Nike Scout News December 2021

December 2, 2021

Greetings to all Nike Families;

Welcome to December! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with food, family and friends! The bustling holiday season is upon us. We are hoping to keep the students on task as much as possible in the next three weeks. It is a challenging feat indeed! The minds of young children tend to wander to all that the holiday season has to offer and we got a jump on the snow this year too!

November was a quick and busy month for the staff and students at Nike. Everyone was busy as we came to the end of the first trimester. I hope that you have had the opportunity to meet or talk with your child’s teacher and have a good idea of how your young student is doing with their school progress. Report cards were emailed on Friday, November 19th. You are strongly encouraged to maintain frequent contact with your child’s teacher throughout the year and you can always arrange for an individual conference if you or the teacher feels the need to meet. A big THANK YOU to the PTO organizers and volunteers who held a wonderful Nike calendar fundraiser and Nike gear store.

The cold weather is here and the possibility of snow is too. Please be sure that your children come to school prepared to go outside for their recess. Students WILL be going outside as often as possible. Students will not be allowed to stay indoors because they are not properly dressed, so please have coats, hats, and mittens! Also, please check the “Lost & Found". The inventory is growing!!

Another piece to the winter arrival is the chance for snow days. As much as the kids (and maybe a few teachers) hope for them, Mother Nature is the one in control. If the forecast calls for bad weather, please be sure to tune in to local radio or television stations in the morning so that you will be aware of any delays, early closings or cancellations that may be made. Notices are issued as early as possible by the Superintendent after consultation with the highway department. The district’s phone messenger system will be used to send a phone message, but with all of the calls, it may not be the timeliest method of contact. This is one of the trickiest decisions that our Superintendent has to make. It is difficult to make the call that is the safest for our students and staff while trying not to cancel school unnecessarily. Please know that it is made with safety as the primary concern.

A couple of other things…

REMINDER….Please send in a note, or at the very least, call the office if your child is going to be dismissed early or in a different manner than usual so that teachers, bus drivers, and duty personnel can plan accordingly.

Give the gift of your time this holiday season. Parents can continue to be an active participant and help with their children’s education by maintaining a good routine of checking homework and folders daily and keeping track of assignments that are due. A strong education is one where the student, teacher and parent all work toward the common goal of educating our children! We love being able to share them with you!!

Not to be a Grinch, but please remember that children should not be bringing any toys, electronics and stuffed animals into school. They often create an unnecessary distraction and are the source of arguments or tears when they are lost. Some of the younger grades have show and share time, so that is the only exception. Thanks for your help with this.

With the winter weather, comes the cold and flu season as well. Please be sure to remind your little ones to practice careful hand washing and to not share water bottles, etc. If your child is sick, please have them stay home until they are symptom free for 24 hours. We want to try hard to keep illness to a minimum!

Coming in Dec & Jan.…

• 12/4 – Snowball Fight With Santa- Nike gym
• 12/8- First grade music concert in the Nike gym at 12:45
• 12/8- Second grade music concert in the Nike gym at 1:45
• 12/- Nike PTO monthly meeting – 6:30 – Library
• 12/21 – (Wed.) Dismissal time for Winter Break in 1:10 pm.
• 1/6- School will resume.

I hope that each and every family has a wonderful holiday season shared with family and friends.

Your Partner in Education,

Jessica Tollison

Nike Principal

November's Pillar focus word was Creativity. We had so many creative activities going on at Nike Elementary! December's word is critical thinking.

We had a wonderful program where we honored our Veterans and active service personnel on Thursday, Nov. 11th.

The Nike Elementary Food Drive theme this year was "Supporting Our Community". Nike Scouts really took this theme to the next level with being the most generous group of students around. For one week, they gathered food ideas for the Nike Food Drive which resulted in the most food collected in Nike Elementary history. Over 1,500 items were collected and will be distributed to 17 of Nike's own families. Each day food items were gathered by 4th grade leaders, and these leaders counted them for the entire school population and made charts showing each class progress. After all items were complied, these leaders separated and created shopping lists and packed boxes to send out for families.

