Friday, February 23, 2018

Newsletter, February 23, 2018


Principal's Message

Dear Friends and Families of Los Ranchos Elementary,

The whole team at Los Ranchos feels fortunate to be in the business of educating your children. We are are committed to nurturing and supporting the whole child. As elementary educators we are focused on the academic, social and emotional growth of our students. School safety is also a top priority.

I know school safety is on the minds of all parents. I want to assure you that protocols and procedures for emergencies are in place. These procedures have been developed with law enforcement and experts in the field of school safety. Protocols are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the most current safety practices. Our staff is trained in safety protocols and we have drills for our students throughout the year for emergency, evacuation and sheltering. These drills test communication among and between classes, offices, and help student become familiar with emergency procedures. This is done often, and with minimal disruption to the education of our students.

Our School Safety Plan is also in the office for parents to review at any time. If you have any questions or want to talk on this topic, I am available to you.

Thank you for entrusting your children to us. Children are our most precious gifts. We take the responsibility of ensuring their safety very seriously.

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,
Marlie Schmidt


For your Calendar

2/27          Wisdom Parenting Workshop 
3/5-3/9      Minimum Days, K-6 dismissed at 1:00 p.m. 
3/8-3/30    TK and Kindergarten Registration, Open Enrollment period
3/13          Science Fair - 1st-6th grades -  1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
3/13          PTA Meeting- 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
4/2-4/6      No School - Spring Break


FREE Wisdom Parenting Workshop

February 27h at 4:30pm in the Los Ranchos Library

This one hour workshop will explore how the practice of mindfulness can support parents to stay meaningfully connected to themselves and their families, even as the demands and complexities of life increase. The practice of mindfulness teaches us to stay more present to ourselves and our children and increases our capacity to respond rather than react to the challenges of life. Mindfulness also grows our ability to meet conflict with compassion and increases our capacity for self-awareness, humor and love. This workshop is an introduction to mindfulness and how to practice it, as well as a discussion on how to specifically apply mindfulness to the rich experience of parenting.


Deborah Halpern, MEd, MATP, spent 8 years practicing and studying yoga and meditation full-time in retreat. She has earned master’s degrees in both Education and Psychology and has taught mindfulness practices to both children and adults. She is an instructional assistant at Los Ranchos!




School Nurse Note

Allergy Season is here and students are coming to the health room with itchy, red, watery eyes.

Tips to provide comfort and prevent lost classroom time.
1.  If your child routinely takes allergy medicine during the allergy season, be sure that they take the medicine before they leave the house.
2.  If your student needs allergy medication at school, we have a medication form available.
3.  Reduce exposure to allergens: Have your child wash hands and change clothing after playing outside.
4.  Caution your student not to sit on the grass at school if this is an allergen for them. 
5.  Keep windows closed when pollen counts are high. 



mindfulSLO
Love Letters to Parents
Can life feel a little overwhelming sometimes?  Do you ever feel like parenting is a challenge?  Not sure you fully understand the pressures and anxieties that kids feel or have a grasp of their social, emotional, academic and relational landscape? Ever feel like other parents have it all figured out?  Does your child's reliance on digital  technology mystify you?  Seeking the balance of being a parent and being an individual within a family can be a struggle.  Well, you're not alone.

Perhaps more than ever, parents today need peer support to navigate the challenges inherent in  every developmental stage and maintain healthy balance.  We know that it takes a village to raise a child and are fortunate when we can rely on family and friends.  Life is always going to present us with amazing highs and also some incredible lows.  how we choose to navigate the journey is persona, but it's reassuring to know every parent  is on a similar path, and comforting to know that no one has it completely figured out.

We live in a big, complex world that requires us to keep learning. We don't have the answers, but as role models for our kids, we hope to show them how to navigate uncertainties, ride the waves, manage stress, treat others, and live health, meaningful lives.  Our kids, our peers, our community, and our honest and genuine conversations bring barriers down and helps us create a community of caring.  

We are information gathers, parents seeking tools and resources to help guide us on our journey, and human beings who ultimately just want to raise other happy, health, caring and thoughtful human beings.  

We are very excited to ride the waves or navigate the journey with you!

Celebrating being perfectly imperfect,










Riptide Basketball: http://www.slcusd.org/images/cms/files/Love%20Playing%20Basketball_eng.pdf

For more fliers go to : http://www.slcusd.org/fliers.php