The Bears Blast

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Dear Howe Elementary Families,

It’s hard to believe we are already in the month of December! As we wrap up 2025, our students and staff are preparing for the upcoming winter benchmark assessments through i-Ready. All grade levels will participate in both reading and math assessments so we can measure the growth students have made since the beginning of the school year. Each child has a growth target, and this mid-year check helps us see how they are progressing toward their goals or even reaching for their stretch goals.

Winter benchmark assessments will take place December 8, 9, and 10. Thank you for helping your child be prepared with plenty of rest and encouragement.

This month, we are excited to host our Winter Music Concert, featuring our 4th and 5th grade students along with our Howe Choir members. We know this will be a wonderful showcase of their hard work and talent.

Our PTO will also be running the Penguin Patch Holiday Shop during the week of December 8. This is a fun opportunity for students to shop for small gifts for family and friends.

A reminder that Winter Break begins Monday, December 22, and students will return on Tuesday, January 6, which is also an early release day.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support as we move into this busy and joyful season.

In Partnership,

Chris Anderson

We know that parents often find taking their children to the dentist to be a challenge due to a variety of issues including transportation and having to take time off from work. That’s why so many parents tell us how much they appreciate the ease and convenience of the in-school dentist, knowing that their children’s teeth are being kept healthy. Plus, kids are more comfortable seeing the dentist in the comfort and familiar surroundings of their school.

Each of our affiliated dentists are local and state licensed. They are assisted by licensed dental hygienists and/or professional dental assistants, and all are caring professionals devoted to providing children with the highest level of care.

There is no cost to schools, districts or parents whose children are covered by Medicaid. We also accept private insurance and discounted self-pay rates. Some grants may be available for care.

Service provided includes:

Preventive Care

• Complete dental exam

• Cleaning

• Fluoride treatments (including silver diamine fluoride)

• Sealants

• Oral health instruction

Parents must sign consent forms for their child(ren) to receive treatment. Parents can enroll their child(ren) by visiting https://www.myschooldentist.com/HEBPIL_schsrm

Smiley Mobile Dentists are bringing their dental services to Howe on December 17th and 18th!!

Every child seen gets a dental “report card” to take home and a FREE TOOTHBRUSH!

Sabemos que para muchos padres llevar a sus hijos al dentista suele ser un reto debido a diversos problemas, como el transporte y la necesidad de ausentarse del trabajo. Por eso, muchos padres nos comentan lo mucho que agradecen la facilidad y comodidad del servicio de dentista en la escuela, sabiendo que la salud dental de sus hijos está garantizada. Además, los niños se sienten más cómodos en la comodidad y el entorno familiar de su escuela.

Todos nuestros dentistas afiliados cuentan con licencia local y estatal. Están asistidos por higienistas dentales y/o asistentes dentales profesionales, y todos son profesionales dedicados y comprometidos con brindar a los niños la mejor atención posible.

No tiene costo alguno para las escuelas, los distritos ni los padres cuyos hijos estén cubiertos por Medicaid. También aceptamos seguros privados y ofrecemos tarifas con descuento para quienes pagan de su propio bolsillo. Es posible que haya subvenciones disponibles para el cuidado infantil.

Los servicios prestados incluyen:

Atención preventiva

• examen dental completo

• Limpieza

• Tratamientos con flúor (incluido el fluoruro de diamina de plata)

• Selladores

• Instrucciones de salud bucal

Los padres deben firmar los formularios de consentimiento para que su(s) hijo(s) reciba(n) tratamiento. Los padres pueden inscribir a su(s) hijo(s) visitando https://www.myschooldentist.com/HEBPIL_schsrm

¡Los dentistas móviles de Smiley llevarán sus servicios dentales a Howe los días 17 y 18 de diciembre!

Cada niño atendido recibe un “informe” dental para llevar a casa y un CEPILLO DE DIENTES GRATIS!

