Monday, April 9, 2018

Dear Families,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a fun-filled restful spring break!

April is here and from this point on the rest of the school year will breeze by.

We know that “April Showers Bring May Flowers” and so we would like to welcome families to join Ms. Regan for Garden Day on Saturday April 21, 2018 from 10:00a.m.-2:00 p.m. to spruce up our garden. Letters will go home and if you are interested in contributing to the beautification of our school grounds, please return the slip as soon as possible. Did you know that Sunday, April 22, 2018 also happens to be Earth day? What a wonderful way to respect Mother Nature with your child.

Safety: On March 29, 2018 right before the Spring break, your children were all engaged in our last round of bus drills. Three bus drills are done each year to ensure that all children know the expected behaviors on school busses as well as how to evacuate in an emergency situation. Prior to drills teachers engage students in lessons around safety protocols/behaviors and following the drills students are provided time to reflect on what they learned. Please note that when children are informed and are provided ample opportunities to reflect on appropriate and inappropriate behavior as well as problem solve, they are better prepared to deal with conflict resolution. Our goal is to provide all children with access to a rigorous and meaningful quality education in a safe and welcoming environment.

“No Toy Policy”: Please refrain from allowing your children to bring personal items and toys from home to school. While some want to use them at lunch time, we have a “No Personal Toy” policy to avoid problems which usually present themselves. Children may bring a drawing book, puzzle book or word search, child-friendly appropriate magazine or book which they can use on inclement weather days.

State Testing:

Children in grades 3-5 will take the State ELA Tests and this Wednesday April 11, 2018 and Thursday April 12, 2018 and State Math Tests will take place on May 1, 2018 and May 2, 2018. Tests remain untimed. While we still record the start time and an estimated end time, all children who are working productively by the end of the estimated time are allowed to continue until they are done, but they must be “working productively.” That means all children who are still working can finish.

At PS 38 we encourage children to always put their best foot forward because they are well prepared. Also note that life is about tests. We take tests for High School and College admissions, to secure a job, to learn how to drive, etc. While we want children to understand that tests are important, “one” test does not define a person. The same stands for the State Tests your children take. The information gathered from these tests will allow us to better inform our practice to meet your children’s needs. It is no longer just about the test. Now we use multiple measures to paint a clear picture of a child’s readiness for promotion and whether or not they have met grade standard: Attendance, student work samples, performance throughout the year, state tests, portfolio assessments, etc. Let’s reduce anxiety…and let the children put their best foot forward.

We ask that families of children in grades 3-5 who are testing please make sure they get a good night’s sleep and have a lite breakfast. Children must come to school on time as we begin promptly first thing in the morning when their minds are fresh and alert. Also make sure that if your child wears glasses, they bring them to school that day. Teachers in grades 3-5 will not assign home work on April 10th and 11th, the nights before testing, to ensure children are well rested.

Your children have worked hard and we are confident they will all do their personal best.

PALP:

Our Parents as Learning Partners Day will take place on April 20 and the focus will be Science with an emphasis on STEM methods. STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through an interdisciplinary and applied approach. STEM is important because it pervades every part of our lives. Science is everywhere in the world around us. Technology is continuously expanding into every aspect of our lives. STEM learning is collaborative and project-based and kids work closely together in a hands-on way to solve real-world problems. STEM tasks are challenging and push students to seek new information to solve a problem. Activities are designed around opportunities for students to solve ‘real world’ challenges that are relevant to their lives. Hands on, experiential learning and practical inquiry processes is one reason STEM education is so successful in early years education. “Learning by doing” is an essential part of teaching young students. The use of open-ended inquiry tasks allow students to select from their own skills ‘toolkit’ to direct their own journey towards a creative solution to the problem.

We have two STEM cluster teachers Ms. Regan and Mrs. Frisz who teach science and technology and support teachers in this new learning, however, all teachers also teach science to children weekly. We encourage all families to join their children in some fun hands-on STEM activities on this PALP day!

PTA:

A special thank you goes to Mrs. Schnur, a former Librarian, who provided the free books for children to take which were displayed at our March Parent Teacher Conference Night. The children loved them and what a nice way to foster a love for literacy!

* Our PTA hosted our Parent Day at “Painting With A Twist” in March where families who participated enjoyed showing off their Art skills!

* The next PTA meeting will take place on April 25 at 9:00 am where we will also recognize our Citizens of the Month and Students of the Month. The area of academic excellence will be Science/STEM.

* Picture re-take day for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 5th graders who are stepping up will be on April 24, 2018.

* The PTA will also host their annual Carnival Night on Friday April 27, 2018 (letters will be forthcoming)

Our PTA is always looking for new and exciting ways to support your children and PS 38 and they are doing a fine, fine, job…we are very grateful.

~Thank you for entrusting your children to us.

Believing In Children...

Inspiring Young Minds,

Nancy Murillo

Principal

My March 2018 Newsletter  3-5-18.docx.doc 

My February 2018 Newsletter February 18.docx.doc 

My January 2018 Newsletter  January 3 2018.docx.doc 

My November 2017 newsletter  November parent letter 17.docx.doc 

My October 2017 newsletter  10-6-17.docx.doc 

 My September 2017 newsletter  sept 11-17.docx.doc