Dear Families,

Can you believe we are already closing out September? As our school routines click into place, I often hear from parents who face a common challenge at the end of the day: asking their child, "How was school today?" only to receive a one-word answer like, "Fine," or "Good." I often ask my eighth-grade son to tell me three things about his day, and only one can be about lunch. Some days, this is a stretch!

It is completely normal for young children to have a hard time summarizing their day. After hours of navigating new academic skills, playing hard at recess, and practicing social boundaries, their brains are often tired.

To help you unlock more meaningful conversations and hear about the wonderful things happening in our classrooms, here are a few fun strategies and games you can try on the car ride home or around the dinner table:

Playful Conversation Games

Two Truths and a Fib: Ask your child to tell you two things that actually happened today and one thing they completely made up. You have to guess the fib! It’s a silly way to get them reflecting on their day.
Rose, Thorn, and Bud: Share your own first to model how it works. The Rose is the best part of the day, the Thorn is something that was challenging or frustrating, and the Bud is something they are looking forward to tomorrow.
High, Low, Buffalo: Similar to Rose and Thorn, the High is the peak of their day, the Low is the valley, and the Buffalo is just something completely random, weird, or funny that happened.

Reframe the Question

Instead of asking a broad, open-ended question, try focusing on specific, small moments that tap into their imagination, sensory details, or social interactions:

"What made you laugh the loudest today?"
"Who did you sit next to at lunchtime, and what did you talk about?"
"What was the hardest rule to follow today?"
"If your classroom flew to outer space today, who would be the captain?"
"Did anyone do something really kind for you today?"

Timing is Everything

Keep in mind that some children need an "after-school decompression chamber." If they are quiet right after pick-up, let them have a snack and some quiet playtime first. You might find they are much more willing to share their favorite school memories later in the evening during dinner or bedtime routine.

We love seeing your children grow, play, and learn every day. Thank you for your partnership in connecting their school world with their life at home!

-Ms. McKay, Principal

jmckay@rsu1.org

Screen Time and Kids

When considering how to manage screen time, think about how your child spends their time in general. Getting plenty of exercise and sleep, participating in family time and socializing with friends, is important for healthy growth and development. If your child is replacing sleep or quality family time with screen time consider scaling back on screen time and incorporating healthy habits into their daily routine.

Here are two great resources that can be used to help create healthy screen time habits for you and your children.

Building Healthy Relationships with Media: Essential Skills for Children 10 and Younger

What to Know about Recreational Screen Time

Checking Out More Than Books

First grade students have been visiting the school library to participate in Game Club! Besides being fun, playing games is a great learning activity, benefits include reading practice, building math and problem-solving skills, learning to follow directions and developing sportsmanship.

Games are screen-free and a great bonding experience!

The Patten Free Library has games and many other items that can be borrowed at:

https://pattenfreelibrary.org/libraryofthings/

They also have free passes to area museums and other attractions: https://pattenfreelibrary.org/pass/

-Lisa Hardman, RSU 1 Librarian

Help Us Honor Our Veterans!

Dike-Newell Families,

We are glad to share that Dike-Newell will continue the tradition of honoring our veterans at an upcoming November community meeting. In preparation, we invite you to submit a veteran in your family to include in our slideshow presentation.

If you’d like to contribute to this year’s Veterans slideshow, please use this FORM. Even if you submitted one last year, please complete the form again as we are creating a new presentation!

Veteran photos, accompanied by their name, can also be sent directly to Mrs. Dauphin at kpieh-dauphin@rsu1.org.

Thank you for helping us pay tribute to the veterans in our DNS extended family.

Backpack Program

This program is offered in partnership with Good Shepherd Food Bank and is designed to provide a little extra support with food at home.

Each Friday, participating students will bring home a bag of non-perishable, shelf-stable food in their backpack. The bags typically contain enough food for approximately two meals and two snacks. While the contents vary from week to week, the goal is to help ease the burden of weekend meals.

Any family is welcome to participate! There are no income requirements or eligibility criteria, and families do not need to provide any documentation or verification of need. If you think having a weekly bag of food would be helpful or supportive for your family, we encourage you to sign up!

As part of the food security program that Mrs. Tringali coordinates, we also offer a fresh produce table once a month. Our first table will be held next Wednesday, on 9/9/26! Keep an eye out in future newsletters for further dates and additional information.

If you have any questions about the Backpack Program, the fresh produce table, or other food security supports, please reach out to Mrs. Tringali at ktringali@rsu1.org or at 443-8285.