February Newsletter

Dear Elementary Parents,

One of my favorite times of year is already here! Reading is such a fundamental skill for everyone and February’s I Love to Read Month gives us a little twist of fun on a great life-long skill. Each of the elementary buildings have different activities scheduled throughout the month, so watch the Wednesday folders and your students’ planners for more information. Both schools’ activities promise to be lots of fun and promote the importance and the joy of reading.

With the “I Love to Read” activities, our hope is to promote just that—the love of reading. Reading doesn’t have to be just for work. It is meant for enjoyment and leisure just as much as the day-to-day activities of our lives. With that, I’d like to extend an invitation to our adult family members to join us throughout the month of February to read to and/or with students. We would LOVE for you to visit! Please connect with your child’s teacher to set up a time and for more details. 🙂

In addition to the celebrations focused on reading, we will have an opportunity to reconnect as a parent/teacher team with our winter conferences scheduled for February 6 and February 10, both from 3:45-6:15 p.m. This is a chance not only to revisit your child’s goals set in the fall, but also celebrate the great learning taking place, address any concerns and/or make a plan to best finish out the school year. Your child is our priority and it’s important to celebrate his/her accomplishments to this point!

We have another musical debut, this time for our third and fourth graders at Humphrey Elementary. We look forward to watching their musical talents unfold on February 13th at 1 and 7 p.m. They’ve been working hard with Ms. Kalvig, and it sounds like it’s going to be a great show.

In addition to these highlights, February is jam-packed with a variety of activities. We’ll reach the milestone of the 100th day of school, participate in a Global Day of Play, learn about dental health, recognize several other holidays and of course, we’ll wait for Punxsutawney Phil to determine the arrival of spring based on his shadow. These are just a few of the many things taking place at school.

Enjoy all that February has to offer. Happy Reading!

Jen Olson

Those families dropping off students in the morning must remain with vehicles and exit the drop off zone quickly (and safely) to not only allow other families to do the same but also help us abide by emergency only zone areas. If you as the parent/guardian need to come into the building for any reason (check in with the health office, have a morning meeting with a staff member, drop something off in the main office, etc.), you should plan to park in the diagonal parking (visitor parking area) or park on the road, Again, do not leave vehicles unattended in the loading/unloading zone. This is the same expectation for the afternoon pick up routines.

One final request relative to safety, especially with winter weather and "stay put" snow on the horizon soon...PLEASE have your child load at the curb (passenger side of your vehicle) and NOT the driver's side of the vehicle. A quick dash to the road increases the chance for harm.

Pam Henry-Neaton, Preschool, Humphrey Elementary

Humphrey Elementary Little Lakers Preschool has had a busy year so far for the children enrolled. While the first month of preschool is spent learning the routine and getting used to be being a Little Laker Preschooler, the Little Lakers have shown us all how great they are and how hard they try with new activities.

Each day we work on many skills. Social, emotional, fine and gross motor, alphabet, math, listening and following directions skills to name a few. Within play are those skills and others that we work on each day.

A few of the favorite activities so far has been our book walks, candy cane golf, growing candy canes, anything in the sensory table (the dinos and sand were especially a big hit!), being a helper for the day, scavenger hunts and anything we do at our centers.

Registration for the 2025–2026 school year is April 22, 5:30-7:00 PM @ Humphrey Elementary and April 24, 5:30-7:00 PM @ Winsted Elementary. For more info,contact HLWW Community Education at 320-543-4670 or go to this website https://hlww.ce.eleyo.com/

Teresa Diers, Preschool, Winsted Elementary

For the last few months, preschoolers in the afternoon classes, have experienced a new “alphabet adventure”. In preschool, it is essential to lay a good foundation for later academic, social and emotional growth. One of the ways we are doing this in preschool is by teaching the alphabet using multisensory ways.

After talking with the speech teachers, it was suggested that we use the song,, "Who Let the Letters Out" by Dr. Jean to help implement this practice. So, what started out as a suggestion for an alphabet song to help teach letter names and sounds has truly become an “alphabet adventure” for the children.

Once each week, for both afternoon classes, the speech teacher, Mrs. Voigt and/or the speech assistant, Mr. Peterson, come into our classroom to help teach this alphabet song to the children. They have shown the children hand signals to coordinate with the letter names and sounds. They have also done mini lessons about how letter names and sounds are different. Teaching the children how letter sounds are formed in different ways using our mouth, tongue and teeth is something else that they have explained to the preschoolers. The children especially loved the nasal sound lesson! We did sound funny that day! There have also been other mini lessons on beginning and ending sounds, rhyming and segmenting.

The preschoolers look forward to these times with the speech teachers. These “alphabet adventures” have been helping to form a strong base for these future readers. Let more “alphabet adventures” continue!!!

Angie Granrud, Special Education, Winsted Elementary

There’s so much to celebrate in the month of February – I Love to Read (all month), Valentine’s Day (February 14), and Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17). One of my favorite February celebrations is to celebrate the joy of reading all month long. A cold winter’s day or evening is a great time to snuggle up with a blanket, a cup of hot cocoa, and a good book.

One way to celebrate reading throughout the month of February is to participate in the Great River Regional Library reading program. Find out more about this program by following this link: Winter Reading Challenge | Great River Regional Library. The program is open to both students and adults, and the more you read, the more chances you have to be entered into special library drawings at the completion of the reading program on February 28.

