Sturgis Elementary

A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL - Chan ta l L ig tenbe rg

April 2015

MUSTANGS OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to the April Mustangs of the Month!

Kindergarten: Taya Uherka, Dawsyn Brooks, Dovlyn O’Driscoll, Kalia Wang, Cambriya Whitford

First Grade: Gabriel Iversen, Blake Williams, Ashley Briscoe, Brody Royer, Ky’Asia Jones, William Coshow

Second Grade: Dylon Harwood, Jake Krog, Dalyn Dschaak, Marlea Vatne, Ivy Beug, Josie Reedy

Third Grade: Lily Holt, Carter Kirk, Audrey Kaufman, Norah Iverson, Demetrios Daniels, Landon Hemenway

Fourth Grade: Braden Moore, Hayden Burge, Mariah Muchow, Emma Irwin, Anthony Eastman

Fifth Grade: Lilly Forbes, Reese Ludwick, Haylie Anderson, Salazsha Chadwick-Weaver, Cora Burnett

Meade School District 46-1

“To Build Knowledge and Skills for Success Today and Tomorrow”

End of Year Festivities

Can you believe we are already reaching the end of the year? As we reach the last two months of the

school year many of the grade levels will be a taking part in special field trips and assemblies. Please keep

an eye on dates provided within our newsletters which affect your student(s). In addition, this year we will

again hold a “Field Day” at Sturgis Elementary. We would love to see parents have the opportunity to

“play” with their kids and join us for a hot picnic lunch! More detailed information is held within this

newsletter. May 18th, kindergarten will celebrate Field Day from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. with a lunch to

follow. Second and third grade students will start their day with a lunch and follow up with their

Field Day festivities from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. May 19th, first grade will have their celebration from

8:30 to 10:30 a.m. with lunch to follow. Fourth and fifth grade students will begin with a lunch and

then proceed to their Field Day events from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Smarter Balanced Testing has been completed!

Both teachers and students breathed a sigh of relief as the state assessment, now known as Smarter Bal-

anced, has been completed for yet another year. Kindergarten through second grade students had to work

on being extra quiet in the hallways and everyone’s special schedules were turned upside down to accom-

modate testing. Just for this, we found a reason to celebrate! On April 28th all students attended to an as-

sembly put on by “Champions Forever”! They came with a positive and fun message about character

traits. Lastly, the school will have a watermelon feed and an extra recess on May 6th.

Lost and Found:

As the year starts to wrap up, please visit our lost and found to see if there is anything of your student’s

within our collection. At the end of the year we will box up what is left and donate it to the Salvation

Army.

Staffing Recognitions:

Sturgis Elementary Teacher of the Year is Debby Neiman. Debby has taught 13 years at Sturgis Elemen-

tary and is currently a kindergarten teacher. Sturgis Elementary. Support Staff member of the year is Roger

Barker. Roger is in his first year as our head custodian. Prior to working at Sturgis Elementary he worked

with the custodial crew at the middle school. As you know, all our employees are key components to the

success of our students. May 4-8 is Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week. This is a great opportunity to voice

your appreciation to someone who has made a difference in the lives of your children.

May 7

Kindergarten Jumpstart Night

5-6:30 pm Sturgis Elementary

May 12

3rd –4th grade-Music Program

Information on Page 5

May 18th—Field Day

Kindergarten

Second & Third

May 19th—Field Day

First grade

Fourth and Fifth

May 20, 2015

Last Day of School

Release at 1pm

Inside this issue:

Kindergarten Page 2

First Grade

Second Grade Page 3

Third Grade

Fourth Grade

Fifth Grade

Field Day Page 4

Music News Page 5

SES Garden

Family Services Page 6

Nurse’s Notes Page 7

Speech/Language Page 8

Computer News Page 9

Harlow’s Bus Co.

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Solutions to the Summer Slide

First Grade News

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Mud Puddles or Snow Days

April has been another busy month in First Grade. Students have continued to improve their reading strategies by

practicing fluency, expression, and the retelling of a story. In math we have studied patterns, counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s,

along with addition and subtraction problems. We have enjoyed many literature books and have then used the author’s

ideas to help us with our writing. We switched our “Specials” time to the morning this month to help the 3rd graders with

their testing. We will be taking those tests in a few years and we’re glad to switch to help them out.

