Welcome to Week Two!

Monday, August 31, 2009



We are off to a great start at Highland. Teachers and students are here working hard already on state standards. Most notable to me is that in almost every classroom we start the year studying place value in math. You can truly see the progression of this skill from one grade level to the next. In kindergarten students are learning to identify just single digit numbers, and then in the next two grades they move to ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands places. By the time they get to sixth grade students need to name numbers to the billions and trillions places! How many of us can even visualize how big those number are and the amount they represent!!



Place value is a very abstract concept once we get past counting our fingers and toes (these make one to one correspondence possible), so it takes a great deal of concentration to help students understand such large numbers. My suggestion to parents, and teachers, is to make learning this concept fun. Try putting larger numbers in perspective by playing number games, and having fun with numbers. As a teacher, I always read, "How Much is a Million," even to kindergartners, because it just gets children thinking about big numbers. I found a great website to visit with kids to help them visualize large numbers--try it out: http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001120.shtml


I hope all parents had an opportunity to attend Back to School Night last Thursday to meet the teacher and hear about expectations for the year. If you were not able to attend it is critical that you schedule an appointment with the teacher immediately. We have very high expectations for students and we need parents to support us in making sure all children are successful.



During these high heat days (why are the first few weeks of school always the hottest?!) please know that we take steps to keep children cool. Once the temperature goes over 100 degrees we call off all recesses and outdoor play, per district policy. Teachers have games and activities students can use for indoor play. Students are encouraged to drink lots of water, and some teachers allow water bottles on desks. This can sometimes be a distraction at some grade levels, so check with your child's teacher to see if water bottles are allowed. Regardless, many rooms have drinking fountains inside and there are many drinking fountains around campus.



Don't forget that every Thursday is an early release day, so school is out for students in PM K-6th grade at 2:05. AM Ks are out at 12:05 on Thursdays.



Hope you have a great week!



--Ms. Boucher

The First Day of School is Almost Here!!

I just returned home from a Sunday workday at school, and there was a parking lot full of teachers' cars there, too. We have such a hard-working, dedicated staff! The Highland teachers are eager to have everything just right to greet their students tomorrow morning. Many have been there all weekend putting on all the finishing touches.

When students return to school tomorrow they will learn about some new ideas we are putting in place. They will hear about the new "You Rock!" slips, learn about "put-ups" and greeting everyone at school with handshakes and smiles, and sharing "Good things" each morning. These are some of the changes brought about by the Capturing Kids Hearts training many teachers attended this summer.

Students will also meet the new computer aide we have hired. Highland School is going to look at using technology in different ways to increase student engagement and interest in learning. Jonathan Cross, our computer aide, will be a great help along the way as we integrate more and more technology. He, like most of our students, is a "digital native," which means the technology is second nature to him. This generation has only known the world of digital technology, so they get it! "Digital immigrants," such as myself, are working really hard to learn how to use the technology in the school setting. I remember when the overhead, filmstrip projector, and tape recorder, were the "new" technology I had to learn to use in the classroom. Wow--we have come a long way since those days!!

In order to prepare students for the world of tomorrow, they need to have access to computers today. If your family does not have a computer at home, you can get one free by taking a computer class through SmartRiverside right here at Highland School. Classes start Wednesday, September 9. You attend 4 classes, one each Wednesday night, and on the last night you receive a free computer! The classes are held in our computer lab from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. To enroll, go to the SmartRiverside website at: http://www.smartriverside.com/di_locations.asp. Although Highland is not listed there yet, just call the phone number shown and tell them you want to enroll at Highland. The city of Riverside is going wireless, so you may even be able to get Internet connection--they will help you with this at the class.

We always encourage kids to read at least 20 minutes every night, and I would like to challenge parents to do the same! Be a great model for your children, and learn new things, too. Earlier this summer I recommended "Julie & Julia" to parents who were reading my blog, and my new favorite book is "Here Comes Everybody," by Clay Shirky. Fascinating reading!!

We are going to have a fabulous year at Highland, and it all begins in about 14 hours!!! See you bright and early tomorrow morning Highland families.

--Ms. Boucher

August 17, 2009

School starts one week from today!! We are busy at the school getting ready for you--are you getting ready for us?!

If you are reading this blog you will get the news earlier than the rest of the world! The California Department of Education will release test score data tomorrow (you can see the report on Tuesday, August 18 at: http://star.cde.star.gov/), and preliminary results indicate that the scores for Highland are high enough to remove us from Program Improvement status (there is still the possibility that final results will differ). Way to go Highland staff, students and community! Getting off the list of schools not making adequate yearly progress is quite a feat, and was accomplished through hard work, focus, and determination. Now we are ready to soar!

