The Winn Word

2.2.25

Hello Families,

Happy February! This week we have lots of things to look forward to! Here are some highlights for this week:

• Wednesday, February 5 at 5:30pm is our monthly Winn Parent Club meeting! Come join the fun and get involved with our parent group. Free child-care is provided too!
• Thursday, February 6th is NO SCHOOL for students. The morning is devoted to teacher professional learning. The afternoon we host our parent teacher conferences from 12:00-3:00pm and 4:00-7:00pm. Remember that these conferences are "invitation" conferences. Your teacher may want to have you come in because your child needs support academically or social/emotionally. You are also welcome to ask to have a conference if you want. Please reach out to your teacher if you would like to set up a conference time.
• Friday, February 7th is a field trip for our fifth graders to Midland Center for the Arts. The students will be going to an immersive experience about space. It should be out of this world!
• Friday night the Winn Parents Club host their third, Winn Fit night beginning at 5:30pm. Grab the whole family and join us for a couple hours of physical activity, fun, and learning about being healthy!

I look forward to seeing you soon! Have a great week. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me. I am here to serve you!

Your partner in learning,

Laurie Richards

Winn Elementary Principal

As part of our CKH process, we have added a "reset room" to our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) process. Mrs. McQueen has been a paraprofessional at Winn for several years. Her passion is supporting student behaviors and helping them reset so they can be successful in the classroom. Mrs. McQueen is our staff for the "reset" room.

What will Mrs. McQueen do each day? Mrs. McQueen can offer students support in several ways.

• She may be utilized to give scheduled breaks to students who need that.
• She may be called to a classroom to give a student a walking break or a break in our sensory room
• She may be called to a classroom to take a student who is "behaving out" of the classroom. This means your child's teacher has tried several strategies to help your child get back on track in the classroom. Behaving out is a consequence that means your child will leave the classroom and go through creating a plan to help them regulate their emotions and be prepared to be successful in the classroom. If this happens, you will receive the "plan" that was created via email AND sent home with your child. When you get it, please go over this with your child. We ask you sign it and return it to school.

Why does Winn need this "Reset Room?" Each building in the district has a room similar to this. As part of the Capturing Kids Hearts program, we have all designed a process that helps kids take ownership of their behavior and helps them to work through what they can do to be more successful in the classroom.

How Can You Help? The biggest thing you can do to help is to go over the sheet that we sent home. Ask your child about what happened and what they are going to do now. I have included "The Four Questions" we go through with your child. The big thing the questions do is help your child take responsibility for their actions. You are welcome to add in your own tips with your child to help them too! If you ever have a question about the what was written or what happened, please contact your child's teacher or the office.

We know that you are your child's first and most important teacher. If you have a little one at home, check out these great ideas to help them start to develop reading skills. Happy reading!

It's conference time again! This conference time is "by invitation" from your teacher. This means that your child has been identified as needing extra help academically and/or social emotionally.

Each teacher sent letters home with kids who need a conference this round. You may decide that you would like to meet with your child's teacher as well. If you have questions, please reach out to your child's teacher or the office.

• 2/5 WPC Meeting 5:30 (child care provided)
• 2/6 No School for Students
• 2/6 Parent Teacher Conferences (by request of teacher and/or family) 12:00-3:00 & 4:00-7:00pm
• 2/14 1/2 of school. Dismissal at 11:00am

Here is our Winn Elementary Parent and Student Handbook for 24-25. It is filled with lots of useful information about our school.

Thank you for sharing your child with our family here at Winn. Our motto at Winn is "Everything a Kid Needs." We focus on both academic excellence and creating good humans! I am here to serve you. If you have questions/concerns or need help in any way, please feel free to reach out to me.

Email: lrichards@shepherdschools.net
Location: 418 West Blanchard Road, Shepherd, MI, USA
Phone: (989) 866-2250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winnelementary