Changing Weather

As I look out of the window, the leaves are falling off the tree and dancing across the grass. In order to keep all of our students as energetic as those leaves, please make sure they are dressed warmly. It is getting colder and whether they are waiting at a bus stop or playing on the playground, we need to start thinking about hats, gloves and coats. Students will be inside if the temperature drops below 10 degrees considering wind-chill. Research does indicate that when students have the opportunity to get fresh air and exercise they learn better so we try to make sure they have a chance to interact with other students outside every day.

As a school we have a strong emphasis on responsibility. The students know the Ellis motto, “I am responsible and always learning.” You can help to foster their responsibility at home. Expect good things from your child. Let your child know you believe he/she is capable and give the child the opportunity to solve problems for himself. Age-appropriate chores are valuable, but make sure they know your expectations. The follow-up is to then let the child experience consequences. If they are to put laundry in the hamper and they forget, it may not take long to remember if their favorite outfit is not clean.

We do have some interesting events coming up in the near future. McDonald was at school recently and we will be going to McDonald’s for McTeacher Night on November 4th. It is a fun evening when teachers get to help serve the students. The staff has always enjoyed the evening in the past and we once again look forward to an evening out. Teachers do sign up for specific times so make sure to ask when your child’s teacher will be there.

Our school is making sure that we are represented at the Festival of Trees. Mrs. Magnuson is busy planning an “Ellis” tree. Our theme this year is reading. Make sure to visit the festival and see the wonderful decorations.

This week is Red Ribbon week. We are incorporating the message to stay drug free into our learning activities this week and don’t forget to wear red on Friday!

Thank You Parents

We had a terrific turnout for Parent Teacher Conferences. Your involvement is critical to your child’s education. We appreciate all you do and hope you will stay in touch so that we can work together. Another source of information for us will come from the survey on the School District #25 web site. It is a parent survey which asks for your views on how to help improve our school. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Go to www.d25.k12.id.us and click on Parent Survey on the right side under Special input on the home page.

The lower grades had a fantastic assembly which promoted character and talked about responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness and respect. The concepts were presented in an entertaining manner which captivated students in grades K-2. We want to thank the Chubbuck McDonald’s for sponsoring the assembly.

Fall pictures are scheduled for October 15th. Hopefully we will all be well and here on that date. Our attendance is down slightly, but it appears that we are managing well despite the concern about the flu.

I wanted to keep you up to date on happenings at the district level. It does appear that next year we will be transitioning to all day Kindergarten. Students will attend two and one half days per week. This is being implemented to reduce transportation costs. Some schools in the district already have this configuration in place and indicate that it is going well. We will give you more details as the change is rolled out.

Have a wonderful fall weekend!