Groundhog Gazette

Greetings Amity Groundhog Parents/Guardians!! Welcome to October!! Hard to imagine we are in our 8th week of school already and nearing the end of the 1st Quarter!! We are enjoying your students, and they are doing really well!! Thank you for the wonderful support in the Amity PTA Fun Run!! Your students did AMAZING at the Amity Groundhog Fun Run to help our school! Awesome job! We exceeded our goal for building improvements and teacher classroom funds! This also means we have earned a school-wide food party! The weather was perfect and it was a wonderful time for all! Please see the results below that the Amity PTA provided regarding the Fun Run. We could not have done this without everyone’s help. A reminder that October is filled with many important dates (End of the 1st Quarter, Parent-Teacher Conferences, etc.) so please see the information below!

Be sure to follow Amity Instagram

Oct 2 - Sign Up Genius sent out by 4PM for Parent-Teacher Conference Times

Oct 7 - Girls Basketball @ Maple Grove [4:00 PM]

Oct 8 - Amity PTA Meeting in the Library [4:00 PM]

Oct 10 - Girls Basketball @ Whitney Yellow [4:00 PM]

Oct 11 - End of 1st Quarter [No School]

Oct 16 & 17 - Parent Teacher Conferences until 7:00 PM (No School Oct 17)

Oct 18 - No School

Oct 21 - Girls Basketball v. Hillcrest [4:00 PM]

Oct 24 - Girls Basketball v. Garfield [4:00 PM]

Oct 25 - School Picture Retake Day

Oct 28 - Girls Basketball v. Whitney Blue [4:00 PM]

Oct 30 - Girls Basketball v. Maple Grove [4:00 PM]

Oct 30 - Farmstead Night [6:30 PM]

Nov 5 - General Election Day (No School)

We are entering the cold/flu season! With that in mind, please contact the Attendance Line if your student is out for the day or for an extended period of time. If your student does go to the doctor, it is always helpful to have a medical note for us. In addition, we would also appreciate it if you let us know that your student will be tardy. Your student's safety is the most important to us. Our goal is to ensure that all students are accounted for. Please leave a message on the attendance line at 208-854-4226.

In order to help continue and maintain safety and security here at Amity, we will be requiring all visitors who enter the building to check in at the front desk to receive a visitors badge. In addition, please refrain from entering our campus after school until after 3:30 PM. We understand you want to meet your child at their teacher's door, however please wait until 3:30 to be on campus if you would like to do that.

I want to take a moment to address an important issue that happened over the past weekend, and you may have seen it on Monday morning - the graffiti on school property. Here at Amity, we understand that our school is a shared space, and we welcome students and families to use the playground on the evenings and weekends. However, it's everyone's responsibility to keep it clean and respectful for all.

Graffiti not only damages our environment but also takes away from the pride we have in our school. Vandalism, in no shape, is the way to make your voice heard.

Let's all work together to maintain a school environment we can be proud of. Respecting our surroundings helps build a positive and welcoming community for everyone.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Hello Wonderful Amity Families,

Our school year is off to a great start! Classroom counseling lessons have begun and we are covering feelings and emotions and how to handle them in the k-2 grade levels and social and friendship skills in the 3-6th grade classes! We also have been learning school-wide about “Kelso’s Choices” a problem solving guide that features a frog named Kelso and a wheel of choices to help kids solve their problems. Options on the wheel are “wait and cool off, share and take turns, ignore it, walk away, tell them to stop, apologize, make a deal, wait and cool off and go to another game”. Students know to select two options from the wheel when solving a small problem and if it doesn’t work find a trusted adult. Ms. Holly our Behavioral Support Specialist has been working on a program we launched this year called Kelso’s coaches where 5th and 6th grade students are helping during lunch recesses to guide the younger students using the Kelso’s Choices program and showing their leadership skills at school!

As always if there are any questions or ways I can support your family including accessing resources please do not hesitate to reach out!

