Newsletter Jan. 10, 2014

Happy New Year! We are so proud of all the reading and XtraMath that happened over vacation! We hope you had a well deserved break with your families. We are happy to be back with your children and we have hit the ground running! As a whole school Folsom is celebrating January as Bullying and Harassment Prevention Month. We had a school-wide assembly on Wednesday, January 8th, to reflect on our PBIS school rules, our first trimester results, and a positive reinforcement star recognition drawing. Rewards were related to fitness and included soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, hula hoops, water bottles, and more! We introduced students to the definitions of bullying and harassment and teachers role played a few bullying situations so we could work together to identify roles within situations, how to become an “Upstander” (someone who stands up to a bully to make a difference), and how to change the outcomes of bullying situations. Throughout the month we will incorporate bullying and harassment prevention literature into language arts and social studies content. Last month third and fourth graders created posters for fire safety. Third graders participated in the 23rd Annual Vermont Fire Safety Calendar competition. Congratulations to Max Bumbeck on his poster for receiving Honorable Mention! It can sometimes be difficult to get back into the swing of things after two weeks of vacation. Please remind your child to bring all their snow gear for outdoor recess. It has been very COLD! Also, we have seen some very nice, new winter coats, hats, and gloves. Please remember to put your child’s name in EVERYTHING. A new book order for January will be coming home today. Book orders are due Friday, January 17th. For your information: There have been two date changes to the GISU calendar because of the recent school closing due to the icy morning. The inservice day for teachers that was originally Tuesday, Jan. 21st has been changed to Monday, Jan. 20th, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There is still no school for students on Monday, however, students do have school on Tuesday, Jan. 21st to make up for the ice day.