Family Bulletin: SLCS Elementary

You can translate this newsletter! Just click on "Translate" on the right side of the screen and find your language!

• Report Card Conference Signups. You can sign up for conferences on Monday, November 3rd beginning at 9:00 a.m.!
• Fall Instrumental Recital. Thursday, November 6th at 6:30 PM in the ES Cafeteria!
• Veteran's Day. Students will do activities to honor our veterans on the 11th!
• 3rd Grade Exhibition. Wednesday the 12th at 6:00 P.M.
• Green for Kindness Dress Down Day. Thursday the 13th is National Kindness Day. Wear green to show your kindness!
• Trimester 1 ends Friday, November 14th.
• Trimester 1 clubs end on Thursday, November 20th.
• Fandom Dress Down Day. You can dress down on Monday, November 24th to represent something you are a fan of (sports, book series, movie/show series, etc.).
• No school from Tuesday to Friday during Thanksgiving week. We will have report card conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a break for the holiday.

Attendance- Contact the main office at 215-245-6055 ext. 600 or email attendancek6@schoollane.org

Transportation- Contact Ann Yost at 215-245-6055 ext. 620 or email ayost@schoollane.org

Access to the PowerSchool Parent Portal- powerschool@schoollane.org

Academics- Contact the homeroom or learning support teacher or supervisor

Discipline- Contact the homeroom teacher or administrator

Despite what you may have heard, all students (and all people) pretty much learn the same way. The same things are happening in our brain as we process new information and store it into our memory to be able to use it later. When we have learned something before and we have to remember it to use it again, all of our brains go through the same process as well. As a result, scientific research has proven that there are effective ways to study and also ways that are definitely not effective. Here is a list of Do's and Don'ts when it comes to helping your child study at home:

DO's for Home Study

• DO: Test Without Looking First: Instead of re-reading notes or textbooks, have your child close the book and try to recall what they learned. For younger kids (K-2), this might be "Tell me three things you remember about butterflies." For older kids (3-6), they can write down everything they remember about a math concept before checking their notes. This "retrieval practice" strengthens memory far more than re-reading.
• DO: Use Flashcards the Right Way: Make flashcards, but don't just flip through them once. Have your child go through the whole stack, put aside the ones they got right, then come back to those "easy" ones later. Research shows we forget the things we think we know best. Mix up the order each time - don't let them memorize the sequence.
• DO: Spread It Out: Instead of cramming the night before a test, help your child study a little bit several days in a row. Even 10 minutes of math facts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday beats 30 minutes on Sunday night. This "spaced practice" helps information stick in long-term memory.
• DO: Mix Up Practice Problems: When practicing math, don't do all the addition problems, then all subtraction. Mix them up so your child has to think about which operation to use. This applies to any subject - mixing different types of problems or concepts forces deeper thinking.

DON'Ts for Home Study

• DON'T: Let Them Just Highlight and Re-read: These feel productive but create false confidence. Your child thinks they know the material because it looks familiar, but they haven't actually tested whether they can recall it independently. If they insist on highlighting, make them close the book afterward and explain the highlighted concepts from memory.
• DON'T: Accept "I Already Know This": When your child says they already know their spelling words or math facts, that's exactly when they need to practice retrieving them. Have them prove it by testing themselves without looking. Often what feels "known" is actually just familiar.
• DON'T: Let Them Study Everything at Once: Avoid marathon study sessions where they try to review everything for a test in one sitting. Breaking it into shorter sessions over several days is much more effective for actual learning.

• Arrival: If you are driving your child to school, you should bring them to carline. If carline is closed, your child is late and should be dropped off at the main office. Late minutes count towards truancy.
• Early Dismissals: We will not approve early dismissals or transportation changes after 2:30 p.m. In order for an early dismissal or late arrival to be excused, a note from the doctor/dentist must be provided.
• Gym uniform: For pants/shorts on gym days, students are required to wear plain gray or black sweatpants or black shorts. Sweatpants must be traditional cut. This means no leggings.
• Healthy Snack: For snack, students must abide by the healthy food policy. There should be no food that is heavy in sugar. Examples of acceptable snacks: fruit cups, popcorn, whole wheat chips and salsa, hummus dip & veggies, soft pretzels, low-fat string cheese.
• Birthdays: You are welcome to bring in a healthy snack for your child's class on their birthday. It cannot be an item that is heavy in sugar such as cupcakes, donuts, or cookies.

Our October community meetings were a reflection on how our students did behaviorally at lunch and recess. The students below were recognized for showing outstanding character or incredible improvements during lunch and recess!

The extensive study linked here proved what is probably obvious to all of us: sleep is important for learning. The research shows that 8 hours of sleep was most strongly associated with higher academic performance. In other words, students who enough sleep regularly perform better than those that don't get enough sleep when all else is equal. And of course, one of the largest factors negatively impacting sleep is.....screen time. One of the best things we can do as parents for our children is limit screen time and have a strong night time routine that allows for plenty of rest!