April

4/25- Talent Show

4/26- Spirit Day- Beach/Vacation attire

May

5/1-Conferences 4pm-8pm

5/1- Book Fair 4:00-7:30pm

5/2- Conferences 8am-8pm.

5/2- Book Fair 8am-3pm

5/3- No school

5/10- Raccoon Run

5/27- Memorial Day- No School

The Sato PE Department is asking that students be sent to school with appropriate footwear on days they have PE class. Preferred footwear is a shoe that is rubber-soled and closed-toed. Flip flops, heels of any kind, or shoes that expose toes are harder to participate in or are unsafe depending on the activity. We understand the weather is getting nicer, but our top priority is making sure students can be safe and participate in class! If this is not possible due to financial concerns or you do not know when your student has PE, please contact Mr. Hansmann or Mr. Evans.

Thank you for your time!

-Sato PE Department (Mr. Hansmann and Mr. Evans)

Please do not park in the handicap accessible parking spaces unless you have a placard to do so. People who need to use the spaces have been unable to do so. Thank you.

Please remember to sign up for parent teacher conferences. Look for a sign up from your classroom teachers. Thank you!

Get ready! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming our way (YAY!). Choosing their own books empowers kids and inspires them on their journey to becoming lifelong readers. AND—as always—every purchase at the Fair benefits our school.

Here’s what you need to know about the big event, which will take place:

• Wednesday, May 1, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

• Thursday, May 2, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Say goodbye to cash and hello to eWallet—your child’s digital payment account. Before the Fair, set up eWallet for worry-free, cash-free purchases. Anyone can contribute! Share each child’s eWallet so friends and family can add funds and give your kids more books to enjoy.

If you can’t make it to the Fair, then shop at our school’s Book Fair online. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Every online purchase will also benefit our school. Link to our Book Fair homepage where you can learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping is coming soon!

The countdown to more Bookjoy is on! Catch you at the Fair!

I hear from many parents who are concerned about the amount of time their child spends on screens (television, computers, tablets, phones, video games). In this era, most of us utilize screens for work, school and entertainment. How much is too much, and how do we know when screen use is having a negative impact? Here are the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics you can use as a guideline, and if you have any questions or concerns about these recommendations, your child’s pediatrician is a great resource.

• Ages 0-2--No screen time recommended

• Ages 2-12--One hour

• Ages 13-18--Two hours

These are indications that screen use has become problematic:

• Children spend a significant amount of time on screens, even when it interferes with other activities such as school work, exercise or sports, or spending time with friends and family.

• Children respond to screen use limits in an irritable, angry, or agitated manner.

• Children have trouble sleeping or experience disrupted sleep patterns due to screen use.

• Children may lie about screen use or become deceptive in order to use a device, often when they should be sleeping.

• Children do not have interests outside of using screens and report being “bored” during other activities.

Ways to limit screen time:

• Set realistic limits as to how much time is allowed and at which time of day. If a child is used to being on screens from the time they get home from school until bedtime, it may not be reasonable to immediately limit screen time to one hour per day. Involve your child in making this plan and clearly explain your concerns.

• If your child is being deceptive about use, there are apps that can time and limit use. Devices can also be stored in a parent’s bedroom at night.

• Be a good role model! Adults can also exhibit problematic screen use and our children observe what we do as setting behavioral norms in the household. We can say “do as I say, not what I do” all we want, but it is unlikely to solve the problem.

• Engage with your child in other activities that are incongruent with screen use. Go for a walk, play in the park, go swimming...or any activity that promotes parent/child connection without screens.

• Keep lines of communication open which means bing open to hearing their concerns as well. Children may (often unconsciously) use screens to cope with anxiety, depression or even bullying.

• If you are worried that your child may have a screen addiction that needs professional intervention, please contact your child’s pediatrician and/or a mental health professional specializing in this problem.

• 
  

Executive Functioning Skills: emotional control and time management

Summary: We’re giving up more and more of our precious downtime to our devices. This wouldn’t be so bad, but most of what we’re doing online is making us unhappy. The speaker, Alter, lists the data on which apps tend to make us happy, and which tend to make us sad. Towards the end Alter offers some hope: create end times for your device activity. In the past TV shows ended, newspapers ended, cassettes had to flip to the other side. There were many naturally end times that signaled time had past and it was time to move on to something else. Now we scroll and watch endlessly. Alter suggests a few ways to create end times for yourself, discusses the difficulties in implementing said end times, and offers up the benefits of gaining control of unhealthy screen time.

