News from Eli Terry
Week of September 8th, 2023

A Note from Your Principals
Our attendance team rang in the new year by reviewing last month's attendance data. Due to the holidays and some yucky germs circulating before Winter Break, we were not surprised to see an increase in absences! We're hopeful the increased absences, and number of students considered "chronically absent", is just a blip on the radar and January sees a return to more regular attendance. As we've done each month this year, we're sharing highlights from our data review below!
- 45 students (9%) are considered "chronically absent"; having missed 8 or more days of school thus far - Kindergarten has the most students in this category with 12 and Grade 3 has the least with 4.
- On average, in December, 94.8% of our population was present each day. This is the first time in the 2023-24 school year that we were not at our goal of 95% or more...although we were VERY close!
- Grade 5 had the highest attendance this month with 97% of students present each day.
- Kindergarten had the lowest attendance with 93% of students present each day.
- 99 students have not missed a day of school in the first ½ of the year (September - December).
Number Bonds
A number bond is a way for students to understand how numbers can be split into different parts. This helps students to understand how numbers can be combined or broken down into smaller numbers so that they can work with numbers flexibly. Number bonds help students develop a sense of numbers, which is important for learning addition and subtraction. As students progress, number bonds become a valuable strategy for solving math problems in their heads.
Celebration Walk
On the Thursday before Winter Break (12/21), we held our second annual Celebration Walk. The purpose of this walk was to allow students an opportunity to reflect on all they've learned in the first half of the year and identify the learning they're most proud of. Each student created an individual poster and then had the opportunity to parade around the the school sharing -- being recognized, acknowledged, and CELEBRATED by their peers and Eli Terry staff.
We were SO excited and SO proud of all our students accomplishments. They deserve to be celebrated by everyone so we hope you'll take an opportunity to watch the video below and enjoy a few sample posters!
Girls on the Run After-School Program
We are hoping to partner with Girls on the Run - Greater Hartford (GOTR) to bring their after
school program to Eli Terry this spring but....we can't do it without YOU!
Read on to find out how you could help.
GOTR provides fun, evidence-based programs that inspire all girls to build their confidence, kindness and decision making skills. It inspires individuals of all abilities to recognize their unique strengths, while building a sense of connection in a team setting. Volunteer coaches facilitate lessons that blend physical activity with life skill development to enable team members to adapt to whatever comes their way. At the end of the season, the team completes a 5K together, which provides a tangible sense of accomplishment and sets a confident mindset into motion.
In order for this program to become a reality, we still need to recruit a SUBSTITUTE COACH. This is a VOLUNTEER position with a commitment of 10-12 weeks. The program meets 2x a week (non-consecutive days), for 75-90 minutes each session. GOTR provides all the necessary training and you can find more information about this important role below.
If you would be interested in becoming a coach, Mrs. Hammer (jhammer@swindsor.k12.ct.us) or Mrs. Army (kathryn.army@gmail.com) would LOVE to chat and answer any questions you may have. Our goal is to solidify coaches early in the new year, so we can begin recruiting our female students in time to start the "season" at the end of February!
Opportunity for Grade 5 Students
We are pleased to announce that registration is now OPEN for the Grade 5 Stock Market Game {SMG} SPRING 2024 Session! ALL Grade 5 students enrolled in the South Windsor Public Schools system are eligible to participate.
This nine [9] week activity will be held on Tuesday evenings at the Timothy Edwards Middle School Library Media Center starting on Tuesday January 30th, with the final class scheduled for Tuesday April 2nd. Two sessions of the class will be held each evening [Session A from 6:00 PM - 7:15 PM and Session B from 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM].
Please see the flyer below for more information and directions to register.
And a few quick highlights from the program:
- The Grade 5 Spring session is incredibly popular over the past few years with 70-100 students registering for the class, with the bulk of participants from PV and OH during the past 2-3 years.
- A Grade 6 Session is facilitated each fall at TEMS. The most recent session had 60+ participants and one of our teams of 6th graders were "STATE CHAMPIONS" placing 1st in the Middle School Division, profiting over $20,000 during the brief fall session (October-December) and outpacing approx. 175 other middle school teams in Connecticut.
- An OPTIONAL Writing contest, known as InvestWrite, is also offered to all SMG students. South Windsor has been fortunate to have had a number of winners in this contest - most recently, a Spring 2022 OH student taking home trophies, plaques, computers, cash and SMG swag for his winning entry at the state level and placing second at the National Level!
Meet the ET Staff
A Peek Inside Our Week
Student Leadership Conference
On Thursday, Mr. Huck and Mrs. Hammer had the privilege of attending the Connecticut Association of Schools Elementary Student Leadership Conference at Asnuntuck Community College with our two groups of student leaders -- our Eli Terry peer mediators and student ambassadors!
Select students in grades 4 through 6 from schools across the state participated in this event which is built around fostering 21st century leadership skills. CAS describes the conference as “unique, interactive learning activities that are not commonly part of an already jam packed elementary curriculum. Yet, the featured topics do a nice job supporting the good work taking place in our elementary schools.”
Over the course of the day, through keynote and closing presentations, along with 3 "breakout" workshops, students had the opportunity to connect with student leaders from 25 other schools across the state. They learned how to be an "upstander" not a "bystander", fine tuned their collaboration and cooperation abilities, and enhanced their leadership mindset and skills.
From competitive games to art to solving problems to large and small group activities, students couldn’t wait to see what each presenter had in store for them and we can't wait to see how they apply their new found skills at Eli Terry! Check out a few of the photos from the day below!
4th grade students enjoyed a friendly basketball competition against Mr. Luis, Mr. Tim, and Mr. LeClair!
4th grade teachers remembered to bundle up and were prepared for a cold outdoor recess!
2nd grade students learned a new math game and practiced showing their thinking on a vertical space!
Superhero "Mighty Reader" visited all the Kindergarten classrooms on Thursday, delivering "super powers" to help them be super readers!
Kindergarten teachers were promoted by "Mighty Reader" to also be superheroes!
London won "Lunch with a Principal" and chose Emma to join her!
PTO Events
Ice Cream Social
It’s that time of year again. Nothing like a cool treat in the winter months!!
The PTO is sponsoring Eli Terry Family Ice Cream Social night January 26 at school in the cafeteria.
This year we will be doing two separate time waves 6:30pm - 7:15 pm and 7:45 pm - 8:30 pm. Please RSVP by 1/19. We look forward to seeing you there.
Wolfpack Game
Join members of the Eli Terry community at the Hartford Wolf Pack hockey game on Saturday, February 3 at 7:00 pm!
All children attending will be able to head out on the ice to hold the flag during the National Anthem.
Ticket sales are available online now! The deadline to order tickets, guaranteed to be with the ET group, is January 22nd. Visit the link below to order.
Mark Your Calendars!
- NO SCHOOL - MLK Jr. Day - Monday, January 15th
- Virtual PTO Meeting - Wednesday, January 17th, 7-8PM
- PTO Ice Cream Social - January 26th, 6:15-8:30PM (there will be 2 waves!)
- PTO Wolf Pack Game - Saturday, February 3rd @ 7PM
Remember...any of the above events can be quickly added to your own Google Calendar just by clicking the blue hyperlink!
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