PK-1 Principal/Director of Teaching & Learning
Sara Grimm
Twitter: saramarleygrimm
SKYPE: saramarleygrimm
ATTENDANCE
One of the most important things your child can do to
achieve academic success is also one of the most basic: going to school every
day. In fact, research has shown that your child's attendance may be the
biggest factor influencing her academic success.
Benefits of daily attendance
- By attending class regularly, your child is more likely to keep up with the daily lessons and assignments, and take quizzes and tests on time.
- Achievement: students who attend school regularly are more likely to pass reading and math assessments than students who don't attend school regularly.
- Opportunity: For older students, being in school every day gives them a chance to learn more about future opportunities, and to take the important exams they need to build a successful academic record.
- Being part of the school community: Just by being present at school, your child is learning how to be a good citizen by participating in the school community, learning valuable social skills, and developing a broader world view.
- The importance of education: Your commitment to school attendance will also send a message to your child that education is a priority for your family, going to school every day is a critical part of educational success, and that it's important to take your responsibilities seriously including going to school.
As a parent or guardian, it is possible to plan ahead in
order to limit your child's absences, make school attendance a priority, and
help your child from falling behind if it is necessary to miss a day of school.
You can do this in the following ways:
- Help your child get to school on time every day. Babysitting, problems with a car or late bus, and the weather are not permissible reasons to miss school. Frequently coming to school late may also be noted on your child's permanent record, and will make it difficult for your child to stay caught up with the first lessons of each morning. Teach your child how to set and use an alarm clock, and keep the television turned off in the morning.
- Follow the school's guidelines and attendance policy, and report excused absences immediately. At the beginning of the school year, review the school's rules and make sure you understand whom you need to call if your child is going to be absent.
- Check homework. Check each night to see that your child understands and completes the day's homework assignments.
- Take an active role. Stay involved with your child's daily experiences at school by asking how the school day went, and then listening carefully to what your child shares with you both the successes and struggles. Make it a point to meet your child's teacher and friends.
- Locate potential sources of anxiety. If your child frequently appears upset or reluctant to go to school and cannot tell you why, schedule an appointment with his or her teacher or school counselor to talk about possible sources of the anxiety.
- Keep updated on school events and announcements. Read the school documents that your child brings home and take note of important announcements and dates, such as back-to-school night and parent-teacher conferences.
- Try to limit the amount of time that your child misses school due to medical appointments or illness. If possible, avoid scheduling doctor's appointments during the school day. Allow your child to stay home only in the case of contagious or severe illnesses. Students who miss days, weeks, or months of school at a time will have a difficult time passing their courses and catching up to their peers.
- Schedule family events with your child's school schedule in mind. Plan holiday celebrations or family trips during weekends or school vacations. In the case of family emergencies or unexpected trips, talk to your child's teacher as far in advance as possible and set up a way that your child can work ahead or bring important homework on the trip.
- Plan ahead. Encourage your child to prepare for the next school day by laying out clothes the night before and helping to fix lunches.
- Promote good health. Make sure that your child eats a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and has opportunities to exercise every day through a sports team or playtime outside.
- Create a restful environment. Finally, make sure that your child can relax before bedtime by doing something quiet like reading rather than doing something stimulating, like watching television or playing video games. Ensure that your child gets enough quality sleep ideal amounts range from 8 to 12 hours. Getting enough sleep will help her get up on time, be refreshed in the morning, and feel ready for a full day of learning ahead!
By making your child's school attendance a priority, you
will be taking an important step in supporting your child's school success, and
setting a good example. Remember every day counts!
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
Do your kids like to learn about nature,
science, or the outdoors? Check out these websites:
National Geographic Little Kids features games,
crafts and recipes, science, videos, and animal information. It's perfect for
the 5 and under crowd.
Games, videos, information, cool photos, and more will keep your
kids engaged and learning on this educational site.
WINTER
CLOTHING
Please
make sure that your child is properly dressed for our weather. If you make sure
that they wear a coat, hat/headband, boots and gloves to school, we will try to
make sure they wear all of these items outside for recess.
This is also a
good time to review the guidelines we use for going outside for recess. Keep in
mind it is our goal to get students out into the fresh air and provide them an
opportunity to get physical exercise and socialize with their friends. Students
will go outside for recess unless the temperature or the wind chill is below 0.
Medically it has been proven that cold, crisp air does not cause colds or
viruses. In fact, limited exposure to fresh air throughout the day has been
proven to be beneficial to good health.
We will expect parents to use good
judgment concerning the outer clothing a child wears to school. (Please mark all
your child’s outerwear with first and last name.)
Snow pants and
boots are required to play in the snow.
MATH FACTS
Are you stuck inside because the weather is too cold to go out and
play? If so, it is an excellent time to practice your math facts. You can make your own flashcards using any scrap paper at home or even
take a blank sheet of paper and time yourself to see how long it takes to write
your facts. If you have internet access there are many math fact websites
that you can use to practice your facts (just GOOGLE math facts).
Preschool Program-Wide PBIS
Staff Member Highlight
Megan Matt is a 1:1 para-professional at the
Crestwood Early Childhood Center. Mrs. Matt has worked to form a positive
relationship with her student by recognizing and praising the student’s
continued accomplishments. She also provides positive feedback to other
students in the preschool program when observing the program’s expectations of
being safe, kind, and respectful.
Preschool
During afternoon centers the
students were able to use beads to start making bracelets and necklaces. If the
students chose to make something they finished them this week. They were also
able to use different shaped sponges to paint with.
For snack the students
painted a piece of white bread with milk colored with food coloring. After they
had their bread painted they toasted them, and once they were toasted the
students could still see the colors they put on their bread. The students had hot chocolate
with their toast, and while they were enjoying their snack they watched a short
movie.
Students have also been practicing writing the numbers 8 and 9.
The rhyme for 8 is “Make an S and do not wait. Go back up and
that’s an eight” and for 9 is “A loop and a line that’s a nine.” Students
also explored building with ice. Students first tried building with
just different shaped blocks of ice and then they added snow and salt to see if
they would make building with ice easier. They discovered that the snow
helped the ice stick together when building, and the salt helped
it stick if they used a lot of it.
Transitional
Kindergarten
Students learned more about machines
through literature exploration and group discussions. Non-fiction books guided
their learning. The students began planning their own machine creations. These
will be “built” with Mrs. Sorenson’s 5th grade buddy class. Students will be doing activities related to
our Gizmos and Gadgets study.
Kindergarten
In today’s world of kindergarten, there is much
more rigor in the curriculum. Students
are immersed in a balance of whole-class, small-group, and individual
instruction, along with higher expectations for literacy development before
first grade. Teachers work very hard to allow time for students to build
foundational skills for literacy and math, as well as, to build classroom
routines. A critical component for student success is providing opportunities
for students to practice their skills.
Giving your child many opportunities to read and show what they know
will help them to improve their skills and become a more successful reader.
First
Grade
Figuring out which is the
quicker way to solve addition problems: a calculator or our brain
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