December is off and running. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the families that attended our cookie decorating and movie watching night! This event was very well attended. We look forward to doing more things like this! Please keep sending in your evaluations as we use these to plan future events. December is full of opportunities to be involved. We have classroom parties on December 21, 2023 and we also have our Christmas Program on December 19, 2023. We hope to see you at these events!

December 19-Christmas Program @ 5:30 at the Junior Senior High School

December 22-Half Day of School, Last Day before Christmas Break

December 23-January 7-Christmas Break

January 8, 2024-first day back after Christmas Break

Anderson Elementary is trying to be more purple. This is based on the books The World Needs More Purple People and The World Needs More Purple Schools. Being purple means you are kind, you are inquisitive, you enjoy laughing, you work hard, you use your voice, and you are yourself. Our student leadership team is supporting this and coming up with posters to remind our student body to be purple.

Please make sure to dress your child for outside recess. Coats, boots, snow pants, hats, and mittens will all help to keep your child warm for recess. During our last cold spurt we received a few inches of snow and several students came to school without coats. Outside recess during the winter can be a lot of fun, but not if you are cold. If you need assistance with getting a coat or other winter items contact the office.

Unfortunately, winter weather is often accompanied by colds, the flu, fevers, coughs, aches and pains. We are often asked, "when should I keep my child home?" Of course, keep a child home if they have a fever, if they are vomiting or if they have diarrhea. Sometimes it is also best to keep a child home from school when they have a cough that just won't quit or if they are complaining of aches and pains when they normally never complain about being achy. Please don't hesitate to communicate with us so that we can work together on absences. We know that sometimes kids can say that they are ill when they just don't want to come to school. If we know a child is struggling, it really helps us to work with the child on overcoming this.

Talking to your child about his or her day is a great way to connect. However, it can sometimes be tough to get your child to talk about his or her day. Asking specific questions can sometimes be helpful in getting your child to talk. Examples of good conversation starters are:

• Can you tell me one good thing that happened today?
• Can you tell me about something you did well today?
• Can you tell me something you are looking forward to?

You might notice that all of these questions have a positive theme. Asking your child to think about their day through a positive lens might help them to think more positively about their day.