CFL March Family Newsletter

See what's happening at CFL

A Note from Mrs. Frees

Dear Families,

Happy March! I’m sure you’re as excited as I am for the arrival of spring and the warm weather ahead. It's a perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and get some fresh air. Activities like going for walks, playing with friends, siblings, or pets, and visiting the park are wonderful ways for your child to stay active. I’ve also reminded students that getting a good night’s sleep is essential to be prepared for the school day. Research shows that elementary students need 8-12 hours of sleep each night to function at their best.

As both a parent and educator, I am deeply concerned about how vulnerable our children can be when it comes to the internet and social media. Many of our kids are becoming very familiar with new social media platforms, some of which are not safe or appropriate. I’ve heard of some concerning sites and apps, so I encourage you to stay informed through resources like Common Sense Media. It's important that children receive guidance about cyber safety. While we teach this at school, even being as little as they are please discuss online safety at home and regularly review the browsing history on phones, computers, and tablets.

Attendance Reminder:

I want to start by saying our attendance has improved this year. Thank you! Regular attendance is key for your child’s academic success. Consistent attendance fosters a positive learning environment and ensuring your child doesn’t miss out on valuable instruction and collaborative activities.

Please ensure your child attends school regularly and arrives on time. If you have any concerns or challenges regarding attendance, don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help and support you in any way we can.

Lastly, I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the parents who supported us during our fieldwork. Your involvement made the experience much richer for our students. Whether it was supervising or engaging with the children, your commitment is greatly appreciated. We are fortunate to have such dedicated parents, and we look forward to more opportunities for collaboration in the future.

With gratitude,
Kim Frees

Attendance Information

Bus Hub App

Garfield 16 is proud to announce that we will be using a new technology called School Bus HUB. This technology will allow real-time tracking. Which means parents/guardians can track their child's school bus in real-time using the School Bus HUB app. This feature provides peace of mind by allowing parents to know exactly where their child's bus is along its route.

Bus Hub set up info (English)

Bus HUb set up info (Spanish)

Pre-School News

Dear Preschool Families,

We hope you had a wonderful and restful spring break with your family! As we return to school, we want to take a moment to thank you for your participation in the Clayton Survey. Your support means so much to us, and we truly value your feedback. We look forward to reviewing the results, which we expect to receive at the beginning of May.

April’s Learning Focus: Insects!

This month, our preschoolers are diving into an exciting new unit of study—insects! The children are fascinated by these small creatures, and each classroom has its own caterpillars that we are eagerly watching as they transform into butterflies. Ask your child about the stages of a butterfly's life—they love sharing what they’ve learned!

Learning at Home

To continue the learning at home, here are some fun activities you can do together:
Counting Practice – Count insects in the yard, books, or pictures. Ask, "How many legs does this insect have?" or "How many butterflies do we see?"
Letter Recognition – Find letters in bug-related words like "B for Butterfly" or "C for Caterpillar." Look for letters on signs, in books, or even on food packaging!

We look forward to another month of learning and exploration with your child! If you have any questions, please reach out.

Thank you for your continued support!

Best,
Nicole Hills

🎨🖍️🖌️📚🍎🚌🎨🖍️🖌️📚🍎🚌🎨🖍️🖌️📚🍎🚌🎨🖍️🖌️📚🍎🚌🎨🖍️🖌️📚

Parent Teacher Conferences April 7th

Parent-Teacher Conferences are just around the corner, and we are eager to discuss your child's progress and achievements with you. For the Monday, April 7th conference, teachers will reach out to you if you need to attend. We will meet with parents of students that are on READ plans. However if you would like to visit with your child's teacher and don't get an invite don't hesitate to reach out and set up a time to meet with your child's teacher.

Intervention News

Hello Parents,

We just finished up the progress monitoring of all kindergarten and first grade students. It’s great to see all of the growth happening. If your child is on a Read Plan you will be hearing from your classroom teacher very soon. He or she should update you on the goals and progress of your students.

If you are looking for something fun to do with your child this spring be sure to check out the public library. They have many fun events scheduled. The first week in March we will celebrate Read Across America, and Dr. Seuss’ birthday. You can find many of his books at the library as well. Kids love the playful rhyming in his books. If you need any recommendations please feel free to stop by my office any time.

Happy Spring everyone and keep reading.

Melissa Bradley

CFL Reading Interventionist

March 2025 ELL Family Newsletter

Spring is just weeks away and our school year is more than half over! We are working harder than ever to grow in our bilingual journey!

We will continue working on our vocabulary and other skills until the last day of school. Your children have come so far and as we have said before they have grown so much and we absolutely love teaching them.

***Bilingual brains function akin to a “super storage box,” capable of housing vast linguistic knowledge and retrieving words and phrases as needed. This empowers ELLs to excel in tasks requiring working memory, attention control, and language comprehension.

Thank you again,

Melanie Kerrigan and Jessica Cornejo ELL~ CFL

Counselor News

Hi CFL Families,

In the January newsletter I started a series on technology’s effect on children. The goal is to teach our children to interact with technology in healthy ways.

As we dig deeper into this topic, I want to bring up censorship. Censoring the internet for young children is so important, especially given how much content is out there and accessible.

A few ideas are to use parental controls, restricted access, content filtering software like NetNanny, and/or only using pre-approved content. Above all of these options, I urge you, as the parents and guardians of these precious littles, to take an active role in how technology is being censored for your child. It is your responsibility to ensure that they are not being exposed to inappropriate material. If a more passive role is taken, unrestricted access to the internet can be risky.

This week I did an experiment with the YouTube Kids app out of curiosity. I downloaded it, created a child’s profile and began browsing. Within minutes I was able to find inappropriate images, violent video game clips, scary videos and explicit language. Please don’t think that because something is rated for kids that it is appropriate for them. Try taking a more active approach. Sometimes the best filter is simply being present. As your child navigates the internet, it’s important to engage with them, make sure they understand safe online behavior, and know what to do if they encounter something unsettling.

In closing, censorship is crucial, take an active role in supervision, and educate your child on safe and healthy internet use.

-Ms. Landry

What's Happening in PE at CFL

Hello CFL Families,

Students will continue to have the opportunity to work as a team in a variety of games and activities. We will progress our skills into striking with objects (Baseball). Please remember that your kid needs a pair of tennis shoes to be safe in the gym everyday. I have a few shoes that can be borrowed, if forgotten, during class if they need them. As always, thank you for sending your kiddos to school everyday and reach out to me with any questions.

-Mr. Cora

Music News

Hello CFL Families!

I hope that the warmer weather and longer hours of sunshine are finding you happy and healthy as we head into spring!

I am so excited that the musicals are almost here!

2 Notices have been sent home with information about each musical including what to wear, concert times, and concert etiquette. Please reach out to me if you have any questions that are not answered on those notices.

svolk@garfield16.org

970-285-5702 ext.2131

As a reminder;

The performance of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" featuring Kindergarten and Mrs. Bennett's combined K/1 class will be on Thursday, March 13th at 6:00pm in the CFL Atrium.

The performance of "Where the Wild Things Are" featuring the CFL 1st graders will be on Thursday, March 20th at 6:00pm in the CFL Atrium.

There will be one more concert information notice coming home so please make sure to check your child's Tuesday folders!

I can't wait to see everyone for the musicals!

Musically,

Mrs. Volk~