Cossitt School s Tiger Times

Transcription

1 Cossitt School s Tiger Times Dear Parents: With spring break behind us, it seems like we just returned from a week of R and R. At Cossitt School, however, we will be spending the next several weeks revisiting R and R Respect and Responsibility. Students will be engaging in activities to redefine what respect looks, sounds and feels like in our classrooms, our hallways and on the playground. As you know, through our Social Emotional Learning curriculum, we regularly have these conversations. As springtime arrives, however, we find we need to be even more intentional in our efforts. Our staff will reinforce and remind students about expectations regarding respect for peers and adults at school. We hope these conversations and activities, which highlight speaking in a kind and respectful tone, including others and working as collaborative learning partners, help our students enjoy more rewarding summer activities. In talking about the other R, responsibility, we hope to help students build their sense of ownership in what happens at school. Responsible students take the lead in their own learning, they own their behavior and they realize they are part of a whole; that means being accountable for their actions in a group as well as individually. It also means setting priorities for what is important, finding the balance between work and play, and doing what is right even when no one is looking. How can parents help with this spring renewal of R and R? Here are a few ideas: 1. Reinstitute the "school night. Longer days, spring sports and warmer weather can make it difficult for children to focus on schoolwork and reasonable bed times. Set limits about what has to be done. Sometimes children need a conversation about priorities. Support the notion that school is the priority until early June, and when it is an evening before a school day, decisions should help ensure the next day goes well. 2. Reinforce the importance of a positive tone and attitude at home, on the playing field and at school. Your example is critical; insisting that such behavior is on display in your children s words and actions will help them make this part of their behavior wherever they are. 3. Remember that family time is important. With schedules full of recital rehearsals, baseball games and final projects, it can be difficult to find time for a family meal or time to reflect on the day s happenings. We hope you will join us in making spring R and R successful for everyone! Sincerely, Mary Tavegia, Principal Earth Day is Every Day! 4/12 Preschool Screening 4/14 Jazz Band Concert/Tour BOE Meeting, 4/15 Scrip Orders Due 4/18 Parent Advisory Council Meeting 4/20 Kindergarten Visitation 4/21 Grade 4 CCC Festival 4/22 4/27 Administrative Professionals Day 4/28 Park Fest, 5/2-5/6 Teacher Appreciation Week 5/5 BOE Meeting, 5/8 5/12 Grade 6 Tour of PJH, Spring Orchestra Concert 5/13 SCRIP Orders Due PTC Committee Chair Thank You Coffee, 5/17 Grade 6 Parent Night 5/19 BOE Meeting, 5/20 Grade 5 CCC Festival 5/26 Band/Orchestra Party 5/30 5/31 Grade 6 Party, 3:20-4:30 p.m. 6/1 Recognition Assembly 6/3 End-of-Year Event 6/6 Last Day of School PTC Meeting & Coffee 8:20 a.m., MPR April 22 is Earth Day, but we celebrate it every day at Cossitt. Our Environmental Club collects cans and plastic bottles during lunch each day and reminds us about recycling paper. We appreciate their efforts. Please consider reusable containers when packing your child s lunch to reduce the trash we contribute to landfills. You will be setting a good example. District 102 s lawns feature primarily organic products from NaturaLawn. A schedule of applications can be found at Click on the Cossitt School photo. Another green effort is our No Idle Zone in the pick up line. Please turn off your car when waiting for your child. Or, let your child walk to and from school. Having a walking buddy and an approved route are important for first timers, and a walk with a parent or sibling is good, too. As a neighborhood school, our car lines should be short. Mary Tavegia, Principal Andi McKenna, Designer Spring Holiday School will not be in session Friday, April 22.

