We have so many readers!!!!! Our kindergarten students are working so hard on learning their sight words and many are reading on their own!!! We are recognizing and celebrating this goal every day with students in classrooms, on announcements and in the library! By the end of the second quarter, students needed to master 14 sight words. The third quarter will introduce 13 more and we will be at 40 by the end of the school year! These are high frequency words that readers will find in many books they read and will have them reading at a level C by the end of kindergarten. Students are bringing home books from the classroom that are at their reading level and they are learning how to choose a just right book. More reading strategies are being introduced to help students decode words they aren't familiar with so they can have success with many books that appeal to them. You can help your child by reading with them and to them every single night! Make it fun by sharing in the reading with them, using funny voices, acting out books, playing tabletop games that center on word recognition and even practicing their sight words using manipulatives like magnetic letters and play doh. Ask your child for ideas too; students have been practicing their words and reading in different ways throughout the school day....ask them to show you just what they are doing! We will be rewarding and celebrating reading goals big here at the ELC for the remainder of the school year! Be sure your child has the support needed to achieve!

Bring the whole family to the ELC for this event to break up the winter doldrums! We have a selection of tabletop games that target preschool and kindergarten developmental skills as well as a few all age family games. Play is so important to the academic growth of our students and playing games with your kids is a great way to work on academic and social skills that will help them in so many ways. Games are available for purchase at the event with cash or check, however no purchase is necessary. Come out and enjoy family, friends and fun with us!

Brickie Kidz Preschool has a program at ELC and Hobart High School. You can meet the teachers at the Showcase of Preschools as well as during the open house. The open houses will take place at each site and you may also tour the classroom. We have a web page available that has information and frequently asked questions. Information will be on the web page for pricing, scholarships and registration forms as of February 7th. Click the link below to visit the Brickie Kidz web page and find out all the information you need to pursue registration at Brickie Kidz Preschool. Registration opens at Showcase of Preschools. Parents can register at either location anytime after the Showcase of Preschools.

Mrs. Helminski will be sponsoring the Kids Heart Challenge program at the ELC during February. The Kids Heart Challenge is brought to you by the American Heart Association to not only raise funds for heart patients in the U.S., but also to raise awareness in schools for heart health and the physical activity that promotes it. Gym classes at ELC will be learning about heart health, jumping rope and learning that physical activity keeps them healthy. Students who participate in the Challenge will be earning funds to help research and treatment for heart health. This is a great opportunity to talk with your family about adding more activity to your lifestyle to promote health and well being.

Hello everyone!

We hope to see you at this month’s Kindergarten and Coffee on Friday February 21st. I will be presenting on “Anxiety in Students”. I know it seems like anxiety is such a big word to be talking about at the Kindergarten level. However, anxiety is something we’re seeing in our students more and more each year. It presents in many different ways with younger kids such as chronic tummy aches, showing reluctance to do work or normal things he/she likes to do, withdrawn, etc. Join us at our next Kindergarten and Coffee presentation to learn more about the signs/symptoms of anxiety and also how to help your child overcome it.

Building Connections

We have family game night quite often in our household. Playing family games together is not only fun and engaging, but also helps build social skills in children. I incorporate games in my groups here at the ELC and am always surprised by how many students DON’T play games like this at home. Your children will also LOVE having a chance to beat you in something. Here are some of our favorites!

• Hot Potato
• Uno (this is our FAVORITE game to play as a family)
• Perfection
• Let’s Go Fishin’
• Pie in the Face
• Connect 4
• Taco Taco
• Zingo

Other game recommendations that help work through being a good sport and also graceful losing include:

• Chutes and Ladders
• Any cooperative game such as Count Your Chickens, Apples to Apples, or Hoot Owl Hoot!
• Jenga
• Operation

Don’t forget our Annual ELC Family Game Night is Wednesday February 26th from 5pm-7pm. This is a great opportunity to come out with the family try some games out before purchasing them. There will be food for purchase as well. Come join in the fun!

Flu- Roses are red, violets are blue, please get your shot so you don’t get the FLU! Its flu season! Please contact your healthcare provider or make an appointment at our Brickie Clinic 219-945-9383.

