The Winn Word 11.22.24

Dear Families,

I wanted to take a moment to share our gratitude for each of you. Our "Penny War," last week was so much fun for the kids. We appreciate all of the donations that were made! We will announce the classroom winner soon! As you know, doing community service projects is an important part of Shepherd Public Schools. We want our students to understand what an act of service is and how we can help others around us. All of the funds raised this past week will benefit the Winn Tree House organization. This group helps many families throughout our local area with many different needs. The Winn Tree House adopts ten of our families here at Winn Elementary for the holidays!

I also wanted to say thank you for being a part of our family. As a staff, we work hard each day to provide "Everything a Kid Needs!" We know you are your child's first and most important teacher. We appreciate you working with us each day to help your child become an amazing student and wonderful human being! We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your break (No school Wednesday, Nov 27th-Friday, Nov.29th)

During this month of gratitude, I encourage you and your child to share a positive affirmation with the staff at Winn! Has someone done something that made a difference in your child's life? Did your child come home and tell you something special that you want to share? Take a minute to fill out this quick form, so that person will be recognized! https://forms.gle/MANT2mtzfBqBKejZ6

We are printing these and hanging them up for staff to see. Let's fill up our school with positive affirmations :)Thanks!

Thanks so much to our wonderful WPC crew for working to expand our sandbox for the kids. The Bridges family provided a snack and hot chocolate break for our crew. The Grover families skid steer was a great help. Our sandbox DOUBLED in size! The kids are going to be so excited. We appreciate the work of Chris and Sarah Szymczyk for getting this project in motion. We love our WPC!

Each month, we focus on a different learning tool to help build our social emotional understanding using the "Second Step" program. This month we have been focusing on building empathy. Here is a way for you to help us with this at home.

What is my child learning?

Getting along with others helps make our school a happier place. To get along with others, we need to have empathy for each other. Empathy is feeling or understanding what someone else is feeling.

Why is it important?

When we teach our kids the importance of understanding how someone else might feel, we help them see things from a different perspective. It also helps us to learn how to recognize how others might feel.

Ask your child:

What is being a feelings detective all about? A feelings detective is someone that is able to look at a persons body language, the sound of their voice, and the words they are saying to determine how someone might be feeling.

Read together:

Are adults really so different from kids? Choose an adult family member. Each of you complete the following sentences on your own (use scratch paper) using the “feelings” words below. Then compare your answers. If you chose a different feeling word for the same sentence, write your feeling word in one “different” column, and your adult’s feeling word in the other “different” column below. If you chose the same feeling word, just write it once in the “same” column.

Feelings Words: worried, unsure, scared, lonely, happy, sad, serious, frustrated, nervous, joyful, satisfied, stressed, peaceful, relaxed, and excited

Are you looking for something to keep your kiddo active this winter? This is for both boys and girls in grades K-5.

We're thrilled to re-announce the new app for Shepherd Bluejays! It's everything Shepherd Bluejays, in your pocket. Download the app for Android or iPhone.

This is one of our FAVORITE traditions at Winn Elementary each year. On Friday, December 20th, our families come in to join us to make two special projects for the holiday season. This year, the Winn Parent's Club has a new twist on the projects.

If you are interested in helping here is what you need to do:

• Fill out an ICHAT (you only need to do this once a year so if you are already approved this step is done)
• Make sure we have a copy of your driver's license for the RAPTOR program (if you have had your driver's license ran before to create a name tag to get into the building this step is done too!)
• Save the date on your calendar!
• Be on the look out in December for the Google Form to sign up. We need lots of volunteers to make this day special.

We look forward to filling our school with lots of families to celebrate together on the last day of school before our vacation for the holidays. See you then!

Our Winn Student Council would like to invite all of the students and staff to dress up for, "Twins Tuesday," on Tuesday, November 26th. Get creative and have your kids partner up with another friend at Winn to dress up the same!

• 11/26 Twins Day - Dress up like a twin with a friend
• 11/27-29 Thanksgiving Break -No School
• 12/4 Winn Parent's Club meeting 5:30
• 12/4 Holly Jolly Parade 6:00
• 12/20 Annual Make & Take Event at Winn Elementary (am) Holiday parties (pm)
• 12/23-1/3 Winter Break

Thank you for sharing your child with our family here at Winn. Our motto at Winn is "Everything a Kid Needs." We focus on both academic excellence and creating good humans! I am here to serve you. If you have questions/concerns or need help in any way, please feel free to reach out to me.

Email: lrichards@shepherdschools.net
Location: 380 West Blanchard Road, Shepherd, MI, USA
Phone: (989) 866-2250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winnelementary