January 2025 Newsletter

Here we are at the start of yet another year, where the holiday hustle and bustle has slowed down, and routine begins again. This time is joyful, exciting, and sometimes out of the ordinary. We find joy in the memories we created from the past year, and hope as we look forward to all that comes our way in the new year. The first to come in the new year is routine for our children (and ourselves)! It might be difficult to get your child back into the routine of up early, catching the bus on time, and getting to school by 9:00 am. Rest assured, routine will fall back into place. We look forward to greeting your child with a warm smile and happy greetings on Thursday, January 2nd! We may be sleepy too, but we will be ready!

To start this new year, we will be sending home "Handle with Care" cards for you. If your child, for whatever reason, is having a tough morning, and you'd like to let us know, please send one of the cards in with your child in their folder. This will let your child's teacher know that they need a little extra TLC that day. If you'd like to let us know why, you can, but it is not necessary. The dog may have run out of the house, your child's favorite cereal may not have been an option for breakfast, or they may not have slept well the night before. No matter, we will give your child extra love and attention that day, and will let you know how the day is going. Feel free to use these cards if you'd like. You are always welcome to call as well.

Cold and Flu season is upon us. We are washing hands, wiping tables at night, and cleaning door handles during the day. A few reminders to help keep us all healthy and safe this winter season:

• If your child has a fever, they cannot return to school until they are fever free without fever reducing medication for at least 24 hours.
• If provided an antibiotic by your healthcare provider for a bacterial infection, your child may return to school after completing 24 hours on the antibiotic.
• If vomiting and/or diarrhea, your child may return after 24 hours without either symptom
• We have an Over the Counter Medication form available for families to give consent to our nurse for treating minor illnesses such as cream for a bug bite or Tums for an upset stomach. Please see the district website to find the form under Health Services.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns to our amazing school nurse Mrs. Heath at ext: 2239.

The district's School Health Services Program will be performing screenings when we return from Winter Recess. These screenings include vision and hearing screenings for all newly entering students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and grades 1, 3, 5, 7, and 11. Please see the district's website under Health Services for more information, or give us a call in the Nurse's Office.

We ended the year with a morning full of Project Based Learning! Students chose which learning adventure they wanted to participate in, and worked together to solve a problem. Project Based Learning is student led, and our students certainly led the way to solving problems with creative solutions.

The four learning adventures were:

- Arctic Adventure: You've been dropped off in the Arctic! How will your survive the harsh temperatures?

-Gingerbread Mansion: The Gingerbread Family needs a new home. How will you design a gingerbread house to fit the whole family?

-Operation Toy Shop: How will you design a toy that children will want to play with during the holiday season?

-Hot Chocolate Shop: How can you design a hot chocolate shop that will invite customers in to buy your hot chocolate?

We look forward to our next PBL Day coming March 2025.

If we can even believe it, 2nd Quarter ends on January 24th! Report Cards will be sent home on January 31st. In the meantime, we will be checking in with our students by completing mid-year benchmark assessments. These assessments will show us how much growth each child has made since September 2024. Results will be shared through the report cards. If you have any concerns about your child's academic progress, please reach out to your child's teacher. We appreciate your support and team approach in helping your child succeed this year.

January 2

Welcome Back!

January 8

BoE meets

January 20

No School- Dr. MLK Jr Day

January 22

BoE meets

January 24

End of 2nd Quarter

January 29

No School- Lunar New Year

January 31

Report Cards go home

The North East Community Center in Millerton, NY, provides a variety of services for residents of our school district. They offer programs for children from early childhood through the teen years, including assistance with teen internships and job placement. They also have a food pantry, and assist with transportation needs. Case management, mental health support and parent resources, immigration support, and financial and budgeting assistance are some of the many other services they offer. For more information visit: neccmillerton.org or call 518-789-4259. Para asistencia en espanol llame 518-789-4259 ext 123

Roula’s Kids provides trauma-informed, child-friendly grief support for children & families in the Hudson Valley area, through expressive arts, play, and physical activity. Groups meet after school in the Kingston area and are FREE. For more information: www.roulaskids.org 845-418-5437 roulaskids@gmail.com

January 15th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He dreamed of one day, all humans would live together in peace. An activity to do at home is to create a Fingerprint Dove, a symbol of peace. Another idea is to read books about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. together and discuss what dreams you and your child have for yourselves, for your community, and for the world.

A great way to incorporate Science into your household is to make bird seed ornaments. You can watch the birds flock to your craft while you help them find a yummy treat during the winter months. Here is one website that offers simple steps to make this bird watching craft!

Website: https://cselc.ppcsd.org/
Location: 358 Homan Road, Stanfordville, NY, USA
Phone: (845) 868-7451 2201