October Newsletter

Parents/Guardians,

On Friday, September 13, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce released district report cards. The data released indicates our students continue to perform at an extraordinarily high level. St. Henry Elementary ranked 15th in the state for our performance index. This is a major accomplishment! This is due to the hard work of our students and staff, along with the support of families in our community.

On September 30th, I was lucky enough to have lunch with the student of the month winners. Students shared weekend happenings, favorite foods, what they have learned, etc. It was a wonderful way to connect with students. They were awarded a St. Henry notepad and a sticker!

We are focusing on being encouraging this month. On Wednesday, October 2nd, we will have our second Redskin Way groups. Please have your child wear his/her Redskin Way shirt on Wednesday.

In the near future, expect to get an email or note home regarding Parent Teacher Conferences. The dates for these are November 4th from 5:00-8:30 and November 7th from 3:30-7:00. There will be No School on Friday, November 8th.

Remember, there is No School on Monday, October 7th. Our staff will be attending a Professional Learning Conference.

Warm Regards,

Courtney Imwalle

Principal

St. Henry Elementary School

Congratulations to our Student of the Month recipients! Keep up the great work & continue to be kind!

Kindergarten: Ivy K, Ruby L, Brookyln D, Jena S, Lydia W, Kyleigh S, Kinsley B

1st grade: Reagan S, Noah D, Finley L, Callie B, Charlie W, Raelynn D, Aidan H

2nd grade: Red S, Mia H, Raylyn S, Alexandria L, Randy N

3rd grade: Brooklyn R, James P, Everett C, Abigail H

4th Grade: Sam H, Brooks G, Ally H, Makayla L, Oliver R

Way to go friends! Keep being great role models for our school.

We had our first district wide pep rally on September 13th. Our students showed incredible enthusiasm as they took part in exciting relay races, cheering on their classmates and celebrating each other’s efforts. The assembly also featured performances from the school band, which our students thoroughly enjoyed, and they got a chance to cheer alongside our talented cheerleaders, spreading school pride throughout the event. Go Redskins!

Word of the Month

Our October word of the month is Encourage. The October Family Connections Calendar can be found here.

Redskin Way Tshirts

We will have our next Redskin Way Groups on Wednesday, October 2nd. Please have students wear their Redskin way shirts this day. We will take a school wide photo!

We are off to a great start in PE! This month has been spent reviewing and learning classroom procedures and routines with all grade levels. All grade levels have also completed their fitness testing this month, as well as some pre-assessments of skills that we will be working on throughout the year. At the end of the month the Kindergarten and First Grade students will begin their Building a Foundation Unit where they will learn movement vocabulary and concepts. Grades 2-4 will be starting their Cooperative Games unit where students will learn about and demonstrate cooperation, respect and conflict resolution skills in a variety of fun activities!

We're excited to introduce The St. Henry Reader, a new platform designed to help parents engage in their child's early literacy journey. This resource emphasizes the importance of reading and phonics and provides guidance on the beginning stages of literacy development.

The St. Henry Reader

The first graders went to the Fort Wayne Zoo on September 20th and had a wonderful time. Thank you to the chaperones for volunteering their time.

Kindergarteners are going to Brumbaugh on October 1st.

The preschool and Kindergarten classes are visiting the fire station on October 9th and 10th.

The fourth grade class will be going to Johnston Farm on October 25th.

These trips offer wonderful opportunities for hands-on learning and exploration outside the classroom. Our teachers have carefully planned each trip to align with grade-level learning objectives!

• St. Henry Elementary conferences are on Monday, November 4th from 5:00-8:30pm and Thursday, November 7th from 3:30-7:00pm. There will be more information coming soon from homeroom teachers.

As the colder months approach, we want to remind all parents about the importance of keeping your child home from school if they are feeling unwell. To help prevent the spread of illness, please ensure that your child is:

• Fever-Free for 24 Hours: Your child should not have a fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications before returning to school.

• Free from Vomiting and Diarrhea for 24 Hours: Your child should not have experienced any vomiting or diarrhea for at least 24 hours before coming back to school.

We also encourage you to remind your child of the importance of frequent handwashing. Proper hand hygiene is a simple yet effective way to help prevent the spread of germs.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us keep our school community healthy.

Have an appointment? Please bring a doctor's note for any missed time.

Signing Students In & Out - Parents when picking up your student or dropping them off, please be sure to ring the door bell and come to the office to sign your student in or out. We have to see the parent at the door before we can send them out and you must sign them back in after returning from an appointment. Please do not just drop them off and drive away. Students don't always know how to buzz in and the door is locked once school begins. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!

It’s hard to believe that we are already halfway through the first nine-weeks of school! Wow! How time flies! The PTO started the year running and has several more events on the way! We are excited for the 2024-2025 school year! It’s awesome watching our administration, teachers, parents and students all come together for fun activities! If you want up to date information on the activities the PTO is working on, follow us on Facebook - St. Henry PTO.

Walk-a-thon

The PTO Walk-A-Thon was held on Friday, September 13, for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Students collected pledges for two weeks prior to the event. On the day of the event, grade levels took turns heading out to the track to walk or run laps, which were recorded with tallies. The day was a huge success! The weather was perfect, and the students had a lot of FUN!!

A spirit trophy was awarded to the fourth grade for showing the most “spirit” the day of the event. Great job by all of the students for working so hard collecting pledges and THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who made the day so successful! We can’t wait until next year’s Walk-A-Thon! Thank you to all who pledged/made donations to the PTO.

Congratulations to the 4th graders on winning the Spirit Award!! 🏆

Apparel Sale!

Our PTO Apparel Sale with Made Apparel is live! Order your apparel before October 13th!

https://shopmadeapparel-sthenrypto.itemorder.com/shop/home/

We are excited to see the students adapt to our new playground! We are fortunate to have this space for our students and our community. We kindly ask everyone to help us maintain a clean and safe environment. Please remember to pick up any trash and personal items after using the playground.

Thank you PTO for providing the students with new balls and toys. The students are loving the freshly painted four squares, hop scotch and gaga ball pit. If you notice any issues or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know so we can address them properly.

Please find Thank you letters from our Kindergarten students to our playground donors below!