We have been discussing our monthly Character Trait during our morning announcements. The month of January focuses on "Determination". As one of our students explains: "Not giving up when you are in the middle of doing something." The students gave many examples of how they showed determination. Some included: learning how to ride a bike, rollerskating, and multiplication facts. I shared a story of a girl today who showed her determination to go to college after she had an accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down. Not only did she attend college, but graduated from Harvard University. Tonight at dinner would be a great time to share your own determination success stories with your child.

Happy New Year! Today we spoke about all the outdoor activities the kids did over break. Many enjoyed sledding, building a fort, and even having snowball fights! Unfortunatley, the students did not go outside for recess due to the cold weather. The temperature, with the wind chill, has to be above 20 degrees. Please keep in mind, that when the temperature is above 20, we will be going outside and the students need to dress for the weather. If you want them to wear boots, I would suggest they bring those in a seperate bag as to not get their papers and folder wet. Our 4th Grade has been introducing the 3rd graders to our indoor Bulldog Fitness Trail. Please ask your child about this if they are in the upper grades.

Our Kindergarten classes were dressed in their pajamas for "Polar Express Day". They brought along their favorite stuffed animal for the ride. They were treated to a reading of the story this morning. Each student enjoyed cookies and milk as they watched the movie. This is one of the favorite days of Kindergarten that helps us get into the Holiday spirit!

A big "Thank You" to an anonymous businessman. He had Nicolinni's Ristorante bake and deliver chocolate chip cookies to the local elementary schools. The students will enjoy these cookies during lunch. It is nice to see the kindness and support from our community.

We had a special performance by the High School Show Choir today. They sang and danced to many of our favorite Christmas carols. Our students even helped with some of the singing! There was a special appearance by "Rudolph" and "Santa". Their performance definitley got us into the holiday spirit! Thanks to the Show Choir for visiting us at North.

The Sadecky Puppets paid a visit to our school today thanks to the PTO. They shared the story, "December Dilemma". The main character, Jasmine, took a toy monkey robot that did not belong to her. She really wanted this robot because all the stores were sold out. She and the robot became "lifelong friends", although she knew it was wrong to keep him. She finally decided it was best to return the monkey robot to its original owner. This was a good lesson for the students to hear while being very entertaining! Thanks PTO.

It is "Math Monday" and time to solve some math word problems! The students need to write their name, grade, and answer on a piece of paper to be turned in to me tomorrow morning. Good luck and happy solving! Kindergarten: Leanne invited 3 friends to her birthday party. Later she invited 2 more friends. How many friends did Leanne invite in all? 1st Grade: The weather reporter said it snowed 2 inches on Monday, 4 inches on Tuesday, and 1 inch on Wednesday. What was the total amount of snowfall for all three days? 2nd Grade: Over the weekend, Tom made 23 snowballs and Rich made 19 snowballs. How many snowballs did the two boys make in all? 3rd Grade: Sandy sent 102 emails to her friends during the year. Kelly sent 132 emails during the same time. How many more emails did Kelly send? 4th Grade: Daniel buys 18 bones. He plans to divide the bones equally among his 3 dogs. How many bones will each dog get?