Flight Plan

Dear Families,

February brings many opportunities to dive into deep levels of learning, build meaningful connections, and create lasting memories. This month is filled with exciting events that celebrate reading, family, and community!

We look forward to World Read Aloud Day, where stories come to life and inspire a love for reading. Our Muffins with Missus event provides a special moment for students to share breakfast with a loved one. The Daddy/Daughter Dance promises to be a magical evening of fun and laughter. Additionally, students will showcase their talents as they prepare for Talent Show Tryouts. And, of course, we’ll wrap up the month with Valentine’s Day Parties, celebrating friendship and kindness throughout our school.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a place where students learn, grow, and thrive. We can’t wait to share these special moments with you!

Warmly,

Dedra Adams and Katie Vaughan

Thanks to our AMAZING PTA, The Morris Brothers came to Adkins Elementary on Friday, January 31, for a fun filled, anti-bullying packed assembly.

The assembly had our students rocking out to our core values of Kindness, Respect, Responsibility, Integrity and Inclusiveness. Students were able to role play scenarios to combat unkind actions and words, bullying and more. They learned that each of them have the power to be a Superhero!

The Morris Brothers shared the importance of self-confidence, having great character, being a superhero upstander, showing kindness, empathy, and acceptance of others. They also explored different types of bullying, cyberbullying, and leadership skills.

The curriculum was developed by licensed counselors and teachers using research-based strategies.

Want a sneak peek at what our students experienced? Click the link below or find The Morris Brothers on their YouTube Channel.

https://themorrisbrothers.com/anti-bullying-school-assemblies/.

Read below to find more clarification about bullying. :)

As our year moves into the spring we want to ensure that all of our students and their families understand that Adkins strives to be a safe learning environment for all. To build a strong foundation for friendships and social interactions we want to be aligned in our understanding of bullying.

Bullying is a serious offense, and we aim at preventing and educating our students on what Bullying is and what it is not. Please refer to our district's Counseling and Social Work website for more specific information regarding BULLYING and Denton ISD's policies.

Bullying Information

Is it Rude, Mean or Bullying?

Rude = Inadvertently saying or doing something that hurts someone else.

From kids, rudeness might look more like burping in someone's face, jumping ahead in line, bragging about achieving the highest grade or even throwing a crushed up pile of leaves in someone's face. On their own, any of these behaviors could appear as elements of bullying, but when looked at in context, incidents of rudeness are usually spontaneous, unplanned inconsideration, based on thoughtlessness, poor manners or narcissism, but not meant to actually hurt someone.

Mean = Purposefully saying or doing something to hurt someone once (or maybe twice).

The main distinction between "rude" and "mean" behavior has to do with intention; while rudeness is often unintentional, mean behavior very much aims to hurt or depreciate someone. Kids are mean to each other when they criticize clothing, appearance, intelligence, coolness or just about anything else they can find to denigrate. Meanness also sounds like words spoken in anger — impulsive cruelty that is often regretted in short order. Very often, mean behavior in kids is motivated by angry feelings and/or the misguided goal of propping themselves up in comparison to the person they are putting down. Commonly, meanness in kids sounds an awful lot like:

• "Are you seriously wearing that sweater again? Didn't you just wear it, like, last week? Get a life."
• "You are so fat/ugly/stupid/gay."
• "I hate you!"

Make no mistake; mean behaviors can wound deeply and adults can make a huge difference in the lives of young people when they hold kids accountable for being mean. Yet, meanness is different from bullying in important ways that should be understood and differentiated when it comes to intervention.

Bullying = is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.

Experts agree that bullying entails three key elements: an intent to harm, a power imbalance and repeated acts or threats of aggressive behavior. Kids who bully say or do something intentionally hurtful to others and they keep doing it, with no sense of regret or remorse -- even when targets of bullying show or express their hurt or tell the aggressors to stop. Bullying may be physical, verbal, relational or carried out via technology.

This information is from author: Signe Whitson

Here is a video for more information.

It is time to begin planning for our Future Aviators! We are so excited to welcome new students to Adkins. There are lots of ways to get the families of our new Kindergartners connected. Our first event is listed below. If you cannot attend our Aviator Play Date, there is a district event later in the evening. Thank you for helping us spread the word!

