Elm Hill School Newsletter

Dear Elm Hill families

As we head into the holiday break, we wish all of our students and families a joyful, restful, and safe time together. This season offers a wonderful opportunity to slow down, recharge, and enjoy special moments with loved ones. Thank you, as always, for the continued support and partnership you provide our school—it truly makes a difference in the success and well-being of our students.

Our recent schoolwide reading challenge was an incredible example of that partnership in action! The goal was to read 500 pages, and our students didn’t just meet the expectation—they soared past it, reading over 10,000 pages! I proudly held up my end of the bargain with three pies to the face, and the excitement was contagious. The next challenge is already underway: 5,000 pages to pie the superintendent—we can’t wait to see what our amazing readers accomplish next.

We also celebrated a memorable milestone with a field trip to the high school to enjoy a 30-minute performance of The Nutcracker. For many of our students, this was their very first field trip, and they exceeded our expectations with their behavior, enthusiasm, and curiosity. It was a joyful experience that we will remember fondly and one that truly showcased the wonderful students we are so proud of each day.

Wishing you all the best,

Miss Rachel

December 23 - Early Release @ 11:30

December 24-31 - Holiday Break

January 1-2 - Holiday Break

January 14 - Early Release @ 11:30

January 19 - No School - MLK Day

January 20 - No School - Staff Inservice

January 21 - PTA Meeting @ Union Street School

If your student has lost an item please reach out to Ryan Seaver at rseaver@ssdvt.org. Ryan is the keeper of lost and found.

We have been keeping busy in the Prek room with lots of snowy related activities. Children have been making snow prints with bubble wrap, we have been creating snowflake mosaics and playing with arctic animals and loose parts. We are also getting in the festive spirit with gingerbread inspired activities including making homemade gingerbread dough and making very creative and original gingerbread people. Since it's been a little too cold for us to go outside, we have brought the snow to us. Children have had a blast making colorful snow cones in our sensory bins! We are also becoming very knowledgeable of our upper and lowercase letters, playing lots of matching games with friends!

Did you know that animals have superpowers?

Over the past several weeks, first graders in Miss Cora’s class have been learning all about animal superpowers, also called animal traits. We learned that an animal trait is a special feature or a part of an animal's body that makes it unique

In our first lesson, students observed parent and offspring birds. Students noticed common traits to identify which adult bird may be the parent of the offspring.

In our second lesson, we closely observed different types of birds and compared their unique traits. Did you know that birds can be very different? We noticed many different traits related to bird beaks, feet, and feather patterns. Students were able to compare bird beak shapes in a hands-on activity where they needed to pick up food (macaroni) while also avoiding the rocks and debris (beans). Students noticed that a pointy beak like that of a warbler is much better for precisely gathering food piece by piece, while a flat and wide beak like a duck bill is much better for grabbing more food at once, though it might be harder to avoid scooping debris with the food.

Our class has been studying a great many things this week! One of the favorite things, however, is about animals. We have been learning about migration, adaptation, and hibernation. As a follow up activity, we wrote about hedgehogs, who hibernate in the winter, and made our own hedgehog. Here are some of the facts students have learned about hedgehogs:

Alex- Hedgehogs can be brown.

Delilah- They can eat bugs.

Kayleigh- They can curl up.

Ray- Hedgehogs can woc (walk).

James - They have spins (spines).

Robin - They can norse (nurse).

Surya - They have brain(s).

Darby - Hedgehogs can hibernate.

Anaiya - Hedgehogs are mammals.

Mabel - They have spines.

Charlotte - They can curl up in a ball.

Kimber - Baby hedgehogs are called hoglets.

The students LOVED watching the Nutcracker at the high school. Many of them were riveted by the performance and were able to meet some of the dancers afterwards!

This week we will be learning about a variety of holidays around the world as well as comparing and contrasting several different gingerbread stories.

As always, thank you, families, for your support!