Key Takeaways:

1. We don’t have that much free time so we shouldn’t waste it doing something that makes us unhappy.
2. Screen time is an addiction. Decreasing our screen time can result in withdrawal symptoms. It is not easy, but it’s worth it.
3. You need a specific plan in place to decrease your time. Saying “I’m going to spend less time on my device from now on” will not result in you spending less time on your device.

Creating a safer school climate for our students is our top priority. A critical factor in creating a safer environment is classroom response to an incident at school. In partnership with first responders, we plan and train for weather events, fire, accidents, intruders and other threats.

In April, we will be practicing a Secure Drill.

Secure means there is a possible threat outside the school. Most often, this is due to police activity in the area. Police might be searching for a suspect in a crime, or someone might have spotted a person wanted for questioning.

During a secure, it's business as usual inside the school. If students are at recess or outside for some reason, they're brought inside, doors are locked, and classes continue.

We have created a Secure Drill Social Story that you can read through with your children.

Dear Sato Families,

Assigning Sato students to their classes for the next school year is an important responsibility. Our goal is to place students in a learning environment in which they can succeed. Classroom teachers and specialists provide important input into classroom make-up. They spend time with students in the classroom and other school environments and are aware of student needs, abilities and learning styles, as well as peer relationship considerations. For this reason we have an extensive process by which we collaboratively consider the following criteria as we organize classes for next year:

• Gender balance

• Combination of students who may have a positive or negative influence on each other’s learning and play

• Balance of students with individualized education programs, academic achievement and second language needs

• Balance of social maturity

We recognize that as parents and caregivers you are your child’s most important advocate and teacher. We want to offer you the opportunity to provide information on your child that may not be directly available or observable in the school environment. You may provide relevant educational information about the specific needs or learning characteristics of your child by completing the form on the next page. We are requiring that all input be in writing in order to protect the integrity of our process. Please do not request a specific teacher. Individual teacher requests cannot be considered because student balance is first priority in class make-up and because we can have changes in staffing and the number of classes at grade levels over the summer. Your information sheet will be taken into consideration while the team makes classroom assignments. While we work to honor the information you provide, the final placement decision is made by the school.

Thank you for your patience and support! The student information form is due by Friday, April 26th. Classroom assignments will be available at the end of August.

Sincerely,

Annie Pleau

Principal Sato Elementary

This form is Optional! Please fill out ONLY if you have information you would like our team to consider.

What is Arab American Heritage Month?

Arab American Heritage Month is a time to learn about and celebrate the diverse cultures and many contributions of Arab Americans.

Why do we celebrate it?

The United States has often portrayed Arab Americans in negative ways and has overlooked or ignored the many accomplishments of Arabic speaking people. We learn about extraordinary Arab Americans all year long at Sato, and we take extra time to honor them in April.

National Deaf History Month is celebrated March 13th to April 15th each year to commemorate the achievements of people who are deaf and hard of hearing. In 2006, the American Library Association and the National Association of the Deaf declared to recognize March 13 to April 15 as National Deaf History Month. This timeframe was chosen to highlight significant milestones in deaf education history, including:

• The opening of the first public school for the deaf on April 15, 1817.

• The founding of Gallaudet University on April 8, 1864. The school’s mission is to advance visual learning, language, social justice, and full rights for students with hearing impairments.

• The appointment of Gallaudet University’s first deaf president on March 13, 1988.

In 2022, the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) chose April 1-30 as National Deaf History Month (NDHM). This decision was partly based on a mandate from our delegates that the NAD engage in efforts to dismantle racism within our community, and this requires ensuring that our historical lens must include the experiences of BIPOC Deaf People.

To learn more about deaf history, deaf culture, and deafness, delve into these resources from Newsela. To learn more about ways that local arts and cultural events are being made more inclusive, check out the Cyma Space Website.

Click on the link above and be sure to sign up to volunteer! It takes up to 10 days to approve a volunteer application. The sooner you get the application completed, the better. Stay tuned for more information from SECO, our community organization.

We get a tremendous amount of things in our lost and found each year and when they are not claimed, we donate it to the clothes for kids program. Please label all things brought to school with a first name and last initial so we can get it back to the rightful owner! Thank you!

If you'd like to know a little more about the Administration at Sato please check out the Meet the Principal Page on our website, linked below!