Husky Headlines

We were able to end January on a high note with our 100th day of school! Many of you (100 to be exact) received POSITIVE phone calls or possibly messages left on voicemail about the amazing things your children are doing here at school. I hope that those calls brightened your day as much as they brightened mine! This was the fifth year I was able to carry out that 100th day tradition and I can't wait to continue it.

Throughout the month of January, students will be working on the character trait of being trustworthy. The first round of brag sticks went out last week to some amazing PAW winners, and the next round will go out this Friday. Each week, three students will be drawn from each grade level. Ask your child if you would like to know more!

We have Valentine's Day coming up next, and your child's teacher will be sending out information about how they will celebrate in their classroom and/or grade level, so please be on the look-out for personalized communication from them. They will also send out a list with either the number of students in the class - OR - with student names. Your child is NOT required to bring Valentines to school, but if they choose to bring them, your child must bring enough for every student in their class. We do not want to accidentally leave anyone out. If you do not get numbers from your child's teacher, please feel free to call or email the office and either Wendi or I can get you those numbers.

• February 1st - Library Change Wars DAY 4 (Quarter, Quarter!!)
  
• February 2nd - Library Change Wars DAY 5 (Dollar Bills - and any kind of change!!)
• February 5th - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 6th - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 7th - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 8th - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 8th - Galentine's Day!
• February 9th - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 12th - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 12th - Board of Education Meeting 8:00am (open to the public)
• February 12th - Parent/ Teacher Conferences 12:00-7:00pm
• February 13th - Scholastic Book Fair
• February 13th - 3rd-5th singing at the Senior Center
  
• February 16th - No School - Winter Break
  
• February 28th - 10:10 Late Start - Professional Development Day
• February 28th - Book It Goals Due
  
• February 28th - NHS Product/Food Drive
• February 29th - NHS Product/Food Drive

Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up on February 12th. We are asking that you sign up for times with your child's teacher once again. Prior to signing up, please remember these guidelines:

1. Please only sign up for a time with your child's classroom teacher (if you wish to speak with the other grade level teacher, you will need to wait outside of their room for an opening - the sign-up document is for assigned students only. Thank you for understanding!)
2. Please enter your child's name in the first box and your name in the second box.
3. If you need a translator, please click the box next to your name. If you do not, leave that box unchecked.
4. Do not remove anyone else from the document. Changes may need to be made, but those would be arranged by school personnel.
5. If you need to reschedule, please do so by either finding an open slot on the document and moving to it - OR by contacting Wendi in the elementary office.

Please CLICK HERE to sign up for times with your child's teacher.

January was another great month for Book-It! I set out a challenge for the K-2 hallway vs. the 3-5 hallway and the K-2 hallway came away victorious with 95%of their hallway reaching their goal! They will be celebrating with fudge bars!!

Keep reading each night and working on those monthly goals.

Our February deadline is February 28th - so don't forget to turn in that reading log (grades K-2) or take those AR tests (3-5)!

We have several grade levels who had EVERY STUDENT make their goal for January!! Shout-out to Mrs. Topil's kindergarten class, Miss Patterson's 1st grade class, Mrs, Gabel's 2nd grade class, and Mrs. Kubik's 3rd grade class!! AND I'd like to add a second SPECIAL shout-out to Mrs. Kubik's 3rd grade class, because her entire class has made their goal every single month so far this year!

Please remember safety is important at school, especially during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times. If you choose to park your vehicle in a parking spot, please walk with your child through the parking lot and if needed, help to remind them of the parking lot safety rules.

If you are using the pull through lanes, you must remain in your vehicle for your children to come to you. We do ask that you continue to pull as far forward as possible, and as other vehicles exit - you fill move forward to fill their spots.

We will continue to try to keep parking lots and sidewalks free from snow and ice to the best of our ability - but we do ask that you do not run or drive above the posted speed limits to ensure slipping/sliding does not happen.

Parents are welcome to come and enjoy lunch with your child(ren) at any time. In order to do so, please make sure you:

1. Contact your child's classroom teacher prior to your visit to let them know you will be coming.
2. Check in at the front office and get a visitors badge to wear for the duration of your visit.

