Lyle School

November 2021 Newsletter

From the Principal...

Lyle Families;

November is known as the month of gratitude. Gratitude is not just saying “thank you.” New research indicates that gratitude can change your brain. Psychologically speaking, it has the unique ability to shift our thinking from focusing on the negative to appreciating all the positive things surrounding us.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased isolation, economic uncertainty, and anxiety about the future, often making people forget the things they can be grateful for—especially in difficult times. The month of November and Thanksgiving Day provides excellent opportunities for reflection and gratitude.

We can practice gratitude by expressing appreciation. Expressing appreciation can happen inside yourself, as an emotion, and doesn’t require any explicit action. However, there are tried and true ways to practice gratitude explicitly, as an action – and when you do these things consciously, you experience the benefits of gratitude.

Here are some ways you can practice gratitude in your daily life:

Keep a gratitude journal.
Write thank-you notes
Say “Please” and “Thank You.”
Meditate or pray
Do something for someone else

Data shows that the practice of gratitude benefits people in three primary ways: physical, psychological, and social.

Compared to people who don’t practice gratitude, people who practice gratitude report the following physical benefits:

They exercise more and take better care of themselves
Their immune systems are stronger
They have lower blood pressure
They sleep longer and better
They’re less bothered by aches and pains

Compared to people who don’t practice gratitude, people who practice gratitude report the following psychological benefits:

They experience more optimism and happiness
They experience more joy and pleasure
They’re more alert, alive, and awake
They have higher levels of positive emotion, in general

Compared to people who don’t practice gratitude, people who practice gratitude report the following social benefits:

They feel less lonely
They’re more forgiving
They’re more outgoing
They feel more generous, helpful, and compassionate

I know that I am genuinely grateful to be the Principal of Lyle School. I am blessed with the students, staff, and community. I appreciate all of you trusting me to lead and guide over the last eight years.

With gratitude,

Mrs. Nuray Kavustuk, Principal

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Important Dates

November 9- 3rd-6th Grade Virtual After School Tutoring Begins

November 11- Picture Day

November 12- SMILE- Dental Clinic

November 17- Student Council Meeting

November 18- Lockdown Drill

November 22- No School - Parent/Teacher Conference (1-8)

November 23- No School - Parent/Teacher Conference (11-5)

November 24-25-26- No School - Thanksgiving Break

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Report Cards

Grade reports are available through your child’s PowerSchool portal at any time.

Quarter 1 Report Carts were posted on October 22nd. Please log in to your PowerSchool parent account to access grades at any time and review the Quarter 1 report card.

If you haven't done so already, please log onto your PowerSchool Account to view details as well as DIGITALLY SIGN your child’s report card

Student and Parent PowerSchool Portal

How to set up a Parent PowerSchool Account

How to Check Grades in PowerSchool as a Parent

How to Digitally Sign your Child’s Report Card in PowerSchool

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Picture Day- November 11th

Picture Day at Lyle Elementary School will soon be here! Students will have their pictures taken on Thursday, November 11th. All elementary students will be photographed for the yearbook, even if you don’t order pictures. Portrait packages are typically returned four to six weeks after Picture Day.

Each student has received literature describing the picture packages that are available to families. If you have questions, please call the photography company directly: Van Gogh School Photographers at www.vangoghphoto.com.

This year we are sponsoring a PRE-PAY picture program. In order to receive a picture package, payments must be made in full prior to or on picture day. Payments may be done online or by phone. Please review the attached information below on how to purchase your picture package. Picture Day, retakes will be taken on Thursday, December 16th for all children, so save the order form.

Please have your children dress accordingly – bright colors photograph best. Students are asked to avoid wearing green. Also, if your child wears glasses, please indicate if we should take the picture with glasses on or glasses off. Big, bright smiles will add the finishing touch!

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Picture Day Information.pdf

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LockDown Drill

The safety of your child and all children in our schools as well as the safety of the school staff and support personnel is very important to us. In order to maintain a safe environment for our children to study and learn, it is necessary that we practice our emergency and crisis response plans by having drills designed to exercise our procedures. We will be conducting our lockdown drill on November 18th.

This type of drill will secure the school building and safely shelter all students, staff, and visitors inside the building. The purpose of this drill is to keep the students safe from any danger outside or inside the building. During a “lockdown drill” all of the perimeter doors to the school building will remain locked until the danger or issue outside or inside the building is removed. To enable everyone to remain safe, no one will be allowed to enter the building or leave the building until the drill is completed.

For the safety of everyone involved and to maintain order, we respectfully ask that you would abide by the following during these drills:

Do not come to the school campus
Do not call the school offices (as they will be busy with the drill or actual emergency)
Do not contact students or staff members via cell phone or social media (as they will be busy with the drill or actual emergency)
Avoid social media posts. Correct information will be disseminated through our automated system as soon as possible.
Please make sure that your contact information is current at all times so that you can be reached without delay in the event of an emergency.
In the event of an actual emergency evacuation, you will receive a notification where to pick up your child as soon as practicable.

Please remember that these safety practice drills are done to help maintain our school as a safe place to learn and work.

If you have any questions regarding any of these Safety Drills or other safety concerns, please feel free to contact Mrs. Kavustuk.

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Parent Teacher Conference

Lye School want to thank all students and families for a great beginning to the school year!

As we close the first quarter, we begin to reflect on the progress of our students, and their successes at school. Parent/Teacher Conference days allow for an open and honest discussion on a student’s strengths and needs. It is important to note that school is not in session during the week of November 22nd. The conference schedule is listed below.

Monday, November 22nd- 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm-8:00 pm

uesday, November 23rd – 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm-5:00 pm

The conference is extremely important as it allows the teacher to present details about a child’s learning. It would be appreciated if students were not in attendance unless requested by the teacher. This will allow for the teacher and parents/guardians to have a meaningful and efficient dialogue about student learning.

The school is using Calendly to make signing up for conferences as convenient as possible this year. Families have the option to sign-up for in-peron or virtual confrences. Information on sign-up will be emailed to families the week of November 8th.