As we step into 2025, we are excited to focus on the core value of collaboration for the months of January and February. At Adkins, we are committed to fostering an environment where students not only thrive academically but also grow as thoughtful, cooperative individuals.

Collaboration is a vital skill that empowers students to listen, share ideas, solve problems together, and appreciate the strengths that diversity brings to a group. Throughout these two months, teachers and staff will emphasize lessons, activities, and discussions that highlight the importance of teamwork and collective success.

We encourage you to join us in this mission by promoting collaboration at home. Engage your child in activities like group decision-making, family projects, or teamwork-focused games that reinforce these skills in their everyday lives.

Together, let’s inspire our students to understand that when we work together, we can achieve amazing things. Thank you for your continued partnership in shaping a collaborative and inclusive school community.

Our next Awards Ceremony will be on Thursday, February 13th.

Parents will be notified of students who will be receiving the monthly characteristic award and the learn, connect, serve award. It will be a secret for our sudents ~ but those tparents will be invited to our awards assembly to celebrate their students.

Chess Club resumes for a second semester. Chess Wizards is a program run by a master guest teacher and offers challenging lessons, fun group activities, and exciting tournaments. Students range from Kinder to 5th, from beginners to haven’t beat Mrs. Whipple yet, LOL!

The club meets in Mrs. Whipple’s classroom, from 3:15-4:15 pm on Wednesdays (1/5, 1/22, 1/29, 2/5, 2/26, 3/5, 3/26, 4/2, 4/9, and 4/16).

The cost is $250. Registration is online, https://chesswizards.com/register/ and select location (Texas, Lantana, Dorothy P. Adkins Elementary School, 76226). Questions? Ask Mrs. Whipple kwhipple@dentonisd.org

Dear Families,

Denton ISD will provide engagement for students on the upcoming early release day, February 14th, 2025, from 12:00 pm until 3:00 pm for elementary children. The Extended School Day program will coordinate with each campus to provide engaging activities for students while teachers are participating in Professional Learning Communities. In addition, Denton ISD transportation will be provided at both the early release time (12:00pm) and the regular release time (3:00 pm) for all eligible elementary bus students. If you indicate on the form that your child will ride the bus, please notify the ESD office 24 hours prior to the Early Release Day if there has been a change in pick up plan.

Parents must sign up each month to participate. If your student currently attends ESD, you do not need to sign up.

If you have any questions regarding this, please contact the Extended School Day office at 940-369-0080.

Participation in this opportunity will require completion of the form below. All forms must be submitted no later than midnight on Saturday, February 8th, 2025 to participate.

English

https://forms.gle/pR78gnn5kHNLQDk98

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Estimadas Familias:

El Distrito Escolar Independiente de Denton brindará actividades escolares para estudiantes las día de salida temprano, 14 de febrero de 2025 de las 12:00pm hasta las 3:00pm para niños de primaria. El programa Día Escolar Extendido se coordinará con cada campus para brindar actividades escolares para estudiantes mientras los maestros están participando en grupos de aprendizaje profesional. Además, se proporcionará transporte de Denton ISD tanto a la hora de salida temprano (12:00pm) y a la hora de salida regular (3:00pm) para todos los estudiantes de primaria elegibles para utilizar el autobús. Si indica en el formulario que su hijo viajará en el autobús, notifique a la oficina de ESD 24 horas antes del día de salida temprana si ha habido un cambio en el plan de recogida.

Los padres deben inscribirse cada mes para participar. Si su estudiante atiende actualmente ESD (Día Escolar Extendido, por sus siglas en Inglés), no necesita registrarse.

Si tiene alguna pregunta, favor de comunicarse con la oficina de Día Escolar Extendido al 940-369-0080.

Para participar en esta oportunidad, requerirá completar el siguiente formulario. Todos los formularios deben ser enviados a más tardar el día 8 de febrero de 2025 para participar.

español

https://forms.gle/R9hG6LGs68bbLeSt6

• Muffins with Misses RSVP Closes

Do you have something that has made you have the "Awww" feeling lately? Has your teacher or another staff member left a positive impact on you or your child? Have you seen something that you feel needs to be praised? We believe at Adkins that words are powerful and matter! Affirmation can make someone's day!

We share these kudos during our Thursday staff meetings! It is so fun to share your words with our teachers. :)

Let's Give KUDOS and KIND WORDS!

Use this link to share the good!