Washington Word
by Carol Feuerbacher
February 04, 2008
A MESSAGE FROM MR. HASTINGS
Burr!!!
We have
been going through quite a cold spell recently. Just a couple of
reminders about helping your child deal with the cold weather.
Be sure that your child always comes to school prepared to go
outside. This means bringing hats, gloves, snow boots, warm coats,
etc. every day.
Wearing layers of clothing can make it more comfortable while
students are in their classrooms.
Please, please, please see to it that your child does not come to
school too early. Students should arrive sometime between 8:00 and
8:10. Arriving earlier than that only forces them to wait in the
cold.
Electronic
Devices
Recently we
have noticed an increase in the number of elementary-aged students
who have access to electronic devices such as, but not limited to,
MP3 players, portable video game systems, cell phones, pagers,
electronic recorders, etc. For many educational and practical
reasons, we ask that students not bring devices such as these to
school.
As anyone who as purchased one of these types of devices knows,
they can be extremely expensive and valuable. If they are brought
to school, we cannot ensure that they will be 100% secure. As a
result, we cannot be responsible for them if they are lost or
stolen. Secondly, devices such as these can be a significant
distraction to the education of our students.
If school staff becomes aware that students are possessing these
items at school, we will take them and keep them until the end of
the school day. If students are using them in school, we will
contact parents. If it is absolutely necessary that a student bring
an electronic device to school, please have them turn it into the
principal for safe keeping until the end of the school day.
Thanks for your cooperation in this matter.
2008-2009 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Though it is hard
to believe, we are already beginning to put together our plans for
the upcoming school year. With that thought in mind, we are
beginning to register students who will be entering kindergarten
during the 2008-2009 school year (those who will be five-years-old
by October 15).
In order to register a parent or guardian of the incoming
kindergartner needs to come into the school during regular school
office hours (8:00-4:00). At that time, we will have the adult
complete a small packet of registration information. We will also
give them information about physicals and shots that the incoming
kindergartner will need.
When you come to register your child it is very helpful if you
bring a copy of their birth certificate as well as their Social
Security card. If you do not have a copy of their birth
certificate, one can be obtained at the Nebraska Department of
Health and Human Services office located at 304 North 5th St. in
Norfolk.
If you have any questions, give Mrs. Feuerbacher or Mr. Hastings a
call at the office at 644-2557.
By registering your child early, you guarantee a spot in the
kindergarten at Washington School for next year. We are excited to
begin registering your children. Please let your neighbors who also
have school-aged children.
We look forward to serving your child at Washington
School!
NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE GUIDANCE OFFICE
Preparing for a
School Conference
It is that time of year, once again, when parents are faced with attending school conferences. Like all events that are significant in your child’s life, conferences can be approached with optimism. The following are some tips to help in this process (excerpted from “Child Development Magazine” ’06):
Should the child attend a parent-teacher conference? With older students (4/5) it is sometimes helpful, and should be encouraged to share his feelings about his progress or lack of – students can provide valuable insight. It is not a good idea to bring siblings along for the conference – perhaps they can stay home with a sitter or older sibling.
2. Let the teacher know your perspective of your student. If your child is particularly neat (or messy) with his room at home, let the teacher know. It may fit into what she/he witnesses at school.
3. Ask questions. If the teacher uses terms that you don’t understand (education can have its own language), ask them to explain.
4. Remember, a conference is not a power struggle, but a serious meeting where all points of view are equally considered. If your method of communication is respectful and relevant, your chances of being “heard” are enhanced.
5. This is a professional, one who has been trained to teach children. She/He deserves your respect, but also, teachers are human and susceptible to the same errors and frailties of every human being.
6. If you feel you need more time, ask your teacher when she/he would be available to continue this conference. There can be a lot to cover in a very short time – ask for another date/time.
7. Never forget – your sense of humor will lighten many a situation and ease tension.
If you have further questions/concerns, feel free to call. My office hours for Washington are: T/W/Th 8:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Anita Theophilus, School Counselor
NEWS FROM CHALLENGE
How Do I Qualify For Challenge?
