Greetings Winn Families!

Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope that your family was able to enjoy some time to slow down and relax this past week. I hope you had time to make some great memories too!

This week we launch our new theme for Social Emotional Learning. We will be focusing on "Perseverance" this month utilizing our Capturing Kids Hearts program. It is a perfect theme as we enter the Spring testing season! Be sure to check in with your child about what they are learning each week in the classroom.

Here is what each grade level will be focusing on this week with perseverance:

• Kindergarten "I think I can!"
• 1st grade "Never give up!"
• 2nd grade "G.R.I.T"
• 3rd grade "Got grit?"
• 4th grade "We have persevered"
• 5th grade "See it through"

My focus during morning opening will be all about G.R.I.T. Capturing Kids Hearts breaks down the word grit into an acronym. You can talk about these with your kiddo this week!

• G- Give it your all - How does setting goals help with this?
• R- Redo your work - How does resilience help you keep trying?
• I-Imagine your sucess- How does setting an intention help you "see" your success?
• T-Think positive- How much "time" does it take to reach a goal you want to get to?

What is so cool about Capturing Kids Hearts is that the WHOLE district is using this program. If you have students in different buildings, check in with them about what they are learning about with perseverance too!

MSTEP is coming soon! If you have a child in 3rd-5th grade, you will be receiving a letter from your classroom teacher this week that details when the test is going to be given and how you can help at home. They will be looking for snack donations as well if you are interesting in helping.

Highlights this week:

March 31: Reading Month Celebration - Planetarium at Winn today! All children that met their reading goal this month get to go to the planetarium!

April 1: 2nd Graders Learn to Skate Program

April 2: WPC Meeting 5:30pm (child care provided)

April 4: World's Greatest Popcorn Day!

With Gratitude,

Laurie Richards

Winn Elementary Principal

The last week of school prior to Spring Break was busy with student voting!

During the month, Mrs. Dusenbery created a fun March Madness bracket about favorite book characters. Each week we got closer to Winn Elementary's 2025 winner. I am excited to announce that our favorite book character was "Dog Man!" Thanks again to Mrs. Dusenbery for doing this for our kids. We had lots of good discussions throughout the month. If you haven't read a Dog Man book yet, it's time to read it with your kiddo :)

Our Winn Parent Club also created a fun vote for us this past month. The WPC selected three different playground structures for the kids to choose from for our new "big toy." Mrs. Kastning came in one morning to show us how tall the toys were. Mrs. Bridges created a document for us to click and explore the different toys. Then, on the Friday before Spring Break, the official winner was announced. The "Wrangell" will be installed as our next "big toy" out on the playground. Thanks to the WPC board and all of our members who helped make this dream a reality.

This is a listing of all of the lost and found items we currently have. At the end of the day on Friday, everything extra will be taken to our local Goodwill store.

If something is yours, please reach out to the office via phone or email to claim it. We have this on Facebook too so you can also comment that something is yours on our Winn Elementary page.

Thanks!

Take a minute to read the Winn Parents' Club newsletter for March.

• April 2 WPC Meeting at 5:30pm (child care provided)
• April 4 Popcorn Friday
• April 15-17th Kindergarten Screening - appt. required
• April 18th 1/2 day (Good Friday)
• April 24th 1/2 day (Maple Syrup Festival)
• April 25th - No School (Maple Syrup Festival)

Here is our Winn Elementary Parent and Student Handbook for 24-25. It is filled with lots of useful information about our school.

Thank you for sharing your child with our family here at Winn. Our motto at Winn is "Everything a Kid Needs." We focus on both academic excellence and creating good humans! I am here to serve you. If you have questions/concerns or need help in any way, please feel free to reach out to me.

Email: lrichards@shepherdschools.net
Location: 418 West Blanchard Road, Shepherd, MI, USA
Phone: (989) 866-2250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winnelementary