AM Announcements - August 28

AM Announcements
August 28, 2009

1. Today is Day 04.

2. It is the mission of Speas Elementary School to provide its students with the tools necessary to successfully meet the challenges they will face in a diverse world.

3. Calendar items for this week:

Friday: August 28
Pre-K Screening

4. Upcoming Calendar Items:
a. 8/31 - W-APT Testing begins for ESL students
b. 9/03 - School Pictures
c. 9/07 - Labor Day Holiday - No School
d. 9/08 - Staff Meeting
e. 9/10 - Cub Scout Sign-up Night 7:00 PM
f. 9/15 - Gateway Meeting - 3rd and 5th grade students and parents - 6:00 PM

5. Today is the first day that we will have all Kindergarten students at dismissal. Please be aware of this and provide any help needed to get these children to their cars and buses quickly and safely this afternoon.

6. We are still in the process of testing students for reading levels and ability. Nothing is more critical to student success than to place them in small flexible groups that are tuned to their specific needs and performance levels. For this reason we will not begin guided reading in grades 3-5 using our Title-1 staff until testing is complete and children are assigned to groups. The Title-1 staff should assist the classroom teachers with any remaining testing and assessment that needs to be completed so this can begin promptly. Any down time the Title-1 staff may have should be directed toward getting materials (charts, etc.) and grade levels ready for all students to pass off on math facts. The expectation is that all 3-5 grade students will pass off on the math facts associated with the operations appropriate to their grade level by the end of the school year.

7. Remember that our dismissal time is 2:10 for K-1 classes and 2:15 for 2-5. We will begin our normal dismissal times of 2:15 for K-1 and 2:20 for 2-5 on Monday.

8. Be sure to send any remaining Parent Surveys to Ms. Rhodes.

9. This is a reminder that Ms. Uzcatequi meets her classes in their classrooms. Spanish classes will not be held in room #1.

10. Special Thanks! I want to thank everyone who worked yesterday at Kindergarten Screening. It is a huge undertaking and it went very smoothly. Thanks to Ms. Marston for her organization and monitoring and Ms. Spaventa and Ms. Uzcatequi for their help in translation. They were busy from the beginning to the end. I also want to thank Ms. Sabbagh Rabaiotti who is completing the EC Class Size form for our vacant LD resource position.

11. It has been a busy first week, but things are beginning to settle out. I want to express my appreciation for all the time and effort each of you have put into making this week a positive experience for children and families. You've earned a weekend!

12. As a reminder, lesson plans and newsletters should be submitted electronically to Ms. Rhodes by 8:00 AM Monday morning. If you have not sent her an electronic copy of your schedule please do so by Monday morning as well.

13. All classified staff members should turn in their time sheets by 12:00 PM today.

14. But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.
Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)

The secret of eternal youth is arrested development.
Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884 - 1980)

If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.
Anatole France (1844 - 1924)

When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary.
William Wrigley Jr. (1861 - 1932)