Mr. Kevin Dick
Beginning on Monday, November 4, we want to let parents know they will now be allowed to come to Pettigrew and eat with your student. We have just a few guidelines to follow if you have time to come and eat at school with your child. We don’t allow restaurant food in our lunchroom, so a parent is able to purchase a school lunch, should you want to eat alongside your child. You can pay for these meals in cash, or you can charge your meal to your child’s school lunch account. If you plan to eat school lunch, you MUST notify the teacher the morning you plan to eat at school before 8:15 am, so we can get the meal in our meal count for the day. You can also just sit with your child and accompany them as they eat, if you wish. If you wish to have restaurant food, be reminded that a parent can check their student out from the office during lunch and recess and return after the 40-minute break. When joining your child, please remember that you will sit with them. We have designated spots for children to eat in our lunchroom, and there is enough space for a parent or guardian to sit with the child. We don’t have any special seating or other arrangements for parents, but rather, just sit next to your child and get to know the students who your child eats with every day. If you wish to accompany your child to recess, you would be allowed to do this, but must return to the office to check out before leaving the campus. When checking in to the office, remember to bring your government-issued photo ID with you, as we will need to scan you into our check-in system. You will get a sticker to identify you to other staff and students in the building. Please remember to check out of the building and turn in your sticker and as you leave.
I want to share some ideas this month, to support your child’s education at home. There are a few things that every parent can do to build a positive educational environment at home. Here are a few of them:
· Having a positive attitude about school. You can encourage a positive attitude toward learning at home by celebrating your child’s achievements, embracing mistakes (and learning from them!), and being a role model for your child.
· Creating learning experiences for your child. Engage your child’s curiosity. Find activities that will help your child learn more about the world around them. Find educational activities to do together, such as going to the library, going to a cultural event, finding an outdoor discovery activity, doing a science experiment, or visiting a museum.
· Engaging with your child about their education and school experiences. Try asking open-ended questions about their day, such as:
o What made you smile today?
o What is a high and a low from today?
o What is something you learned today?
o Who did you play with today?
o What are you most proud of from today?
o How were you kind today?
o Who did you eat lunch with?
· Establishing a routine. Students can learn from a very early age how to build strong study habits. Help them learn this by providing a consistent routine for them.
· Helping with homework. This can be intimidating, especially if your child is learning something you didn’t learn or struggled with, or if it is being taught in a different way. However, helping your child does not mean doing the work for them! You can come alongside them and help them by asking questions to help them remember what to do and think through strategies and solutions.
· Encourage Reading. Research shows that there is a strong relationship between parents reading to children outside of school and a child’s reading performance. Take time to read together! Find an age-appropriate book or series and spend time each day or each week reading together. Encourage your child to read on their own and ask questions about what they are reading.
We are entering a very fun time of year at school, with some holidays approaching, and a few breaks in the school-site learning. These are great opportunities to put some of these ideas into play, as well as on those long, late-fall and winter evenings, and on those weekend breaks, too. We have a great partnership with all families at Pettigrew, and these steps will only serve to strengthen those relationships, as well as benefiting all the students’ educational work they are doing at school. Have a great November.
R.F. Pettigrew PTO
Email: rfp.president@yahoo.com
Website: rfpettigrew.org/pto
Location: 7900 West 53rd Street, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Phone: 6053623564
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RFPettigrewPTO/?ref=share