Thrill on the Hill

Hello SGE Families,

As we move into March, we welcome the return of longer days with the recent time change and begin to look forward to the promise of spring. While the weather this time of year can certainly be unpredictable, our school community continues to move forward with energy and focus.

Our students have been working incredibly hard in their classrooms, and it is exciting to see the growth they are making each day. In the coming months, our 3rd and 4th grade students will participate in the PSSA assessments. These tests are one way we measure the progress our students are making, and we are confident that their preparation, perseverance, and positive attitudes will serve them well.

We also want to thank our families for the strong partnerships that help support student success. When schools and families work together, students benefit in countless ways. Your encouragement, communication, and involvement make a meaningful difference.

As we head into the final stretch of the school year, we remain committed to supporting every learner and continuing to focus on growth for all students. Thank you for being such an important part of our school community!

On March 2, Mrs. Rittle returned from maternity leave. She tells us baby Lily is doing great! Although it was tough to leave her, Mrs. Rittle is excited to getting back into her routine and working with everyone. We are glad she's back!

We are excited to introduce our Care Closet. Please use the button below to learn more...

As we navigate through the spring semester many begin planning for next school year. Teacher requests become a focus area for many parents. We utilize a process that considers various academic and social criteria to roster students so that they can grow to their fullest potential. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, placement decisions utilizing the above mentioned process will be final. For this reason, please understand that specific teacher requests are discouraged, and not be guaranteed.

With the uncertainty of the impending weather over the next few months we wanted to prepare you for the possibility of a Flexible Instructional Day (FID)/Virtual Learning. A FID is used to replace the traditional “snow day”. In the event school is closed, we can provide instruction to our students at home rather than in the classroom. This will count as a full day of school and we are not required to make up the day during the school year. Please stay tuned and wait for a district notification. In the event we close school and activate a FID, SGE teachers will communicate a schedule and provide additional information as needed. In anticipation of inclement weather, all students (K-4) will be bringing their iPads home. This will ensure they are prepared in the event that the district calls for a FID. Please use the link below to access reminders to support parents and students on these days.

The elementary second trimester ended March 3. Report cards will be available in your Sapphire Parent Portal, March 11.If you haven't signed up for a Parent Portal Account please take the time to do so before the next report distribution.

Please use the link below for additional report card information.

School Counselors will be available to support students socially, emotionally, and academically. Students will have the opportunity to meet with counselors in a whole group setting for various social-emotional and career awareness lessons. Not only are counselors available to work with students in a whole group setting, students also have an opportunity to meet in a small group setting or individually with their school counselor. Dr. Moore and Mrs. Myers also manage academic 504 plans at SGE and are integral members of CST (Child Study Team) as well as SAP (Student Assistance Program). Please feel free speak to your child’s school counselor with any questions or concerns that you may have.

Mrs. Myers is the counselor for Kindergarten (Claycomb, Delair, Godman) and students in grades 1st and 2nd.

Mr. Moore is the counselor for Kindergarten (Clancy, Mann, Miller) and students in grades 3rd and 4th.

SAP is a systematic team process used to mobilize school resources to remove barriers to learning. It is designed to assist in identifying issues which pose a barrier to a student’s success. The primary goal is to help students overcome these barriers so they can learn unencumbered. While SAP is a great program it is not the answer for all student needs and issues, but it can be a great starting point. Please use the link below for additional information.

The Spring Grove Area School District uses a Multi-Tier System of Support (MTSS) framework to ensure every student receives the right level of support to succeed. It’s a team approach involving teachers, specialists, and families working together to monitor progress and adjust supports as needed. Here at SGE we call it our Child Study Team (CST). Please use the link below to learn more about the Tiered Support System used in the Spring Grove Area School District. Stay tuned as we will provide additional information about our CST process in a future newsletter.

Cutting requires the use of our fine motor, visual skills, and bilateral coordination to use both sides of our brain to complete different motions at the same time to successfully complete cutting tasks. Fine motor skills may impact how students hold the scissors correctly with a thumb up position and isolating fingers to place within the appropriate holes. Hand strength and coordination will impact the ability to open and close the scissors, while bilateral coordination impacts the ability to turn a shape while cutting. Developmentally, preschool years focus on cutting varying lines, curves and zigzags so that Kindergarteners should be able to then begin to cut basic shapes. Grades 1 and 2 then increase the complexity of shape cutting.

