Darnaby Elementary

JANUARY 2025

January 9 StuCo Meeting

January 10 Early Release - Dismissal @ 2:17pm

January 10 Report Cards Go Home

January 11 Redhawk Robotics Rumble

January 16 Honor Roll Awards Assemblies: 4th & 5th Grade - During Specials

January 16 PTA Meeting - Charcuterie Meet & Learn Meeting - 6:00pm

January 17 Professional Day - No School

January 20 No School - Martin Luther King Day

January 23 Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:30pm - 6:30pm

January 24 Early Release - Dismissal @ 2:17pm

January 28 Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:30pm - 6:30pm

January 31 4th Grade Brainiacs Tournament - Owasso

January 31 Early Release - Dismissal @ 2:17pm

January 31 Family Fun Night - Darnaby 6-8pm

Dear Darnaby Families,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had an enjoyable and restful holiday season. We are excited to be back and look forward to a busy and rewarding second semester of school.

The New Year is often a time to set new goals and then be resolute to follow through. We have a goal of seeing that all students attend school regularly and arrive to school on-time. Tardiness and Chronic Absenteeism is a problem for some students at Darnaby, and this creates problems for all students and teachers as well. When students arrive late to school or miss frequently, they miss out on very important learning opportunities and also create a distraction for other students who are ready to move forward with their learning.

Studies show that students who have good attendance and are not tardy, have much better grades and overall success at school than students with poor attendance and who are frequently tardy. Consistent tardiness creates not only the problems mentioned above, but also does not help to prepare students for future success in middle school, high school or the workplace.

During this second semester, we will continue to focus in improving student attendance and encouraging all students and families to get to school on-time. Your Darnaby Attendance Task Force is working to highlight attendance in a variety of ways. We are announcing grade-level attendance leaders each month, displaying homerooms leading the way on our Rocket Ship Attendance bulletin board in the front hall. We are also recognizing individual students with Attendance All-Star cards that students can turn into the front office for an Attendance All-Star sticker, pencil and to have their name drawn for a prize each week, just like we do for Character Counts. Finally, we will be taking the homeroom with the best average daily attendance rate on a field-trip to Bass Pro for a day of fishing and fun in May.

Current Average Daily Attendance Leaders:

• Mrs. Marshall - 1st Grade Class @ 96.92% ADA
• Mrs. VonHartitzsch - 3rd Grade Class @ 96.44% ADA
• Mrs. Cory - 5th Grade Class @ 96.38% ADA

The staff at Darnaby is doing everything they can to encourage and support your child's attendance, please help us reach our goal of improving student attendance at Darnaby!!

TIPS FOR GETTING TO SCHOOL ON TIME

If your student is having trouble making it to school on time, try using some or all of these tips so that you’re out the door and at school before the bell rings:

• Plan for the “little things” that always come up. People who are always on time are really people who arrive early every day. That way, when something unexpected comes up, they may not be early, but they will be on time.
• Get enough sleep. If getting out of bed in the morning is a problem, make a serious effort to get to bed earlier. Getting enough sleep also helps students focus better in the classroom, and is important to overall health.
• Prepare for school the night before. Don’t wait until you are already rushed in the morning to pack up that backpack, or sign homework papers. Get it done the night before and put the backpack by the door.
• What time are you expected to be at school? The tardy bell rings at 8:15. Students should be in their classroom, ready to start the day at this time. We allow students to enter the building as early as 8:00am.

· If one person in the house is running late, everyone is running late. Make a family commitment to be on time to school every day.

Thank you for supporting Darnaby!

Sincerely,

Chris Reynolds

Principal, Darnaby Elementary

After School Programming Highlights

Our after-school programs have had an incredible semester! Students in our Tech Club mastered 3D modeling and partnered with Art Factory to create beautiful ornaments for the Arts and Crafts show. STUCO teamed up with the Graphic Gurus to promote an amazing toy drive, collecting 250 toys for the Salvation Army. Robotics was buzzing with activity as LittleBots, LittleBots XL, Ranger Robotics, and our competitive team, Robotics 2.0, built and prepared for the Redhawk Robotics Rumble this weekend.

STEM in the Kitchen whipped up exciting scientific recipes, while Tiny Tech explored coding adventures with Dash. KDES kept us informed with engaging daily broadcasts, and Brainiacs showcased their knowledge in their first tournament. Meanwhile, Elements engineers tackled BMX bike building, Mindful Movements taught valuable relaxation techniques, and Chess Club refined strategies for March’s district chess tournament.

