We have so many readers!!!!! Our kindergarten students are working so hard on learning their sight words and many are reading on their own!!! We are recognizing and celebrating this goal every day with students in classrooms, on announcements and in the library! By the end of the second quarter, students needed to master 18 sight words. The third quarter will introduce 20 more and we will be at 50 by the end of the school year! These are high frequency words that readers will find in many books they read and will have them reading at a level C by the end of kindergarten. Students are bringing home books from the classroom that are at their reading level and they are learning how to choose a just right book. More reading strategies are being introduced to help students decode words they aren't familiar with so they can have success with many books that appeal to them. You can help your child by reading with them and to them every single night! Make it fun by sharing in the reading with them, using funny voices, acting out books, playing tabletop games that center on word recognition and even practicing their sight words using manipulatives like magnetic letters and play doh. Ask your child for ideas too; students have been practicing their words and reading in different ways throughout the school day....ask them to show you just what they are doing! We will be rewarding and celebrating reading goals big here at the ELC for the remainder of the school year! Be sure your child has the support needed to achieve!

During our K and Coffee event in January, I talked about anxiety in our students. I wanted to share a few take-aways from that presentation for you to practice at home. First, let’s talk about what anxiety can do to our bodies. As adults, we may struggle with anxiety and have physical symptoms such as sweaty palms, increased heart rate/blood pressure, upset stomach, fear or worry. Well guess what, our 5 and 6 year old Kinders can also get those exact same symptoms! You may be thinking, why would a Kindergartener be struggling with anxiety. It can happen for many reasons such as friendship issues, change in routine, private issues going on at home, or even genetics. While students may experience physical symptoms, what we see as adults can include high emotions, school refusal, inattentiveness, aggression, disruptive or repetitive behaviors, avoidance, or fear. Our students most likely have no idea what this monster is called anxiety. Secondly, they struggle with how to handle themselves in the midst of it. Every morning at the ELC, our principal starts the announcements with a Mindful Moment. The students all practice deep breathing after hearing a chime. This is great to practice at home as well. Here are some additional ways to help your child calm their anxiety:

· Breathing exercises-Take 5 (all of our Kinders should know what this is), blowing bubbles

· Stimulate the vagus nerve-humming, chewing gum, gargle water

· Rituals-practice what to do before the anxiety starts (if it’s predictable), while it’s happening, and what to do afterwards. Providing structure and time to transition can help alleviate anxiety.

· Reflect-looking back and talking about their anxiety, what caused it and what they did to help decrease it, can help build resiliency.

If you couldn’t make it to our K and Coffee event, listen to our ELC Podcast to catch up on what else you missed.

To connect our K and Coffee topic to helping our students, we are sending home a great book called Ruby Finds a Worry. It's about a girl who finds a worry and sees it wherever she goes. She soon learns that she isn't the only one with a worry. By talking about her worry, she's able to make it smaller until it's all gone. Here are some tips to help grown-ups calm a child's worry:

• Breathing exercises-Take 5 (all of our Kinders should know what this is), blowing bubbles, simulate using breathing ball
• Counting to 10 or higher in your head

· Stimulate the vagus nerve-humming, chewing gum, gargle water

· Rituals-practice what to do before the anxiety starts (if it’s predictable), while it’s happening, and what to do afterwards. Providing structure and time to transition can hel​p alleviate anxiety.

· Reflect-looking back and talking about their anxiety, what caused it and what they did to help decrease it, can help build resiliency.

Have fun watching this read aloud of Ruby Finds A Worry with your child before you receive your own copy.

The Ramped Up Read Aloud...What to Notice as you Turn the Page

Mrs. Potter-reading specialist and Miss Brittney-school counselor will present tips to make reading to your child a joyful celebration for all!!

One of the engaging read-alouds they will talk about is Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds.

They will share features that make some books great for sharing with your kindergartener and demonstrate techniques to make your read-alouds epic!!

