Mr. Popper's Penguins Comes to Freeman for the Month of February!

It's time once again to start One School One Book at Freeman Elementary.  Last year was our inaugural year for the program and we read The World According to Humphrey.  It was wildly popular with students and families.  We even had a pet hamster, Hattie, stay with us at school.  To give you an update, this year Hattie is enjoying spending some time with the kindergarten classes as they study her for Science class.  She is still enjoying running on her wheel, snacking on carrots and seeds, and talking to Mr. Rex, the janitor each night.

Mrs. Sieh dressed like a penguin to kick off this
year's One School One Book program with
Mr. Popper's Penguins.

This morning we kicked off the month of February with introducing this year's book selection.  We will be reading Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater.  Our assembly this morning was spent going over how the program works and handing out books to each class.  A huge THANK YOU! to the PTO for providing a book for EACH student this year.

So how does the program work?  Along with receiving a book, students will be coming home with a book mark and a handout.  In the handout, is a parent letter, and a reading schedule.  Each night, Monday through Friday, students are assigned to read one chapter.  They are pretty short and easy to read. It's important that you read the assignment each night because when they come to school the next day, there are trivia questions from the book that the class will answer.  Those answers are submitted to Mrs. Sieh and tallied over the course of the month.  The class with the most points will receive a prize.  There will be 3 questions each day.  Two relating to the book and 1 relating to penguin trivia.

Also in their packet is a Certificate of Completion form.  After the Friday reading assignment, students can fill out the certificate for the week with their name and a parent signature.  Cut off the certificate and bring to the elementary office the following Monday morning.  Students who return their certificate on Monday will receive a small prize.  There are 4 weeks, so there will be 4 tickets total to turn in.  Each child has a certificate that they can complete.  At the end of the month we will celebrate with penguin activities to wrap up our program.

We hope that families really embrace this program by sitting down as a family to read together each night. Books chosen for the program are age appropriate for the whole family to enjoy from preschool to adult.  One of the best gifts you can give your child is spending time together and promoting literacy.  Even if you have a busy night, have someone read the book in the car on the way to a game or activity.  If you need catch up time, that is what the weekends are for.

Mr. Popper's Penguins is a classic.  The first copyright was 1938, but it is still a favorite among kids.
Our Reading Schedule:
(One chapter a night, Monday-Friday)
Feb 1-5, Chapters 1-5
Feb 8-12, Chapters 6-10
Feb 15-19, Chapters 11-15
Feb 22-26, Chapters 16-20

Happy Reading!

Wrapping Up Another Year and Looking Ahead to 2016

As we enter the holiday break, it is a sign that the school year is half over, which is hard to believe.  You may be thinking, the school year is only half over OR, it’s already half over.  Heading into a new year, it’s a natural time to reflect on the year gone by and look forward to what may be ahead.  There are great things happening in our school and more great things to come in the months ahead.  In the elementary, we will be partaking in the One School One Book program once again.  The book has been selected, but is being kept a secret until our kick-off event.  Look for more information on that in the next month.  State assessments will be taking place in January, March, and April.  In February, upper elementary students will be participating in an Elementary Quiz Bowl competition for the first time.  Another event that will be new this spring Dad’s and Doughnuts where we will be inviting our dads in for a special breakfast with their child before school.

Recently, I stumbled across an article by Jon Gordon (author of The Energy Bus) who wrote 20 Tips for a Positive New Year.  There are some great ideas that I wanted to share with you and give you something to think about as you look ahead to 2016.  Stay positive, fuel your body, focus on learning, loving, growing, and serving.  Don’t waste precious energy on gossip, instead invest your energy in the positive.  Remember there is no substitute for hard work, take time to focus on the 3 most important things you need to do that day.  Read more books than you did the year before, get more sleep, smile, laugh more, and enjoy the ride!

Here is to wishing you a happy, healthy, and joyous 2016!

Getting Healthy One Step at a Time

A big topic in schools right now is health and wellness.  We know that First Lady Michelle Obama started the "Let's Move!" campaign back in 2010 because she recognized there was childhood obesity problem.  Our lifestyles have changed so much.  Thirty years ago, students walked to and from school more, played outside after school until supper time, had healthy, home cooked meals with reasonable proportions, and there was more time spent in physical education at school or playing sports after school.

Now look at where things are.  Students get a ride to school even if they are within walking distance, playing outside has been replaced with video games, electronics, and cell phones.  Families rarely sit down for a meal together and going through the drive-thru happens more in a week than eating at home.  Portion sizes are out of control including beverages.  It's no wonder with these changes that 1 in 3 students are obese and are at risk for major health problems in their adult life.

It's scary and it's time to make some changes which is why Mrs. Obama started her campaign.  Schools are being heavily criticized for their lunches.  They are being more regulated than in the past.  However there are some good things going on with them.  There are more fresh fruits and vegetables being offered and served to students.  School lunches are not the problem with obesity in children.  It's shocking to see what some kids bring in their sack lunches.  I have seen lunches with fruit snacks, cookies, gatorade, and cheese crackers.  Or chocolate milk, granola bars, jerky, and carrot sticks.  Meanwhile a school lunch might have tacos, rice & beans, lettuce, fruit, and milk.  One school lunch is not creating unhealthy children.

Living a healthy lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle.  It takes more than just what we can do at school, it has to happen at home as well.  So at Freeman, we are going to make some changes and will continue to do so to encourage health and wellness.  Our staff participates in an EHA group (Educators
Health Alliance).  This provides staff the opportunity to be part of healthy challenges like exercise, nutrition, water consumption, proper amounts of sleep, and being happier to name a few.  We are in the process of changing out a vending machine that will have better, healthier choices like yogurt, trail mix, and fresh fruit.  In the elementary we made a handbook change that said students were not allowed to be on their electronic devices during school hours, which included before school while waiting for the bell to ring.  Last spring, the school board approved the addition of a second physical education teacher so that we could offer more PE classes to students and more often.

Another change that you may be aware of is Walking Club for the elementary.  Over the summer I learned a lot about movement and the brain and how movement can affect our learning or overall activity.  On Tuesday and Thursday the K-2 students are going to participate in walking club, while on Monday and Wednesday it will be grades 3-6.  The PE teachers created a path around the playground for students to walk around and record the number of laps that they complete.  That number goes into a chart so we can graph how far each student is going and how far the class goes over time.

As with anything it takes a while to adjust to something new.  The purpose with walking club is to get kids moving and wake up the brain before the school day starts so they are ready to learn when they walk in their classroom.  This is not designed to be another "chore" at school, but rather an enjoyable way to socialize in a positive way with their peers, while getting a little extra movement into their day.  We appreciate support from parents, staff, and the community as we encourage healthier living with our students.  If you ever want to come join us in the mornings, you are welcome to.  As the year progresses we hope to implement other healthy habits with our students so be on the lookout for those as well.