Dear Strawtown Families,
As we step into December and end trimester one, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the progress and growth the students have made this year. From new skills to expanded knowledge, we’ve seen so much progress in the classroom, and we are incredibly proud of each student’s hard work. This season also brings a sense of opportunity—opportunity to continue learning, to embrace new challenges, and to celebrate all the successes along the way. As we look ahead to the new year, we are excited for the many opportunities that lie ahead and are grateful for the support and partnership of our families!
As a reminder, student report cards will be posted to the parent portal this week on December 5th. The reports should be available around 3 p.m. In addition, please be sure to sign up for a parent-teacher conference via PTC Wizard. Registration will be open until 12pm on December 5th. At that time, teacher schedules will become locked and then alternate arrangements will be need to be made for conference requests.
I hope you have a nice holiday season and always if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
In Partnership,
Colin Andersen
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Winter Illnesses:
While the winter brings many joys, it is also the time of year when sickness does increase. If your child is sick, please keep them home. On the three days before Thanksgiving, we sent approximately 30 children home with different ailments. Including 11 children on the early dismissal day with the stomach bug. As a reminder, children need to be fever free, without medication, for a full 24 hour period before returning to school. If your child has severe stomach issues, please be mindful that stomach bugs are incredibly contagious, so it is best to error on the side of caution and keep that child home. While I know it is an inconvenience, it is compassionate and a responsible thing to do. On our front, over the weekend, our maintenance team performed a deep clean and extra sanitization effort to get us ready for the month of December! Working together, we can get through the winter healthy.
Screenagers Documentary and Online Safety:
We will be hosting a viewing of Screenagers: Elementary Edition on January 30th at South High School at 6:30 p.m. We are partnering with the other elementary schools in the district for this event. I encourage you to attend the viewing because it provides important information about the effects of technology on the developing adolescent brain. More information will follow in the next few weeks. In addition, we have become aware that many group chats are happening outside of school hours. We all need to be able to communicate in the online world, but these rapid and growing types of conversations often lead to hurt feelings and confusion for kids since they are still developing their conversational skills and ability to empathize with each other. Here is an article that might be helpful in help your child navigate the nuance of chatting online safely and responsibly.
In addition, You Tube is a wonderful learning resource; however, it is loaded with inappropriate content, according to a 2019 study a child is only potentially 10 clicks away from accessing highly inappropriate content. At times developers create content that seems innocent enough, but actually has bad content embedded into it. Here is a link to ways to keep your child safe while using You Tube. Here at school, the school SEL team, myself and our teachers are working to create student workshops about online safety for our Upper Elementary students as well. Through a strong home-school partnership, we can educate and monitor our students and children to make healthy online choices.
Lost and Found:
Our lost and found is overflowing! Please remind your child to take a look if you are missing sweatshirts and jackets. If items are not claimed by December 6th, we will be donating them to the Clarkstown Family Resource Center.
Winter Concert:
Our fourth and fifth graders will be performing in our annual winter concert on December 11th. Last week, all fourth and fifth grade families received this letter from our music teacher, Ms. Pierce. Please note that all non-performing children need to be supervised at all times through out the duration you are at the school for the show. Playground equipment should not be used after dark for safety reasons.
Holiday Spirit Week:
December 16th through the 20th will be holiday spirit week. Please see this link for the details on the day's themes.
December Fun:
As we shift our activities inside for the season, please see these ideas from our occupational therapist, Debbie Palladino, for some ideas on how to incorporate some gross and fine motor skills into your household fun.
December Closings:
Remember that December 6th is parent-teacher conference day. Children do not attend this day. We will be closed for winter recess beginning Monday, December 23rd and will reopen on Thursday, January 2nd.
December Calendars:
Please use this link to access the December calendar for the events happening at Strawtown this month. You can also use this link to see the December school lunch menu.
