The Walden Weekly

In an effort to create a more concise newsletter experience, I will be including a quick bulleted list of what is included below:

- Upcoming Food Drive (taking place all next week)

- Fitnessgram Testing begins next week

- Library Information (parent survey included)

- DPS109 Digital Safety Tips

As a reminder, we do not have school on Monday for Veterans Day. Enjoy your weekend and we'll see you on Tuesday!

- Stephanie Strenger

Please ensure your child wears gym shoes on PE days, especially during the next two weeks.

Fitnessgram testing will begin on November 12.

This testing is required by the state and is used to gather data on whether our students are in the healthy fitness zone. It is important to note that these tests are for each individual student, not a competition with peers. The focus is on personal progress: the Fall score serves as your child’s baseline, and the goal is to meet or exceed that score in the Spring to ensure ongoing fitness.

The FitnessGram consists of multiple tests:

Pacer - Cardiovascular

Push Ups - Muscular Strength and Endurance

Curl Ups - Muscular Strength and Endurance

Sit and Reach - Flexibility

Thank you for your support in encouraging your child to do their best!

The Walden LMC was awarded a grant of $1,500 to be spent on the purchase of ebooks! Our current ebook collection makes up about 1% of our total collection, and the titles' average age is 13 years old. More recently published eBooks have many features that can increase readability for students. These features can be especially powerful for students with vision loss or impairment, those receiving special education and other support services, multilingual students, and struggling or reluctant readers. You can read more about those features here.

It is important to spend this grant money in the most useful and efficient way.

• School staff have been given a survey to ensure the ebooks purchased support our school curriculum and student needs.
• Students will be asked to complete a survey during their LMC classes to ensure the titles purchased are appealing and interesting to them.
• And this survey seeks input from our students' parents and guardians about what topics and features you would like to see, and to assess how we can make these books easily accessible to students at home.

Participation in these surveys will help our ebook purchases reflect the needs and interests of our students. All input is deeply appreciated!

Many thanks - Mrs. Lovsin

Survey link: https://forms.gle/NqZVtcHTTmHNgMk5A

Thursday Makerspace for 4th and 5th grade will henceforth be known as Game Day! This is a time when students will participate in organized group games led or moderated by Mrs. Lovsin. This change is in response to a student request to start a Dungeons and Dragons club. Our first game is a simplified introduction to the world of D&D called Adventure Begins.

Families or students who are interested in this game can watch an instructional video about it here:

Other games will be brought into Game Day throughout the year based on student request. Interested students should reach out to Mrs. Lovsin to be added to a game.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Lovsin at elovsin@dps109.org