For students struggling with cutting or even hand fatigue with writing, there are plenty of fun ways to develop these underlying skills for improved participation in writing and cutting tasks. See some strategies below:

• Playdough increases hand strength and can be cut with scissors to build students’ confidence in cutting tasks!

• Precutting activities – tearing paper or tissue paper to be crumbled and glued onto a worksheet to spell their name or fill in a picture.

• Consider the size and consistency of the paper being cut – the thicker the paper the more resistance and strength needed (cardstock), meanwhile the smaller the paper the less duration needs completed for those that fatigue quickly (¼ of a sheet).

• Use tongs and tweezers to practice isolating fingers and strengthening for closing motion of scissors.

• Bilateral coordination can improve with playing games like catch or basketball (moderate complexity), playing brain games having both arms doing different motions at the same time (greatest complexity), or (most basic) work on holding an item still in one hand while completing a task with another such as placing toothpicks into the small holes of the container or coins into a piggy bank.

Whatever you do, make it fun and do it together! Enjoy!

~Miss Osborne OT

Title I programs are designed to help children meet the state content and performance standards in reading, language arts, and mathematics. In buildings with 40% or more poverty, LEAs may use the funds to upgrade the entire curriculum of the school and are Schoolwide Programs. Please use the link below to access our annual Right to Know Letter.

Hello SGE Families,

The Health Office is currently continuing the state-required screening process, which includes Growth, Vision, and Hearing screenings. If your student is recommended for further assessment, documentation will be mailed to the address on file in Sapphire. Once screenings are completed, results will be uploaded to Medical Notifications for your review.

Please remember that physical examinations are required for all students entering school, students in Grade 6 and Grade 11, and any student enrolling in a Pennsylvania school for the first time. Families who have not yet submitted the required physical examination documentation will receive notification.

We also encourage parents to send their child to school each day with a reusable water bottle to help them stay hydrated. Additionally, it is recommended that students keep an extra set of clothes in their backpack in case of spills, accidents, or unexpected weather changes.

Health Room Reminders:

Illness or Injury

Students who have a temperature of 100 degrees or more, a contagious illness, or have had repeated episodes of vomiting or diarrhea in the past 24 hours should not attend school. Students should be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school. Parents/guardians will be contacted if your child becomes ill or injured at school. For this reason, the current home, work, and emergency phone numbers must be maintained in the main office. Please inform the school secretary whenever your contact information changes. Please refer to the following if you are unsure if your child should attend school today.

I Need To Keep My Child Home If They Have:

• A temperature of 100.4 or higher
• Vomited within the past 24 hours
• Had diarrhea within the past 24 hours
• A body rash with itching or fever
• An itchy head active with head lice
• An eye infection or presenting redness, itching, and/or crusty drainage from the eye(s)

My Child Is Ready To Go Back To School When They Are:

• Fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, i.e., Tylenol, Motrin
• Free from vomiting for at least two solid meals
• Free from diarrhea for the last 24 hours
• Free from rash, itching, or fever/have been evaluated by a doctor if needed
• Treated with the appropriate lice treatment at home, and the proof is provided to the school nurse
• Have been evaluated by a doctor and have a note to return to school

The children have been finding lots of great books to check out. Third and fourth graders are practicing using Destiny Discover (online card catalog) to find books of interest.

A few reminders to help the process run smoothly.

1. Please help your child find a safe spot for their library books at home – a shelf, in their bookbags, etc. Younger siblings and pets like books too, but often damage them.

2. Water bottles – PLEASE teach your child to keep their water bottle on the outside of their bookbag. If the books get damp or wet, they will most likely mold and your family will have to be billed. A large Ziploc bag or a plastic grocery bag could add some protection.

3. Please be aware that when you receive a bill for a lost or damaged library book, your child cannot check out 2 books again until the bill is paid. If you find the exact book cheaper online, please feel free to replace the book in this manner (if it was a hard cover book, it must be a hard cover replacement). Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Looking forward to spreading our love of stories, informational text, and reading to your child. Please feel free to email me or call my extension if you have any questions or concerns.

Melissa Sneeringer sneerinm@sgasd.org 717-225-4731 x2085

LIBRARY SKILLS and ENRICHMENT/STEM LESSONS:

The children are VERY excited to become scientists during library enrichment. We read stories and then use the Engineering Design Process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Revise and Improve) to create. Some projects students will bring home, but other projects will be taken apart to reuse/recycle/repurpose. Please ask your children about what they have created so far.

