District’s website for more information on the District’s breakfast and lunch menus.
Please remember that students can not enter the building until 8:00 am (unless they are part of Beyond the Bell) because we do not have proper supervision for them. With the weather becoming colder, it is not advisable for students to sit outside in the cold waiting for the doors to open at 8:00. PLEASE DO NOT DROP OFF STUDENTS EARLIER THAN 8:00 A.M. Also, please make sure you are dressing your students in appropriate winter clothing including coats, gloves, and hats because we are outside for morning walk and talk and all recesses as long as the "feels like" temperature is 16 degrees or higher.
Attention Parents of students in TK, K, and 1st grade, it would be very beneficial if you would pack an extra change of clothing to keep in your child's backpack or classroom. We do not have much clothing available in the office in the smaller sizes in case a student has an accident or perhaps spills their milk or water at lunch. Also, with the cold, wet, weather season approaching, sometimes students get their clothing wet at recess and need to change into something dry. Hopefully, this will keep us from having to interrupt you work day to bring a new set of dry clothing to your student. Thank you
Just a reminder from Mr. Chapman, our attendance specialist that Attendance Counts Every Day!!
His favorite saying is: "In School, On Time, Everyday!!"
He has noticed that many students have been arriving to school tardy in the mornings. Please be aware that with the new Attendance Policy, minutes arriving late to school each day can add up to days being gone, and count against your student's attendance record.
SHOULD I KEEP MY CHILD HOME FROM SCHOOL?
A common problem confronting parents of school-age children occurs when a child complains of not feeling well on a school day. What do you do?? The following are guidelines until your doctor can be contacted for an opinion.
Fever: Every home should have a thermometer. No child with a fever of over 100.4 degrees or greater should be sent to school. Keep the child home until free of fever for 24 hours WITHOUT medication.
Cold/Sore Throat/Cough: A child with a “heavy” cold and a hacking cough belongs at home in bed even though there is no fever. If the only complaint is a sore throat and there are no other symptoms, he or she may go to school. If white spots are present on the back of the throat or if he or she has a fever, keep the child home, and call your doctor. If your child is diagnosed with strep throat, throw away his or her toothbrush and purchase a new one.
Stomachache/Vomiting/Diarrhea: Consult your doctor if the stomachache is persistent or severe enough to limit the child’s activity. If vomiting, stay home until he or she can keep food down for 24 hours or one day. Call the doctor if there is no improvement in symptoms.
“Pinkeye”/Conjunctivitis: If the white part of the eyes is pink or red, the child complains of a gritty feeling when blinking and has a discharge coming from one or both eyes, the child may have “pinkeye”. “Pinkeye” is highly contagious. If your child has these symptoms, you will need to contact your child’s doctor to determine if treatment is needed and if your child can attend school.
SICK CHILDREN BELONG AT HOME!
WELL CHILDREN BELONG AT SCHOOL.
It’s January Unity! With a new year comes a new start, and usually goals that are difficult to keep up with 😉. This month, the Character Strong theme is Perseverance, so students will be learning about how to face problems and keep growing and trying. With the new year, I want to share some at home apps that may help you and your child with social emotional learning and needs. Please know there are hundreds of apps, and many may work better for you, but these are some options that may be helpful and are free.
RainRain- an app that I personally use for soothing sounds- it has a variety of rain sounds and other background sounds that may help you or your child relax. You can set a timer for it to fade out, and I sometimes use it when it is difficult for me to sleep, or I need a gentle noise to do breathwork.
Voidpet Garden- a simple tool that allows students to collect different emotions as pet characters and challenges them to breathing exercises, journal prompts, and other coping strategies in order to ‘level up’ their pets.
Quabble- an app that will help students set up a morning and night routine for mental wellness, such as a morning self check in and gratitude note, and a breathing exercise and check in at night. As you do the ‘exercises’, you gain items to decorate a park for a duck friend.
Happy January!
Caitlyn Niehus
The District has cell phone protocols in place to ensure an engaging and distraction-free environment for our students. The protocols restrict the use of electronic devices during the school day. For more information, please review the 2024-2025 Parent/Guardian & Student Handbook on the District website.
Do the terms Snap map, private account, or ghost mode sound familiar? If you answered no, you are not alone. Many families are unfamiliar with these social media terms and others. The District website offers information for parents on the most popular social media platforms and tips for keeping kids safe online. Information is available on the District’s website.
Parents and guardians have the right to decide to keep their child home on any day they feel it is unsafe for their student to be in school because of weather conditions. If you believe the weather provides a sincere reason why you may have to keep your student at home, or take your student home when classes are scheduled to continue, you as a parent or guardian will simply need to contact our school office to let us know.
With the cooler temperatures upon us, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the colder winter. Even during the winter season, the District allows recess and outdoor activities to continue as usual, so it is important that students have the right winter weather clothing. When the temperature feels like 15 degrees or lower, students are kept inside for recess and activities. Students should be prepared for the cooler weather with a warm coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. If your student does not have access to cold-weather apparel, please contact our school office.
The District sends out important information regarding school closings and cancellations and other updates to our families via phone, email, and text. Additionally, our school will contact you in case of an emergency or student health concern. Make sure your contact information is updated in our system and that your phone accepts the school’s phone calls. Doing this will ensure you receive school communication promptly and we can reach you in case of an emergency. To make updates to your contact information, please contact our office.
The weather in Iowa can be unpredictable. If the weather requires us to delay the start of our school day, cancel school for the day, or dismiss school early, information will be sent to families through email, text, and voicemail. In addition, this information is posted to our social media sites and the District website.
Please remember that parents and guardians have the right to make the decision to keep their child home on any day they feel it is unsafe for their student to be in school because of weather conditions. If you believe the weather provides a sincere reason why you may have to keep your student at home, or take your student home when classes are scheduled to continue, you as a parent or guardian will simply need to contact our school office to let us know.
Our TK & Kindergarten students exit from doors 25 and 26 (Mrs. Poulson and Mrs. Anderson's rooms). Our 1st and 2nd-grade students exit from the main entryway (door 1). Our 3rd-grade students exit from door 3 which is located behind our loading dock. The 4th and 5th graders exit from door 4 at the North end of the building. Please see the image below to assist you with this visualization. Please work with your family to agree to a common meeting place outside of the building. We do our best to limit student traffic within the building after school.
If you have a preschool child, they will dismiss out the main front entryway.
