Dear Park Meadows Families,

We're sending out a friendly reminder to help keep our classrooms focused and productive learning environments for all our students.

We've noticed an increase in the use of cell phones and smart watches during instructional time. To support our teachers and ensure minimal distractions, we kindly ask that you help us reinforce the Park Meadows expectation that cell phones and smart watches remain off and stored in backpacks throughout the school day.

Please be aware that if students do not follow these expectations, teachers will collect the devices and the office staff will store them for the duration of the school day. Parents will be required to pick up the device from the office.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us create a distraction-free learning environment where all students can thrive!

Thank you for your partnership.

Sincerely,

The Park Meadows Team

Make sure your students are in school everyday. If they need to miss school make sure to call our attendance line at 623-445-4190.

My kiddo is just a couple of minutes late for school, what's the big deal?

We want to take a moment to discuss the importance of punctuality and how it impacts not just your child, but the entire school community.
When a child arrives late to school, even by just a few minutes, it creates a ripple effect. Here's a glimpse of what happens:

1. Impact on Office Staff: Our dedicated office staff must pause their essential tasks to welcome late students. This involves filling out paperwork and entering data into the computer, diverting them from other important duties.
2. Cafeteria Adjustments: To ensure every child receives a nutritious breakfast, cafeteria workers halt their lunch preparations to accommodate late arrivals. This can delay their schedule and impact the efficiency of meal preparation.
3. Classroom Disruption: As the student enters the classroom, the ongoing morning routines and lessons are interrupted. The teacher must pause to welcome the student and catch them up on missed instructions, which can distract other students and disrupt the learning flow.
4. Student Discomfort: We strive to make every student feel welcome, but many who arrive late feel uncomfortable with the attention. This can affect their confidence and focus as they join the ongoing lesson.

Your cooperation in ensuring your child arrives on time helps maintain a smooth and productive learning environment for everyone.

Consequences of Tardies; Our goal is to be supportive, not punitive but we must also have an organized system that supports positive school attendance.

• On the 4th-8th Tardy, a parent letter, email or phone call is made.
• On the 10th Tardy, the student is assigned a detention (Tuesday's at 7:45am or Thursday's at 3:45pm)
• On the 15th Tardy, the parent will attend a meeting with school Administration.

WAYS TO PRACTICE MULTIPLICATION FACTS AT HOME

Where to Start

• Start by teaching the zeros and ones facts. These facts are easy to learn because they follow specific rules. Anything multiplied by zero equals zero (8 X 0 = 0) Anything multiplied by one equals itself (8 X 1 = 8)

• Demonstrate how the twos facts are just the numbers added together (8 X 2 = 8 + 8)

• Show how to solve five facts by counting by fives (5 X 3 = 5 + 10 + 15)

• Show how to use the multiplication facts they know to find the facts they don't know (If they know 5 X 3 = 15, solve 5 X 4 by adding 5 + 15)

• Then move to each of the fact families: 3's, 4,s, 6's,7's, 8's and 9's, 11's and 12's.

• Remind that all multiplication facts can be done backwards (8 X 2 = 2 X 8)

• DO NOT move to a different fact family without first mastering the previous one.

Flashcards

• Create your own. Students write the multiplication question on the front of the card and the answer in number and picture format on the back. Example, students write 4x7= (front of card) and write 28 and 4 sets of 7 on the back of the card. The picture representation allows the student to understand how 28 becomes the answer. Multiplication is simply repeated addition.

• The dollar store almost always has multiplication flashcards.

For Active Kids

• Have your child bounce a basketball or catch a ball as he or she says the multiples of different numbers. For example, he can practice the multiples of 9 for each bounce 9, 18, 27, 36. Then he can say them backward: 81, 72, 63, 54. Research shows that kinesthetic movement helps the brain learn facts.

Games

• This game is played with two people. They put both hands behind their backs and on their count, shoot out a number. Each player multiplies his or her number times the other player’s number, and keep score.

• Multiplication War: Deal a deck of cards between two people. Each person flips the top card of his/her deck onto the table at the same time. The first person to call out the product of the two numbers on the cards gets to keep the cards. (Ace=1, Jack=11, Queen=12, King=0)

• Roll the Dice: This game can be played with one person or two. Roll two dice. Multiply the two numbers showing face up. Write the digits 7-12 on squares of masking tape and stick to the dice to practice your 7-12 facts.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our Golden Ticket and Big Raffle Basket prizes!

🏆 Golden Ticket Winners: Burke, Neil, Richard, CJ, Tyrell Jr.

🎁 Big Raffle Basket Winners: Evelyn, Aiden, Oliver, Reagan, Samson

A huge congratulations to our lucky winners! 🎊 But the real win goes to our Reading Bookroom, as 100% of the proceeds from this event will go toward providing more books and resources for our students.