Everyone looked forward to the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, and basket surprises. First Graders decided that Earth

Day should be everyday even though it has a special day once a year. We talked about ways to help our Earth. Ask me

about the 3 R’s to stop pollution (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle). What does it mean to Go Green? We have some ideas we can

tell you about. We are all going to try our best to Keep Our Earth Beautiful.

Even though the weather is getting warmer, the evenings longer, and the after school activities starting, please

take time to review my work that I bring home nightly, provide me with feedback, and practice skills I may be having diffi-

culty with. Keep sharing a good book with me every night. We have a lot to learn yet in our last weeks of school.

Kindergarten

Slides are wonderful for the playground, but we want families to know about the

“summer slide”. The summer slide refers to the loss of academic skill throughout the

summer. Children, especially struggling learners, forget some of what they’ve learned or

slip out of practice during the summer months. Try these activities to help your learner

during the summer and beyond.

Sign up for the Sturgis Library Summer Program

Visit local parks & campgrounds...while you’re there write numbers and letters in the

sand.

Limit technology. Set reasonable limits on devise time (TV, iPad, Kindle, etc).

Schedule daily reading time.

Set a summer goal…How often will you read? For how long? What is something new

that you want to learn? (Like swimming, how to ride a bike, tie shoes, etc.)

Talk & Listen lots. Speaking and listening is incredibly important in building

your child’s vocabulary which supports reading and writing achievement.

Enjoy your summer. Kindergarteners have worked so hard this year to learn and develop

new skills. Let summer be a time to reflect and use these skills in real world experiences.

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Happy Spring to everyone! Children are so excited that SPRING is here-which includes warm days! Please remember we DO

live in South Dakota and the weather can change! Encourage your child to wear or keep a jacket or hoodie in their bag just in

case! Thank you! We need to keep a normal schedule as well-amount of sleep is important and try to read on a nightly rou-

tine. When you are driving in the car-practice counting by 2', 5's or 10's. This is a fun game to PREDICT who will land on

100! ALSO: our 26 Day Countdown has started , please refer to the colorful packet that was sent home with your child!

THANKS! 2nd Grade Team

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Congratulations third grade for completing their first Smarter Balanced Assessment. Students put forth their best effort and we

are proud of their hard work.

The third grade also embarked on their annual field trip. We traveled to the Lead/Deadwood area and visited the Franklin Ho-

tel, Adams Museum, Black Hills Mining Museum, and the Lead Opera House.

Prior to the field trip the students read the book Henry’s Adventure at the Franklin Hotel, a historical fiction book about the

hotel. History came alive for the students when they got to visit the actual place they had been learning about. It was a fun-

filled educational day.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

As the end of the year quickly approaches, 4th grade would like to remind parents that the field trip to Mount Rushmore will be

on May 8th. We also have our 4th grade music program scheduled for May 12th. We want to thank all of the parents for their

ongoing support over the school year. 4th grade would also like let parents know that there are some fantastic and fun ways to

continue learning over the summer months. It is really important that students keep up with daily reading, multiplication and

division facts. Dream box, front row and Khan Academy are all great websites that will help reinforce the lessons taught over

the year and ensure that your student will be prepared for fifth grade.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

In fifth grade we enjoyed learning more about the Civil War Era (a.k.a. The War Between the States) from our guest speaker,

Don Balyeat. He let us touch real artifacts and reproductions from that time period. We found his stories relatable.

We are looking forward to our field trip to the middle school on Tuesday, May 5th after seeing this year’s children’s show

“Robin Hood…Sort of.”

Remember to keep reading and practicing math facts over the summer.

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STURGIS ELEMENTARY SPRING FLING FIELD DAY and BBQ

Dear Parents and/or Guardians,

Sturgis Elementary will be holding the Spring Field Day and BBQ on May 18 and 19, 2015 (see below for detailed

dates and times). Events will be held at sites surrounding the school building. The event will consist of fun and fitness activi-

ties as well as a barbeque lunch. We would like to invite you to attend and cheer on the students and also join us for lunch.

