Bear Cub Digest #18

Posted Date: 01/05/26 (07:44 AM)

Bear Cub Digest

Parent & Community Newsletter

January 5, 2026

Welcome Back!!

Happy New Year! We are so excited to be back after a much-needed holiday break. We have four instructional days to wrap up the first semester. We intend on jumping right into our instructional focus and work to move all of our students toward academic success. Friday, January 9 is a teacher workday and student day off, focused on completing and submitting report card grades. Please remember to contact your child's teacher should you have any questions or concerns regarding their academic progress.

Winter Challenge Results!!

We will be taking this week to calculate and present our winners of the Winter Challenge! I am so proud of the many students that completed the challenges during the break. Students had the opportunity to work on Progress Learning Math, Reading (ELA), and 5th graders had a science component (last day will be today).

Thank you to all parents who contacted me during the break to make sure your child was completing the correct challenge or to ask questions about your child's connection to Progress Learning. Please remember that these challenges are ways to motivate our children to practice much needed grade level skills. When students are excited and engaged, we will continue to see improvement and growth. Please see the details of the challenge below.

January Events

Weare back and busy for this month of January! See all the things we have planned for this month below.

Jan6- 5th Grade Author Visit

Jan 9- Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

Jan 9- Teacher Workday/Student Holiday

Jan 15- Dress Down Day

Jan 19- Student/Teacher Holiday

Jan 20- SAC/PTO @7:00 in Media Center

Jan 22- 5th Grade Field Trip-Kennedy Space Center

Jan 26-30- Celebrate Literacy Week

Attendance Matters

We are back from a long and eventful holiday season. We noticed that our Average Daily Attendance dropped from its characteristically high percentage 94% to a low 92% (below the district average and goal). As we prepare for the upcoming semester, we want to share how grateful we are for each of you. Together we have worked to establish routines of showing up to school and create a school community for everyone.

We know the winter season is busy, and we appreciate your efforts to avoid taking extra days off around the winter break. As we begin this first day back today, 1/5/26, we stress that every school day matters. When students are healthy and able to attend, it gives them the chance to keep learning, connect with friends, and grow both socially and academically.

Please use the school calendar in this newsletter and on our website to help plan your vacations. Your support makes such a difference in helping children feel connected and prepared. If your family or your child needs support, please reach out to us for help. We look forward to a great start to this semester! Thank you for partnering with us!

Student Leader

We want to give a shout out to our first-grade student leader Huck Dominy. Huck wants all students to feel good about themselves and to have a sense of belonging at school and other places. He created bracelets for students that just need a smile. We had Huck present his ideas to our school resource officer Deputy Chisolm. Thank you, Huck, for representing the student leadership we are building here at Narcoossee Elementary!

Gift Wrap the Principals-Motivational Event

We were so happy to allow our students to "Gift Wrap" their principal and assistant principal as another reward for their completion of the Thanksgiving Challenge. These students completed the challenge with 70% or higher accuracy on the challenge activity. We are so proud that our students continue to push for academic success!!

Pre-Holiday Fun!

We want to make sure school is a fun place for our students to attend. This is one key to increasing daily attendance. Before the holiday break, we had many fun activities planned for our students. Below are just a few pictures from our Holiday Sing Along, and our Elves on the Narcoossee Elementary School Shelf!