Highland became a California Distinguished School in 2006, and will once again be known for that excellence in education. Maintaining status as a high performing school has changed greatly in the last three years, and with the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), we must continually guarantee that more and more students reach proficiency on state standards. For this school year that means that 57% of all students must end the year showing proficiency on their state tests. On the surface we can all agree that, yes, we should be making sure that all students are proficient each year, but there are serious obstacles that we work very hard to overcome.

At least 32% of our students (259 students) are not native English speakers. According to NCLB, even 32% of those students must test proficient on their year-end tests. English learners take the same test as native English speakers, with no translation or assistance allowed. This is not an impossible task, but as you can imagine, that means our students who are learning English, while they are mastering the state standards, must work twice as hard to make progress.

About 76% of our students (614 students) are living at the poverty level. Students of poverty typically have more difficulty learning due to a lack of early language and real life experiences at home in the first five years of life. Studies say that these students start kindergarten seriously behind other students, so from day one of school they are behind their peers.

These are two major obstacles, but my expectation is that at Highland we understand, and then take action. We will not let those become excuses for students not learning; they are opportunities for Highland to show the world that with a highly qualified staff we can overcome any challenges! We will meet the end of year goal this year, and don't be surprised if we even exceed that goal, because we are all part of a championship team here at Highland.

Will you be part of the team effort? Will you support the efforts of the staff on behalf of all children? I have faith that all parents will join us in the challenge. You can do so by:

1. Staying informed. Read all school notices (that will be coming home on Tuesdays this year) and get involved.

2. Making sure your child comes to school everyday, on time, and remains at school the entire day (don't pick students up early for appointments, or to "beat the traffic").

3. Setting aside time each night to monitor your child doing homework, reading, and practicing basic skills.

4. Communicating with the teacher often. When students know that the parent and the teacher talk frequently they are more likely to engage in doing their work to a higher level.

A letter was mailed to all families last week, so look for it to arrive today or tomorrow. There is some basic information in the letter to help you start planning your year, but for more detailed information look for the full packet of materials to be sent home with your child on the first day of school.

Class lists will be posted this Thursday.

See you soon!

--Ms. Boucher

August 8, 2009

I had the pleasure of attending a performance of "Mulan Jr." this afternoon, at the invitation of the Douhan family. Olivia and Ruby were in their first play and they did a marvelous job! Riverside Youth Theatre is a great organization for children who enjoy singing and acting. It is always such a joy to watch children engage in the activities they are passionate about, be it theatre, dancing, sports, music, or learning. My goal is that we as teachers always honor the passion that drives each child and incorporate it into the classroom. Sometimes we seem so focused on textbooks and assessments, but we cannot forget that the best learning involves "doing."

Some of the office staff and I are heading back to work on Monday! It has been a great summer break with lots of time to relax and renew. There are just two weeks to go before the first day of school so we are busy putting the final touches on another new school year.

The teachers return to work on Thursday, August 20. They will be in a meeting all morning that day, and then will spend that afternoon working in classrooms. On Friday morning the PTA will be providing teachers with breakfast treats. Thursday afternoon and all day Friday is the official time for teachers to get their rooms set up (many come in much earlier than that, though), so you are welcome to stop by with your child and introduce yourself. I'm sure they'd love it if you could offer a little help while you're there, too!

The summer break often brings many changes, and this one was no different. As many of you know, the teachers decided to move classrooms over the summer so that the school is organized in a sequential manner. The preschool and kindergarten rooms remained in the same spot, but the rest of the classes were moved as necessary in order to group classes in order- from K to 1st to 2nd and so on. If you think of the campus as an upside down letter U it should help you know in which area of the campus to find your child's class based on grade.

There have also been some staff changes over the summer. Mrs. Nelson moved to another school, so Mr. Dowal has asked to take her place as a Title 1 resource teacher. He will work with Mr. McGinn and Mrs. Koss to form our intervention team that will ensure that all children receive extra help immediately as the needs arise.

We currently have a second grade teacher vacancy, but depending on the enrollment numbers and budget constraints, that may change. Additionally, several teachers have changed grade levels for this year; some because they decided they wanted to "loop" with their students. That means they have moved up to the next grade and kept the same students they had last year.

Looping is a highly effective strategy which allows students to make accelerated growth because no time is lost while teachers and students learn how to work with each other at the beginning of the year. They have already been together for an entire school year so on day one of the second year they can just pick up where they left off and soar ahead! The teacher does not need to diagnose individual needs because s/he already knows exactly where each child's strengths and weaknesses are and has a plan in place. I am truly excited that several teachers chose to loop this year, and applaud them for the extra efforts involved.

We are all very anxious to welcome students and families back to school in just two weeks! See you soon.

--Ms Boucher