Thank you to everyone who participated and supported this wonderful cause! Your generosity is helping to foster a love of reading in our school. 📚❤️

#GoldenTicket #BigRaffleBasket #Winners #SupportingLiteracy #ReadingBookroom #ParkMeadowsScorpions

Hello Park Meadows Families,

Sign up using the QR code for Gifted Summer Camp! It is free for our students. So take advantage of this awesome opportunity! See the flier for more information or feel free to email me victoria.morrison@dvusd.org

There will also be a Gifted Showcase coming up soon...below are the details

April is here and long with it comes warmer weather, longer days, and a sense of renewal. As we gear up for Earth Day on April 22nd, it’s the perfect time to spring clean our spaces, habits, and even our approach to sustainability.

🌸 Spring Cleaning: A Fresh Start for Your Home and Mind- Spring cleaning isn’t just about dusting off and organizing, it's about creating a space that supports a positive mindset.

• Declutter: Donate or recycle items you no longer need to reduce waste.

• Choose Eco-Friendly Products: Choose green cleaning products that are safer for both your home and the environment.

• Organize: Keep only what you truly need and love. Consider donating unused items to reduce your carbon footprint..

🌍 Earth Day: Celebrating Our Planet

Earth Day on April 22nd is a great reminder to take stock of our environmental impact and do our part in preserving the planet. Here are a few simple ways you can celebrate:

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Make a conscious effort to minimize waste by reducing consumption, reuse items, and recycle.

• Conserve water and energy: take shorter showers, choose energy efficient appliances

• Plant a Tree: Trees are vital for our ecosystem—plant one in your yard, community, or join a local tree-planting event.

• Support Sustainable Brands: Choose companies that prioritize eco-friendly practices and products.

☀️ April Heat Wave: Stay Safe and Cool

With temperatures soaring this week, remember to prepare the students for the heat during the school day:

• Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Dress in layers and remind your students to take off outer layers when going to PE or to recess when it’s hot

• Be sunwise: When it’s hot outside, monitor the length of time outdoors, rest frequently and seek shade. Avoid peak sun hours between 10 AM and 4 PM. Wear loose fitting, lightweight clothing, a hat and apply sunscreen before going outside.

• Conserve energy:: try using fans instead of air conditioning when possible to conserve energy; seal windows and doors to keep the cool air in and warm air out
  
  

Battle of the Books Recap!
The Battle of the Books was a big success this year! We had 9 teams competing all year long. A big congratulations to Team TLC (Tyler, Leo, Calel) for winning and representing our school at the District Battle on March 25th. Also, great job to the winning team from Copper Creek Elementary!

Battle of the Books is for 5th and 6th graders. If you're moving up to those grades and want to participate, come see me for more information. Next year’s books are attached. You can start reading over the summer. I’m planning to read the first four books myself while I enjoy the cooler weather in North Dakota. :)

As we get closer to the end of the school year, I will be checking inventory. Please help by returning books on time. If a book is lost or damaged, it needs to be replaced with a new copy or the replacement cost needs to be paid using InTouch. If you’re having trouble with the cost, please reach out to me by email. I understand that sometimes money is tight, and I’ll do my best to work with you. Right now, we are missing $1200 worth of books. Yikes! Thank you for helping us keep our library collection in great shape for everyone. Donations are always welcome!

Bring on the #bookjoy-

Mrs. Hinton

dana.hinton@dvusd.org

Park Meadows students have gone above and beyond to make our campus "KIND." Kindness offers numerous benefits, including increased well-being, reduced stress, improved relationships, and enhanced mental and physical health, both for the giver and the receiver. Check our the "Helping Hands" at Park Meadows!

Check out our breakfast and lunch menu

Good Day Park Meadows Families!

We are so close to the end of the school year and it will be here faster than we thought it would. We have two more days that Kona Ice is coming to school during your child's lunch recess and those days are April 29th and May 13th. I am going to try to get one more fundraiser in the books, I am hoping to get it for the beginning of May. May also has Teacher Appreciation week, May 5th through the 9th. With that we are asking to see if we can get some donations for some fun things that we are wanting to do for our teachers.

Here are some items that would greatly help us out:

• Cream Cheese
• Popcorn flavorings
• M&M's
• Reese's Pieces
• Skittles
• Little brown paper bags
• Full Size Candies
• Whip Cream
• Cherries
• Soda can: Coke, Sprite, Dr Pepper, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, & Mountain Dew
• Torani flavors of Lime and Cherry

All the above donations we would love to receive April 28th-May 2nd. This will give us the time if we need to shop for whatever else we may need.

Last but not least, we are wanting to do a sweet treat day. This will take place on May 7th so we would ask for those items not to be dropped off until May 5th the earliest and May 6th the latest so that we can get a count to make sure we are able to get enough for all staff to enjoy. We will gladly take home baked items and store bought items.

Again thank you for all of your support during our fundraisers and fun events like this. Without you, we would not be able to do this.

Cassandra Fraemohs

Check out what is going on in our campus...

Parents and Guardians, Are you interested in learning more about the curriculum resources we use in DVUSD?

This is your opportunity to review the 5th grade social studies adoption update. Click on the resources below for more information.

dvusd.org/socialstudies for Public Review information