Students will use their lunch card as usual. However, visitors are asked to pre-order so that we are able to ensure that ade-

quate supplies are ordered. Cost of lunch is $3.25 and can be purchased the day of the event at the main entrance into the

school.

Menu

Monday: Burger, potato salad, baked beans, milk and fruit.

Tuesday: Hotdog, potato salad, baked beans, milk and a fruit.

IF YOU AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS WILL BE JOINING US FOR LUNCH PLEASE FILL IN AND RE-

TURN THE ATTACHED ORDER FORM BY MAY 6, 2015. DO NOT SEND PAYMENT AT THIS TIME. This is

for order purposes only.

Please make sure the students are dressed appropriately for the activities and the weather. We also recommend that all student

s bring a water bottle that they can carry. Staying hydrated is very important during physical activities especially during warm

weather.

Sincerely,

Christ West

Physical Education Instructor

Sturgis Elementary School

________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Detach here and return bottom portion to school)

In the space below please indicate the number of additional friends/family members that will be joining us for lunch,. Please

return to school by May 6, 2015 - COST IS $3.25.

May 18th ________ May 19th _________

REMINDER: PLEASE PAY THE DAY OF THE EVENT

DO NOT SEND MONEY TO SCHOOL PRIOR TO THE BBQ

SPRING FIELD DAY ACTVITIES

Monday, May 18, 2015

Kindergarten

Field Events 8:30 -10:30 am

BBQ 10:45 am -11:45 am

2nd and 3rd Grade

Field Events 12:30-2:30 pm

BBQ 11:45 am—12:30 pm

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

1st Grade:

Field Events 8:30—10:30 am

BBQ 10:45—11:45 am

4th and 5th Grade

Field Events 12:30-2:30 pm

BBQ 11:45 am—12:30 pm

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Music News—Hillary Hill—

Sturgis Elementary Music Instructor

Third and Fourth graders are preparing for their upcoming program, "On the Radio." The pro-

gram will be Tuesday, May 12 at the Sturgis Community Center Theater. 3rd Grade Group A

(Stofferahn, Dahl, Pankratz) will be performing at 5:30 PM (students arrive at 5PM to put on costumes).

3rd Grade Group B (Russell, Steffes, Cook) will be performing at 6:30 PM (students arrive at 6PM to put

on costumes). 4th Graders will be performing at 7:30 PM (students arrive at 7PM to put on costumes.)

Costume/scenery help night will be Monday, May 4th from 4:00-6:00 PM in the music room. Vol-

unteer students and parents are needed to help paint scenery, make props, and put together simple cos-

tumes. There are many jobs which require no artistic ability. Please come if you are able!

Adopt-a-Garden Throughout the summer teachers, along

with the help of our school families and the After

School Program, will take care of the Sturgis Ele-

mentary garden. We want to make this summer a

success and return to a “fruitful” fall harvest. All

grades K-5 have invested time in learning about

and starting this year’s garden! Please help us

keep it growing throughout the summer. If you’d

like to volunteer time in the garden, please drop us

an email to express your interests. We have sev-

eral days/weeks available in June, July, and Au-

gust. No green thumb is necessary—just regular

watering, and occasional weeding and harvest-

ing...and of course a little bit of love.

Call or email 347-2386 or

cheryllynn.isaacson @k12.sd.us

We’ll contact you with more details.

ATTENTION PARENTS AND STUDENTS!

The office has several pair of nice glasses.

Please stop in the if you have been missing a pair of glasses,

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News from Family Service

Ginger Johnson, MSW, CSW

Meade School District Social Worker

How to Challenge a False Sense of Entitlement in Children- Part II

Below you will find the second part of the article about children with a false sense of entitlement. I hope you find it as interest-

ing as I did. It certainly is food for thought.

Ginger Johnson, MSW, CSW Meade School District Social Worker

As a parent, it’s important that you teach your child the value of hard work and earning things. Children need to see the integral

connection between making an effort and achieving success. Conversely, when things are handed to your child, the messaged

he/she is getting, “You don’t need to do anything—everything will be given to you in life just because you’re you”.

