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Paw Prints 🐾 April 2024
The Newsletter of Auburn Early Education Center
Principal's Message
Happy April!
This is a beautiful, busy time of year. The blooming flowers, green grass, buzzing bees, and blanket of pollen are a reminder that spring is here! With that comes testing and preparation for the upcoming school year.
Our second graders are applying the content they have learned as they participate in the ACAP. Students completed the ELA portion this week and will take the math portion next week.
Registration is in full swing. New and returning student registration is now open. Please register at www.auburnschools.org. You will receive daily reminder emails during this open registration period along with your SNAPCODE. We encourage you to complete registration within this open period. Returning student registration will be open from March 11, 2024 - April 8, 2024.
On April 9, 2024, author and drum circle facilitator, Dave Holland will visit our school! “Mr. Dave” is the author of The Llama Who Rocks in Her Polka Dot Socks, a story about a llama who makes great choices every day. On Saturday, she hosts a drum circle for her friends! Students will participate in a workshop that features a reading of the book and a hands-on drum circle! Your child also has the opportunity to meet Mr. Dave and take home an autographed copy of his book. If you’d like your child to have this experience, please fill out the order form that will be sent home in Monday folders and return it with payment by April 5th.
Kindergarten Kickoff will be held on April 25th from 5:30-7:00pm at AEEC. Please help us spread the word to friends and family that have a rising kindergartener. Flyers are pictured below.
Thank you for an amazing Teacher Appreciation Week! Our teachers and staff enjoyed lunch provided by our incredible PTO every day this week. Flowers, handwritten cards, gift cards, items from the Amazon list are just a few ways that teachers felt appreciated and loved! We look forward to finishing the year strong!
With gratitude,
Glori Lammons
Curriculum News
SPRING FEVER!
I have a question for us to ponder, "Is SPRING FEVER real?" While it is debatable whether spring is your favorite season, I do believe it plays a part on our mood and maybe even our behavior. The great Ernest Hemingway said it best, “When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest." From what I have read, springtime enhances our mood, makes us feel happier (because days are longer), promotes a more active lifestyle (which increases endorphins), increases energy levels, decreases stress levels, and improves brain clarity, memory, and creative thoughts.
Sounds like amazing ways to feel and think about our two remaining months of school. So, enjoy this spring by taking a walk, soaking up all of the beautiful sights and sounds of nature, riding a bike, reading good books, and writing journal entries. What mood and which behaviors are you choosing? While MARCHing into April, I choose to fully embrace having "Spring Fever!" I hope you choose to join me!
Marlee Clifton, NBCT
Instructional Coach
Title 1 News
Happy April! I love welcoming another beautiful month as we draw close to the end of the school year. This year has flown by. I have enjoyed watching your children grow in so many ways, but especially how much they have grown through reading.
I’m sure you have noticed how much your child has grown in reading over the course of the school year. His or her reading has become more fluent, filled with expression and automaticity of recognizing words in stories. Letting your child read independently or aloud with you is still one of the most important literacy activities you can be doing with your child in the evenings. Please continue to help your child with choosing just the right books for them to build those literacy skills such as fluency and comprehension, but most importantly to build an enjoyment and a love for reading. A book can take an imagination anywhere!
Here is a link to a blog that gives suggestions on choosing the right book to promote independent reading: https://syllableslearningcenter.com/choosing-the-right-reading-material-for-your-child/. Please let me know if you have any questions! Happy Reading!
Choose Kindness Anyways,
Dr. Dorman
Music and Art News
This month in Music, students are exploring a classic children’s symphony called Peter and the Wolf, written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. Each animal in the story has a specific recurring musical theme and is represented by an instrument or family of instruments. We are discovering how the composer used orchestral music to tell a story. Second grade is working hard on the music for their upcoming Showcase on May 17 – we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been learning!
-Mrs. Schiller
Thank you to all who participated in our Spring Virtual Art Show. If you purchased a frame, they will be delivered to school, within 7-10 days, and then distributed to your child the following Monday. Also, congratulations to all our artists featured in the ACS District Art Show. Kindergarten, first, and second grade have begun working on their ceramic projects. I am so proud of our artists! Thank you for making me feel so loved during teacher appreciation week!
