Halloween treats

Fun pictures of some spooky snack ideas.

SEP and no school!

SEP Conferences (or Parent/Teacher Conferences, for those of us still in the twentieth century) are tomorrow. Students are encouraged to attend with their parents. Come prepared with any questions you have about your child's school experience.

Because of SEPs, there is no kindergarten tomorrow and no school at all on Friday.

This is a really long day for the teachers--we appreciate the effort they make to keep parents informed on how their children are doing in class. Thank you!

Book Fair!

Is your child suddenly interested in extra chores? Fishing for coins in the couch cushions? Dropping literary Christmas hints? It might be because the book fair opened today! The fair runs through Thursday and will be open Thursday night during SEP conferences. Come and check out the wide variety of books available!

If there's a book (or anything else) you're just dying for that's not available at the book fair, remember to use our Amazon button to order online. :)

Red Ribbon Week!

This week is Red Ribbon Week at our school! Red Ribbon Week is the nation's oldest and largest drug prevention program and is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about drugs, alcohol, and violence. Each child should have a bingo card with topics to talk about in each square. The bingo cards also incorporate kind behaviors and anti-violence discussions, so it's a great way to approach overall health and positive lifestyles.

The kick-off assembly is today, so ask your child what they learned about the importance of staying drug-free. Kids should have recieved a wristband that they will wear all week. We're also doing fun dress themes each day:

Tuesday: "Color a world without drugs and violence"--wear red or purple
Wednesday: "Turn your back on drugs and violence"--wear your clothes backwards
Thursday: "Be drug-free and violence-free from the inside out"--wear your clothes inside out
Friday: "Hat's off to a drug-free and violence-free lifestyle"--wear a crazy hat or hairstyle

You may be thinking, "Hmmm, will wearing clothes inside out really help my child stay off drugs?" To which I would say, "Hmmmm, probably not." But getting actively involved in a shool-wide and community-wide movement that is meaningful and applies to their life experience will. It's not about the clothes, it's about the opporutnity this acitivity provides to talk about what drugs (and by extension, violence) does to bodies and lives.

So have some fun with the acitivities this week and talk to your family about how "It's Hot to Not." If you need ideas beyond the bingo card, check out this website on talking (and listening) to kids.

Image from texasschoolassemblies.com

Ta Daaaa!

Mapleton Elementary is now part of the Amazon School Rewards program! If you're unfamiliar with this program, check out the Q&A. Basically, if you click through the link on our sidebar to get to amazon.com, we will earn a percentage of whatever you buy. That's it! There's no extra cost to you! It applies to all merchandise--toys, books, games, electronics, whatever.

This is a super easy way for us to try and meet some of the funding gaps facing the school without placing a financial burden on anyone. If you shop Amazon (Christmas is coming!), click through our link and you can feel all warm and fuzzy about how your shopping is actually philanthropic! (you can also feel warm and fuzzy about using the word "philanthropic").

Thanks and a reminder (or two)

Many thanks to everyone who helped with the windy Walk to School Day (couldn't help but think of Pooh's "Windsday"). The apples and honey bread were so yummy!

Remember, vision screening is tomorrow for grades K, 1, 3, and 5. If your child wears glasses or contacts, please make sure they are wearing them.

Also, Reflections entries are due Friday morning. Entry forms and media release forms may be downloaded if you don't already have them.

We're walking, we're walking...

October is International Walk to School month. To celebrate, our school has designated Wednesday, October 6 as Walk to School Day. Kids and parents are encouraged to walk or bike to school that morning. If you're kids usually ride the bus, a parent or neighbor could drive them part way and then walk the rest of the way with them.

This is a great opportunity to talk about health and safety. Some safety rules you could review while walking are:
*walk with a buddy
*walk (don't run) while crossing a street
*always look and listen, especially while crossing
*look left, right, then left again before stepping to cross
*always wear a helmet when riding a bike
*ride your bike in the same direction as traffic
*know what traffic signs mean and follow them
*watch for turning cars
*don't walk between parked cars
*when biking, always stop, look left, right, then left again before riding out of a driveway
*never accept a ride from a stranger

We hope you'll enjoy this opportunity to walk to school with your child! You can also click on the Who's Walking link to see what kids are doing in other countries.

Oh Say, Can You See?

Annual vision screening for kindergaren, first, third, and fifth grades will be next Thursday, October 7 at 9:00 a.m. If your child already has glasses, it's important that they wear them so the correctness of the prescription can be tested.

Good vision is so critical to being able to learn in the classroom. Many thanks to our school nurse and the volunteers who will help with the screening!

photo from northcarolina.edu