Please join us on Friday, Feb. 19th at 9:30am for virtual Kindergarten and Coffee. Watch for a zoom link coming soon!

The ELC values hard work and good behavior. Our PBIS program showcases these values in our school and praises students for their leadership qualities. Their peers see this good behavior and it creates a learning environment that is enriched with kindness, leadership, grit and perseverance. All students have the opportunity to earn tickets as a class as well as individual for modeling good choices. They can cash in their tickets for special opportunities in their class like a PJ Day! We celebrate as a school with rewards like dance party and extra recess day. Each day we are looking for and rewarding those positive behaviors.

What is School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. School-wide PBIS is a multi-tiered framework to make schools more effective places. It establishes a social culture and the behavior supports needed to improve social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes for all students.-source PBS.ORG

The ELC looks forward to it's Family Game Night every year! This is such a wonderful event that reminds us to open that closet and pull out one of those tabletop games! Traditionally, the ELC hosts an event where families are invited to attend an evening of playing new games and finding new ones to add to their collection of favorites. Since this year is a little different, we are changing it up by hosting the event FROM YOUR HOUSE! We are encouraging our families to pick a night of the week February 7-12th as their own Family Game Night. We are asking for parents to send us their pictures of their family playing tabletop games or even short videos describing why it is a favorite at your house! We would like to share your photos on our school Facebook page in order to help each other find new ones! Families who participate in the photo/video share will be entered in our raffle for a game basket. The basket of games will include ELC favorites. We can't wait to see how virtually awesome our Family Game Night will be this year!

Zingo is a beloved game choice at the ELC to help students practice reading words. This game bring such enthusiasm that kids don't even realize they are practicing what they have learned. We love ZIngo for its fun factory and it's opportunity for students to put all they have learned together and engage in a fun activity! Add Zingo to your game closet and help your child have fun reading!

VALENTINE’S DAY

❏ SINGLE SERVINGS

❏ PRE-PACKAGED

❏ DISTRIBUTED BY THE TEACHER USING TONGS WITH GOOD HAND

WASHING BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER DISTRIBUTION

❏ IF BRINGING PAPER VALENTINES- WE ASK THAT YOU BRING THEM A FEW

DAYS PRIOR OR AS DIRECTED BY YOUR TEACHER TO ALLOW TIME FOR

THEM TO SIT DORMANT.

Roses are Red , Violets are blue , Please get your shot so you don’t get the FLU!

Contact your healthcare provider or make an appointment at our Brickie Clinic

219-945-9383

Sick students-

PLEASE KEEP ALL SICK OR SUSPECTED SICK STUDENTS HOME FROM SCHOOL.

PLEASE MARK THEM OFF IN SKYWARD. SYMPTOMS INCLUDE: fever greater than

100.4 degrees, CHILLS, SORE THROAT, COUGH( especially new onset, uncontrolled

cough), DIARRHEA, VOMITING, HEADACHE( particularly new onset of severe headache,

especially with a fever) , NEW LOSS OF TASTE OR SMELL, MUSCLE OR BODY ACHES

OR FATIGUE, CONGESTION OR RUNNY NOSE, SHORTNESS OF BREATH OR

DIFFICULTY BREATHING. If you are unsure, please call your healthcare provider or school

nurse for advice. Please do not send your student to school and instruct them to go directly

to the nurse before the school day begins. Again, if you have any questions or concerns

please contact your school nurse. For more information, please visit our website:

https://www.hobart.k12.in.us/protectbrickies

We are in our last month of collecting receipts from Strack and Van TIl's for our Apples For Students! Last year, we were able to purchase so many wonderful items for recess! Please continue sending your receipts to the ELC! Your support is appreciated!

Email: sgutierrez@hobart.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.hobart.k12.in.us/elc
Location: 400 North Wilson Street, Hobart, IN, USA
Phone: 219-942-7263
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hobart.k12.in.us