January Monthly Update

Mission: At Grand Prairie, we dedicate ourselves to creating a caring and safe learning environment for our students while partnering with our families to teach the whole child.

Happy New Year, Grand Prairie families! As we step into 2025, it’s the perfect time to reflect on goals and set intentions for a successful year ahead. In the spirit of new beginnings, we will be talking with students about the importance of setting personal and academic resolutions and revisiting our school expectations. With the colder weather upon us, we’re also reminding everyone to come to school prepared with warm coats, hats, and gloves to stay comfortable and focused throughout the day. We encourage families to join us in discussing goals, expectations, and winter readiness at home, fostering a strong partnership between school and family as we start this new chapter!

As the temperatures drop, we want to remind families to ensure students come to school dressed for the cold weather. Warm coats, hats, gloves, and scarves are essential for outdoor recess and arrival times. If your child needs assistance with winter clothing, please don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here to help. Let’s keep everyone safe, warm, and ready to learn this winter season!

Below you will find the district guidelines

Cold Weather Guidelines

Above 32 °F with or without wind chill-Outdoors

15 F to 32 °F with or without wind chill-Principal Discretion

Below 15 °F with or without wind chill-Indoors

Precautionary Measures:

Schools should exercise the following precautionary measures if holding recess outdoors:

Precipitation: snow and icy conditions should be evaluated for student safety and attire

Student preparedness: Parents/guardians and principals should ensure that students are properly dressed for outdoor recess during all seasons. During the winter months, students should be reminded to wear coats, gloves (without strings), hats, and boots.

Playground safety: the playground equipment and surface (i.e., icy conditions) should be evaluated to determine whether students can safely play outdoors

***"With or without wind chill" means how cold it feels, whether it is caused by wind chill or not. For example, if the straight temperature reading is 10 degrees or if it's 20 degrees with a wind chill of 10 degrees, recess should be held indoors.

Racism, in any form, is harmful and divisive, impacting individuals, families, and entire communities. It denies people the respect and opportunities they deserve based on who they are, their culture, or their appearance. In our school community, we have the unique opportunity—and responsibility—to guide children in understanding the value of kindness, empathy, and inclusivity. Teaching children to respect differences and be kind to others is essential in creating a welcoming environment for everyone. As parents, teachers, and community members, we can model acceptance, talk openly about respect and kindness, and work together to make sure all children know the importance of treating each other with fairness and understanding. By doing this, we help our students grow into compassionate individuals who will contribute positively to a diverse world.

Addressing racism, including harmful stereotypes like the "black monkey" stereotype, is critical for fostering a respectful and inclusive school community. This kind of racist language perpetuates prejudice, ignorance, and hurt, often targeting Black individuals with dehumanizing associations. As a school community, it’s essential for families, students, and educators to come together to confront and educate against such biases. We can do this by openly discussing the impacts of racism, teaching empathy and respect, and embracing diverse cultures and experiences within our school. By supporting one another, promoting positive representations, and standing against harmful language and actions, we can create a more inclusive environment where all students feel valued and respected.

Please know Grand Prairie Administration will take all racism matters seriously and consequences such as loss of privilege's or even school suspension will occur as a result.

Exciting news! We are partnering with Books Are Fun and their Book Blast program to help build our students’ home libraries. For over 30 years, Books are Fun has been a trusted partner in promoting literacy. Last year we sent home 1,320 books. Each student got at least 1 book! We had 38% participation so this year our goal is 45%!!

THIS DOES NOT START UNTIL JANUARY 15th. Below is what you will do then!

Here are the steps:

• Click the link above.
• Register your student(s).
• Send invitations to at least 10 friends or family members to support our students (Don’t worry, all the information you provide is secure and only used for this program.)

Why I love this program:

• It’s guaranteed to put new, age-appropriate books into the hands of every student!

• 100% of all contributions go toward new books and classroom supplies.

• The book list is fantastic! It’s attached, check it out.

• It will take you less than 10 minutes and there is NO financial requirement from you.

More books in your homes equals more pages being read! That’s the goal. We’re hoping for 100% participation.

Want to see Book Blast in action? Watch this news clip from Fulton Elementary: Fulton Elementary News Clip