Husky Headlines
Newsletter for S-RC Elementary Families
1. Reading helps to develop empathy and foster connection with perspective taking
You can never fully understand what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes. But having empathy means you can feel what it might feel like to be in their situation.
2. Reading improves critical thinking skills
Building critical thinking skills is more important than ever for our children. Critical thinking, or the ability to think deeply about a topic, question or idea, is a skill that needs to be practiced like any other. When children spend a lot of time reading, they strengthen their ability to think about something from another point of view and to problem solve for someone outside of themselves.
3. Reading builds vocabulary authentically and enhances conversation skills
The more time kids spend reading grade-level text, the more likely they are to authentically learn new words.
4. Reading teaches social skills and allows for “rehearsal” of universal experiences
When kids read about characters they love, they experience the things their characters go through almost as if it is them.
5. Reading strengthens cognitive processes
Cognitive processes help us learn new things. The more you read, the more parts of your brain activate, with lasting effects.
6. Reading is important because it helps to build background knowledge
The more background knowledge kids have on any subject, the easier it will be for them to hang on to new information. The more you you read, the more you know! The more you know, the easier you can learn new information.
7. Reading can help reduce stress for all ages
When you read, you distract your brain from the problems of the day.
8. Reading can improve sleep
Reading is an activity that works your brain without active physical stimulation, because you can read while lying down. It slowly relaxes your body and mind into sleep.
9. Reading helps to build and maintain memory
When you read, your brain actively stores information, creating new connections between neurons. Visualizing scenes, characters, and details from a story enhances memory. Additionally, the act of repeatedly encountering words, phrases, and concepts while reading reinforces memory pathways, leading to improved short term recall and long term memory improvements.
10. Reading strengthens writing skills
Reading and writing are impossible to separate from one another. The practice of one undeniably improves the skills of the other.
11. Reading also strengthens language and communication skills
Researchers say that reading and speaking involve many of the same parts of the brain. In fact, reading is one of the most effective ways of boosting word recognition and comprehension, and of learning a foreign language. Qui est prêt à apprendre le français ?
12. Reading builds sturdier problem solving skills
To solve problems in everyday life, we have to identify the issue clearly, analyze the causes, and come up with creative solutions. Reading teaches all of these skills!
13. Reading can provide a sense of support and belonging—particularly for those who might feel “on the outside”
When reading, we can find characters that are similar to ourselves. This provides us with a sense of belonging, and can even provide kids with possible solutions to problems that have been bothering them longer than they have been willing to share!
Please remember: adults need to come to the sidewalk to escort students to their vehicles. We will not allow any students to run across the parking lot to waiting cars. There is simply too much traffic and the beginning and end of the day, and the safety risk is far too high. We must ensure all students are safe.
We also ask that vehicles only pick up students if they are parked in either a parking spot or in the loading zone. Do not stop in front of the sidewalk (by the front door) blocking traffic to attempt a pick-up. This causes congestion for all cars trying to get through the lot and causes safety issues for all.
Kindergarten enrollment is online and open now! You can enroll by going to www.shelby.esu7.org and clicking on "registration." By filling out this form, you will be registering your child for school next year. They will then be added to our list for Kindergarten Round-Up, which is scheduled for May 1st, 2026! Mark your calendars!!
Mark your calendars for March 1st! Our preschool enrollment will begin on March 1st, and this year we will continue our digital enrollment format available through our S-RC website (links on the website will not be there until March 1st). You will need to fill out all enrollment forms, and then prior to the first day of school in August, you will need to bring in your child's original birth certificate and immunization records. Ideal times to bring in those forms would be before the last day of school OR at our Preschool Open House in the Fall.
S-RC will celebrate ‘No One Eats Alone’ and "Spread the Word Inclusion" on March 17th. The goal of this event is to create connections and friendships in the lunchroom to promote social inclusion and to spread the word INCLUSION. We envision a world where all youth are accepted, valued, and included no matter their differences.
This ‘No One Eats Alone’/'Spread the Word' 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: Circle of Friends, Stacy Stewart & Alicia Hoadley
Ms. Heather Thompson
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