Hand-washing- Hand-washing can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhea-related sicknesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu. Parents and caretakers play an important role in teaching children to wash their hands. Hand-washing can become a lifelong healthy habit if you start teaching it at an early age. You can find ways to make it fun, like making up your own hand-washing song or turning it into a game. Building hand-washing skills takes time. At first, your child will need regular reminders of how and when to wash hands. It is especially important to remind children to wash their hands after using the bathroom, before eating, after touching pets, after playing outside, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose. But, once hand-washing becomes a habit and a regular part of your child’s day, they will practice it throughout their lives.

Vaccinations- NEW 2020-2021 IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS: Indiana State Department of Health Immunization requirements for the 2020-2021 school year Two (2) Hepatitis A vaccinations are now required for ALL grade levels for the upcoming school year. The Hepatitis A immunization consists of two (2) doses with a minimum interval of 6 calendar months between the first and second dose. Immunization doses given less than 6 months apart are considered invalid, and will require a third dose. The first Hepatitis A dose should be given in the month of February 2020 to ensure that the second dose can be provided in the month of August. Please provide the school nurse with a copy of your student’s updated shot record after receiving any immunizations. Updated immunization information must be submitted during registration for the 2020-2021 school year. If you have any questions regarding immunizations, please feel free to contact your student’s school nurse.

Health Conditions- If your student has a specific health condition or needs special care during the school day such as medication, treatments, or monitoring, please inform your school nurse and provide your nurse with a care plan. Individual health care plans help keep your student safe and healthy.

Sick students- Please keep all sick children home from school- this includes fever greater than 100 degrees, vomiting or diarrhea. If you are unsure, please call your healthcare provider or school nurse for advice. . If you student stays home with these symptoms please make sure you are cleaning shared surfaces to prevent reoccurrence within the household

Head Lice- It’s that time of year where our students break out their coats, scarves and hats.

Please encourage your child not to share such items as hats, scarves, brushes or any personal

items. Lice is not a danger to your child’s health, it is simply an annoying problem that comes

around this time of year, so no need to panic. Please know that anyone and everyone can get

lice. Getting lice has nothing to do with you being clean or dirty, it only has to do with the fact

that you are human. It is very important to check your family for lice this time of year regularly. If

you find any live lice or eggs, it is absolutely necessary to treat each “infected” person, but more

importantly, you must notify the school so that we can effectively and confidentially assist you

with monitoring. The school nurse can assist you with proper treatment options as well as

identify and demonstrate for you what to do.

EXTRA SET OF CLOTHING- Please make sure your student has an extra change of clothing in

his/her backpack and nurses office if necessary in case needed for unseen circumstances that

may arise during the school day.

If you have any questions, please call your school nurse or visit our school web page at

http://www.hobart.k12.in.us for more information on student health, school forms, and other

helpful links.

Kindergarten friends went to work at our sight word factory this month in Library! Students worked together to build sight words using various materials at each station. This is wonderful hands on practice that makes learning words engaging and fun. To keep your job in this awesome factory, you had to demonstrate a good work ethic...being kind to each other, sharing your materials if someone needs and helping each other find and make letters. All of our students are due for a raise!! They did a great job! We hope you are inspired to create your own sight word factory at home using your magnetic letters, scented pencils, markers or anything else you might want to add. Keeping a variety of materials ensures that this activity continues to keep learning fun for your child!

The ELC values hard work and good behavior. Our PBIS program showcases these values in our school and praises students for their leadership qualities. Their peers see this good behavior and it creates a learning environment that is enriched with kindness, leadership, grit and perseverance. All students have the opportunity to earn tickets as a class as well as individual for modeling good choices. They can cash in their tickets for special opportunities like being on our morning announcements, special treasure box items, SRO and Principal for the day. We have assemblies with our kindergarten each quarter to celebrate and recognize those students who are on our radar as going above and beyond. All students turn in their tickets at the assembly to earn a whole school prize. The special prizes are special occasions that all students can take part in such as bounce house or zumba days. Way to be, Kindergarteners!

SRO Joe has been in our classrooms talking safety with our students. His lessons have included an introduction to ALICE training and what it means for them. He has also stressed that students are not ever to bring a weapon, even a toy, to school and if they see something they think is a weapon to report to adult. SCOH's goal is to ensure that students have the education and tools they need to keep our schools safe.

Email: sgutierrez@hobart.k12.in.us
Website: www.hobart.k12.in.us/elc
Location: 400 North Wilson Street, Hobart, IN, USA
Phone: 219-942-7263
Facebook: facebook.com/elc