November Newsletter

• November 22nd: Pretzel Fundraiser Bring a $1 for a big chocolate covered pretzel rod!
• November 23rd-December 1st: Thanksgiving Break
• December 5th: Christmas Family Night (see information below)

A Big Thanks to Our Amazing Chatfield Families!

• We want to take a moment to say how grateful we are for all of you! To our wonderful parents—thank you for raising such great kids, making school a priority, and supporting our staff. Your involvement in their learning and your encouragement at home make a huge difference.

• To our awesome students—thank you for showing up each day with a positive attitude, working hard, and showing respect to your classmates and teachers. Whether it’s helping a friend, trying your best in class, or just sharing a smile, you make our school a better place. We’re so lucky to have such a fantastic school community here at Chatfield!

Big Thanks to Our Family Engagement Team!

• We are so grateful for our awesome Family Engagement Team that meets every month to make our school even better! They’re the magic behind our family nights, fundraising events, and all those little extras that build a positive vibe for our students. Huge shout-out to this team for all they do to keep our school community strong and connected. We’re so grateful to have you!

Big Thanks to Our Amazing Staff!

• We want to give a huge thank you to every single staff member here at school—from the front office and cafeteria team to our paraprofessionals, teachers, custodians, and secretaries. You all go above and beyond to make our school a safe, welcoming place where every student feels they belong. Your hard work, kindness, and dedication make such a difference in our students' lives. We’re so grateful for everything you do to keep our school running smoothly and to make it a great place for our kids!

Join us for our annual Christmas night filled with family games, a hot cocoa sundae bar, fun crafts, and more.

Dear Parents,

Welcome to November! As we move into this exciting time of year, we typically see students excel and make significant progress in their learning. With only 15 instructional days this month, it’s especially important that your child is present and on time to maximize these opportunities for growth.

Your support is invaluable in helping our students succeed, and we truly appreciate all you do. As we approach the upcoming break, we hope you enjoy this special time with your students and make lasting memories together.

Thank you again for your continued partnership!

Dave McCall

1. Thankful Tree: Create a “Thankful Tree” together by cutting out leaves from colored paper. Each day leading up to Thanksgiving, have everyone write something they are thankful for on a leaf and add it to the tree. It’s a great way to reflect on gratitude and see how much there is to appreciate!
2. Thanksgiving Gratitude Jar: Set up a gratitude jar where family members can write down things they’re thankful for on slips of paper throughout the month. On Thanksgiving Day, gather together to read them aloud. It’s a heartwarming way to celebrate all the good things in life.
3. Family Cooking Time: Get your kids involved in the kitchen by cooking up Thanksgiving dishes together. Let them help plan a side dish or help prepare a dish by stirring, measuring, or decorating desserts. It’s a fun way to bond and teach them the value of family traditions in cooking.
4. Create a Thankful Video or Photo Album: Spend time making a short video or photo album of your favorite Thanksgiving memories. Capture moments like decorating, cooking, or everyone at the dinner table. It’s a great way to preserve those memories and look back on them each year. Watch this short video with your kids to help generate some ideas, or just enjoy it together.
5. Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt: Organize a Thanksgiving-themed scavenger hunt. Hide items related to the holiday (mini pumpkins, leaves, corn, or small toys) around the house or yard, and have everyone search for the items. You could even create teams to search together.
6. Create a Thankful Video or Photo Album: Spend time making a short video or photo album of your favorite Thanksgiving memories. Capture moments like decorating, cooking, or everyone at the dinner table. It’s a great way to preserve those memories and look back on them each year.
7. Thanksgiving Day Games: Spend part of the day playing Thanksgiving-themed games. Check out the ideas on PLAY, PARTY, PLAN. These fun activities add excitement and help burn off energy before the big meal!

Hello Chatfield families!

As we are entering the holiday season, we will be starting to talk about gratitude and how that connects to empathy, which is our stance of the month for November. Gratitude is good to talk about during the Thanksgiving season, but it is a great skill to use consistently throughout the school year. It is great to practice to help with having a positive mindset, mindfulness, and to use as a coping skill. As we get closer to Thanksgiving break, we will be using gratitude in classrooms to

practice having a positive mindset.

So far this school year, we have been discussing how to be respectful learners in school, what empathy means, and how to understand others’ perspectives. We will be moving forward with these skills to learn how to understand feelings in ourselves and others, what kinds of coping skills can be used to help with big emotions, and how to solve problems in a respectful way. I have also started new Lunch Bunch groups for the second quarter, and I am hoping to begin other small groups soon.

As always, please reach out to me if there are any questions, concerns, or ways that

I can support your student.

Sincerely,

Megan Warkoski

Chatfield School Counselor

megan.warkoski@d51schools.org

970-254-4930 ext. 43143

KINDERGARTEN: Ophelia H, Ariya A-F., and Jacksen M.

FIRST GRADE: Delilah D., Riley J., and Tyson D.

SECOND GRADE: Samuel C., Natalie V.

Third-graders: Rashay V., Shii L., and Melodie B.

Fifth-graders: Ophelia P. and Azelia H.

Fifth-graders Jaycee P. and Liam P.

Empathy is when you try to understand how someone else is feeling, even if you’re not feeling the same way. It’s like putting yourself in their shoes.

Help your child understand empathy at home by :

• Discussing how to recognize the feelings people are experiencing.

• Discussing the importance of listening to the words that people are saying.

• Thinking about how others might feel in a variety of situations