PBIS at Howe Elementary

At Howe Elementary, we use PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) to build a safe, positive, and supportive learning environment where every child can grow and succeed.

PBIS is about teaching, modeling, and celebrating positive behaviors in every part of the school—so students know exactly what is expected and how to do their best.

Our Howe Expectations

At Howe, we focus on four simple expectations that guide student behavior in classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and beyond:

⭐ Be Respectful – Treat others the way you want to be treated.
⭐ Be Responsible – Take care of your learning, your belongings, and our school.
⭐ Be Safe – Make choices that keep yourself and others safe.
⭐ Be Ready to Learn – Come prepared, stay focused, and give your best effort.

How PBIS Works at Howe

1. Teaching & Practicing – Students learn what expectations look like in all areas of the school, and staff model and practice them with students.

2. Recognizing Positive Behavior – Staff notice and celebrate when students demonstrate our four Howe expectations.

3. Support & Reteaching – If a student struggles, staff respond with consistency and support to help them learn from mistakes.

How Parents Can Support PBIS at Home

Families play a big role in reinforcing PBIS! Here are some easy ways to support your child:

✅ Remind your child of the Howe Expectations – Ask them what it looks like to be Respectful, Responsible, Safe, and Ready to Learn at school.

✅ Practice at home – Have your child show you what each expectation looks like:

• Respectful – using kind words at home, listening when someone else is talking.

• Responsible – helping with chores, taking care of their belongings.

• Safe – walking inside, wearing a seatbelt, following family safety rules.

• Ready to Learn – packing their backpack, getting a good night’s sleep, and being on time for school.

✅ Connect school and home – Celebrate when your child shows these expectations at home, just like we do at Howe!

Parents,

Please utilize the Parent Portal to stay up to date with your child's progress. Grades, attendance, and other school communication can be found here. It is a valuable resource for our parents.

If you are not connected through your Parent Portal account in PowerSchool, you can always reach out to the main office with any questions. (847-599-5362)

December

2 - School Improvement Day; Early Release 1:45 PM

4– Fourth and Fifth Grade Music & Chorus Concert 6:30 PM (doors open at 6PM)

8 - 12 PTO Penguin Patch Fundraiser

9 - iReady reading

10 - iReady math.

11 - iReady Spanish.

11 - PTO meeting 5:30 PM at Howe

15 - Board of education meeting 6:30 PM BPMS

17 & 18 - Smiley Mobile Dentist

December 22 - January 2 - Winter Break - no school

January 5 - Institute Day - no students

January 6 - School Improvement Day; Early Release 1:45 PM

During our Parent-Teacher Conferences, we were fortunate enough to be able to provide a Food Pantry to support our school community. Thank you to all of our donors. We were able to provide support for many families in our community during this Thanksgiving Season.

Dear Howe Families,

Welcome December! As we embrace the snowy weather, we want to thank everyone students, staff, and parents who stopped by the Book Fair. It was such a joy to see all the happy faces shopping for their favorite books. Your support truly makes our school community special!

Our next exciting event is Penguins’ Patch, happening the week of December 8. During this time, children will have the opportunity to shop for their loved ones! Please be on the lookout for more details soon. We kindly ask you to pay close attention to the envelope sent home, help your child decide who they will shop for, and set a budget to make the experience enjoyable and manageable.

We are also seeking volunteers to assist during Penguins’ Patch shopping days. If you're interested in helping our students select their gifts, please email us at ptohowe@gmail.com.

Thank you for your continued support! Wishing everyone a joyful and festive December.

Warm regards,

Howe PTO

Our students need to be at school everyday! Please help us in fighting Truancy as a team. We need to teach our students the importance of their education as well as learning the lifelong skill of showing up. School becomes increasingly difficult the more a student is absent, which reduces confidence and brings anxiety. Let's help them succeed by sending them to school everyday.