1st Grade - Finished - Balancing an egg like the Emperor Penguin and creating the tallest structure using balance. Using a small block, large popsicle sticks and dixie cups students tried to build their tallest tower. They learned a lot about balancing in the process. Be sure to ask them! Next Up: We will be reading several stories by the author, Jon Klassen. Be sure to find out which is their favorite story?

2nd Grade - Currently: We are finishing up our research project in which students picked an invention that interested them. Then they created a Pic Collage to show what they learned. Next up: As a class, we will decide if we want to invent something brand new to help teachers in the classroom or improve something that has already been thought of. Together we will research this idea and then improve or redesign it, or create a brand new invention. They are wondering, asking lots of questions, and their creativity is AMAZING!

3rd Grade - Currently: Students are learning about Walt Disney and I.M. Pei by reading their biographies. Up Next: - Architectural design using TinkerCad. First we will learn about what architects do, and that architecture is created with a PURPOSE and it must be FUNCTIONAL. Next students sketched their first idea for a dream building. Then we will research and learn about many architects and designs through books and a slideshow of famous architects and buildings. Finally, we will use TinkerCad to create our “dream houses”. Stay tuned…

4th Grade - Currently we are reading books selected for an award called the Mountain Laurel Young Reader’s Choice award. Students are rating the books on how well they think K-3 students would like the books from 1-5 stars. Then students are writing opinion statements with evidence from the text to support their ratings. They are having a great time rating books. I wonder which book the students will vote for as their top choice, the book Mrs. Diehl should definitely read to the Kindergarteners. Up Next - Then Vs Now Inventions: in small groups students will research an area of interest and then design a brand new invention, redesign or improve a current invention. It’s traditionally one of the 4th graders favorite units of the year. Stay tuned!

Save the date: The District Art Show and Celebrate the Arts Event will take place Saturday, March 21st from 9:00am -3:00pm at Spring Grove Area High School. A selection of student artwork will be on display from 1st-4th grades as well as all other grades. We encourage everyone to come and support our SGE student artists and our Art Department as well as the Arts and Crafts within our community. Admission to the event is free.

Happy March!

We are excited for spring weather!

Our students have been working hard to become better readers!

Please continue reading with your child at home. Thank you for your continued support!

Did you know?

• Children who are read to at home have higher success rates in school.

• Children who read books often, score higher in math, vocabulary, and spelling.

• Daily reading lowers stress levels in children and adults by as much as 68%.

Check out the following...

We are highlighting our first grade classes this month! Our first graders reached their reading goal in January and February! We are so proud of them! We had a bubble gum party to celebrate their hard work!

To begin our last trimester in kindergarten, we are “springing” into March with Read Across America Week and a David Ross dental lesson! We will be reading lots of cvc words and nonsense words. Don’t forget that great readers do not guess. They point to words and sound them out! Is your child practicing those 27 trick/heart words to help her/him in her/his reading?

In March, we are not sure if those naughty leprechauns will visit us at SGE! Our writing will take us on lucky adventures as we keep trying to be independent writers. Hopefully the leprechauns will make us lucky and remember our conventions at the end of sentences. They always seem to be missing.

Our k friends hope to welcome spring with warm weather! Keep sending those coats because one minute it might feel like a lion and another like a lamb.

As little frogs we are hopping ahead and back on a number line as we explore addition and subtraction in math! We encourage our k friends to practice their math facts to 5 so when they become first graders they can learn the rest to 10.

Hopping into April will be fun! So don’t forget to practice tying those shoes!

As the cold winter days pass and we get closer to spring, we see changes all around us—including the changes we see in our first graders! Thinking back to September; we have certainly watched our students grow. The kids are putting all kinds of skills and strategies together to become capable readers, writers, and thinkers.

We will celebrate Read Across America Week, with help from some special guestsJ. Dr. Ross Orthodontics will be sending Thing 1 and Thing 2 to our first-grade pod to share a story with us. Be on the lookout for some photos next month!!

Green isn't only for shamrocks and leprechauns...it's for counting money too! Currently, second graders are counting coins and bills and we need your help. Please dig in those couch cushions and empty out those piggy banks! Have your child count the coins and show amounts in different ways for some extra practice. Earning money is fun too! We will also be telling time to the five minutes on both digital and analog clocks, so any extra practice you can give your child is beneficial. Students should also be practicing their addition and subtraction facts to help build their fluency skills. In ELA, we will be reading fiction stories about working together in a community, fascinating nonfiction stories about birds, and silly fantasy stories. We will continue to write stories in class and focus on opinion pieces as well.

