Medill Messenger

We would like to take a moment to welcome everyone back to school. We hope you had a restful and enjoyable holiday break. Even though school has been closed for the last couple of weeks, our staff has been working to prepare for the remainder of the school year. Our custodial staff has thoroughly cleaned the building and our school looks fresh and new again.

This month, our school-wide theme is empathy. In our morning announcements and daily second step lessons we’ll be reminding students to have empathy, identify their own and others’ feelings, notice and respect same and different feelings, and show compassion. Compassion involves saying kind words or doing something helpful to show you care how another person feels. When students can identify, understand, and respond in a caring way to how someone else is feeling, it helps create a positive and accepting school climate.

Second Step lessons specifically teach about empathy. You’ll be receiving Home Links describing why empathy is important and including fun activities to do with your child to help him or her identify feelings and practice showing empathy and compassion. We hope you find them helpful. Please tell your child’s teacher if you have any questions about how you can help your child learn to identify feelings and show empathy and compassion at home.

Congratulations to Braden Spradlin, from Mrs. Greiner's class on being this year's yearbook cover contest winner! We had over 90 submissions from students this year. The top 10 entries will be featured in the yearbook as thumbnails.

Yearbook sales will be from January 31- February 11th. Ordering information will be sent out closer to the sale dates.

Please make sure your children are wearing jackets to school when the temperature drops. Our students go outside unless it is raining/snowing or below 20 degrees (wind chill). Please feel free to reach out to the office or Mr. Dancho if your your child is in need of a hat, gloves or winter jacket - we have had some donated. Please write your child's name inside of coats, hats, and gloves. We do have a lost and found, but most items once they are lost, are not claimed. We donated several items over the holiday break.

Our focus over the last couple of years has been on improving our literacy practices. All of our K-3 teachers have been trained in the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) to learn about the science of reading. These teachers participated in over 60 hours of online courses and 6 full days of training. Here is a video we created in 2018 explaining more.

All students in grades K -5 receive small group instruction daily in the areas of literacy. These groups are formed based on using assessments given at school. As students gain skills, they are moved to different groups. Groups are used to teach, reteach, and enrich skills taught.

Each child in K -3 has received a Literacy Take- Home Kit. These kits contain materials that you can use at home with your child to help improve reading and spelling. Here is a link to our Medill Literacy Website. On the site you will find resources and how-to videos to support you in helping your child academically in literacy. The student will use the same kit in grades K-3.

After you have checked out the website we would appreciate your feedback. Please complete the survey so that we can ensure we are providing the best support to you and your child.

Medill Literacy Take Home Kit Survey

• Jan. 7- "Dress Like a Teacher" Spirit Day (picked by Mr. Wymer's Class)
• Jan. 11- Banking Day- Bremen Bank will be here to collect deposits.
• Jan. 11- PTO meeting @ 4:30pm via Zoom
• Jan. 14- "Snow/Snowflake Day" Spirit Day (wear white and blue) (picked by Mrs. Wanamaker's Class)
• Jan. 17- No school Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Jan. 18- No school for students- Staff Professional Development Day
• Jan. 21- Pajama Spirit Day (picked by Mrs. Wolfe/Mr. Voight's class)
• Jan. 21- Grade Cards sent home

Please be sure that if your address changes, you update that with our secretaries. Regardless of if you are in the hybrid model or full virtual model we need to have updated records.

Trudy Deitz and Katie Pool, Office Assistants

Email: j_houston@lcsschools.net
Website: www.lancaster.k12.oh.us
Location: 1160 Sheridan Drive, Lancaster, OH, USA
Phone: 740-687-7352
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Medill-Elementary-School-118850914940762