To begin challenging the false sense of entitlement ask yourself, “What do I want my child to learn about money and work to

achieve success in life?” Then come up with a procedure that will teach them about finances. Some important concepts to teach

children from a young age are as follows: Money doesn’t come easily. People work hard to earn money; it’s part of life. If

you want something, you need to work to earn it. You are not entitled to things you haven’t earned. Use your teaching

role to help your children start connecting the dots between working hard and earning the things they receive. Be sure to differ-

entiate between the gifts you give your children from the money they have earned.

Secondly, set some limits on what you give your children. Don’t feel as if you need to give them every little thing they ask for,

even if “all the other kids have one”. It’s a good idea to talk to your children and let them know that you don’t have an infinite

supply of money at your fingertips. Tell them from an early age that you work to make money to support your family and try to

explain that you trade your time for money in order to provide a home and pay the monthly bills. When your child asks for

things it’s perfectly fine to say, “You’re welcome to buy that with your birthday money,” or “Why don’t you put that on your

Christmas list?” Or “Why don’t you save up your money and buy it?” Saying “no” to your child does not make you a bad or

uncaring parent- it just makes you a practical one who wants to teach your children to understand money in a more realistic

way.

Thirdly, it is important to tell your children the new rules. Let’s say that up until now you’ve been giving your child whatever

he wants without expecting him to work for it. If you want to give your children money or things, it’s important to come up

with a system where they feel like they’ve earned what they receive. In the author’s opinion, paying for extra work around the

house is better than giving an allowance, because it gives you more flexibility as you reward them. For younger children:

Parents can start by saying something like “Listen I want you to learn how to earn some of the things you want by doing extra

work around the house. I don’t mean by doing your regular chores, like setting the table or doing the dishes. So for instance ,

you could mow the lawn, shovel the walk when it snows, or clean the car when it’s dirty. Instead of giving you an allowance,

I’m going to pay you to do these things. We’re going to start this Saturday. If you want to earn money, you’ll have to see me

Saturday morning to find out what you can do.” Then determine how much you want to pay him for these jobs and make sure

it’s you can do.” Then determine how much you want to pay him for these jobs and make sure it’s within your budget. Adoles-

cents: When you talk with adolescents, you can expect a serious reaction to your words, especially if they’ve come to expect to

get things without having to earn them. The way you prepare for that is by saying to your child “I have something that I need to

talk to you about that’s really affecting our finances. You’re going to have to keep an open mind and be mature during this con-

versation. Let’s get together at four o’clock. Before you actually start the conversation ask your child if he/she want you to talk

to them like a young adult or a little kid? Naturally, they’ll pick young adult. And then talk to them utilizing facts, not feelings.

That means speaking respectfully, frankly, and persuasively. When you speak to your teen try to put things in the child’s best

interests: “I want to help you earn some cash because I know you really want to buy that new video game. Here’s how you can

make some extra money around the house.” If your child refuses to do odd jobs around the house, the next time he/she asks for

things you can simply say, “You know how you can earn that new DS. When you’re ready to clean out the garage, I can pay

you and you can start saving up.”

Finally, if you have the financial capability and you believe in the concept of paying kids to do work around the house, it may

be better to give your child money for doing odd jobs rather than giving him/her a weekly allowance. This way the child will

learn how to manage his finances, and will make the connection between work and payment. If your child doesn’t comply, pay

their sibling to do the work.

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Continued - How to Challenge a False Sense of Entitlement in Children—Part II

Remember the danger is not having a sense of entitlement; the danger is having a false sense of entitlement. People who have

this mindset often hold a negative view of hard work- they put it down and ridicule it. They think they deserve things they have-

n’t earned, and they can develop contempt for people who work to earn things. According to the author, the false sense of enti-

tlement affects every strata of society today. Kids who grow up this way don’t want the jobs that are available because they have

the belief that they’re entitled to something better without having to make an effort. So that false sense of entitlement prohibits

them from getting the work skills and the social skills they need to start at the bottom and work their way up.

Here’s the bottom line: When children have a false sense of entitlement, they don’t see the world in real terms. When money and

goods have been handed to them their whole lives, the danger is that they won’t have the idea that they should work hard to

achieve their goals. Their view of the world will be “If I want it, someone will give it to me”- but as we all know, that’s just not

the way the world functions. The good news is that you can start teaching your child now about what it means to work hard to

achieve goals in life- before it’s too late.

