Fall is Here!

Wow! This has been a busy month, so I apologize for not making my weekly blog posts. I'll try to do better from now on.

For those of you keeping up with my pet stories, I have adopted a new miniature schnauzer named Chelsea who is about 6 years old. I had to fill out adoption papers, meet my new pet at an adoption fair, and then pass a "home visit" to make sure that I would provide a safe and loving home for Chelsea. I am happy to say I was approved and Chelsea and I are enjoying each other's company. She loves to take walks every morning and evening, so she is a great influence on me!!

Just like my dog is a good influence on me, we hope as adults that we can be a positive influence in our children's lives. Our actions communicate to children what is important to us, and what is of value to us, so it is critical that we choose our actions carefully. For example, if we choose to set aside a quiet time each night when all family members sit down and read, your children will learn that you value reading. Another example, which is a negative one, if we park in the school lot illegally or cross the parking lot unsafely between parked cars, we are teaching our children not to follow rules. That is not a value we should be teaching our children. Here are some more examples of how you can be a positive influence in your child's life:

--Check your child's homework each night.
--Teach him or her to say please and thank you.
--Speak to your children in complete sentences and model how to use big words.
--Expect your child to speak to you in complete sentences.
--Visit the public library every couple of weeks and check out new books to read.
--Even older kids still like to be read to, so find a book the family enjoys and read a chapter of it out loud to each other each night.
--Model for your children the value you place on helping others and giving back to the community. Recycle, volunteer to serve meals, or help a neighbor with a job around their house.

We will soon be sending home a Progress Report with every child. The first trimester is about half over, and the Progress Report will let you know whether or not your child is meeting grade level standards up to this point. If he or she falls behind during the first trimester, they will have a very difficult time catching up, so look for this report to come home and immediately meet with the teacher if it indicates your child is falling behind. How you respond to the Progress Report is another opportunity to let your child know that you value their efforts in school.

In order to make adequate progress each year and get out of Program Improvement we must have children in school. Teaching and learning occurs every minute of the day, so when children miss class they are not learning the state standards. If they do not have an opportunity to learn, they cannot pass the state tests at the end of the year. Our school depends on every student passing their tests so we can show adequate yearly progress.

The only reason students should miss school is for illness or family emergency. PLEASE limit the number of early pick-ups by making appointments after 2:05 on Thursdays, our early release days. To give you an example of the problem we face with early pick-ups, here is the data for just today:

**4 students were picked up 3 hours early, which = 12 hours of missed instruction and 4 teachers who were disturbed by phone calls to send students to the office.

**7 students were picked up 2 hours early, which = 14 hours of missed instruction and 7 teachers who were disturbed by phone calls to send students to the office.

**6 students were picked up 1 hour early, which = 6 hours of missed instruction and 5 teachers who were disturbed by phone calls to send students to the office.

These numbers were for just one day, so all told, 32 hours of instruction were missed by 17 students, and 17 teachers were interrupted while they were trying to teach. We cannot do our job with so many parents taking children out of school early. And, when you take a child out of school early it is not just your child who loses out. The entire class has to stop for the phone call, and your child is called out to gather all his or her belongings to go home early. That takes learning time away from everyone. Please help us solve this very serious problem.

Last week we awarded over 60 students with Citizenship Awards!! These are students who are working hard in class to attain grade level standards. The parents attended this special ceremony and students received certificates, free pizza coupons, and pencils! Following the awards ceremony we held our first "Eat Lunch with Your Child" event. It was a very busy and very exciting week for all!!

If you would like to volunteer to be a Room Parent please send the blue information sheet back to school with your child.

Have a great week, and be sure to be a positive influence in the lives of your children!!

--Ms. Boucher