In math, students are learning about measurement, division, and area and perimeter of figures. They will be ready to help you with all your spring projects with their newfound knowledge! We will also be diving into time, money, and graphs. Time and money allow for great skill practice at home. Identifying coins, making change, reading time on an analog clock, and elapsed time are all skills that we find in our everyday life. We are also diving deeper into math review to prepare students to show what they know.

This last month in ELA we took a deep dive into nonfiction texts. We studied how authors organize informational texts and explored how text features help the reader better understand the information presented in a text. We learned how to compare two nonfiction texts on similar topics and determine the best one for a task or purpose. The kids loved reading nonfiction passages about dinosaurs, animals, and the Arctic.

In the upcoming weeks we will explore poetry and dramas. It will be a fun shift for the kids as they get to develop their understanding of nonliteral language. We will also begin preparing for the upcoming PSSA. We will review everything we have learned this year in ELA and explore the different types of digital tools that the students will use while taking the PSSA on their iPads.

Waiting for Spring...

We continue to collect a lot of items. If you have been looking for a missing article of clothing please stop by to peruse our collection.

This year our school doors open every morning at 8:25 with homeroom starting at 8:45. If your child arrives after 8:46 they will need to report to the office at which time they will be marked Tardy.

If your child is going to be absent or has been absent, from school please fill out an excuse card in your Sapphire Portal. If you do not have access to a computer please contact our main office for assistance.

If your child arrives between 10:16-12:05 or leaves between 12:06-1:54 they will be considered absent for 1/2 school day. If they arrive after or leave before 12:05 this will be considered a full day absence.

Arrival and Dismissal

Arrival: 8:25 – 8:45 AM

Arrival time for students is 8:25 AM. Please be aware that students are NOT permitted to enter the building prior to 8:25. All AM car riders are to follow the car line around the back of the school. Students will enter the building through door #3 by the cafeteria. Students arriving by bus/van will enter the building through the main entrance. Students must be in their classroom by 8:45 AM. They are considered “tardy” at 8:46 AM.

Dismissal: 3:20 PM

• Occasional Car Rider - If you choose to pick up your child at dismissal on any given day, it is extremely important that you notify the school office by email (whites@sgasd.org), sending a note to school with your child, OR by calling the office by 2:00 PM. The occasional car rider will be dismissed from the ART ROOM. (Please see attached map) When writing notes, please be sure to include child’s first and last name, date, and teacher. Please notify the district transportation office, ext. 3024, with any transportation changes. ALWAYS use the cross walk when crossing from the parking lot to/from the car rider door. Please DO NOT cross in between the vans/buses, or permit children to run freely to the parking lot.

• Rocket Rider - If you plan on transporting your child at dismissal each and every day, please contact the school office to make arrangements to pick up your “ROCKET RIDER” tags before the start of school. Rocket Riders get dismissed from door #3 by the cafeteria. (See attached map) You must have a NEW Rocket Rider tag in order to pick up through the line. You may not use signs from previous years.

• Bus Transportation – Transportation information can be found in your Sapphire Parent Portal.

Student Emergency Form - Please review and make additions or corrections to your child's emergency form in your Sapphire Parent Portal. Use the link below to access the Sapphire Parent Portal. If you need to create an account please use this link "Apply for a Sapphire Community Portal account."

If your child is arriving at school late or leaving early due to a doctor or dental appointment, please be sure to get a note from the physician. The time may be considered unexcused if a note is not provided. You will find further information on this subject in the student handbook. If your child is arriving late, we ask that you check the child in at the school office. Please do not drop the student off and leave without accompanying him/her to the office.

Please remember that all visitors must sign in at the office upon arrival. Every person that enters SGE will be asked to sign in using our RAPTOR security system. You will need to have your drivers license/identification scanned at least one time in order to be in our system. We kindly ask that you have your identification with you at all times when visiting a district building.

ALL volunteers must complete the volunteer registration process before volunteering in any district school. You may find more information on the volunteer process by visiting Volunteer Services on our district website.

SGE communicates mostly by email or by posting information on the SGE webpage. Please be sure to include your email address on the student emergency form. For split households, please include both parent email addresses. We want to make certain that all parents/guardians are aware of SGE news! If you do not have email access, please make note of such on the emergency forms.

Starting with the 25-26 school year, students will no longer be receiving free breakfast/lunch. A student school breakfast is free for all students, and a school lunch is $2.45. Please go onto the district website & apply for the free/reduced lunch program. You may access your child’s lunch account through myschoolbucks.com.