ALFRED ELEMENTARY Parent NEWSLETTER December 2018 Important Dates School News NO SCHOOL DATES: Dec. 24th - Jan 1st Winter Break EARLY RELEASE DAY: Dec. 5th - Dismissal @ 1pm PTSA MEETINGS AND OTHER EVENTS: Dec. 7th - Last day to drop off Giving Tree gifts Dec. 10th - 14th Holiday Breakfast (sign up through your child’s teacher) Dec. 11th - Alfred/Lyman 1st & 2nd Grade Concert @ 6:30pm (MMS) Dec. 14th - Synergy Reports Sent Home (Trimester 1) Dec. 21st - Spirit Day (hosted by Peer Helpers) Dec. 21st - Holiday Sing-a-Long @ 1:30pm Dear Families, During the month of November, I found much to be thankful for at Alfred Elementary. To begin, I would like to recognize and thank all of the PTSA members and volunteers for an outstanding job helping to raise funds for our school during the annual holiday fair. After expenses, we profited over $8,000 thanks to your time, efforts and donations! Your support of our staff and students is part of what makes our school so special, and for that, I cannot thank you enough. The funds that you helped us to raise go directly back into the classrooms and building by way of field trips, special events, and additional resources. On behalf of all of us at Alfred Elementary, we thank you deeply for your support and wish you the best during the upcoming holiday season! A few reminders and updates for the month of December: Trimester 1 Reports: Student reports for the first trimester will be released on Friday, December 14th. Please be on the lookout for directions regarding how to access your child’s scores in ParentVUE. More information to come soon... Giving Tree: Once again, our community has overwhelmingly supported our students and families by selecting each and every one of the ornaments placed on our giving tree! Mrs. Chaplin and Mrs. Redmond have requested that any gifts still needing to be delivered to school arrive by this Friday, December 7th before the end of the school day. Gifts should be unwrapped and have the ornament tag attached if possible. This will allow ample time for gifts to be delivered to our families prior to vacation. Thank you for your support! Holiday Sing-a-Long: We will hold our annual Holiday Sing-a-Long on Friday, December 21st at 1:30pm in our gym. We encourage all families to participate! Please see attached flyer for more details! Holiday Breakfast: You should have received a sign up sheet in your child’s folder for a special holiday breakfast to be served in our cafeteria. Please reach out directly to your child’s teacher if you cannot locate this form or have any questions. Each class is assigned a specific day during the week of December 10th. Our next PTSA meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 8th Colder Weather and Cancellations : As winter approaches, children must come to school dressed to participate in outdoor recess. Generally, attire that is appropriate for waiting at the bus stop will be sufficient for recess. Students will go out to recess regularly unless the temperature and/or chill factor go below 15 ° F. We will use the same methods of notifying families and staff about school cancellations as in the recent past ( TV, radio and Instant Alert through HoneyWell). December 21st Spirit Day : Thank you for the food donations to benefit the York County Shelter Program. Our Peer Helpers will be hosting the December Spirit Day on 12/21 and donations will also go directly to supporting the local shelter. Please look for a flyer to be released with details from the Peer Helpers in the upcoming week. Box Tops: Thank you for your continued support! We recently turned in over 5,400 box tops! Please keep them coming! Tardies: Please remember to escort your child into the building and sign them in if arrival is past 8:45am. Thank you! Attendance Note: Please remember to call the office when your child is absent. If this is not done it gets recorded as unexcused. When a child has 5 consecutive days unexcused or 7 non-consecutive unexcused absences, we are mandated to report the student to the state as truant. When planning a vacation, you must fill out the planned absence form located in our student handbook. Thank You: I’d like to take a moment to recognize and thank the Brock family for donation resources and time to reconstruct the front entrance of our school. It was in need of a little ‘pick me up’, and thanks to their hard work our school has a more warm and welcoming entrance!