SOUTHVIEW February 2017

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Principal’s Comments

February Dates: I Love to Read Month! 6: Culver’s Day 6: Site Council, 4 p.m. 8: Conferences, Book Fair, and Incoming K Registration, 4-8 p.m. 9: Conferences and Incoming K Registration, 12:30 -8 p.m. 9 and 10: No School for Students 17: Spirit Day: WackyHair Day 20: No School– Presi dents’ Day 21: PTO Meeting, 7 p.m./ Carnival Planning 8 p.m. (Please join us!) 23: Grade 3 Music Concert, 7 p.m. 28: HOWL Classes Begin Early March Dates: 3: Leadership Day at Southview 6: Culver’s Day 9: Second Trimester Ends 9: Spirit Day– PJ Day 10: No School for Students: Staff Development Day 14: PTO Meeting 7 p.m./ Carnival Planning 8 p.m. 17: Report Cards Sent Home 23: Grade 4 Music Con cert: 7 p.m. 24: Grade 4 and 5– Human Growth/ Development 27-31 Spring Break– NO SCHOOL

February is “I Love to Read Month!” Each year we celebrate this month with special activities that promote reading. The PTO “I Love to Read” Committee has done an outstanding job planning a month full of fun activities. This year’s theme is “Reach for the Stars!” Each year, as part of the activities, we set a building reading goal. As a school, students are being challenged to read a total of 249,000 minutes! Other traditional favorite “I Love to Read” month activities include: guest readers, a mystery title contest, and the Book Fair (which will be in the library during conferences ). As you can see, lots of fun activities are planned to promote reading in February. Please continue to provide opportunities for daily reading at home. Take time to read with your child every day. Visit your local library and search for literature that your child will enjoy. Listen to your child read often to provide a loving audience for them. By working together, we can help children develop a life-long love for reading. Research shows that it is helpful for students to be able to talk about and process what they have read. I encourage you to provide time for your child to: retell the story, share their favorite part, sequence the story (beginning, middle, end), make predictions, share the most important part of the text, or discuss how the text is similar to another story they have read. Students’ growth in literacy is a continually evolving process that takes time. Literacy acquisition is complex, but it can be as simple as taking time to READ and TALK about it. Thank you for being so involved in your child’s education.

Sincerely,

Christine Heilman Principal

SOUTHVIEW

Southview office hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you need to contact the school nurse, Gina Singer, please call 952-4318794.

Please Send a Note for Transportation Exceptions: To help avoid confusion and to help provide a safe commute from school, parents are asked to send a note or call the school if their child is to go home from school in any other way than their normal means of transportation. Also, written notification must be provided if a student is to go to a location other than the identified end of the day location.

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Think Summer! CAHOOTS 2017 Preview Parents, it’s time to start thinking about summer and how you’ll help your children keep their math and reading skills sharp. A NEW program is being offered through Community Education … Cahoots is replacing GRASP. The program is very similar to GRASP, as it is a workbook correspondence program for math and reading, but designed to more closely match our district curriculum through an engaging and reflective approach to learning. However, Cahoots should not be considered as a replacement for participating in summer school, if a child qualifies. Cahoots registration information will be sent home with students February 21-24. Sample workbooks will be available for review in the school office during parent/teacher conferences and the month of March. The deadline for registration is April 4. Cost for one book is $33 and $64, if both the math and reading book are ordered. Watch for more information later this winter.

Parent-Teacher Conferences Wednesday, February 8 4-8 p.m. Thursday, February 9 12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Remember to Schedule your February Parent-Teacher Conferences Online! Sign up for conferences will be done online. Please go to our school website at http:// www.district196.org/sv and click the link called “Winter Conferences” and proceed with the directions from there. If you do not have access to a computer or have questions about scheduling, please call our office at 952-431-8370 and we will be happy to assist you. OUR BOOK FAIR WILL BE IN THE LIBRARY DURING CONFERENCES!! STOP BY BEFORE OR AFTER YOUR CONFERENCES!

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From our Nurse, Mrs. Singer... KEEP CHILDREN HOME WHEN THEY ARE SICK: Our ongoing goal is to promote health and to prevent illness for all. We have students and staff in the school with medical conditions that are at increased risk for infection. Please help us by keeping your child home when they are sick. We follow the Minnesota Department of Health Guidelines and will send children home who have a temperature of 100 degrees or more, are vomiting, or have diarrhea. Your child should be fever free (without the use of fever reducing medication), eating regular food and experiencing no vomiting or diarrhea for at least 24 hours before returning to school. If your child is unusually tired, has an uncontrollable cough, or is not able to participate in normal activities at home, then he or she is probably too sick to come to school. Students with prolonged coughing (over one week), difficulty breathing, or wheezing should be evaluated by a health-care provider. HAND WASHING: Studies have shown that hand washing is the simplest way to fight illness. From the common cold and flu, to food born illness, the frequency of illness dramatically decreases when students and families practice good hand washing techniques.  Teach your children to wash their hands before eating, after using the restroom, after playing outside, after blowing their nose, and after playing with pets. Hand washing should be more frequent during illness.  Monitor your child's hand washing technique. Lather and scrub all over hands and under fingernails for twenty seconds (sing Happy Birthday twice). Use soap and warm water, rub hands vigorously, wash tops and bottom of hands and in between fingers, rinse well, and dry hands with a single use paper towel. WARM CLOTHING: Winter is here and the children do go outside for recess. Please make sure they have the appropriate clothing and boots to play outside this winter season. Thank you for your continued support to keep your child(ren) healthy this winter.

Book Fair Coming Soon! Our book fair is during conferences on Wednesday, February 8 from 4-8 p.m. and Thursday, February 9 from 12:30 -8 p.m. Before or after conferences, stop by and check out all of the great books! Proceeds from the book fair help us get more books for the library!

Absence Reminder: If your child is going to be tardy or absent from school, please leave a message to notify us of his/her absence. The number to call is 952-431-8375. When leaving your message, please give the following information:   

Name of student Name of your child’s teacher Reason for absence or tardy

Kindergarten Registration Kindergarten registration for the 2017-2018 kindergarten students will take place during parent/teacher conferences in February in the Southview office. Registration will be on February 8 from 8 a.m. -8 p.m. and on February 9 from 12:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. in the main office. Parents are asked to bring their child’s birth certificate or passport, proof of Early Childhood Preschool Screening, current immunization information and any daycare information if daycare is needed. It is not necessary for the child to attend. If you have questions about kindergarten, you may contact the Southview Office at 952-431-8370.

Scholarship Opportunity Southview Elementary PTO will award a scholarship to one graduating School District 196 senior who attended Southview Elementary. This year, the Paul Rice family is matching the scholarship. Mr. Rice was the first principal at Southview Elementary. For 2017, the scholarship award will be $2000. This award is not limited to college-bound students but can also be used for any post-secondary training or education at an accredited institution. The scholarship will be awarded by a committee of teachers and parents based upon a completed application form and an essay from the 2017 graduating senior explaining significance of the student’s years at Southview, future educational plans, hopes for the future, grammar, and writing style. The scholarship application will be available in February. The form can be obtained at ISD 196 high schools or the Southview website at www.district196.org/sv in the Southview PTO homepage. The deadline for the application and essay submittal is Monday, April 3rd, 2017. Please submit completed application and essay to: [email protected] Only electronic submissions through the e-mail referenced above will be accepted. For questions, please e-mail: [email protected]