Elementary Principal ~ Dan Dalchow
• We have 275 students in our elementary right now.  With that many students, one would expect that there would be a few parents that for one reason or another, cannot make it to parent/teacher conferences.  It does not appear to be the case at our elementary school.  We had a record turnout for conferences this fall.  This is a good example of why our students are successful in school.  Numerous studies show that there is a strong correlation of student success when parents participate in their child's education.  I hear this, and experience it many times over throughout the year, the Groton Area School District has very strong community support and parent involvement.
• If you have not checked out Accelerated Reader yet you should do so.  You can get a log-in from your child's classroom teacher.  The link can be found on the school's home page under the tab, Academics.  The link you want is Renaissance Place.  Your log-in will allow you to see in real time every quiz your child takes and it can also email your child's results everytime they take an AR quiz too.  Since we have started Accelerated Reader, the amount of reading our students have done has increased substantially.  Way to go students!
• With snow starting to show up in the forecast, comes the snowboots season here at Groton Area Elementary.  Students are to wear snowboots whenever there is snow present on the playground.  They are also asked to have a pair of shoes to wear while in school.  The majority of the time our students are very good about remembering to have both snowboots and shoes to wear, but not always.  When a student forgets to bring their shoes, we like to be able to offer them a pair of shoes to wear for the day.  As such, we have an inventory of shoes in the office, but we are short on various sizes.  If you have some children's shoes collecting dust at your house, please give the school a call and see if we need the sizes you have.  We would be happy to take good quality used shoes off your hands for our students who forget theirs.
• One last thing for this month's newsletter, with the budget tightening and staffing spread thin, we are in need of adult volunteers.  The volunteers would primarily be working with younger children on basic reading activities.  We will take volunteers at any time, but if you find yourself looking for a rewarding activity for an hour or two in the afternoon, please contact the school.
• If there is anything I can help you with, or any questions you have, please contact me during school hours.
• Mr. Dan Dalchow ~ Principal          Groton Area Elementary School                   Elementary Phone # 397-2317                 E-mail:  dan.dalchow@k12.sd.us
•