• Elementary Principal~ Dan Dalchow
• Our Elementary has, and will continue to be, a busy place.  That's a good thing!  We had our conferences and book fair on the 13th.  We also had our Donuts for Dads in kindergarten recently.  As always, these events were well attended. It shows the emphasis our families have on education.
• There are a couple more upcoming events that will be coming down the road.  The Elementary PAC is hosting their annual basketball tournament on March 1st.  A lot of basketball gets played and students have an opportunity to stay close to home and play some good competition from around the area.  If you are available to help, the Elementary PAC is looking for a wide variety of volunteers in hosting this event. (You don't even need to know anything about basketball for a number of the duties)
• Another event coming up is the Elementary Carnival.  This will be held on March 29th.  There will be Sweet G's Inflatables from 3 PM - 5PM with Carnival games, raffles, and supper to follow from 5 PM - 7 PM.  This is always a fun time.  The Elementary PAC puts on this carnival every year and it requires a lot of volunteers (over 50 people) to make it successful.  If you are willing to help out for an hour or two, please contact the office.  They would appreciate your volunteer help. 
• I talk to a lot of parents and I hear a lot of them say that they seem to be running all the time, taking their children from one thing to another.  I am right there with them.  It is a rare thing to get a quiet night at home. BUT, what I also say is, what better way to spend your time than with your family and taking time to provide your children with a wealth of opportunities.  There is a reason that companies from other parts of the United States prefer hiring people from the Midwest.  They are well-round, well-educated, and hard-working.
• Sincerely,
• Mr. Dan Dalchow ~ Principal          Groton Area Elementary School                   Elementary Phone # 397-2317                 E-mail:  dan.dalchow@k12.sd.us

• Junior Kindergarten - Julie Milbrandt
• This year has just been flying by.  It is really hard to believe that soon we will be looking at Spring Break and the beginning of the last quarter of the school year.  The Junior Kindergarteners have been very busy "getting ready" for kindergarten.   
• One thing we have gotten very good at is recognizing our letters and having fun looking for them in words that we see around the school.  Another skill we have been practicing is "making up" words.  Using the Smart Board, we roll two or three

(Continued on page 3)