2 N E W S A R O U N D C O S S I T T Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Thursday, April 28, has been publicized as Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day across the nation. Fostering interest in careers and seeing how the real world works is an admirable goal. Knowing a career requires a strong educational background and setting priorities is also important for our future workforce. We ask that parents strongly take this into consideration before taking their child out of school for this day. There are many opportunities in June, July and August to take your child to work with you. If you work at a business that runs a special program to boost career interest, why not suggest they pick a date that would not disrupt your child s education? If you believe it is important for your child to participate in a program, please give the Health Office advance notice of your child s absence by calling the school , ext Calendar Reminders Due to snow days, our calendar has been adjusted. Here is the schedule for the last two weeks of school: Monday, May 30: Memorial Day No School Tuesday, May 31: Grade 6 Party 3:20 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 1: Recognition Assembly 8:45 a.m. Friday, June 3: End of the Year Event 12:30 3:00 p.m. Monday, June 6: Last day of school 8:20 9:20 a.m. Monday, June 6: PTC Meeting & Coffee 8:20 a.m., Multipurpose Room Keeping Your Child Safe in Cyberspace Research shows that during the past several years, children ages eight to 18 typically spend more time using computers. They are also spending more time on the Internet, particularly at home. Much of that time is spent social networking. (Kaiser Family Foundation Study: Generation M2). In this district, we intentionally teach third through eighth grade students to be responsible and respectful online using our Internet Safety Curriculum. In addition, we have technical safeguards that filter content and limit Internet access. We also teach students to avoid, recognize, refuse and report incidents of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is defined as willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. (Hinduja and Patchin, 2009.) To help keep your child safe in cyberspace, you can Keep your home computer in a public place. 2. Teach your child appropriate cell phone/online social skills. 3. Set age appropriate boundaries for use of technology. 4. Monitor your child s computer and cell phone. 5. Get to know your child s online friends. 6. Be your child s friend on social networking sites. 7. Tell your child not to respond to offensive/dangerous communication. What are our expectations regarding what children wear to school? Following are the guidelines: 1. Clothing should not distract other students or disrupt the educational process. If you have an older child, view their clothing from a completely different perspective than you would for those in the primary grades. 2. Students should be able to sit, stand and move comfortably without exposing more than anyone is comfortable seeing. 3. Warm weather outside does not mean children need to wear tiny tops, short If you believe your child is being cyberbullied Convey unconditional support. 2. Avoid banning electronic devices. 3. Work with your child to determine a course of action. 4. Collect and preserve electronic evidence. 5. File a complaint with the Internet service provider. 6. Report the situation to your child s school. 7. Contact the police if physical threats are involved. For more information about cyberbullying, visit Warm Weather Clothing Guidelines shorts and flip flops. The temperature in our school is very comfortable on most days. Your child should have shoulders covered; shorts should extend to their fingertips when their arms are at their sides; and those deeply scooped tops can be a real distraction when worn by some of our older girls. Flip flops are very dangerous on our stairs. We discourage children from wearing them at school. If your child is not appropriately dressed for school, we may offer alternate clothing or call home to have something brought in to the office. We appreciate your support in helping us maintain an environment conducive to learning. Our Students Art on Exhibit Cossitt School will take part in an art exhibit at the LaGrange Public Library during April. Elementary and junior high schools from LaGrange Township all will be represented. C O S S I T T S C H O O L T I G E R T I M E S

