
Panther Tales
October 3rd, 2023
Prairie Creek Elementary School
Website: http://prairiecreek.usd385.org/
Location: 654 YMCA Drive, Andover, KS, United States
Phone: 316.218.4830
Facebook: facebook.com/prairiecreekelementary
From the Principal
Hello Prairie Creek Families!
From time to time I have parents ask me what they can do at home to support their child’s reading.
The number one thing I would recommend is for you to take the time to read to them and with them – yes even with your 5th graders. It is a great opportunity to bond with your child and also provides a model for them to follow.
Be creative. Read outside. Read inside. Go to the park and read. Build tent and read inside it. The possibilities are unlimited and the memories you will create will be cherished by both of you.
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Here are some strategies you can use as you read together that help with comprehension:
1. Making Predictions
Predicting what a story is about and situations that
may occur can also support reading comprehension.
To help your child develop this comprehension
strategy, examine the book cover and pictures in the
story before you start reading. Then, discuss possible
scenarios and story outcomes. By doing so, you will
help your child gather relevant vocabulary and
outside knowledge that they can use to understand
the story better.
2. Making Connections
Skilled readers often draw upon their experience and
background knowledge to help them understand the
text they are reading. Readers can make three
common associations - connecting the text to their
personal experiences, linking the text to a similar
story, and connecting the text to the outside world.
3. Questioning
By asking questions about a story, readers can better understand what it’s about. To practice this comprehension strategy, prompt your child to ask questions as they (or you) read. Keep in mind that it is important to ensure these questions are relevant and that they focus on building a deeper understanding of the story (rather than being surface-level questions). For example, good questions often start with words/phrases like “why” or “how come.”
4. Visualizing
Another reading comprehension strategy that advanced readers commonly use is visualization. By visualizing a story as it unfolds, your child can immerse themselves in a book to better understand what is happening.
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Site Council Meeting
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to our first Site Council Meeting. We will meet in the library on Thursday, October 19 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Gaining parent input on how things are going in the areas of communication, procedures, and safety are always welcome as we strive to be excellent in each of those areas.
Counselor's Corner
October is anti-bullying month!
If your child is bullied please notify your child’s teacher or Mr. Springer. According to the TASN School Mental Health Initiative “Bullying is when a student, staff member, or parent does one or more of these things repeatedly to someone offline or online hurting a person emotionally or physically. The act must be severe, unwanted, and occur over a period of time creating an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment.”
Verbal Bullying - saying or writing mean things
Physical Bullying - hurting a person's body or possessions
Cyberbullying - bullying by use of any electronic communication device including mobile phones, online games and websites
Social Bullying - sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships
If you would like more information check out https://www.stopbullying.gov/.
We will be learning about bullying and how to stop it during counselor lessons this month.
Ms. Hunt
MUSIC NEWS FROM MRS. ROUTH
NEWS FROM THE MUSIC ROOM
We are very busy in the music room singing, playing instruments, dancing, and learning to read music.
I love teaching your children and seeing them grow and develop their musical skills and talents.
3rd-5th Field Trip to the Wichita Symphony Orchestra Young People's Concerts:
Our older students will be going to the symphony in November! It is so much fun to see the four families of instruments and hear a live performance!
This year is "Saint George's Sword and Bow".
We go back in time to 18th century France and meet Joseph Bologne Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
The ticket price for students is $8.00. Please make sure you have sent your money in, as it was due last Friday.
It's always a fun day and the students dress up and wear their best clothes for the special occasion. We can't wait!
From the Library:
The Scholastic Book Fair is approaching! The book fair is going to be held in the library from October 12-October 20.
We will be open during conferences, so please stop in.
I am excited to bring all the great reading resources to our students. There are always great new books and old favorites as well!
One great way to purchase books is through ewallet. This is a great way to allow your students to buy books without sending money to the school.
If you used ewallet before, please use the same credit card as last time to add any leftover funds you may have had.
3-5 Grade William Allen White Challenge :
Every year books are nominated for the William Allen White award.
This award is the oldest statewide Children’s book award in the United States. This award is voted on by all 3-5 (or 6-8) students in the state of Kansas. To honor this award each year I challenge students to read these books. At the end of the year, we celebrate if the student reaches the goal.