Please also understand that parent visits for lunch are restricted to the lunchroom only. Parents cannot accompany their child out to recess.

Adult lunches cost: $3.65. You can bring money with you, or use money from your child's account if you have a positive balance. Adults will not be able to eat and charge an account that has a negative balance.

Lunch Times for Each Grade Grade Level

Kindergarten & 1st Grade - 10:50-11:20

2nd Grade & 3rd Grade - 11:10-11:40

4th Grade & 5th Grade - 11:30-12:00

S-RC will celebrate ‘No One Eats Alone’ on February 15th. The goal of this event is to create connections and friendships in the lunchroom to promote social inclusion. We envision a world where all youth are accepted, valued, and included no matter their differences.

This ‘No One Eats Alone’ event will be for the elementary students and will be held during lunch. Students will get to sit with new friends and have conversations. This event will be hosted by the SRC Circle of Friends Group.

IN A WORLD WHERE YOU CAN BE ANYTHING, BE KIND!!!

Hosted by: Stacy Stewart & Alicia Hoadley

February means cold weather here in Nebraska, and that doesn't automatically mean indoor recess here at school. Students love to be outside, and we love to take them out - but we know it's just not safe to have them out in the frigid temperatures for extended times. We follow the below guidelines for recess:

• If the FEELS LIKE or ACTUAL temperature is below 20 degrees will have indoor recess.
• If the FEELS LIKE or ACTUAL temperature is above 20 degrees, we will have outdoor recess.

This means that if it is 21 degrees outside, your child will be outside for a FULL 20 minutes of recess. Please make sure that your child(ren) are dressed appropriately when they come to school!! Twenty-one degrees is still cold out there! It's always nicer to have to take off your hat and gloves than to wish you had brought it with you.

Dress Recommendations:

"Feels like" below 50 degrees - Students should wear coat/light jacket/sweatshirt

"Feels like" below 40 degrees - Students should wear coat/jacket, long pants, close toe shoes, and we recommend gloves and stocking cap

* Below 32 degrees gloves and hats are required

If there is snow on the ground, students must wear boots to play in it - otherwise they will be required to remain on the scooped basketball court with others who do not have boots.

Currently, more than 25% of K-6 students, nationwide, are chronically absent and most students have ground to make up in math and reading. To be considered chronically absent, a student would would have missed 10% or more of their days at school (we are currently around the 100th day of school - so if your child has missed close to 10 days, they would be considered chronically absent). Research shows that the average student would need more than four additional months of instruction to catch up to pre-COVID reading levels.

At the same time, there’s a gap between how parents think their child(ren) are doing and the reality. Many families aren’t aware if their child is behind academically, or may not understand how absenteeism is impacting their child’s progress. Here at Shelby-Rising City, we are attempting to leverage real-time data so families can understand more than just what your child's grades are. This communication and data hopefully feels relevant and actionable to you.

Some ways that we provide data to you are:

• Monthly Newsletters
• Board Meetings (principal reports with data included can also be found in the minutes online if you are unable to come to meetings)
• NebraskaREADS letters to K-3 families of students who are not reading at grade level (these letters are required by the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act)
• Report Cards
• Progress Reports (for students with IEPs and 504s)
• NWEA MAP Assessment

Preschool Enrollment will begin on March 1st! Forms can be picked up and/or dropped off in the elementary office starting at 8:00am. We are asking, as always, that forms are not filled out on site as we do not have space to allow for families to fill out forms while we are starting our regular school day for all students.

Forms will be time stamped in the order that they are received by elementary office personnel. Both morning and afternoon class sizes are limited, but we are not expecting to be over the limit for either class as of right now.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Thompson at hthompson@shelby.esu7.org

Elementary Principal

Special Education Director

Shelby-Rising City Public Schools

Email: hthompson@shelby.esu7.org
Website: https://www.shelby.esu7.org/
Location: 650 North Walnut Street, Shelby, NE, USA
Phone: 402-527-5946 5718
Twitter: @mrs_thompson007