-Taylor Denko, School Counselor

taylor.denko@bosieschools.org

New Health Tech! We are happy to have Michelle Diehl on the team. She has worked in the Boise School District since 2007 and also volunteers her time as an EMT for the East Boise County ambulance. Michelle will cover the health office all day on Mondays and Tuesday afternoons.

Health Curriculum: This next month the school nurse will start heading into classrooms to teach lessons on hygiene, illness, healthy habits, and safety! For more information, please visit the Boise School District website.

1. Health & Illness: These lessons focus on healthy habits, how to stay healthy, prevent illness, and what to do if and when students are sick. There is a focus on handwashing, germs, a basic review of body systems, oral health, nutrition, activity, and sleep.

2. Growth & Development: These lessons are designed to provide age-appropriate information about physical and emotional changes during adolescence. These lessons are can be essential for promoting a healthy understanding of oneself and others during this transformative period. Growth & Development lessons occur in 5th & 6th grades.

Please contact Nurse Tasha if you have any questions about the curriculum. Growth and Development lessons will be taught towards the end of the year and a separate letter will be sent out at that time (with the option to opt out if desired).

Respiratory Illnesses: As we enter cold and flu season please review our guidance on keeping kids home when they are sick and review updated information on respiratory illnesses like COVID-19.

When to Keep Sick Children Home

Respiratory Illness Guidance

Needs in the Health Office: Thank you for your clothing donations! We are still in need of pants sizes 4-8 for boys and girls.

Thank you for helping us keep kids safe and well!

Nurse: Tasha Hussman tasha.hussman@boiseschools.org

HT: Michelle Diehl michelle.diehl@boischools.org

HT: Anna Hall anna.hall@boiseschools.org

As we wrap up our Amity PTA Fun Run fundraiser, we are thrilled to share some exciting news with you all! Thanks to your incredible support and generosity, we have not only met but exceeded our fundraising goal of $18,000!

Here are some key highlights and updates:

1. Fundraiser Total: Together, we have raised $31,048! Total Laps: 9,872!!!

2. Impact: Your donations will go directly toward building improvements and teacher classroom funds, enriching the educational experience for all students at Amity Elementary School.

3. THANK YOU: We extend a BIG thank you to our volunteers who played a crucial role in making this fundraiser a resounding success. Your dedication to our school community is deeply appreciated!

4. Mybooster Bucks Store: The Amity Reward Store is open for orders today! If you registered on mybooster.com, you will receive an email with log-in instructions for the store. The store will close on October 8, so make your selections soon. Orders will be delivered to the school later this month.

Once again, thank you for your unwavering support, whether through donations, volunteering, or spreading the word. Your involvement has made a tremendous difference and showcases the strength of our school community!

The Amity Book Fair will take place on October 14-17. Purchasing hours will only be before school and after school, as well as during P/T conference hours. [See Flyer below]

We have been working hard at Groundhog GRIT (Give Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Independence & Teamwork). This month our focus is on respect in the hallway and classroom. Students have been working hard being in zone 1 and using walking feet in the hallway. Teachers are excited to share how your student has shown respect in their classroom at conferences. We are getting close to our school wide goal of 400 GRIT cards to earn the GRIT Games at the end of the first quarter! Currently we have earned 266 GRIT cards.

This year Halloween falls on a Thursday. At the various grade levels, they will have the option to host Autumn Themed Parties and keep the focus of costumes at home/in the neighborhood. We are encouraging families to keep costumes at home/in the neighborhood rather than at school as well as not on the bus.

• Look for the WAHOOZ Fit for Fun Fitness Logs!

• What will we be doing in October?

• Standard 1-Demonstrates skilled movement and movement knowledge.

• Throwing & Catching Skills

• Movement Skills

• Standard 2-Understands a physically active lifestyle and personal fitness.

• Participation

• Instagram @groundhogpe