3 N E W S A R O U N D C O S S I T T Presidential Academic Award After this year, District 102 will no longer participate in the Presidential Academic Award program. With our services ranging from tiered programming to talent development, it has become extremely difficult to determine the appropriate criteria for student eligibility, and we believe our focus in the elementary grades should be on learning goals and not on grades. Park Junior High will continue to participate in this program. Please Keep Pets at Home With nicer weather on the way, there could be more dogs being walked to school to greet children. We do understand the desire to multitask, but it is not safe to have your dog present on school grounds or in any area where children congregate during arrival or dismissal. Standing across the street from the school with your dog still puts the children and your dog at risk as crowds walk by. Putting a dog in an unpredictable situation with many excited children is not fair to the pet or the children. Many children are afraid of dogs, and the active school setting is not the best way to introduce a child to an animal. Allergies are a problem for many students, as well. Finally, the liability you accept by putting an animal in a crowd is pretty remarkable. Holding the dog in your arms or on a leash is really no guarantee for how it will respond in a crowd, regardless of how small, trained or well behaved it is. It could potentially bolt into the street or into the crowd. Please leave your family pet at home when you come to school. Spring is Tornado Season It won t be long before we have the collision of warm and cold weather that can cause severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Should a tornado alert occur at the end of school, all students will be held in the building and will not be released until the official all clear is given. Parents who arrive during an alert will be asked to join and move to safety in the building. Parent Requests Parents are advised that it is not school or district practice to accept requests for student placements for the next year. Class assignments are made according to students needs and staff resources. All placements are made thoughtfully and to the children s benefit. Requests for variances in these groupings may result in a less than optimal learning situation. Parent Advisory Council Meeting Summary March 2011 Special Education Kathy Tomasiewicz, assistant superintendent for special education, explained the difference between an Individualized Education Plan and a Section 504 Plan. Section 504 relates to the Americans with Disabilities Act. A student has an identified disability that has an adverse effect on education. It is predominantly managed in the educational environment through accommodations. Students with disabilities relates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. There are three prongs of eligibility: diagnosis of one or more of the categorical disabilities; adverse effect on educational progress; and only special education services can meet the student s needs. Special education categorical identification was reviewed. A comparison of our student population to other districts, state and LADSE programs was provided. C O S S I T T S C H O O L T I G E R T I M E S An expansion of continuum of services explained that we offer other pull out programs within the schools and also special cross categorical programs in particular buildings. Goals are to improve communication and continue to evaluate whether programs meet children s needs and get children back to their classrooms. Gifted Education Randy Lange, talent development coordinator, reviewed the Talent Development Program steering premises. Developing thinking is necessary for all students. Classroom based differentiation continues. Accelerated classes will be offered next year in language arts (LA) in grades four through eight and math in grades three through eight. Student planning is done on an individual basis. Pathways were explained for LA and math enrichment programs; there are many entry points. The gifted education link on District 102 s website was highlighted; it includes identification protocols and interactive websites. Families are encouraged to look at these together. There are also books to borrow from Randy Lange. The future focus is on expanding creativity options for talented children, e.g., an interactive lecture followed by active involvement with students (using Park s auditorium). Questions/Comments from Committee: Expand on ideas for creativity: Handson programs and artistic opportunities (e.g., drama, visual arts, etc.). Have an expert demonstrate or talk and then kids have a workshop. Budgets for two programs: Special education is about $6 million with some reimbursement Continued on next page

4 N E W S A R O U N D C O S S I T T Continued from previous page from the state, yet most costs are districtfunded. Federally mandated programs offset by $700,000. Talent development (TD) is $400,000 in salary expenses. Teachers of TD classes would be teaching core classes if not talent development. Many materials/curriculum have already been bought and can be reused. Para educators delivering special education programs has changed to teachers teaching programs. There has been a change from co teaching to delivering instruction by special education staff through reallocation of staff. Fewer paras are employed, but the special education teacher count has remained stable. Q: Is there a plan to have more accelerated LA classes at Park to the extent of math options? A: LA is up to three sections of grades seven and eight to meet students needs. There is also differentiation within the core for LA. Math double accelerated at LT is a small group one class. Eighth grade prealgebra has six to seven sections. Seventh grade pre algebra has five sections. Q: Do the percentage cut offs vary from building to building? A: No, it is the same at each grade level at each school. Q: Are all schools equally served by both programs? A: Equal services are available at each building, but numbers served varies each year based upon need. Q: Does the TD curriculum dictate that students are on the same page/same assessment on the same day? Why is the pacing guide so scheduled? A: There is a suggested pacing with some catch up days for flexibility. Q: The TD Entry Chart is valuable and could benefit all. Can it be passed out? A: Parents may access it on the District s website. Add this to curriculum night packet. Guest Questions Q: Does the state owe us money for special education or to the district overall? A: As of today, the state owes us $1.2 million. Our reserves are covering this gap now. Q: How does the class for executive function include students? A: Teacher recommendation for all students based on need. Hot Topics Q: How many days of school can a child miss before being held back? A: There is no law; the district determines what is best for a child based on need. The district would work individually with families to prevent retaining the child. Q: Was an agenda sent? A: To be more green, topics were announced but an agenda is not provided. The next topic is finances on April 18 at Congress Park School. C O S S I T T S C H O O L T I G E R T I M E S