Happy Holidays,

Courtney

News from Mrs. Fraser’s First Grade

I can’t believe we are already at the end of 2025. This year is going by so quickly. Our class has had a lot of fun getting to know each other, and learning together for the past four months. We have been busy doing a lot of fun projects and learning. Earlier this year, we spent some time counting pumpkin seeds in two different sized pumpkins. The large pumpkin, we counted the seeds in groups of 10, and the small pumpkin we counted the seeds in groups of 5. The larger pumpkin ended up having more seeds, but the smaller one had more seeds than we were all expecting. It was a fun activity. During the month of November, we did informational writing about scarecrows, and made a fun scarecrow craft. We also did a few turkey crafts. This month we have been working on some fun holiday activities. We just recently started working on place value in math, and we made place value gingerbread houses. We also created a math mystery picture of a reindeer, and did an addition and subtraction reindeer craft. The students have also been enjoying the new playground. We have been busy with a lot of fun activities this year, and I can’t wait to see what fun learning 2026 brings us. I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!

–Ms. Fraser

What a wonderful fall we have had in Mrs. Tennis' classroom! We investigated pumpkins and did an experiment to watch pumpkin candy dissolve in different liquids. Pumpkin Jack continues to change and look different every day! We have loved using our computers to practice math skills, as well as listen to stories being read. Both the playground and all the snow has been super exciting to play outside! We continue to practice our writing and had lots of fun thinking about saving turkeys from being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner after reading the story Turkey Trouble.

Hello Elm Hill Families!

This first part of the school year has flown by! I have enjoyed getting to know all of your children. We continue to hold a weekly guidance lesson in each of the classrooms. The children have worked on skills such as self regulation techniques, empathy, perception taking and conflict resolution. This has been accomplished through lessons that have included art, games, activities, and social stories. One of my favorite tasks is the process of listening to your children, as they reflect upon their own family stories. Recently we read a book called “The Family Book” by Todd Parr. The children all shared something that they like to do with their family. Then they drew a family picture on a leaf cut-out. Here is a photo of our Elm Hill Family Tree, as designed by your children. We continue to work together here as a community, and a family, forging strong connections, and lasting relationships.

Welcome Winter! ❄️

Some Tips to Prevent Respiratory Illnesses 🤒 this Winter

• Wash, Wash, Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially prior to eating, touching your eyes/nose/mouth, and after using the bathroom

• Stay home if you are not feeling well;

• Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow if you cough or sneeze;

• Consider getting the Flu and/or COVID vaccines

Immunization Letters 💉: Immunization Letter #2 will be mailed this month to those families of students who either don’t have an immunization record on file, or have not yet received all of the immunizations according to the schedule set by the VT Department of Health. If your child still needs immunizations, it is important to make an immunization appointment as soon as possible. In addition to making an appointment, please have the Provider complete the section at the bottom of Immunization Letter #2 which indicates your child has this upcoming appointment, and return the letter to the Health Office. If you have any questions or choose for your student not to receive any immunizations either for medical or religious reasons, please contact me at 802-885-5314 or mchristman@ssdvt.org. It is expected that each student’s health file will include an immunization record and/ or exemption form. Thank you!

Dental Forms 🦷: Elm Hill students will once again have the opportunity to receive dental care by Lisa Watson, dental hygienist. Dental packets were sent home to families in November. Please return the consent form, as well as the additional forms to the Health Office, whether you are interested in signing your child up or not. It is expected that Lisa will begin providing dental services sometime early in the new year.

Some Friendly Reminders While Enjoying the Upcoming Winter Break….

• Although they may be having a lot of fun with winter activities/eating goodies during winter break, germs (even in their mouths) don’t take a vacation! Please remind your students to brush their teeth at least twice each day for two minutes and floss at least once each day is still very important! Thank you! 🦷

• If you find some spare time while keeping warm indoors during the winter months, here are some great (free) webinars for parents to view about various health topics: https://healthychildren.org/english/tips-tools/webinars/pages/default.aspx. There are also parent support groups to discover which are also offered free of charge.

Winter Gear 🧥 🧤 Please encourage your little ones to wear/ bring warm outdoor clothing (hats, gloves, snow pants, warm jacket, gaiter) to school, so that they can have fun outside safely. Thank you!

Clothing Donations: Any boys’ pants, sizes 4-8 and children’s shoes/boots, sizes 9-2, would be appreciated.

VT Food Assistance Programs: See https://www.vtfoodbank.org/ for the many resources available.

“Put a Freeze on Winter Fires!” 🔥: The NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency) has some great tips on how to decrease your family’s chances of fires/carbon monoxide poisoning at home during the winter months. Go to: https://www.nfpa.org/winter for more information.

To a Safe and Healthy Winter, and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

With “Warm” Regards, Nurse Mary