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October 2021 | Union School District's Monthly Newsletter

Dear Union School District Community,

Happy October USD! It is hard to believe we are well into our third month of the 2021-22 school year. This school year has been a time to celebrate and express ongoing gratitude for being together each and every day in person. We are committed to provide opportunities for all students to make personal connections and develop positive ongoing relationships. As adults, when we look back at our childhood and school memories, we remember the feelings and relationships that we built at school with our teachers and classmates. Each year is a building block in life, and in USD, we celebrate our students and strive to provide our students with the space, time and tools to develop in many areas of learning.

In USD, we continue to integrate and focus on students learning collaboratively, building healthy relationships, and connecting with their peers. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an important and vital component of learning for all of our students. There are endless opportunities for our students to build upon these skills at school in addition to the home setting. Collectively, we share in the goal to support and provide all students the tools to develop these skill sets. It is an ongoing process that is explicitly taught and discussed for students to learn in the process. In all of our schools, we are intentional about the integration of Social Emotional Learning as it provides lifelong skills and building blocks that will help students be successful as well as navigate and problem solve challenges they may experience in life.

I am proud that our schools in USD and our families have a strong partnership in educating and supporting the academic and social development of our children. As such, we want to ensure that we spend time together focused on the social emotional learning tools that can be utilized in and out of the classroom. In the upcoming weeks, each school site principal will be sharing information and resources about the Social Emotional Learning curriculum and tools.

The entire USD community is a collaborative team in support of every child. Thank you for your continued partnership.

Kind regards,

Dr. Carrie Andrews

Superintendent

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USD Parent and Guardian Learning

Union School District is proud to offer numerous and varied Parent Education opportunities throughout the year. We plan to cover topics of interest within the areas of parenting, childhood education, social emotional development, and more. Follow to receive update alerts and check back often to view new offerings.

USD Parent Education Page

View the current offerings for USD parents/guardians organized by the Learning & Innovation Department.

USD Highlights

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Lietz

Students at Lietz Elementary are training to be recess leaders. They will support their peers with solving conflicts, maintaining safety, playing structured games, and most importantly, ensure that everyone is included and having fun!

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Carlton

September 15th was International Dot Day. After reading The Dot written by Peter H. Reynolds, Carlton students in Kindergarten through 5th grade were inspired to make their own works of art. This was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate self-expression and creativity with people around the world.

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Union Middle

The Union Middle Leadership class has started their weekly Noon Time Activities at lunchtime. Hundreds of students participate each week in these events. Each activity is student-led and is often a variation of basketball, cornhole, ping pong, and various other sports.

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Noddin

Noddin Elementary primary teachers use guided reading groups to differentiate their ELA instruction, targeting individual student needs. Using the Daily 5 model, students not reading with their teacher participate in other stations, such as Word Work, the LEXIA program, and "Read to Self". These stations are also designed at each student's instructional level so that they can access them independently.

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Dartmouth Middle

The list of lunchtime clubs keeps growing to meet the interests of the Dartmouth Student Body. From Chess Club, Games and Art Club, Lunch Lounge Club, Mario Cart Club, Christian Club, Tinker and Code Club, LGBTQ+, Speech and Debate Club, to Dungeons and Dragons Club, DMS students are finding ways to socialize and expand their interest levels with new friends.

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Alta Vista

Alta Vista uses Zoom to have weekly "Cougar PAWS and Pride" assemblies with the whole school on Wednesdays. Classroom shout-outs focus on the social-emotional learning happening across the campus, hearing about both the Kimochis (TK-2) and Second Step (3-5) programs each week. Before ending the assembly with a riddle, individual students are recognized for outstanding behavior with "Two PAWS Up."

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Oster

At the 5th Grade Annual Fruit and Veggie car races, students worked to design and build their model given the material of their choice. Kindergarten learned about the life cycle of an apple and got to do some tasting and categorizing of the different varieties.

Guadalupe

It's election season at Guadalupe! Student Council candidates are campaigning this week and will give their speeches this Friday. In a great show of school spirit, Guadalupe has over 60 student candidates for leadership positions.

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Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences

Elementary parent-teacher conferences are right around the corner and will be held beginning November 8th. Conferences provide a time to learn how your child is progressing in their learning and to review their growth targets for this year. Please note that this year, our fall conferences will be held virtually. In the next several weeks, you should receive information from your child’s teacher along with times to sign up for your conference.