5 LRC LINK Kelly Davis, LRC Director What s up in Sup? I can t believe that we are already well into our fourth Reading Street unit! Where does the time go? During this unit our primary students have been regularly practicing their keyboarding skills using online games. By playing these games our children are becoming more aware of the location of keys on the keyboard. Some of the sites they have been using are listed below. Ask your children to show you which keyboarding games they ve been using! During the week before our spring break our first graders were learning coordinate and mapping skills. After a short lesson they practiced these skills with two online activities, Billy the Bug and Dino Dig. Both of these activities reinforced mapping skills, and identifying coordinates along the x- & y- axes. During this unit our second graders have been getting ready to host their own talk show by learning the best practices for interviewing. They ve learned that foot questions, which are questions that require several sentences answers, make much more interesting interview questions. Soon they will be preparing seven to ten foot questions to ask one of their classmates. They will be recoding these interviews using Photo Booth, and will be creating a mini-movie of their interview using Apple s imovie. Finally, our third graders are getting ready to research the Windy City, using Boolean search methods. Ask your third grader about the three small but powerful words; and, or and not. Which Boolean operator will result in the fewer hits when researching? Keyboarding & Coordinate Websites Illinois Children s Choice Awards Dance Mat Typing: There are three children s choice awards in the state of Illinois. Many of our students recently participated by choosing the book that they enjoyed the most from a group of nominated books. Our kindergarten children voted for their favorite Monarch book from the group of nominated books that I read to them during their LRC time. This year they selected Oh, Theodore!; Guinea Pig Poems by Susan Katz. Our fourth, fifth and sixth grade students who read three of the Rebecca Caudill nominees were eligible to vote for their favorite. This year they selected Savvy by Ingrid Law. This was the inaugural year for the Bluestem Award. Our students in second, third, and fourth grade who read four of the nominated books were eligible to choose their favorite. Hachiko Waits by Newman received the most votes. Looking for a great read for your children? Try one of the nominated books! The lists are just a Google search away! Learning Games for Kids: Billy the Bug: ugcoord.html Dino Dig: dinosaur.swf Monarch Award - Bluestem Award - Rebecca Caudill Award

6 español marzo 2011 K i n d e r g a r t e n s t u d e n t s h a v e b e g u n t h e i r u n i t o n l a f a m i l i a ( f a m i l y ). T a k e a l o o k a t t h e v o c a b u l a r y p a c k e t s e n t h o m e i f y o u w o u l d l i k e t o s e e w h a t w o r d s t h e y a r e w o r k i n g o n! S o f a r, w e h a v e i n t r o d u c e d o u r w o r d s a n d p r a c t i c e d t h e m w i t h a b o a r d g a m e, a m e m o r y g a m e, a n d a d r y - e r a s e b o a r d d r a w i n g g a m e!! 1 st g r a d e s t u d e n t s h a v e b e g u n t h e i r u n i t o n l a f a m i l i a ( f a m i l y ). S o f a r, t h e s e s t u d e n t s h a v e l e a r n e d t h e w o r d s a n d p r a c t i c e d t h e m b y d r a w i n g a n d l a b e l i n g a p i c t u r e o f t h e i r o w n f a m i l i a l a s w e l l a s p l a y i n g M e m o r y. T h e 3 rd g r a d e r s f i n i s h e d p r a c t i c i n g t h e v e r b g u s t a r a n d t h e i r s p o r t s a n d h o b b i e s. W e j u s t b e g a n o u r u n i t o n l a c o m i d a ( f o o d ). W e b e g a n b y g o i n g b a c k t o o u r g u s t a r u n i t t o d i s c u s s w h i c h f o o d s w e l i k e. W e h a v e a l s o p l a y e d M e m o r y a n d a r e c u r r e n t l y w o r k i n g o n w r i t i n g r e s t a u r a n t s k i t s t h a t w e w i l l p e r f o r m f o r t h e c l a s s!! 4 th g r a d e r s h a v e b e e n w o r k i n g o n t h e i r s e a s o n s a n d w e a t h e r u n i t. T h e y h a v e p r a c t i c e d u s i n g t h e v e r b g u s t a r t o t a l k a b o u t w h a t t h e y d o a n d d o n o t l i k e. T h e y h a v e a l s o p l a n n e d s o m e v a c a t i o n s b a s e d o n w e a t h e r c o n d i t i o n s a s w e l l a s p l a y e d c h a r a d e s! O u r 2 nd g r a d e r s h a v e just f i n i s h e d u p t h e i r u n i t o n e l c u e r p o ( b o d y ). T h e y r e c e n t l y p l a y e d a d r y - e r a s e b o a r d d r a w i n g g a m e a s w e l l a s f o l l o w i n g d i r e c t i o n s i n S p a n i s h t o d r a w a n a l i e n! 5 th g r a d e r s h a v e f i n i s h e d t h e i r D r e a m H o m e s a n d m o v e d o n t o o u r p r e p o s i t i o n s u n i t. W e w i l l b e w o r k i n g o n o u r p r e p o s i t i o n s u n t i l t h e e n d o f A p r i l a n d t h e n w e w i l l b e g i n our u n i t o n ti m e! 6 th g r a d e r s h a v e b e e n w o r k i n g h a r d t o l e a r n t h e i r p r e p o s i t i o n s. W e h a v e p l a y e d G u e s s w h o g a m e s a n d m o v e d t h i n g s a r o u n d t h e r o o m b y f o l l o w i n g d i r e c t i o n s g i v e n i n S p a n i s h t o p r a c t i c e. W e h a v e m o v e d o n t o p l a c e s i n a t o w n. S o f a r, w e h a v e c o m b i n e d t h i s u n i t w i t h p r e p o s i t i o n s t o t a l k a b o u t w h e r e c e r t a i n p l a c e s i n a t o w n a r e l o c a t e d!