Soccer students competed against other elementary schools, Math Mentors and Accelerated Math refined their math skills, and Rangers & Co. impressed us with performances over the holidays. They’ll also sing the National Anthem at a Tulsa Oilers game this Sunday! We’re so proud of all our students’ achievements!

As we prepare for the spring semester, keep an eye out for emails with upcoming club start dates. Each club will begin on a specific date, so please wait for confirmation from your sponsor. We can’t wait for another amazing semester of after-school programming!

Happy 2025!

An outing, sharing yummy treats and old fashioned fun, what a better ways to start 2025!

Tulsa Oilers, Sunday, January 12th, 3:00pm

Join us for an incredible afternoon, hearing our students sing the national anthem and seeing a hockey game with our school friends. We get a portion of the tickets. Please use the link below to get discounted tickets and come join the fun!

https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Darnabyelementary2

First PTA meeting of 2025 Thursday, January 16th , 6:00pm

Come to our first meeting of 2025, get all the information for the coming year and learn about the art of charcuterie. Please let us know you are attending so we have enough mini kits. RSVP to Darnabyptapresident@gmail.com

Teacher Conferences, Thursday, January 23rd & Tuesday, January 28th

Have you wanted to try a new recipe, have an old favorite or know where to buy some delightful bites? Then you should sign-up for the teacher conference meals! This is our way to say Thank You to our teachers, on some very long days.

Sign-ups will be on the website in January.

Family Fun Night, 6pm-8pm, Friday, January 31st!

Come enjoy an old-fashioned evening of games, crafts, trivia and more. In the warmth of Darnaby, come eat Pizza, hang out with old friends, meet new ones and win prizes! No better way to spend a Friday this winter. More information to order food coming soon.

Other fun events this semester:

Day of Fun

Hopefully sometime soon, weather dependent.

Read a thon coming in February!

Staff Appreciation coming in April

Come and be a part of some or all the PTA events coming in 2025!

We want you to be a part of this great community.

If you want to help, please check under the volunteer tab on the www.darnabypta.org site.

Most of All Thank You for giving your time to the Darnaby Community,

we could not do it with out you!

New Year, new books!!

Are you looking for NEW books for your kids to read at home? Just a reminder we have FREE online book subscriptions. Please see description and log in information below.

Scholastic BookFlix is an online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction eBooks to build a love of reading and learning. The engaging way to link fact and fiction, BookFlix reinforces early reading skills and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration.

Bookflix.Scholastic.com

Login: darnabyes

Password: darnabyes

PebbleGo is simple to navigate and offers key reading supports such as read-along audio and word-by-word highlighting.

PebbleGo databases make learning and improving reading and research skills fun, building on children’s interest.

PebbleGo.com (recommended for PreK-2nd grade students)

Login: darnaby

Password: school

PebbleGoNext.com (recommended for 3rd-5th grade students)

Login: darnaby

Password: school

Thank you!

Melissa Nunn

Media Specialist

Darnaby Elementary

Union Public Schools

918-357-8746

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library”-Albert Einstein

Walking pneumonia is a less serious form of the lung infection pneumonia. It's often caused by bacteria called Mycoplasma pneumoniae, but other bacteria or viruses can also cause it.

Most kids with this type of pneumonia don't feel sick enough to stay home — hence, the name "walking" pneumonia. But even a child who feels fine should stay home for a few days until antibiotic treatment kicks in and symptoms improve.

When it seems like a cold is lasting longer than 7 to 10 days, especially if a cough is getting worse or not going away, it could be walking pneumonia. Symptoms can come on suddenly or take longer to start. The symptoms are often mild, but sometimes can be more severe. Some children might respond to the illness with fever, fatigue (feeling very tired), headache, chills, sore throat, and other cold or flu-like symptoms or asthma like symptoms.

Walking pneumonia symptoms usually depend on where the infection is concentrated. A child whose infection is in the top or middle part of the lungs will probably have labored breathing. Another whose infection is in the lower part of the lungs (near the belly) may have no breathing problems, but may have an upset stomach, nausea, or vomiting. Antibiotics are an effective treatment for walking pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae or other bacteria. After starting on antibiotics, your child is less likely to pass the illness on to others. But encourage everyone to wash their hands well and often. Don't let your child share drinking glasses, eating utensils, towels, or toothbrushes with others in your home to prevent the spread.

Teach kids to cough or sneeze into a tissue or into their elbow or upper arm (not their hands). Wash hands often and after touching any used tissues. Also make sure that your kids are up to date on their vaccines to help protect them from other infections.

