Greetings, Elma Primary Families.

This past Tuesday, our elementary counselors partnered with the Child Advocacy Center to present parents with information on our K-4 personal safety program.  If anyone was unable to attend or has additional questions after attending, please feel free to reach out to our school counselor, Mrs. Aroune. 

This past Wednesday, our PTO hosted an evening meeting to plan for upcoming events at Elma Primary.  Thank you to all who attended and shared their ideas.  We are looking forward to offering some great experiences for our students and families during the winter and spring, including field trips supported by our PTO and a family fun night.  More to come on this in our upcoming communications and at our next PTO meeting on February 8^th.

This week, we hosted meetings for our first student clubs at Elma Primary.  Students were excited to learn more about our Book Club and our Chess Club, and both sessions were very well-attended.

Our PTO will be sponsoring a Wellness Week at Elma Primary next week.  They will be providing healthy treats for students, our PE team will be engaging students in wellness-themed activities during class, and we will feature health and wellness tips for students during our morning announcements.

In addition to the SEL experiences being offered by our teachers in the classroom setting, Mrs. Aroune and I have had the opportunity to meet with grades to reinforce key social-emotional skills for each level.  This has been a great opportunity to connect with our students and highlight the attributes we hope to develop in them.  We worked with kindergarten students on strategies for focusing and paying attention.  Our 1st graders participated a session on problem solving skills and managing conflict.  Our 2nd graders will participate in a similar session next week.  Finally, we worked with our 3^rd and 4^th graders on the value of positive self-talk and how to interrupt negative thought patterns.  The students have been attentive, eager to participate, and insightful in all of our discussions.

School will not be in session on Monday, January 16^th in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support, and enjoy your weekend.

Go Bills!

Pete Dobmeier