Oakdale Newsletter
December 4, 2019
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” Mark Twain Try to cheer someone up by playing a fun game, making a card, sharing a story, or just being present for them and actually listening.
Healthy Eating for Life
December is a perfect time to talk to our children about making healthy eating choices, even with all the feasting of the upcoming holidays. Although a few of our children do have Type I Diabetes now, Type II Diabetes in later life is becoming a national epidemic. We do know that the habits our children develop in the early years can stay with them for life including contributing to Type II Diabetes in midlife and beyond. The rapidly developing brains of young children need vitamins, minerals, protein and fatty acids to help them learn and function.
So, we probably all know that fruits and veggies are good for us. Children are rapidly growing and need lots of calories. So, the trick is how do we fill up our students and still get them to eat healthy?
Well, believe it or not, one of the best ways to get finicky eaters to eat more fruits and veggies is exposure. We offer many fruits and veggies every day to our students in the cafeteria and encourage them to take as much as they want of these foods. Make sure you choose healthy foods and model for your children. It is also helpful to make sure that they eat at least a little of everything healthy that you eat. Over time their tastes will start to lean toward the healthy food. The key is to keep the taste small and not overwhelming.
Tips:
- Pair new foods with familiar foods
- Encourage students to try new foods, but avoid undue pressure and harshness.
- Don’t introduce new foods if your child does not feel well.
- Model by eating more fruits and vegetables yourself. Mrs. Jones is frequently seen eating fruits, salads and veggies in the cafeteria.
- Yes, breakfast is extremely important!!! Children need some protein with their carbs at breakfast. If you don’t have time for breakfast, our cafeteria serves it daily and it is only $.90 for the full priced meal.
READING ACHIEVEMENT– We are seeing steady growth in our students’ reading skills. We are proud of the excellent work of our teachers and students! And thanks for the support of our parents. Please keep reading!!!
You might want to try DYAD reading over the winter break:
- Share one book.
- Sit side-by-side.
- Track the words with one smooth finger.
- Read aloud together.
- Keep eyes on words.
- Talk about the text as you read.
- Have fun!
Our Chief Example Skill of the Month is SERVICE.
In the book “Flourish”, Martin Seligman describes ways that we can thrive and two important ways are to build relationships with others and find meaning in our lives. You can help encourage this in our children by providing opportunities for them to help others. This might be talking to a new student, smiling at someone who is lonely, collecting food for the Utah Food Bank, baking cookies or shoveling snow for a neighbor. Service helps both the receiver and the person providing the service.
Congratulations to Ms. Yates’ class for really showing the spirit of service and bringing in the most cans for our food drive. Over the next few months you will be hearing often from our 5th grade with their idle free campaign to help keep our air clean.
Oakdale Calendar of Events
Office Hours: 8:15 am to 3:45 pm
*All Fridays are early-out days at 1:40 pm.
Tues., Dec. 10 Choir Concert at Union Middle at 7 pm
Friday, Dec. 13- CEO of the Month Assembly 9:15 am
Tues., Dec. 17- BIZ Town for 5th gr.
Fri., Dec. 20- Sing-Along for students @ 9:15 am
Last Day prior to Winter Break
Dec. 23-Jan. 5 Winter Break- No School
Jan. 6- School Resumes
Wishing you all the best for Happy Holidays!
Principal Jones
