A Letter from the Health Office

Susan Martin LPN/Health Assistant and Liz Lynch, BSN, RN, NCSN

Heart Disease Awareness Month 

• Avoid/ Quit smoking - Smoking can increase plaque in your blood vessels making them narrower and harder to pump blood through. This increases your risk of heart disease as well as increasing how hard your heart needs to work! 
• Maintenance -  Obtaining and maintaining a healthy body weight for your body, blood pressure and total cholesterol levels will decrease your risk of heart disease and increase your overall health!
• Screen for diabetes - It can easily be detected through a simple blood test. Ask about your need for a preventative screen with your provider.
• Get active - Find an activity you enjoy (walking, jogging, dancing, biking, swimming) and get moving 2 to 3 times a week! Not only will this help keep your heart healthy, but your mind too!
• Build your muscles - Lifting weights and strength training tones muscles and burns fat. This helps to strengthen your heart and reduce how hard it needs to work on a daily basis. It’s recommended to strength train 2 times per week.
• Eat smart - Build your plate with heart-healthy foods such as: leafy greens and vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein rich foods (fish, nuts, lean meats), and healthy oils (avocado, salmon, canola). Check out a new recipe book from the library!
• Limit junk food - Added sugars, saturated fats, and excessive sodium (as good as they can taste) can add extra work for your heart and increase your risk of heart disease. Enjoy in moderation!
• Stress less - Stress increases a hormone called cortisol, which leads to weight gain, fatigue/ poor sleep, emotional wellbeing etc. Try incorporating stress relieving activities into your daily routine such as: yoga, walks, reading, meditation, listening to music. Even if it is only 5-10 minutes at a time. 
• Sleep more - Sleep restores the body, helps to decrease stress, and increase overall mood. Practice good sleep hygiene: sleep in a cooler temperature, darken your environment, avoid screens at least 20 minutes before bed, try to obtain 8 hours of sleep.
• Smile - Do what lights you up! Make time for enjoyable activities and hobbies to help lower stress and improve your overall mood! Added bonus - smiling is contagious!

February Family Bucket List

If your student will need to take medication during the school day, please have your child’s provider fill out and sign the appropriate form below. These can then be returned to the office or faxed by the provider to: 920-424-7583.

• Over the Counter Medication Form *parent signature only required*
• Prescribed Medication Form 
• Inhaler/Asthma Action Plan  
• Epipen/Allergy & Anaphylaxis Form

REMINDERS:

Directions on the medication bottle/box must match the written order on the medication request form.

• Stock Epi-pens do NOT go on field trips. 
• Please fill out an Emergency Epi-Pen/Anaphylaxis Plan even if you don’t have a personal Epi at school.
• PRN medications (Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Tums etc.) must come in a new and unopened bottle.
• Is your child up to date with their immunizations? Please contact the doctor for physicals and immunizations! All students at Jefferson are required to have their Tdap, Polio, MMR, Varicella and Hep B! Please check with your doctor to see what wellness requirements are needed for your child.

Phy-Ed Update from Mr. Schneider

Hello Families,

This month in PE, we are diving into our volleyball unit with grades 1-5, focusing on skills like volleying, passing, and teamwork. Meanwhile, our Kindergarteners are working with beach balls and inflatables to practice keeping objects up in the air and above their heads. Across all grade levels (K-5), we emphasize hand-eye coordination and reaction time to build essential motor skills.

Additionally, we are continuing our work with the Kids Heart Challenge to raise money for children with heart conditions. If your child hasn’t signed up yet, there’s still time! Your support makes a big difference. Please reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support!

Music Update from Mr. Flaugher 

In music class, we explored the inspiring legacy of William Grant Still, a groundbreaking composer known as the "Dean of African American Composers." We learned about his contributions to American classical music and how he paved the way for diverse voices in the music world. The students were captivated by his story and enjoyed listening to some of his beautiful compositions.

We also had fun discussing the Super Bowl pregame and halftime performers, exploring how these shows blend music, culture, and entertainment on one of the world’s biggest stages. It was exciting to see students make connections between classical music and contemporary performances, noticing how all music can bring people together and create memorable moments.

Art Update from Ms. Keefe

In art class we are learning about many different materials and how they work! Kindergarten and 1st grade are learning about a famous artist named Stuart Davis. We are learning all about his collages that use bright colors and abstract shapes. We are making our own collages using different letters and numbers, painted, chalked and stamped! 2nd graders are learning about paper weaving and creating textures using different materials, we are also learning about hot and cold colors. Using different texture tools with hot and color colors, we will weave these two papers creating a weaved paper piece! 3rd graders, 4th graders, and 5th graders are learning about printmaking, a class favorite! We are also learning about different ways of showing radial symmetry in our work, using oil pastels and black ink to create our own personalized print that we will later stamp onto our oil pastel papers.

Media and Technology Update from Ms. Kese 

“The single greatest factor in reading ability is how much we read.” Krashun, 2004

March Digital Citizenship:   Help Kids Spot Fake News and Decode Media Messages

With so much media & information coming at us through television, phones, and  social media, it's important for kids to understand the basics of media literacy. When kids can identify different types of news and media and the methods and meanings behind them, they're on their way to being critical thinkers and smart consumers.

1. Encourage health skepticism.

Help them analyze the messages around them -- from toy packaging to news headlines -- and question the purpose of the words and images they see.

2. Play "spot the ad."

When you see advertising on TV or on a billboard, ask kids to figure out what the ad is selling. Sometimes it's obvious, and sometimes it's not. Help them explore why certain pictures, sounds, or words are used to sell certain products.

3. Explore different sides of a story.

Use real-life examples to help kids understand how people can view the same situation with totally different perspectives. One child might experience a game on the playground as fun, while another might feel like the rules are unfair. 

