News from Spalding Park

December 16th - Red & Green Day

December 17th - Pajama Day

December 18th - Warm Head to Toe - Hat & Socks Day

December 19th - Plaid Day

December 20th - Winter Wonderland Day (stocking hats, scarves, boots, holiday sweaters, etc.)

• Early Dismissal - Out @ 1:30

December 21st - January 5th, 2025 - Winter Break

January 6th, 2025 - Classes Resume

School will be dismissed two hours early on Friday, December 20th for Winter break. There will be no school December 21st - January 5th, 2025. School will resume Monday, January 6th.

Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the colder winter. Even during the winter season, the District allows recess and outdoor activities to continue as usual, so it is important that students have the right winter weather clothing. When the temperature feels like 15 degrees or lower, students are kept inside for recess and activities. Students should be prepared for the cooler weather with a warm coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. If your student does not have access to cold-weather apparel, please contact our school office.

Ingredients

• 6 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups red and green M&M's
• Edible glitter spray (optional)

Instructions

1. Place the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
3. Add ¾ cup of the chocolate chips and all the peanut butter to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on 50% power for 30 seconds at a time. Stir well after each interval and continue to heat until completely melted. Stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Pour the chocolate and peanut butter mixture over the cereal and stir well to coat.
5. Sprinkle the powdered sugar and cocoa powder mixture over the chocolate coated cereal and gently stir until the cereal is completely coated. Freeze for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the cereal mixture from the freezer and stir in the M&M's and remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips.
7. Spread the mixture on a large baking sheet or large piece of parchment paper or wax paper. Spray with edible glitter until you reach your desired effect.

Hello Spalding Park families! In the month of November, our attendance was at 94.84%. Our goal is to always be at or above 96%. That being said, we understand that the holidays are coming up and that students may be missing school due to family events. Please keep in mind that even though these are family events, your student's attendance will still be negatively impacted by these absences. Furthermore, if students begin to miss too many days due to planned events away from school, behavior and attendance can become negatively impacted as well. We understand that family time is important-- especially around the holidays, but please continue to have awareness of what is in the best interest of your child's continued educational growth.

Another growing reason for absences in the past month has been due to illnesses. Please help work with your children-- especially your youngest children-- on hand washing at home. When proper hand washing techniques are used, the number of bacteria spread through contact with other individuals and common surfaces is dramatically reduced! When it comes to sending your children to school while they are fighting an illness, please be sure to know that students with a fever over 100 degrees, vomiting, or diarrhea cannot come to school per district policy. If you decide to take your child to the doctor, we highly encourage doctor's notes to be brought to the school. While these notes do not excuse the absence, they do provide documentation that helps us understand why your student has missed school.

Happy December and Go Panthers!

Spalding Park would like to introduce one of our new library assistants. Sydney is a great asset to our library. The students are always engaged and enjoying their library time. Sydney, we are glad your here.

We would also like to welcome Ms. Lauren Baker. Lauren brings a different flare to our library that the staff & students all enjoy. We are glad you're here!

Every 2 weeks a new staff member is chosen for "Being a Light" in our school. They are chosen from other staff members for things or ways they have brought the light to a classroom, a student or to the school.

Winter break is quickly approaching! School will dismiss two hours early on Friday, December 20. School will not be in session from Monday, December 23 through Friday, January 3, resuming on Monday, January 6. Have a wonderful break!

Parents and guardians have the right to decide to keep their child home on any day they feel it is unsafe for their student to be in school because of weather conditions. If you believe the weather provides a sincere reason why you may have to keep your student at home, or take your student home when classes are scheduled to continue, you as a parent or guardian will simply need to contact our school office to let us know.

The District sends out important information regarding school closings and cancellations and other updates to our families via phone, email, and text. Additionally, our school will contact you in case of an emergency or student health concern. Make sure your contact information is updated in our system and that your phone accepts the school’s phone calls. Doing this will ensure you receive school communication promptly and we can reach you in case of an emergency. To make updates to your contact information, please contact our office.