Stayton Elementary School

A collaborative school that strives for excellence by providing a positive and nurturing environment that allows our diverse student population to develop self worth and reach their highest potential

We are off to a fantastic start to our school year. Students and staff are settling in. It has been so wonderful to see how happy our students are as they arrive at school each morning. It is one of my favorite times of the day when I get to greet students and families in the morning.

Our drop-off and pick-up process has begun to smooth out. Thank you so much for your patience during this time of monitoring and adjusting. If you drop off at the front of the school please pull forward as far as possible to make room for other cars that need to drop students off. If you drop off in the back of the school, please stop on one of the two large green smiley faces and allow our staff to help your student out of your vehicle. Bus activity is very busy back there and we want to make sure your child is safe when exiting the vehicle. Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe during this time.

We will have our first school-wide assembly on October 4th. If your child has been selected by a teacher to receive a cheetah of the month award, you will be notified and invited to attend the assembly.

Our kindergartens are learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin and will be taking a field trip to the pumpkin patch on the 21st of this month to deepen their understanding. The second-grade class has been learning about our community and will be taking a walking field trip to see our community firsthand on October 25th. The third graders will be visiting Silver Fall to learn about the temperate rainforest. The dates vary depending on the class. More information will come from classroom teachers.

We will have our literacy night on October 17th this year. Be sure to mark your calendars. This is an amazing opportunity for families to come in and see our classrooms while participating in fun activities tied to literacy. We hope to see all of you there.

We will also have our Grandparents' Loved Ones’ lunch on October 31st. This is an amazing opportunity for your child’s grandparents or someone who loves them to come have lunch with them and see our school. More information about this event will come home in Thursday folders.

We value our partnership with you and encourage you to get involved with volunteering in the classroom, chaperoning field trips, and/or volunteering to help keep our school garden looking beautiful. If you want to volunteer please make sure to visit our district website and complete a volunteer background check. Volunteer background checks are good for two years so if you completed one last year there is no need to do another one this year. If you are unsure give our office a call and they can check for you. Thank you for helping us make this an amazing school year! We could not do this without you.

Mrs. Moore

We are currently starting our sixth year as an AVID Elementary school. AVID is a schoolwide system that focuses on four domains: Culture, Instruction, Leadership, and Systems. Here is what each grade is focusing on this month.

Kindergarten: As a team, kindergarten's Avid focus this month has been organization. Kindergarten teachers have been teaching students how to organize their bodies as they sit on the carpet, walk in a line, and learn reading behaviors. They have been establishing classroom routines and how to manage classroom materials appropriately. A growth mindset is another key part of kindergarten in September. Students are learning about how the brain learns and grows neurons with each new day, emphasizing that it is okay to make mistakes.

First grade: We have started the year working on routines and expectations; going slow now, so we can speed up later. In October we will begin sending Nightly AVID Binders home with Reading Level Trackers, nightly reading logs, and interactive calendars students create with their classes. In class, students practice their audience/participant behavior by showing SLANT. SLANT stands for Sitting up tall, Listening carefully, Asking and Answering questions, Nod, smiling, and Tracking the speaker with your eyes. Students have been doing a great job identifying keywords in Essential Questions before each lesson to help them understand what they will be learning.

Second grade: We are spending a lot of time building community and creating strong relationships among students and staff throughout the school. We are focusing on trying new things, learning from our mistakes, and being kind to all members of our community. Students are also already strengthening their organizational skills by utilizing their AVID Binders to bring important papers to and from school, and by keeping their supply boxes organized and ready for learning!

3rd Grade: For the month of October, third-grade classes will be focusing on learning to use our organization systems, such as planners, academic trackers, and reading logs. We are also practicing being good listeners and collaborators through S.L.A.N.T. and "Turn and Talks" with partners.

You may have heard your child coming home talking about the mood meter. The mood meter is one tool RULER uses to teach students not only how to identify their feelings but also how to shift from an undesired feeling to a desired one. The idea is to create and sustain a positive emotional climate, as well as support the individual development of emotional skills for students.

RULER stands for

• Recognizing emotions in oneself and others through facial expressions, body language, voice, and behavior

• Understanding the causes and consequences of emotions in oneself and others.

• Labeling emotions with accurate words from a nuanced vocabulary

• Expressing emotions differently depending on context, situational expectations, and culture

• Regulating emotions with effective strategies and supporting others in their regulation of emotions.

Next month we will introduce the four Anchor Tools RULER uses to help everyone learn and practice the skills of emotional intelligence.

Do you enjoy working in a garden? If so we have a beautiful garden here at SES that requires a great deal of work to maintain and would love your help. Our teachers and students spend time out there doing a lot of learning. Currently, we have a thriving pumpkin patch that helps our kindergarteners learn about the pumpkin life cycle. Later in spring, kindergarteners will release Monarch butterflies into our garden. They begin observing their life cycle. The tiny caterpillars grow and move into the transition stage of becoming a pupa and then emerging as a beautiful butterfly.

Here is how you can help. We are looking for volunteers to help on a regular basis to keep our garden looking beautiful. If you can weed, trim, plant, or have any other gardening skills, we would LOVE to have your help. If interested please follow the link or QR code below.

Messages for students are delivered to each classroom daily at 2:00pm. The end of the day is very busy at school. We cannot guarantee that messages will reach your child's teacher if you call after 2:00pm. If you wish to make changes on how your child will be getting home or who will be picking up your child from school, you must call the school office before 2:00pm. Thank you for your support.

7th- 10th: Capitol Dental Screenings

9th: Good News Group begins

9th: 3rd grade (Hill & McKibbon) to Silver Creek Falls

11th: NO SCHOOL

16th: 3rd grade (Clark & Flemming) to Silver Creek Falls

17th: - Literacy Night

21st: KG to Pumpkin Patch

25th: 2nd graders on a walking field trip/City of Stayton

29th: Picture Retake Day

30th: Vision Screenings

31st: Grandparents'/Loved Ones' Lunch

Nov. 1st: NO SCHOOL

4th - 7th: Fall Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences

Providing opportunities for personal growth through shared learning experiences and meaningful interactions for our diverse student population