Happy New Year Newsletter

Whirlwind families,

It is 2024! I can hardly believe that we are half way through the school year and starting second semester. As you wrap up the final days of winter break, take a moment to celebrate your child's growth to this point and set goals for the second half of the year.

Just a reminder that at 8:00 a.m., students are released to class. At 8:10 a.m., students are considered tardy. All absences count as verified or not verified. During cold and flu season, we ask that you maintain good communication with your child's nurse, teacher, and our administrative assistant (Pam). Please call in before 9:00 a.m. if your child will be out and bring a doctor's note when returning. We will work with you to help your child get caught up on any missed work.

Expect grade cards to be emailed the first week we return to school. Reach out to your child's teacher if you have any questions.

The Archie School District is strongly considering a 4-day hybrid school week for the upcoming school year. You will find a specific informative section below to help highlight any questions you might have about the consideration of this change. You will also find a link to a survey. We want to get parent and community feedback prior to the board making a finalized decision.

Thank you for all you do to support your child's teacher and school! Your partnership makes a difference.

Your principal,

Tamara Stroud

Take a moment to set 1-3 family goals. Would any of these work for your family?

• Spend 20-30 minutes playing or taking a walk outside.
• Spend 15-30 minutes with no technology on in the house. Everyone is reading or journaling.
• Share one positive moment from your day with the family at dinner.
• Pack lunches and/or backpacks as a family before heading to bed.
• Set our your clothes before heading to bed.
• Have family game night at least one night a week.

🚫 January 2nd- No School, Teacher Professional Development

👀 January 3rd- Back to School & PreK-5th Vision Screenings

📅 January 11th- PAT Playdate, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

🚫 January 15th- No School, Martin Luther King Jr. Day

🆕 January 16th- School Board Meeting, 7 p.m. (Tuesday, typically on Monday)

🧼 January 18th- PAT Messy Night, 6:00-7:00 p.m.

🏀 January 22nd-27th- 94th Annual Archie Tournament

🚫 January 29th (No school or make up)

💃 February 3rd- PTO Dance

After surveying current staff members, a 4-day hybrid calendar for the 2024-2025 school year is being considered in order to maintain competitive with surrounding districts. Following the staff survey, the next steps are to inform and survey other stakeholders. On Monday, December 18th, Dr. Jon Scott Turner presented at the school board meeting via ZOOM. Dr.Turner has completed extensive research on 4-day, 4-day hybrid, and 5-day school weeks. If you would like to listen to Dr. Turner's presentation, click on the video below.

All families with a working email in our student information system should have received a link to the community survey on December 22nd. All parents and community members are encouraged to complete the survey by January 8th at 4:00 p.m.

Survey Link: https://forms.gle/wwxqTmibjMZG3AB59

Mrs. Bridges has been focusing her counseling lessons on our three core values this year. Respect, responsibility and kindness are the traits your chid(ren) should be able to tell you all about. Mrs. Bridges encouraged students to watch the movie Inside Out with their families over break. If you didn't get a chance, it is a good one to check out!

• Teachers will share January's electives/specials schedule with families. Please be sure to send back books on library day. This helps make library day an enjoyable one.
• Students are responsible for taking care of their books. Water bottles, rain, and animals have all led to book damage first semester. We ask that you help your child practice ways to protect books. If there is irreplaceable damage, the family is asked to replace the book before checking out additional books.
• Some books may be too difficult for your child to read. This is a perfect time for you or an older sibling to read with them and talk about the story.

Thank you to our PTO for sponsoring the Santa Shop once again this year. This is a day that many students love to shop for loved ones!

We are excited to announce that Phase I of the PTO Playground Project is underway! Some replacement pieces for the big blue playset have been ordered, swings are here, the swing set is under production, and soccer goals are here too! The PTO is still raising funds to complete all three phases of this big project. If you know someone that would like to make a direct donation, share the link below.

Click on any link below for additional information.