This question is often asked by students and parents! Please follow along as I explain the identification process!
*Grades K-3
Students are nominated by their classroom teacher. The Challenge
coordinator (Linda Engel) reviews the nomination and recommends if
the Challenge teacher should administer the SAGE test (Screening
Assessment for Gifted Elementary Students). If the student scores
within the parameters to qualify for Challenge, the student may
join the program.
*Grades 4-5
In these grades, the MAT (Metropolitan Achievement Test) is used as
the criteria for identification. Students must score the
following:
95% Total Battery
or
95% Reading Total or
95% Math Total or
95% Social Studies and 90% Reading Total or
95% Science and 90% Math Total
If a student does not qualify with the achievement scores, the student may be nominated by a teacher and given the SAGE test.
If you have any
questions, please contact me by e-mail or phone!
Nancy Boche
Nboche@npsne.org Home phone: 371-0284/School 644-2557
NEWS FROM MRS. SPANEL
As we begin a new year, it’s important to think about goals we have for the coming year. The students in my reading group wrote some individual goals that they would like to share with you. The following students and I wish you all a very healthy and happy new year.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Spanel and Students
“I am going to read
more this year.” Damian, 3rd grade
“I want to get better at gymnastics in PE.” Angel, 2nd grade
“I am going to do what my mom says. I’m not going to be mean to my
brothers or sisters or do stuff that’s bad.” Ellie, 3rd grade
“I’m going to play with my sister and brothers and help my mom
clean the house.” Victor, 3rd grade
“I would like to learn to roller skate this year.” Abigail, 3rd
grade
“This year, I want to start helping my mom clean the house.” Ana,
3rd grade
“I would like to learn how to swim this year.” Karie, 3rd grade
“This year, I’m going to be brave.” Cesar, 3rd grade
“I will clean my room when it is a mess and I will read, draw, and
write more.” Gabrielle, 3rd grade
“I am going to do the laundry, the dishes, and vacuum. I am also
going to clean my mom’s car and my dad’s truck for them.” Korbyn,
3rd grade
“This year I want to move to Canada and go snowboarding and
sledding with my family.” Cody, 3rd grade
As you begin the New Year and the new semester, I would like to encourage you to read with you child every night. Fifteen to twenty minute each night is all it takes to make a positive difference in your child’s reading skills.
Below you will find
some strategies that you can use when reading with your children at
home to improve fluency. Improving fluency will lead to better
comprehension of text so it is very important to work on this area
of reading. Fluent reading includes reading at a good pace, reading
in phrases, reading smoothly, and adding good expression while
reading text. Basically it means making your reading sound like
talking. Try the following strategies while you’re reading with
your children, and have fun with them.
Echo Read: This is when you read the phrase or sentence to your
child and they “echo” back what you read. Have your child try to
make it sound just like you when they read.
Reciprocal Read: With this strategy, you read a word, they read a
word, you read a word, they read a word, etc. This helps your
child’s eyes to move quickly across the page to the next word and
will increase fluency.
Model Read: Begin this strategy by reading a paragraph in a phrased
and fluent way using lots of good expression and then have your
child repeat the paragraph back to you. Again, the goal is to have
your child make their reading sound like yours.
Choral Read: With this strategy you will read the story together at
the same time, out loud. Challenge your child to keep up with your
voice.
When reading with your child, don’t forget to talk about the story with him/her as you read. This will also help to improve their comprehension.
Happy Reading,
Mrs. Spanel
Reading Teacher
NEWS FROM FIRST GRADE
The First Graders were excited upon returning to school after winter break.
We are becoming very good readers. For Reading many of the students from other rooms come to our room and students from our room go to other rooms. Some of the students in our room stay in our room.
In Math we have just finished working with fact families and will continue to review these. We are now beginning to explore counting patterns.
When we do all our work in First Grade we practice making our letters and numbers in the right direction.
We like books being read to us about many things in our world!
The Madison county Extension Office is working with us to complete an Embryology Project hatching baby chicks. We have to take very good care of the 12 eggs and if we do we will have baby chicks.
We enjoy learning!
The First Grade
and
Elaine Jorgensen