This year’s goal: Read 6 of the nominated books, or previous winners, to be invited to the William Allen White celebration lunch.
If you have any questions about library classes, library books, or the book fair, please contact me at:salmansc@usd385.org. I will get back to you as soon as I can!
To access facebook page, use QR code or the link following the facebook icon:
Book Fair Spirit Days are Coming!!
Announcements from Art
Happy Fall from the Art Room!
Although the temperatures outside do not feel like autumn, in the art classroom we are beginning to think about cooler temperatures and cool art projects!
Fourth and Fifth grades have been working hard during watercolor learning stations exploring new watercolor techniques. Their goal is to be able to name six watercolor techniques by the end of the watercolor unit. Students will also begin planning for a watercolor painting using some of these watercolor techniques.
Third graders have been working long and hard on their Reggie Laurent inspired works of art. We have been learning about geometric and organic shapes as well as how to incorporate a variety of color and line in our multimedia project.
Second graders have begun working on their Fall Scarecrows! We’ve been learning about drawing large on our paper, using texture, and using watercolor paints.
Kindergarten and First grade students are beginning their Fall art with pumpkins. Each of these grade levels will be using their pumpkin creation in a larger piece of artwork to usher the autumn season.
I cannot wait to see these works of art adorning our hallways!
The 3rd , 4th , and 5th grade cooperative murals will be coming back to Prairie Creek on Friday, September 29th. If you missed these beautiful works of art hanging in the District Office, please stop by and take a look when you’re in the building or during Parent Teacher Conferences on October 12.
THANK YOU to all of you who sent in various items for the art room. I so appreciate your thoughtfulness!
Artfully,
Mrs. Clark
Spelling Bee
SPELLING BEE IS BUZZING THIS WAY!!
The time is quickly approaching for our annual Prairie Creek spelling bee, which is held on January 17th. This school spelling bee is for grades three, four, and five.
Each classroom will be selecting two classroom
representatives to participate in the school spelling bee.
This selection process will take place in late September and early October in their homeroom classroom.
The teacher will conduct a written and then an oral spelling bee only
with those students that wish to participate. From this classroom bee, two students will be
selected to represent their classroom in the school bee.
At the school spelling bee there will be one school spelling bee winner, with an alternate
chosen as back up. The first place winner will represent our school in the
county spelling bee on February 2nd in El Dorado.
There are no words to study for the classroom bee, but the two
classroom representatives will receive a list of words to prepare for the
spelling bee to be held in January.
Please contact Mrs. King, Spelling Bee coordinator, with any questions you might have about our bee.
Meanwhile………happy spelling!
Mrs. King
Notes from the Nurse
Notices:
The health office has sent home a second round of notices for the students that are missing one or more documents needed for their records. Please check your students backpack for a letter from us! Our district exclusion date is October 17th. This means your student will not be able to attend school until the needed documents are provided to us. If you’re having trouble, please communicate with us!
Hearings/Vision:
We are wrapping up our hearing and vision screenings! If you did not receive a letter from us, no worries! No news is good news!
Reminder:
As a reminder; students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications to be able to return to school, and must stay home for 24 hours after any episode of vomiting.
Typically, you will not receive a phone call from the health office unless your student has visited us twice, UNLESS the student has requested to call home, has a fever or is vomiting. The exception to this is, I will typically call if your student has had any significant fall or bump to the head, along with sending a letter home with the student.
Nurse Nikki
Dawn Shannon
PTO Update
October 5th is the next PTO Meeting - 6:30pm in the Prairie Creek Library. Childcare is provided!
October 12th the PTO provides a meal for the teachers while they have conferences all day! Be on the lookout for a sign up genius soon!
October 12th is also the next Pizza Hut Night from 4-8pm. Andover location only, please be sure to mention Prairie Creek!
October 24th is McDonald's Family and Staff Night, 5-7pm. Come see your favorite PCE staff working at McDonald's! They will be taking and serving your orders!
October 31st is the Pumpkin Carving Contest. Submit your printed photo by October 27th. All the kids will vote for their favorite pumpkin at lunch! There will be a winner from each grade level as well as a grand prize winner! More details to come!
One of the easiest ways to support PTO can happen in just a few clicks!
