December PreK-4 Newsletter
December 1. 2025
A Note From Mr. B.
With winter activities, classroom celebrations, and the anticipation of the holidays, this is a special time for our students and staff to pause and appreciate the incredible community that makes Windom Area Elementary School such a positive place to learn and grow.
As we approach Christmas and winter break, we want to extend heartfelt gratitude to our families for your ongoing support, partnership, and trust throughout the first part of the school year. Your involvement makes a meaningful difference in the success of our students and the strength of our Eagle community.
This month's PreK and Elementary Newsletter is filled with information about winter weather, policies, communication, and important events. Please take a look and discuss important points with your child.
Winter Clothing Guide for Students
Fresh air, exercise, and social interaction are all important parts of recess for elementary students. Students at Windom Area Elementary go outside for a 30 minute recess every day-even if it's snowing. As long as the combined temperature and windchill are above zero, we will go outside. Students with coats, hats, boots, snow pants, and gloves or mittens will be allowed to play in snow. Students who are not wearing snow pants or boots will need to stay on the blacktop only. Please be sure to send appropriate winter outdoor gear with your child as there is not an option to stay inside.
Don't forget to also send sheos for gym and daily wear in their backpack.
SeeSaw for Information
Be sure to check SeeSaw often. Students often post assignments on SeeSaw, but teachers and school staff also send important information through this platform. All families should have gotten information to sign up for SeeSaw from your child's teacher.
Cold Weather Clothing Plan
With the recent cold temperatures and snow, please review our recess clothing plan at the elementary school. You can click on the visual to make it larger so you can read it.
Water Bottles- Parents, please only send water in water bottles. This helps keep our classrooms clean and our students hydrated. Please do not send juice, Koolaid, milk, pop, or beverages other than water.
Drop off/Pickup- Please use the drop off loop in front of the school for dropping off and picking up. Feel free to park in the front lot if you plan to walk up and meet your child. Please do not park or pick kids up in the center lot as this is a safety concern for both traffic and supervision.
Cold and Flu Season and Absences
As the weather cools, we will start to see more cold and flu-type illnesses. If your child has a fever, vomits, or has diarrhea, the district policy is for the student to stay home until they are symptom free without medication for 24 hours. If your child does stay home, please call the school office at 831-6925 or email attendanceelem@isd177.com
Teaching Kids to Be a Good Sport
One important skill we teach at school is good sportsmanship. You can support this at home by reinforcing a few simple habits that help children learn how to play fairly, handle winning and losing, and enjoy activities with others.
Here are a few ways to help your child be a good sport:
• Model calm reactions — Children watch how adults respond. Showing patience, kindness, and respect during games teaches them to do the same.
• Praise effort, not just results — Celebrate their hard work, teamwork, and improvement. This builds confidence and reduces the fear of losing.
• Practice turn-taking and rule-following — Small games at home are a great place to teach how to wait, share, and accept outcomes.
• Teach positive language — Encourage phrases like “Good game,” “Nice try,” and “Let’s try again.”
• Normalize losing — Remind them that everyone loses sometimes and that mistakes help us learn.
• Talk through emotions — If your child gets frustrated, pause and help them identify feelings and strategies to calm down.
Working together, we can help all students build the confidence, empathy, and resilience that make them great teammates and friends.
Raising Readers
Build Foundational Reading Skills
Parents can help kids be better readers by helping to improve foundational skills. These skills help start students on the path to being successful readers and can be improved continually.
- Phonological awareness: Play rhyming games, sing songs, and practice clapping syllables to help your child hear and manipulate sounds in words.
- Phonics: Sound out letters and their corresponding sounds correctly when reading with your child. Practice blending sounds to read simple words and use multisensory activities like tracing letters in sand or forming them with play-doh.
- Vocabulary: Have rich conversations, explain new words, and encourage your child to compare and contrast new vocabulary with words they already know.
Math Activities You Can Do At Home
- Play board games: Games like Scrabble or Monopoly involve strategic thinking, scoring, and managing money, which are all mathematical.
- Use building toys: When playing with blocks or LEGOs, discuss how many dots are on a brick or how many bricks are needed to build a certain structure.
- Solve puzzles: Word problems, brain teasers, and even large puzzles encourage logical and mathematical thinking.
- Spot patterns: Look for patterns in objects, colors, or sounds to build foundational algebra skills