Bird's Word for October 24, 2024
Falcon Heights seeks to create a positive learning environment for all learners. On a daily basis, staff members continue to find new ways to celebrate students’ social, emotional, and academic growth. To encourage and sustain a sense of belonging and community, we have fall, winter, and spring school-wide celebrations. In the fall, we celebrated the community with a Falcon Way Parade kick-off assembly where we celebrated our “Clubhouse” and Falcon Way with the school song led by the school band, our class names and cheers, and reviewed the Falcon Way emphasizing our core values of Respectful, Responsible, Safe and Belong. We use other times during the year to highlight and celebrate students’ hard work and commitment to the Falcon Way. Sometimes these celebrations are done in the classroom, as a whole school or in our Falcon Families. Our next celebration will be Falcon Bingo on Tuesday, November 26 with our Falcon Families.
In alignment with Roseville Area Schools’ Equity Vision, Falcon Heights staff members strive to provide an inclusive learning community for all families regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ability, home or first language, religion, national origin, age, or physical appearance. To this effect, school-wide and classroom celebrations/parties are not directly linked to religious and/or calendar holidays.
We recognize that next week is Halloween and some families do participate. With that in mind, we ask that candy and treats are saved for home and not brought to school. We encourage healthy eating so that their brains are fueled for learning and focus. Thank you for your support.
Mark your calendars - Falcon Heights Elementary Fall Open House - Thursday, November 14th 5:00-6:30pm. This is a time for students to share with their families all that has been happening in the classroom. PTA will host the annual pizza dinner and book fair. We look forward to seeing all of you there.
From the Health Office
Frequently asked questions about recess and cold weather
Can my child stay inside from recess when the weather is too cold? No, a doctor’s note is needed to be exempt from going outside and the doctor’s note needs to specify a temperature threshold at which your student must stay indoors. For example, “Jane has a diagnosis of xxx and therefore must stay inside if the weather is below xx*F windchill.”
I am concerned about my child being outside when it is 'too cold'. Is it okay for them? Yes, it is OK to go outside! It is good for everyone to continue to go outside throughout the winter. Fresh air, sunshine, and exercise are important for many reasons including benefits to mental and physical health. Exercise can improve memory, and recess offers an important movement break for students to move their bodies to be better able to focus through the afternoon. With shorter days in winter, exposure to midday sunshine is especially important in Minnesota. Sunshine helps set our circadian rhythms which helps us feel awake during the day and then sleepy at bedtime. Natural daylight can also improve your mood and help with symptoms of depression. Finally recess is an important social time for students! We do everything we can to provide a safe and fun recess time for all students.
Recess Protocols: Each day our recess supervisor assesses the weather and makes a daily determination prior to the first recess that the weather is safe for all students. Indoor recess is called when it is raining and when the temperature is below 0*F.