Howe Families,

A child's attendance at school has one of the largest impacts on their development for so many reasons. First, we are teaching them the importance of an education by making it a priority to attend daily. We teach them routines that they will carry through life, such as being punctual, present and focused on a purpose. Also, looking at our district's trends, attendance has become an area of concern and focus, as we have had a large increase in absences since recovering from schools being closed down. The truth is that we have to recover from this trend and make school a priority again. Below is a comparison of the percentage of students who are Truant as compared to the state average. Truancy is defined as the problem or situation of children being absent from school regularly without permission. (Cambridge) The numbers in the chart mean the following, based on our current student count of 375 students. If we have a truancy rate of 30%, that equates to saying that over 113 students attending Howe school have been absent a minimum of 9 school days. That is 1,017 school days missed (113 X 9). That is 6,610.5 hours of instruction (1,017 X 6.5). When students return after just one day of being absent, we know that it can be hard to catch up and not get frustrated because they missed the day before. We need our students in class to receive all of the support that we have prepared so that they grow as much as they can each day.

At the end of the year, we are required to submit all absences to the state, regardless of being excused, or not. Our goal is to reduce the number of students who are absent from school. This does not mean that we want, or expect students to attend students if they are ill.

As you can see from the chart above, we focused on this last year and saw a significant decrease in our truancy rates. I challenge our community to continue to improve and beat the state percentage this year.

Students will be recognized for Perfect Attendance during each of our monthly celebrations.

If a student is tardy after 9:30 am, or misses a day due to a medically excused absence, they will not be included in the monthly perfect attendance. In order to meet our criteria for Perfect Attendance, students must be in-person at school.

Reminders for what you can do at home to help with having students ready to come to school and learn each day is to start with creating regular routines for bedtimes. Help them turn screens off an hour before their bedtime so that their bodies unwind and are ready for rest. Get them up at a regular time and make sure you feed them breakfast, or that they participate in getting breakfast at school each day.

Thank you for your continued partnership in your child's education.

Daily Schedule:

Students enter: 8:55-9:05 AM

School Day begins: 9:05 AM

School Day ends: 3:45 PM

SIP Day Schedule (Early Release; The first Tuesday of every month):

Students enter: 8:55-9:05 AM

School :Day begins 9:05 AM

School Day ends: 1:45 PM

Reminder about making adjustments to your child's transportation.

Parents/Guardians must call the office BEFORE 3:00 PM if you are planning to pick your child up and they normally take the bus. There are a lot of moving parts at the end of the day and this must be arranged ahead of time. If you show up at the end of the day and ask to take your child home, we cannot pull students from the bus because it causes major delays in our end of the day systems which will not be permitted. They will be sent home on the bus. We appreciate your support in helping us get our students home safely.

Each month, the district has an early release day for our buildings. This means that at Howe, we dismiss 2 hours earlier at 1:45 PM. When our students leave, our teachers receive Professional Development to look at teaching practices and review building data.

During the school day, we change things up completely for our students. We focus on community and team up with Buddy Classrooms where our students can meet new friends and learn with other teachers. We start the day off by having a full-school assembly to review expectations, discuss our progress and celebrate all that is going well in our school. For the rest of the day, they have opportunities to do many activities, which include buddy reading, math games, SEL activities, Team Building, and Specials. They even eat lunch and have recess together. It is a chance for them to do something different and to do it with others.

Parents/Guardians,

We have received reports from our bus drivers and the church that we have some families parking in the church parking lot and walking across to pick up their child(ren) during dismissal. This has caused some alarm from drivers not being able to see pedestrians when they are crossing between the buses. Please be sure not to cross in between any buses and only use crosswalks around the building to access the building.

Update to our School Designation for this year. We have moved from being Commendable to Targeted due to our subgroup for Children with Disabilities (CWD). We will be looking into this data with our local learning partner, the Regional Office of Education to see what caused this shift and to determine next steps. You can see the comparison between this year and last by comparing the visuals. This information comes directly from the School Report Card.