October Parent Newsletter

PRINCIPALS
N E W S L E T T E R

OCTOBER 2013
WAL KE R WOLVE R IN E S
Monthly Memo
This month I would like to invite all parents to connect with their childs teacher at parent-teacher conferences. By conference time, our staff will have had almost two months with your children to get to know them and develop plans for their success. Your input and support are important factors that will help our students grow. I hope you walk away from conferences having a better understanding of what your childs day is like, how they are functioning at school, and how you can support their growth. Thank you for being our partner! The month of October is Disability Awareness Month. Throughout the month our staff will engage children in literature, activities, and discussions focused on the topic of disability awareness. At Walker, we are lucky to have compassionate students who support each other and accept the various differences that make us special and unique. Please make sure to join us for Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 9th. We will be meeting at the tennis courts at Central Park at 8:30 with our walk back to Walker beginning at 8:50. This event is held across the nation to promote an effort to go green and make healthy lifestyle choices. Id like to thank our Wellness Committee for organizing this event. Cross your Ringers for good weather! Feel free to reach out to me at anytime, Im happy to hear any of your concerns and our staff loves to receive compliments. I can be reached at (847) 859-8331 or friedmane@district65.net.
A Teachers Perspective...Mrs. Struve & Mrs. Wilmot, Reading Support Parents Backpack to Literacy Achievement: Fall, winter, spring, summera parent/caregiver guide to Literacy success through the grades!
It's October and we have settled into a routine for school and our extra-curricular family lives. As you enjoy this time of established routines hopefully you have included some healthy literacy components to your day. Engaging with your child in reading and conversations about what you are reading is the best way to build vocabulary and comprehension skills along with strengthening family ties. What to do at home! (What the research says!) Talk often with your child to build listening and speaking skills. Read to and/or alongside your child-often! (Children imitate; seeing YOU read is powerful!) Talk about the words and ideas in books. Encourage your child to read on their own. Ask you childs teacher how you can help your child practice at home what he/she is learning at school.
PBIS
Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports In the Month of October, our focus will be on Respectful behavior. Our Cool Tools will address areas such as the classroom, lunchroom, and playground. One point of emphasis will be on making the connection between compliant and respectful behavior. How can you support us? Share your expectations with your children, let them know what you expect of them as they leave to school in the morning. Your voice has a big impact on the tone of their behavior. Check in and ask them to give you examples of how they have demonstrated positive behavior at school. Id like to thank all the parent volunteers that came in to pop popcorn Monday as we celebrated meeting our September school wide goal for positive behavior.
Walker Wolverines are: Respectful, Caring, Safe, Here and Ready
CU R R ICU LU M & INS TR U CTION

Throughout the year we meet in grade level teams to monitor our instructional efforts and determine appropriate areas of focus based on student work/feedback. These meetings are called RtI meetings (Response to Instruction). This month our grade level teams will be meeting with our reading support team, resource staff, and English Language teachers to develop our plans of action for the 2013-2014 school year. Each grade level has reviewed our initial assessment data to determine the instructional needs of students. Each team will be creating a goal around student achievement that will be monitored and evaluated throughout the year. In future newsletters I will make sure to pass on grade level updates on the focus of our work and progress that is being made. Finally, I would like to highlight the work of our 5th grade team. They are currently participating in a year long professional development experience to implement Reading Workshop. Throughout the year they will be supported by a district literacy coach in implementing this model which is more aligned to how literacy instruction is delivered at the middle school level. Two important foundations of this model are student choice and engagement, and so far we are off to a great start. I know the team is excited about the change and they have shared many stories with me about the high level of student engagement. I am most excited by the enthusiasm the teachers have demonstrated thus far!
D ATE S TO R E M E M B E R
October 9th @ 8:30 AM- Walk to School Day October 22nd and 23rd - Parent Teacher Conferences (Contact your childs teacher for speciRic times) Conference Week- Scholastic Book Fair (More details to come on speciRic dates/times)

October Parent Newsletter

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

October Parent Newsletter

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

October Parent Newsletter

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PRINCIPALS

Walker Wolverines are: Respectful, Caring, Safe, Here and Ready

CU R R ICU LU M & INS TR U CTION

You might also like