Wow, the months are moving by too quickly. I hope your February is off to a great start! We have a lot happening this month here at Howell, as you'll see with the below flyers and events. If you have a child who will start kindergarten in the fall, we are offering Kindergarten Open House on top of the tours that are available. Please see the below flyer. Also, the Arizona Diamondbacks are running the Attendance Matters campaign again this month. If your child has perfect attendance, he/she will receive a free ticket to one of the Diamondback's home games. Those are just a couple of the events happening, so be sure to read the whole newsletter!

• It's National School Counseling Week. We are so fortunate to have the best! If you see Ms. Bednar this week, be sure to thank her for all she does for our community. She supports students, families, and staff with compassion and empathy. We are fortunate she chooses Howell!
• Our current fundraiser's end date has changed. The School Store fundraiser will now end February 7. Thank you to everyone who has supported Howell!
• As you know, last month we began staffing arrival at 8:00. Our playground is still open at 7:30, but due to staffing, we will only be able to have a staff member at drop off from 8:00-8:30. We will use this schedule for the remainder of the school year, but please begin planning for next year when our playground will open at 8:00. This decision was made due to short staffing at 7:30 in the morning, and a need to ensure safety on our playground during arrival.
• As some of you may already know, Mrs. Mora, our Library Assistant, is no longer with us. We have held several rounds of interviews, but we have yet to find the right person. Unfortunately, we will have to cancel the Book Fair.
• Do you have a student, or know someone who has a student, who will start kindergarten in the fall? We are holding Kinder Kickoff on Tuesday, February 4, with tours at 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, and 10:30. To book a tour, visit our website and click on the "Book A Tour" link.
• Online Registration is now open for the 25-26 school year! To register, access your ParentVue account and update your information. You are required to have an ID, immunizations, birth certificate, and proof of residency (ID or bill with your current address) in your child's electronic file. Proof of residency needs to be renewed every school year. If you are having issues with uploading documents or getting into ParentVue, please contact Mrs. Lee by email, or phone at 520-232-7203.
• Our preschool is also currently accepting applications for the 25-26 school year. You can sign up today on the Preschool Programs website! We accept 3 and 4 year olds. Feel free to call us if you have any questions about our program. You can also sign up for a tour on our website.
• The Diamondbacks Attendance Matters campaign for the month of February is underway. Please see the below flyer to see how your child can attend a Diamondbacks game for free!
• Our garden/chicken program is always accepting donations. We are currently in need of chicken layer feed, straw (preferably chopped), chicken flock block, leaves for our compost bin, crushed oyster shells, corn, pumpkin, lettuce, zucchini. Thank you to all who donate!
• Please see the attached CharacterStrong Honesty Newsletters. Honesty is our focus trait for the month of February.

During January, our counseling lessons included topics of perseverance, perspective, and diversity. We especially focused on how appreciating others’ differences is important, and helps us get along better with not just classmates, but also other students, adults, and family members.

Coming up in February, we will be focusing on kindness, solving conflicts, and teamwork. Also, 5th graders will be getting some information about middle school, including how to get registered and signed up for electives. Parents, be on the lookout for information about how to sign your child up for next year.

Finally, February 3-7 is National School Counseling Week. This is just a time to share all the different ways School Counselors can support students at school, whether it’s through class lessons to help kids build their skills in getting along with others, small groups to offer extra support for students who might have difficulty with self regulation, individual check ins to make sure students are staying focused on specific behavior goals, or a variety of school wide committees where they help with interventions or plans that will benefit groups of students or the whole school. If you ever feel like your child is in need of additional social/emotional support, or you have questions, please contact me at school via phone, (520) 232-7200, or e-mail.

We would like to give our kids a big shout out for remembering to wear their Kindness t-shirts on Tuesdays, since it gives each of us an opportunity to be more aware on being supportive of one another. The month of January brought the theme of perseverance, and our kids were able to have great discussions on the impact negative comments and put downs have on us, sharing our strengths and skills with the group, and giving examples on how we are choosing to persevere on what we’re still learning about. Our cafeteria hallway has a display of the things our kids are good at with the caption: Success is not luck, it is hard effort, and it surely reflects our perspective on perseverance. As always, we take pride in being part of this unique group and we could not promote what we do without your support and the values you embrace in your homes.

Track starts on Monday, February 3. It is open to all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Practices will be on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 2:45–4:00. Permission letters have been given out, so please be sure to get them signed and returned. Students who haven’t played a previous sport this year do need a current physical form in order to participate. (Physical packets are available from Mrs. Lee in the front office.) There is a $3.00 participation fee, but if that would be a hardship, you can get a waiver in the front office. Ms. Kitty and Ms. Bednar are the coaches and are looking forward to a fantastic season!