Greetings Winn Families!

What a great week we had! We started the week going to "space" in the planetarium, the second graders had their last learn to skate lesson followed by a special field trip to the Discovery Museum, and we finished the week by installing our "hammock garden."

This week, we are continuing our Capturing Kids Hearts focus, Perseverance. The big idea this week is "Positive Thinking." Here is what each grade level will be focusing on in relation to growth mindset.

• Kindergarten "Perseverance and Gratitude"
• 1st grade "Best Effort"
• 2nd grade "Positive Thinking"
• 3rd grade "The Power of Positive Thinking"
• 4th grade "My Personal Best"
• 5th grade "Extra Effort"

You can talk about POSITIVE THINKING with your kiddo this week!

I have included a short video below to help you review week 1 (GRIT) and week 2 (Growth Mindset). I am still trying to find the best way to keep you in the loop! What do you like the best? Do you want a video of what we did or a video of what we are going to use?? Let me know by voting below.

Highlights this week:

• Autism Awareness Project: We are painting our gaga pits this week! The kids are teaming up with Mrs. Sellers and Mrs. Ballard to make our gaga pits look beautiful. We are lucky to have Amber Yeagley (one of our talented parents) help create this project with our kiddos!
• MSTEP starts this week. Make sure to check your child's calendar that got sent home. If you can't find it, let your child's teacher know.
• Kindergarten screening is this week. If you have a future BlueJay starting school next year, you should have signed up for a time slot this week for testing. If you still need an appt. or you need to change your time, please call the office and talk to Mrs. Gall.
• 5th Graders visit the Middle School on Wednesday! They are going to take a little tour and see what they can sign up for next year.
• Friday is a 1/2 day of school in honor of Good Friday. School dismisses at 11:00 today.

With Gratitude,

Laurie Richards

Winn Elementary Principal

Please read this special memo about your child's "Buddy Night" coupon for Maple Syrup weekend!

I can't believe it is that time of year already! Mr. Wolf visited our 5th grade on Friday to talk all about Shepherd Middle School. He had a chance to answer questions and to do a presentation about what middle school is like. The kids found out a ton of information! Check in with your 5th grader to have a chat about classes. This week will get a chance to see some of the electives the kids will have to choose from.

For more information about what Mr. Wolf talked about, check out the presentation below!

Take a minute to read the Winn Parents' Club newsletter for April. The WPC is looking for parent volunteers to help at Field Day. There is a link on the newsletter to sign up to help. Click the newsletter below to open up the links to "click"

• April 15-17th Kindergarten Screening - appt. required
• April 18th 1/2 day (Good Friday)
• April 24th 1/2 day (Maple Syrup Festival)
• April 25th - No School (Maple Syrup Festival)

Here is our Winn Elementary Parent and Student Handbook for 24-25. It is filled with lots of useful information about our school.

Thank you for sharing your child with our family here at Winn. Our motto at Winn is "Everything a Kid Needs." We focus on both academic excellence and creating good humans! I am here to serve you. If you have questions/concerns or need help in any way, please feel free to reach out to me.

Email: lrichards@shepherdschools.net
Location: 418 West Blanchard Road, Shepherd, MI, USA
Phone: (989) 866-2250
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/winnelementary