Lynx News

As we approach the holiday season, we want to share important updates and reminders to help you stay informed and support your child’s success at school.

Regular attendance is crucial to academic achievement. Your partnership in ensuring your child is present and ready to learn each day makes a significant difference. Let's work together to overcome attendance challenges and celebrate your child's success. Additionally, it is important that your child gets to school on time. If they are late, they miss out on the Morning Meeting and that helps set the tone for a positive day.

1. Grading and Report Cards
   Our report cards will remain on a six-point scale, designed to reflect your child’s progress accurately. The end of the second semester is January 15, and teachers will be testing during the week of December 16-20. Please try to avoid pulling students out early for the break, as this is an important time for assessments.
2. Cold Weather Preparation
   As temperatures drop, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor recess. Students will go outside if the temperature is above 15 degrees.
3. Support Learning During the Break
   During winter break, you can support your child’s education by practicing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division fluency. Every bit of extra practice helps!

Our new reading curriculum is already showing promising results. The increased rigor is helping students grow their reading skills significantly. Thank you for supporting their efforts at home by encouraging reading and engagement with literacy.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a place where students thrive.

Warm regards,

Mrs. Voegeli

Why was the skeleton always absent from school?

(Because he had no-body to keep track of his attendance…)

Communicate with the school

• Know the school’s attendance policy – incentives and penalties.

• Check on your child’s attendance to be sure absences are not adding up.

• Seek help from school staff, other parents, or community agencies if you need support.

Please contact me with any attendance questions.

Pablo Quintanilla/Attendance Specialist

We are still taking volunteers for treat days for staff, student winter break gift, and fundraising committees. Portions of these committees take place during school hours, and/or at the committees' convenience. Treat days for staff are things such as we have done mini pies before Thanksgiving break, December hot coca bar, a treat day before winter break. Duties could be planning, shopping, setting up or cleanup, we give students a small gift/treat before they dismiss for winter break. We will need to plan what we will give, purchase and assemble (if needed) and distribute to students. We will do our big fundraiser in the spring. We are looking for a committee to come up with an idea, plan and run the fundraiser. Again, hours vary to what you can help do. We want parents to be able to be involved as much as they'd like!

Thank you for all of your support! Don't forget to check out our Facebook page to keep up to date on coming events. Loess Hills Elementary PTO

President: Sandy Hagen

Vice President: Amber Kollbaum

Secretary: Katrina Hess

Upcoming PTO dates: 5:00 in the library - Dec 16, Jan 20, Feb 24, March 17, April 28, May 12

December 16: PTO Meeting - Loess Hills Library - 5:00 pm

December 17-19: Hearing Screening ONLY for K, 1st, and 5th Grade

December 20: Early dismissal - 1:30 pm

December 24: Christmas Eve (No School)

December 25: Christmas Day (No School)

December 23-31: NO SCHOOL - Winter Holiday Break

January 1-3: NO SCHOOL- Winter Holiday Break

January 6: Classes Resume

Create a safe environment, building strong and positive relationships among students, staff, and community to positively impact students.

Click the Translate Newsletter button to the right of this page to view this newsletter in over 100 languages.

Haga clic en el botón Translate Newsletter para ver una traducción automática de esta carta de noticias en más de 100 idiomas.

The District is committed to providing all students with a safe learning environment in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect. The District’s Anti-Bullying, Harassment, and Hazing policy defines bullying and harassment as well as the procedures for reporting and investigating bullying or harassment complaints.

Bullying and harassment are defined as any electronic, written, verbal, or physical act or conduct toward a student which is based on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of the student and which creates an objectively hostile school environment that meets one or more of the following conditions:

• Places the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or property.
  
• Has a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health.
  
• Has the effect of substantially interfering with a student’s academic performance.
• Has the effect of substantially interfering with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
• 
  

If your student feels they are being bullied or harassed, encourage your student to visit with the student involved and tell them to stop. They should also tell a teacher, principal, or trusted adult at their school. An online discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hazing complaint form is also available on the District’s website and may be completed by the student, parent, or school employee.

Parent volunteers are needed to join the District’s Grassroots Advocacy Committee. As a volunteer, you will receive email updates about important legislative events that could impact public education and be asked to contact our legislators to advocate for our schools. Tips are provided to help volunteers connect with legislators. Volunteer today and let your voice be heard! Contact Communications@live.siouxcityschools.com to volunteer.