Another way to celebrate reading as well as kindness is to participate in Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17. Find a special person that you would like to read to and brighten their day with a good story and some time spent together. The special person might be a grandparent, a special friend, a neighbor, or someone who doesn’t receive many visitors and needs a bright spot in their day. Not only will you fill someone else’s bucket with your joy, but you also will reap the benefits of feeling good about doing something for someone else.

Need some inspiration for what to read during the month of February? Remember, books aren’t the only things we can read. Try reading a magazine about a topic that you are interested in. Books of poems can bring you many smiles with silly lines such as in the poems of Shel Silverstein. Does your family get the newspaper? Check out a newspaper article that interests you or maybe even the comics section. Try a new recipe by reading a recipe together as a family, and you’ll not only hone those reading skills but also get to try a yummy new recipe together as a family.

Reading is all around us! Make time during the month of February to celebrate the joy of reading together as a family and maybe even spread joy and kindness to others through reading.

Janai Kittock, ECSE Teacher, Humphrey Elementary

With the temperatures leading us to stay in more this year, here are some things you can do with your children to beat the winter blues and cold weather from inside.

My own kids love to play with balloons inside the house cold weather or not, but here is a twist that you can add to it to make it a bit more fun. You’ll need paper plates, a “handle” of some sort, and masking tape. Grab leftover paper plates you have lying around from various hosting activities. Find yourself a wooden spoon (or plastic silverware, crafting sticks, straws, use your imagination on this one), and tape it onto the back. Have your kids pass the blown-up balloon and have them toss it between themselves, or if you’d like to join in have them pass it off to you. See how many times you can go without it touching the ground. This will help not only with their gross motor skills but also their cognitive skills of counting and keeping track of where the number is at.

If that isn’t something you want to do, try this. Take enough books to line the sides of your table, one on each side. Grab a plastic cap to something like a peanut butter jar or mayonnaise jar and two toilet paper rolls. Your kids can make their very own “air hockey” table without the air. Have one person on each side and pass the cap back and forth between each side, make up how far you want the game to go up for each person to win. Easy enough for all ages to play. It’s a great way to keep that hand and eye coordination.

Lastly, our family enjoys a simple movie day. We make sure to grab our comfiest blankets and mugs for hot cocoa. My children love to be able to be in charge of making their own popcorn for the family. We make it extra fun by buying some candy, renting a movie, or watching a family favorite. We love to have our children watch the movies we grew up watching and 9-out-of-10 times they love the “classics” we show them. You know your family the best so do what suits your family, your budget, and your time. Just know that spending time with your children is the best gift you can give them.

By: Kortney Carlson, Second Grade Teacher, Winsted Elementary

In second grade, the students have been researching an Arctic animal of their choice for an informative writing project. After choosing their animal, the students use books and the internet to research. The students are able to identify what their Arctic animal eats, looks like, where they live, and how they adapt to the harsh cold. After researching, the students are expected to write an informative research paper on their animal to share with the class.

Cass Cardinal- The caribou adapts by having two layers of fur. Ivan Dahlman- Penguins have blubber to keep them warm. Avery Devries- The Snowy Owl has very good night vision to eat prey.

James Eastling- The Puffin has waterproof feathers to keep them warm. Everett Cole- The Purple Sandpiper has thick feathers. Elesai Gorlov- The Snowy Owl has white feathers to hide with the snow. Avery Feider- The Beluga Whale has blubber to keep it warm. Audrey Graunke- The Ermine's coat thickens in the winter. Ellie Hendrickson- The Polar Bear’s blubber keeps it warm.

Beckett Lammers- The Killer Whale has blubber to keep it warm from the cold water.

Sophia Lopez-Navarro- The Walrus has nearly 4 inches of blubber to keep it warm!

Bristyl Mickolichek- The Polar Bear has thick paws to help it from slipping on ice.

Marcelino Morales- The Puffin has strong bones. Kaia Olson- The Sea Lion is unique because it can increase or decrease its blubber amount based on its temperature. Connor Richter- The Narwhal adapts by diving deep where the water is warmer. Elijah Schmidt- The Killer Whale is huge and that helps it keep its heat. Sydney Shelstad- The Beluga Whale does not have a dorsal fin so they can swim where there is ice. Landen Simonson- The Arctic Hare’s fur turns white in the winter.

Teddy Skawinski- The Arctic Fox’s hair changes color with the season. Ayden Tussing- The Musk Ox has long, thick hair.

February 6 - Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:45-6:15 PM
February 6 - Humphrey PTA Meeting @ Humphrey 6:30 PM
February 7 - HLWW 2 Hour Late Start

February 7 - WES Family Movie Night @ Winsted 6:00 PM (doors open 5:45 PM)
February 10 - Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:45-6:15 PM

February 13 - HES Grades 3-4 Music Program @ HLWW High School Auditorium 1:00 PM
February 13 - HES Grades 3-4 Music Program @ HLWW High School Auditorium 7:00 PM

February 17 - HLWW No School - Presidents' Day
March 4 - 2025-26 Kindergarten Registration @ Winsted Elementary 5:30-7:00 PM
March 6 - WES Grades 1-2 Music Program @ HLWW High School Auditorium 1:00 PM

March 6 - WES Grades 1-2 Music Program @ HLWW High School Auditorium 7:00 PM

March 11 - 2025-26 Kindergarten Registration @ Humphrey Elementary 5:30-7:00 PM