-Mrs. Kuhlman
Counselor News
In April, we will be learning about the word INTEGRITY (Choosing to be truthful in whatever you say or do). We will also continue learning about careers. If you have an interesting career that you'd like to come talk to a class about, please email me at: bbhandley@auburnschools.org. We'd love for you to come share your career with us 🙂
We will begin our "Safer, Smarter Kids" curriculum this month. Safer, Smarter Kids is a developmentally appropriate sequence of instruction for elementary school students, helping children develop skills to stay safe as their world expands. This program teaches children how to identify the difference between safe and unsafe feelings, situations, and behaviors – and how to then access help if they are ever made to feel unsafe. For more information about the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum, you can visit: www.safersmarterkids.org
Thanks,
Brittany Handley
Auburn Early Education Center
School Counselor
334-887-4993
Nurse News
The table pictured is a helpful tool for parents to look at vaccine recommendations. The Alabama Chapter-American Academy of Pediatrics (AL-AAP) and the Alabama Department of Public Health encourage parents to keep their children healthy by ensuring they receive vaccines according to the recommended schedule. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or visit this helpful link https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/immunization/
Well Wishes - Nurse Haley
Media Center News
We’ve enjoyed learning about biographies in library media classes and using our VEX Go kits to build super cars. Our final book fair for this school year is Monday, April 29th - Thursday, May 9th. This is our BOGO (Buy One, Get One) Fair. We will send out more information regarding our BOGO Book Fair in the upcoming weeks.
Since April is poetry month, we will focus on the genre poetry and discover a cool website www.poetry4kids.com. Our final day to check out library books for the year is Thursday, April 25th - with all library books being due on Monday, May 6th . Please help us by returning your library books on time so we can get them inventoried and ready for next year.
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney
Sartain, Kara
AEEC Media Specialist ~ Technology Coordinator
Apple Teacher
PTO News
PTO has many fun things planned for April! Paraprofessional Appreciation Day is April 3rd! We plan to get Crumbl cookies for all our wonderful parapros! We are so grateful for each one that works with our students and all the help they provide. April 8th is Assistant Principal Appreciation Day and April 24th is Administrative Professional Appreciation Day. We have some special things planned for these essential staff members as well! If you see any of these wonderful people please let them know how much we all appreciate them!
On April 9th, a performance by Beatn’ Path will occur for all students to enjoy thanks to your generous donations and support of PTO fundraising! We are happy to support this educational experience for all!
On April 16th we will have a General PTO Meeting for any PTO member to attend at 12:15 in the conference room. Please join us as we make plans to wrap up our 2023-2024 school year and discuss 2024-2025!
April 23rd is our last Restaurant Spirit Day of the school year and will be at Johnny Brusco’s Moores Mill location. 10% of all day sales will go back towards our school! Come join us in person or pick up a pizza on the go for your family!
Be on the lookout for school supply kit sales to begin for next school year! These will be available for our rising first and second graders. AEEC will host incoming kindergarteners for Kindergarten Kickoff on April 25th where kits will be available to purchase for them as well!
We will wrap up the month of April with our BOGO Book fair April 29-May 9th. We would love to have you volunteer with us in the library this week! A sign up genius with the available time slots will be posted to our social media soon!
Thank you for your continued support of PTO,
Mary Lawrence Gibson
AEEC PTO
Upcoming Dates for AEEC
April 2 & 3: ACAP Math Testing Begins at 8am
April 3: Paraprofessional's Day
April 4: Librarian's Day
April 9: Beatn' Path Performance with Dave Holland (Guest Author)
April 10: 2nd grade Earth Day Field Trip
April 11: Kindergarten Field Trip to Town Creek Park
April 12: Weather Makeup Day/No School
April 15: Progress Reports Go Home
April 23: Johnny Brusco's Restaurant Day
April 24: National Administrative Professionals Day
April 25: Kindergarten Kickoff 5:30-7:00pm
April 26: Pep Rally @ 8:00am
April 29 - May 9: Spring BOGO Book Fair