This article was featured in an online magazine Empowering Parents authored by James Lehman, MSW

Summer Sun Protection for Kids

* Slather on the sun screen – no exceptions! On the back of knees, ears, face, neck and

scalp.

* Apply sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply every 2 hours.

* Opt for a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.

Drinking Enough Water

*Water keeps every part of your body working properly. It helps your body flush wastes

and stay at the right temperature.

*Not drinking enough water can cause dehydration. If you become very dehydrated, your

body no longer has enough fluid to get blood to your organs.

*Common recommendation is to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day. You

may need more depending on how healthy you are, how much you exercise, and how hot

and dry the climate is.

Monthly Nurse’s Notes

Randi Oviatt, RN ~ Marcia Potts, RN ~ Julie Dobler, RN

Preventing and Treating Tick Bites

*Ticks are most likely to be found in wooded and bushy areas. They are most active in the warmer months between

April and September.

*Ticks are capable of spreading harmful diseases, but that should not prevent you from being able to enjoy the great

outdoors.

* Clothing can provide some protection from ticks. Long-sleeved tops can protect arms and tucking pant legs into

socks or boots can prevent ticks from easy access to legs.

*Repellents can be applied to skin and clothing. Those containing 20 – 30% DEET offer several hours of protection.

*It is recommended that you conduct a full-body tick check after being out in an environment that could be home to

ticks.

*Removing ticks – using the tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the surface of the skin as possible. With steady, even

pressure, pull upwards. Twisting and jerking the tick can cause some of its mouth-parts to remain embedded in the

skin. If this occurs, carefully attempt to remove the remaining parts with the tweezers. Once removed, clean the af-

fected area and your hands, and dispose of the tick by submersing it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed container or dis-

posing of it down the toilet. Do not crush a tick with your fingers.

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Speech and Language News

Terri Kussart, M.Ed. CCC-SLP Stefanie Anderson, MA CCC-SLP Sara Delaney, MS CCC-SLP

Sturgis Elementary 605.347.2386

________________________________________________________________________________________

We have had a great year working with students in speech and language therapy! We

would love to visit or answer any questions or concerns related to speech and language

development, and are looking forward to another great year next year. Please feel free to

stop in or call us any time!

___________________________________________________________________

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month! As summer quickly approaches, here are some ideas

for speech-language therapy skills you can practice in the car:

License Plate Game: Have your child look for license plates that have a certain letter or their

articulation sound, and read the license plate. Bonus: Use the letter to create a word in a sen-

tence.

I Spy: Take turns finding objects outside that have your child’s articulation sound and talk

about the object using good speech. For language, take turns describing what is seen using ad-

jectives, good grammar, and social skills.

Categories: Name an object or a category seen outside and take turns naming items in the

category (ex. If you see a motorcycle, you could discuss other transportation, like a camper, bus,

etc.)

Cities and Syllables: As you pass different cities, identify the city using good speech and then

work on practicing how many syllables the word has!

**Please refer to the following link for further ideas for promoting speech and language through-

out the summer: http://www.superduperinc.com/handouts

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STURGIS AREA AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

4th

-8th

grade is now open for summer registration!

Program will run Monday through Friday 8am-5pm in the upstairs of the Admini-

stration Building. Any further questions, please stop in or email Brittney at Britt-

ney@sturgisafterschool.com

Come join us for fun summer learning about the outdoors, field

trips, activities, hikes, and being with friends!

.

Message from Harlow ’ s Bus Company

We are seeing more students trying to get off at locations that are not the normal drop-off locations. This causes Harlow’s to be liable for the students that were let off somewhere other than the agreed upon location. Also, students are trying to get on the bus and go to a friend’s house, this as well puts Harlow’s in a bad posi-tion. As it has been in the past and will continue to be, Harlow’s needs to have a note from the parents, and signed by the parent, written to the Harlow’s driver stating that it is ok for student to ride or be dropped off at a different location on such a date. Andy Ellingsen Transportation Manager Harlow’s School Bus Service, Inc. Cell: 605-639-5600 Office: 605-347-5066 andy.ellingsen@harlowsbussales.com

www.harlowsbussales.com

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