7 Eat Right Food, Nutrition and Health Tips from the American Dietetic Association 25 Healthy Snacks for Kids When a snack attack strikes, refuel with these nutrition-packed snacks. Easy, Tasty (and Healthy) Snacks You may need an adult to help with some of these snacks. 1. Peel a banana and dip it in yogurt. Roll in crushed cereal and freeze. 2. Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese. Top with raisins. Enjoy your ants on a log. 3. Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with ricotta cheese and Granny Smith apple slices. Add a dash of cinnamon. 4. Mix together ready-to-eat cereal, dried fruit and nuts in a sandwich bag for an on-the-go snack. 5. Smear a scoop of frozen yogurt on two graham crackers and add sliced banana to make a yummy sandwich. 6. Top low-fat vanilla yogurt with crunchy granola and sprinkle with blueberries. 7. Microwave a small baked potato. Top with reduced-fat cheddar cheese and salsa. 8. Make snack kabobs. Put cubes of low-fat cheese and grapes on pretzel sticks. 9. Toast a whole grain waffle and top with low-fat yogurt and sliced peaches. 10. Spread peanut butter on apple slices. 11. Blend low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana for thirty seconds for a delicious smoothie. 12. Make a mini-sandwich with tuna or egg salad on a dinner roll. 13. Sprinkle grated Monterey Jack cheese over a corn tortilla; fold in half and microwave for twenty seconds. Top with salsa. 14. Toss dried cranberries and chopped walnuts in instant oatmeal.

8 15. Mix together peanut butter and cornflakes in a bowl. Shape into balls and roll in crushed graham crackers. 16. Microwave a cup of tomato or vegetable soup and enjoy with whole grain crackers. 17. Fill a waffle cone with cut-up fruit and top with low-fat vanilla yogurt. 18. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on hot popcorn. 19. Banana Split: Top a banana with low-fat vanilla and strawberry frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with your favorite whole-grain cereal. 20. Sandwich Cut-Outs: Make a sandwich on whole grain bread. Cut out your favorite shape using a big cookie cutter. Eat the fun shape and the edges, too! 21. Spread mustard on a flour tortilla. Top with a slice of turkey or ham, low-fat cheese and lettuce. Then roll it up. 22. Mini Pizza: Toast an English muffin, drizzle with pizza sauce and sprinkle with low-fat mozzarella cheese. 23. Rocky Road: Break a graham cracker into bite-size pieces. Add to low-fat chocolate pudding along with a few miniature marshmallows. 24. Inside-Out Sandwich: Spread mustard on a slice of deli turkey. Wrap around a sesame breadstick. 25. Parfait: Layer vanilla yogurt and mandarin oranges or blueberries in a tall glass. Top with a sprinkle of granola. Dip it! Bonus Snacks Dip baby carrots and cherry tomatoes in low-fat ranch dressing. Dip strawberries or apple slices in low-fat yogurt. Dip pretzels in mustard. Dip pita chips in hummus. Dip graham crackers in applesauce. Dip baked tortilla chips in bean dip. Dip animal crackers in low-fat pudding. Dip bread sticks in salsa. Dip a granola bar in low-fat yogurt. Dip mini-toaster waffles in cinnamon applesauce. For a referral to a registered dietitian and for additional food and nutrition information visit The American Dietetic Association is the world s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA is committed to improving the nation s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. This tip sheet is provided by: Now that you are refueled, take a trip to Planet Power. Play the MyPyramid Blast-Off game at Authored by American Dietetic Association staff registered dietitians ADA. Reproduction of this tip sheet is permitted for educational purposes. Reproduction for sales purposes is not authorized.