Designate Prairie Creek Elementary PTO as your Amazon Smile Charity and on your Dillons Reward Card as the community partner. A portion of your purchases spent at these places will be directly donated back to PTO once you make PCE PTO as your selection. Click here for more info:
https://www.dillons.com/hc/help/faqs/community-rewards/general
https://smile.amazon.com/charity?orig=%2Fcharity%2Fselect
If you have any questions or comments we would love to hear them, our email is prairiecreekelementarypto@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you all and eagerly anticipate a fantastic 2023-2024 school year!
Your PTO Board: Lindsay Triplett, Kelci Engle, Kaitlyn Archibald, Miranda Vancil, Becky Hesse, and Molly Tallman
New school apparel!!
Back by popular demand and now with more options! We have shirts for sale again, but also sweatshirts, long sleeves, and hoodies! Many options are available with pricing ranging from $10-$23.
Please use the link or QR code to order! Let us know if you have questions!
***orders due by midnight October 15th***
A Note from Student Council
Student Council Representatives Choose Their First Project of the Year
By Finley Watson
We’re very excited to start a new Student Council year here at Prairie Creek Elementary! On Thursday, September 21st, our third, fourth, and fifth graders got together before school to brainstorm ideas for our first project this year. After many creative ideas, we chose to plan a Halloween costume drive! We will be collecting costumes that are too small or not needed anymore to help some families on a tight budget. Tune in next time for more information!
Family Talk
October Family Talk
We’re halfway through 1st quarter and that means it’s time to make sure you know how to use PowerSchool to access grades and to begin preparing for fall conferences. Below are links to helpful resources (also can be found in the Family Talk section on the district website)
Elementary Report Card Information
Middle and High School Report Card Information
Fall Conference Tips for Parents
Conversation Starters:
Ideas of questions you can ask your child(ren) to learn more about them.
What do you most like to learn about?
What is challenging for you right now?
Who’s an adult at school you can ask for help if you need it?
How can I/we help you at home?
Growth Mindset:
Having a growth mindset is a critical skill for children and adults alike! A fixed mindset tells us that what we think or how we are cannot change. However, brain research shows us that is just not true! Our brains are capable of adapting and changing…this is called neuroplasticity. Knowing this and putting it to use makes learning a more successful experience…. Keep reading at https://www.usd385.org/parent-resources/family-talk to learn more.
Dismissal
Reminders
* If your student will not be at school:
- Please notify our office so we can excuse your child's absence.
- If your student has a pre-planned absence and will be out for more than three consecutive days please let the office or teacher know so an Extended Absence form can be completed.
- Please call our office at (316)218-4830 to let us know your student will be late and if a school lunch is needed.
- Office staff will check students in. Parents do not need to accompany their student, unless other information needs to be shared.
- Please call our office at (316)218-4830 to let us know your student is leaving. We ask if you are picking your child up for the day, you do so before 3:15.
- Office staff will sign out your student electronically for you.
- You may wait in your vehicle outside, at the curb, and we will send your student out upon your arrival.
Car Pick Up and Drop Off Procedures
Please remember that doors don't open until 8:35, so children need to remain in their vehicles with you until that time.
Also, please do not drop a child off in front of the school, that is reserved for buses only.
- Oct 5- PTO Meeting 6:30pm PCES Library
- Oct 12 - End of 1st Quarter
- Oct 12-20- Fall Book Fair
- Oct 12th - No School
- Oct 12th - Parent Teacher Conferences, 8am-8pm
- Oct 12th Pizza Hut Night 4-8pm
- Oct 13th - No School
- Oct 20- Family Fun Run/ Walk 6pm....more details to come
- Oct 24th- McDonald's Night, 5pm-7pm
- Oct 31- Class Parties and Parade
- Oct 31- Pumpkin Carving Voting
Lunch Schedule
Kindergarten 11:00 - 11:30
1st Grade 11:15 - 11:45
2nd Grade 11:50 - 12:20
3rd Grade 12:25 - 12:55
4th Grade 11:35-12:05
5th Grade 12:10-12:40
Music Program Dates
- K-2nd- February 8th at ACHS Auditorium
- 3rd, 4th & 5th - March 7th at ACHS Auditorium