Dear Maple Hill Families,
Happy February! This month is filled with exciting learning opportunities, celebrations, and a focus on kindness. As we continue through the school year, I want to take a moment to thank you for your ongoing support in making Maple Hill a wonderful place for our students to grow.
Staying Healthy During Cold & Flu Season
With cold and flu season in full swing, it’s important to keep our students healthy and ready to learn.
Here are a few simple ways to help prevent illness:
✅ Encourage frequent handwashing with soap and water.
✅ Remind children to cover their coughs and sneezes with their elbows.
✅ Make sure your child gets plenty of rest and eats nutritious foods.
✅ Keep your child home if they have a fever or are feeling unwell.
✅ Stay up to date on flu vaccines and check with your doctor if your child isn’t feeling well.
By working together, we can keep our school community as healthy as possible!
Cultural Celebrations in February
February is a time to honor and celebrate the rich traditions of different cultures.
🌟 Lunar New Year begins on January 29, 2025, marking the start of the Year of the Snake. This important holiday is celebrated in many Asian cultures with family reunions, festive meals, fireworks, and traditions that bring good luck for the year ahead. The celebration lasts for 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival, a beautiful event filled with glowing lanterns, dragon dances, and sweet rice dumplings.
🌟 Black History Month is a time to recognize the achievements, culture, and contributions of African Americans throughout history. This year, we encourage families to explore books, videos, and activities that highlight Black leaders and trailblazers. Some great resources include:
📚 Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed (about astronaut Mae Jemison)
🎥 PBS Kids videos about civil rights leaders (available at PBS Kids)
🏛 The National Museum of African American History & Culture virtual exhibits (Visit here)
For more activities, check out these 40 Black History Month ideas
The History of Valentine’s Day & Our Focus on Kindness
Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, is a special time to show appreciation for the people we care about. It began as a day to honor St. Valentine, a kind-hearted person who believed in spreading love and friendship. Today, people celebrate by exchanging cards, treats, and kind words to express their appreciation for others.
At Maple Hill, we are using this holiday as an opportunity to focus on kindness, which is our character trait of the month. We encourage our students to practice kindness every day by:
💛 Saying kind words to others.
💛 Helping a friend in need.
💛 Including others in play.
💛 Showing gratitude for their teachers, classmates, and family members.
A little kindness can go a long way in making our school a warm and welcoming place for everyone!
Thank you for your continued support in making Maple Hill a positive and caring community. Wishing you all a wonderful February filled with good health, learning, and kindness!
Warm regards,
Ms. McNeil
Principal
February Hawk Character Trait: Kindness
Our SEL Enrichment lessons this month will be on Kindness. We will be learning about caring for others and ourselves, ways to show kindness, and the language to use. Lessons will include engaging activities and thoughtful discussions such as the power of words, and completing a kindness calendar challenge. My hope is that your child will develop an understanding of how to be kind to others and how one kind act can change someone’s entire day. I would love for you to talk to your child about kindness at home too.
Family Book Guide:
Reading books about kindness is a great way to have discussions with your child about identifying ways we can be kind to others as well as why being kind would make them and someone else feel good. It is also great to point out the way people feel when others are kind to them.
Here are some literature suggestions:
TK/K: Be Kind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjYOPNthEMQ
1st-3rd: The Invisible Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDMFX1__K2U
4th-5th: I Walk With Vanessa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA9U_11iF4c
Book Discussion Ideas:
Each act, big or small, can make a difference. What does it mean to be kind?
How does feeling left out and alone affect a person's sense of belonging?
Explore ways to stand up to bullying and inspire others to do the same.
What do kind people say (and not say?)
Family Kindness Activity Ideas:
Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration,helping someone in need or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. Here are some activities you can do as a family that show and promote kindness to ourselves and the community. Each activity can be modified to suit your personal needs:
Kindness mail: Create a card for someone you know. Write inside why they are important to you or draw a picture that would put a smile on their face. Mail it to them as a surprise!
Volunteer at the animal shelter, food bank, elderly home or donate time/items to charitable organizations.
Create a family kindness chain. Write down acts of kindness on strips of paper and link them to create a chain. Each day, take one off and complete that random act of kindness.
Mrs. McNeil- Principal at Maple Hill
Email: kmcneil@wvusd.org
Website: www.maplehillschool.org
Location: 1350 Maple Hill Road, Diamond Bar, CA, USA
Phone: 909-861-6224