4. Discuss fact vs. opinion.

Play around with ideas and decide which are facts and which are opinions. Ask: How tall are you? What's the best food in the world? Do rocks sink or float? Do you like dogs? Point out that both facts and opinions show up in the news, but opinion is usually labeled.

5. Choose a variety of sources.

Show kids how you get news and information from different places, and explain how you make your choices. Use words like "credible," "trustworthy," "respected," and "fair." As kids get older, introduce the ideas of bias, satire, and clickbait.         

School Counselor Update from Mrs. Brown 

Hello families, I hope this update finds you well and healthy.

This month we have been focusing on helpful coping skills across classes. Students were reminded that all feelings are okay, some are comfortable (we feel good about these and enjoy having them). Examples: calm, happy, alert, hopeful, etc.  Some feelings are uncomfortable (we may not enjoy them as much). Examples: angry, frustrated, worried, etc. If we don’t take care of them they can become strong and at times get the best of us. 

Thankfully there are helpful coping skills. Helpful coping skills are things we can do to help ourselves when we are experiencing uncomfortable feelings so that we can handle them and take care of them in a helpful and safe way. Taking care of uncomfortable feelings or strong feelings with helpful coping skills can help us work through challenging situations with the goal to get back to calm, alert and ready to learn. 

Here are a few examples of helpful coping skills we talked about and practiced: take deep breaths, name our feelings (name it to tame it), take a break from the situation (at your desk, going for a drink of water), talk to a trusted adult and ask for help, use I statements: I feel… when you… could you please…, count to 10 before responding, use helpful self-talk (I am safe, I can do this, I can handle this, it is okay to ask for help) to name a few. Students are encouraged to practice helpful coping skills so that they can keep it kind, helpful and safe for themselves and those around them. 

Please continue to encourage your students practicing helpful coping skills and conversations with them when they share situations in which they may have experienced uncomfortable feelings by asking what helpful coping skill did you use and/or what did you do to help you that is helpful and safe? And/or as you watch them work through tough moments encourage them to use a helpful coping skill. 

Wishing you well - Mrs. Brown

Math Update from Mrs. Bauer 

These are some current math skills that we are working on at school through our Work Places (math games) and would love to have you partner with us to support this at home! All the Work Places are digital from Math Learning Center/Bridges that you can access at home. Click on the links below. If you need a paper copy instead, please email your child’s classroom teacher! 

Kindergarten: Scrambled Numbers Practice ordering, reading, and counting numbers. What number comes before or after another number? 

1st: Frog Path Practice addition and subtraction strategies and share how you solved. 

2nd: Target 20 Practice making addition problems with 3 numbers as close to 20 as possible. 

3rd: Multiplication Four in a Row Practice forming multiplication facts, record an equation, and find the matching repeated addition problem. 

4th: Roll and Subtract 1,000 Practice subtraction strategies such as adding up on a number line to find the difference, take away, or use a standard algorithm. Which strategy is most efficient and why?

5th: Parentheses Power Practice multiplication strategies and algorithms. How can the order of factors make solving more efficient? 

Literacy Update from Mrs. Boettcher and Mrs. Vollbrecht

Books that Promote Kindness in Kids

By the Brightly Editors

 www.readbrightly.com

Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind

By Jessica Hische

In a follow-up to Tomorrow I'll Be Brave, award-winning illustrator Jessica Hische brings to life another series of inspirational words and scenes with her lovely hand-lettering and adorable illustrations. This uplifting and positive book encourages kids to promise that tomorrow, they will be grateful, helpful, and kind.

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How Kind

By Mary Murphy

What goes around comes around in this farmyard tale about the contagiousness of kindness.

Hen gives Pig an unexpected present. "How kind!" says Pig. Pig is so touched, in fact, that he decides to do something kind too. So Pig gives Rabbit a gift. "How kind!" says Rabbit, who does something kind for Cow, who is kind to Cat, who wants to be kind in turn. Where will all of this kindness lead?

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Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You

By Sonia Sotomayor, Illustrated by Rafael López 

Feeling different, especially as a kid, can be tough. But in the same way that different types of plants and flowers make a garden more beautiful and enjoyable, different types of people make our world more vibrant and wonderful.

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Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse

By Marcy Campbell, Illustrated by Corinna Luyken

A classic in the making, this heartwarming story about empathy and imagination is one that families will treasure for years to come.

Adrian Simcox tells anyone who will listen that he has a horse--the best and most beautiful horse anywhere.

But Chloe does NOT believe him. Adrian Simcox lives in a tiny house. Where would he keep a horse? He has holes in his shoes. How would he pay for a horse?

The more Adrian talks about his horse, the angrier Chloe gets. But when she calls him out at school and even complains about him to her mom, Chloe doesn't get the vindication she craves. She gets something far more important.

Written with tenderness and poignancy and gorgeously illustrated, this book will show readers that kindness is always rewarding, understanding is sweeter than judgment, and friendship is the best gift one can give.

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All Are Welcome

By Alexandra Penfold, Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman

A warm, welcoming picture book that celebrates diversity and gives encouragement and support to all kids.

Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yarmulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other's traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.

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I Walk With Vanessa

By Alexandra Penfold, Illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman

This simple yet powerful picture book--from a New York Times bestselling husband-and-wife team--tells the story of one girl who inspires a community to stand up to bullying. Inspired by real events,  I Walk with Vanessa explores the feelings of helplessness and anger that arise in the wake of seeing a classmate treated badly, and shows how a single act of kindness can lead to an entire community joining in to help. By choosing only pictures to tell their story, the creators underscore the idea that someone can be an ally without having to say a word.