Longfellow Families,
Fall is upon us. As the trees shed their leaves, many of our students shed their coats during recess. Then, the whistle blows and that coat becomes a distant memory. If you’ve lost a coat, sweatshirt, water bottle, or even that cherished stuffed animal, swing by the school at the end of the day. Our lost and found collection is growing and that treasured item just may be here, waiting to go home.
On the subject of recess, I’d like to highlight some of the creativity our students have shown over the last few weeks. They have “discovered” the rock garden, where they’ve rearranged the rocks to create what is currently a town. Creative play in kids helps develop their problem solving skills, their teamwork skills, hand-eye coordination, and much more. As with all things on the playground, we’re working to find the balance of letting “kids be kids” and keeping them safe (especially from smashed fingers). Remind your child to play safe… (the A in our ROAR school-wide positive behavior system stands for Always Safe).
This week, the “Buy Local” fundraiser forms from the Longfellow Parent Association will be heading home. This is the LPA’s biggest fundraiser for the year and allows them to do all the wonderful things that they have done for Longfellow throughout the years. We just recently received the new couches they purchased for our school library with last year’s funds. Our focus this year will be adding to our playground equipment. We wanted to focus on equipment that allows kids to explore their creativity and is inclusive for students who need to utilize a wheelchair or other adaptive equipment.
Another thing I wanted to highlight this week is a quick reminder about our morning routines. When your student arrives at school, help them to remember to head straight to the playground or straight to breakfast. Breakfast service ends at 8:05 so that students will have time to eat before heading to class at 8:10. If they’re not having breakfast, remind them to head straight to the playground. This helps us so that we can keep an eye on them and make sure that they are safe. For our kindergarteners, regardless of whether they’re eating school breakfast or not, have them start off by heading to their classrooms. The teachers like to help them ease into the day and know that they are safe.
Finally, Halloween is right around the corner, and staff have already begun planning. Celebrations will be happening at each individual grade level. Look for communications from your child’s teacher for what will be happening at their grade level. Celebrations will be at the end of the day. All that said, we understand that Halloween celebrations aren’t for everyone. If you’d like to sign your student out of school please do so around 2:00.
Thank you,
Cory Scheffel
Longfellow Principal
Notes:
-1st Grade field trip Wed. Oct. 9th
-3rd Grade field trip Thurs. Oct. 10th
-4th Grade Bike Rodeo and Safety Program Thurs. Oct 10th