Caring means feeling a genuine concern for the well-being of others; it means being unselfish, having a charitable spirit, and being generous to others. Thank you, Nike Scout community, for caring and coming together to support our community. Your generosity and kindness are very appreciated.

Baby it's cold outside! As temperatures drop, please be sure your students come to school dressed appropriately for the weather. Please remember to make sure your child comes prepared with a jacket or coat to ensure that they can enjoy outdoor recess with the rest of their class!

Reminder! If your student has come home in clothes borrowed from the nurse's office, please wash and return those clothes.

First and second grades are working on a holiday revue to be performed the Dec 8. First Grade 12:45 and Second Grade 1:45. We will videotape the performance and share it with parents if you are unable to attend. If the students would like to practice on their own the songs are posted on their Google Classroom pages.

Hello from the art room! When a class comes to art and shows me good citizenship and collaboration, they get a color on a rainbow, posted on my door. A full rainbow earns them some choice time in the art room. These pictures are from choice time in Mrs. Shoemaker’s class.

First and second graders participated in the Missourian’s Season’s Greetings contest this month. You might see some of their drawings printed in the Missourian on December 25th!

December is a busy month! For fourth grade, we will be doing coding of robots called Ozobots. The kids LOVE it! The robots follow colored lines and the patterns give the robots different functions. Third grade will also be doing computer coding using the Hour of Code website. Both the Ozobots and Hour of Code are a great introduction to computer coding.

The primary students are continuing to read the Show Me Picture books. Ask your kiddo about some of the books we have read. There are ten books on the list and we are halfway through the list. We will also be reading some classic holiday books.

3rd & 4th grade students have been working very hard and are about to do their middle of the year fitness testing to see their progress from the beginning of the year and 2nd grade will be introduced to the 4 tests to start getting familiar with them for next year. The 4 tests are the Pacer Test (a measure of cardiovascular endurance), Push-up test, Sit-up test, and the Sit and reach test which measures flexibility.

Pre-K through 1st grades are continuing to work on their hand eye coordination and will be moving from working on the underhand toss into the overhand throw as well as catching.

Please remember to have your child wear shoes that are comfortable to be doing exercises and running in when it is their PE day.

Next PTO Meeting is 12/14

From Misty Guenzler, PTO President

We are excited for our Snowball with Santa event coming up on Dec 4th from 9-10:30. Come have pancakes and fruit from 9-9:30, make crafts and take pictures with Santa from 9:30-10 and kiddos will enjoy a snowball fight in the cafeteria from 10-10:30. This has historically been one of our favorite events hosted by Nike PTO. We are looking forward to seeing our Nike Scouts and families on Dec 4th! Please make sure to RSVP by Dec 2nd by filling out the blue sheet that came home the Thursday before Thanksgiving Break.

As we look to 2022, we are planning a few family friendly events as well as preparing for our annual Rummage Sale in April. We'd love to see you at our PTO meetings held the 2nd Tuesday of every month in the Nike library. Next one is Dec 14th.

McTeacher Night was a huge success thanks to your generous support. Nike Elementary School was given a check for over $360!

November Lunch Menu

CHANGE: Tomorrow, Friday, December 3rd, the lunch choice will be a turkey, ham, and cheese fun lunch!

November Breakfast Menu

Our very own Nike Scouts performed at the girls basketball game on Monday, November 29th. We are so proud of them!

The Nike Playground ribbon cutting ceremony occurred on Friday, November 19th. Thank you to the community for supporting our school and allowing us to have an amazing playground.

Friday, Dec. 3rd- Day at the movies. We will leave Nike at 8:45 and return at 12:30. Please send a mask for your child for the bus ride.

Wed., Dec. 22nd- Early Dismissal- Nike Elementary School will dismiss at

Thurs., Dec. 23rd- Tue., Jan. 4th- Winter Break- No School

Nike Elementary School Principal

Email: jtollison@mvr3.k12.mo.us
Website: https://www.mvr3.k12.mo.us/o/nike
Location: 2264 Hwy Ap, Catawissa, MO 63015
Phone: (636) 271-1444