With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia go away within 1–2 weeks. Coughing can take up to 4–6 weeks to stop.

To review the full article and information see the attached link.

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/walking-pneumonia.html

Sue Crum, R.N., BSN

Darnaby School Nurse

Crum.sue@unionps.org

918-357-8740

Counselor Corner Jan. 2025

School Counselor Classroom Lessons As a school counselor, I promote healthy social-emotional and academic development through direct and indirect student services. I enjoy working in the educational setting and building relationships with teachers, staff, parents, community members, and students in alignment with our districts school counseling mission statement.

Students will still be working on emotion management and be able to (1) Identify and label their own and others’ emotions. (2) Use emotion-management strategies to calm strong feelings, including stress management for older students.

Emotion Management Home Links

Kindergarten

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Grade 4

Grade 5

Union’s Hope-Guidance-SEL Program Click on Union’s Hope-Guidance-SEL program link to access their virtual calming room with great resources for students and parents.

Love & Logic Tip Love & Logic Tip All tips from Love and Logic. The information below if from the article What to Do When an Appropriate Consequence is Hard to Find by Dr. Charles Fay.

The “Energy Drain” approach was created to give adults a practical way of creating logical consequences that teach responsibility. Simply stated, the child (or teen) is required to replace energy “drained” from the adult by their misbehavior.

Step 1: Deliver a strong dose of sincere empathy. This is so sad.

Step 2: Notify the youngster that their misbehavior drained your energy. Oh sweetie. When you lie to me (or almost any other misbehavior), it drains energy right out of me.

Step 3: Ask how he or she plans to replace the energy. How are you planning to put that energy back?

Step 4: If you hear, “I don’t know,” offer some payback options. Some kids decide to do some of their mom’s chores? How would that work? Some kids decide to hire and pay for a babysitter—so their parents can go out and relax. How would that work?

Step 5: If the child completes the chores, thank them and don’t lecture Thanks so much! I really appreciate it.

Step 6: If the child refuses or forgets, don’t warn or remind. Remember: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!

Step 7: As a last resort, go on strike OR sell a toy to pay for the drain. What a bummer. I just don’t think I have the energy to take you to Silly Willie’s Fun Park this weekend. OR… What a bummer. You forgot to do those chores. No problem. I sold your Mutant Death Squad action figure to pay for a babysitter tonight.

Character Counts How can you demonstrate trustworthy behavior at school and at home?

· Be someone people can count on

· Be honest

· Be reliable and do what you say you are doing to do

· Have the courage to do the right thing even when no one is watching

· Build a good reputation by what you say and what you do

Congratulations to Our December Students of the Month These students have been nominated by their grade level teachers and exemplify outstanding character in their classroom, in our building, and in our community!

Pre-Kindergarten Shreeya Vattipalli and Regan Guagliardo

Kindergarten Micah Oyler and Mirae Mourad

First Grade Shandiin Qualls and Emmett Lor

Second Grade Jayme McPherson and Aaron Manning

Third Grade Noelani Johnson and Obada Sawar

Fourth Grade Zoe Zindler and Sarai Garcia-Franco

Fifth Grade Gabrielle Bedford and Ian Montalvo-Mayo

Check out our November Students of the Month celebrated in the picture below!

Pre-Kindergarten Lun Nuam and Sutton Gatlin-Rutledge Kindergarten Ava Al-Alawneh and Tauren HardinFirst Grade Sterling Coldrion and Cing Siam Second Grade Kim Suum and Sophia Sterne Third Grade Ellie Robinson and Keegan Landphair Fourth Grade Cedric In-Phianhavong and Jayden Le Fifth Grade Luke Johnson and Kinzie Naylor

Union Hope - Union Resources (google.com) and Union Hope - Community Resources (google.com) offer our families a wealth of resources to support wellness and mental health. Please contact your school counselor for more information!

Important Cyber Safety Parent Resources

· Have a Family Tech Plan. Family Tech Planners | Common Sense Media

· Find specific age requirements, parental controls, etc. that you may have access to on a device by clicking this link https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parents-ultimate-guides

· Parent Tips and FAQ’s when it comes to parenting and media! Parenting, Media, and Everything in Between | Common Sense Media

Kelly Buck, M.S.

School Counselor/Darnaby Elementary

P: 918-357-8732

E: buck.kelly@unionps.org

Email: reynolds.chris@unionps.org
Website: https://www.unionps.org/426680_3
Location: 7625 East 87th Street, Tulsa, OK, USA
Phone: 918-357-4333
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarnabyElementary/