Monday, March 14, 2019

 Dear Families,

 Wow! March is already here and with it comes unpredictable weather. We all know the old saying “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Because the temperature is so unpredictable, we have to be careful not to let it catch us off guard. Therefore, I want to stress the importance of making sure your children come to school with a warm coat so they can play outside. Students must always be dressed appropriately as we do engage them in fire drills and evacuation drills as a safety measure. If your child is not dressed appropriately, this could put them in a very uncomfortable situation should we have to leave the school grounds for an extended period of time. This is inclusive of those who come to Saturday Academy. Please note the doors do not open before 9:00 a.m. and during cold winter months children should not be dropped off early. It is way too cold outside to stand and staff is not officially in until 9:00 am.

 Parent Teacher Association: Our PTA works hard to bring in outside resources to inform our families, organize fund raisers which benefit your children . PTA meetings are a forum to share information regarding our school policies, programs, events, changes, and provide families with resources and information to support and inform you. Our next meeting will be on April 17 at 6:00 pm. At this this meeting the slate is being presented for our 2019-2020 PTA. Voting will take place in May. Additionally we will be honoring our Students of the Month for STEM and our Citizens of the Month. Please make an effort to attend these meetings as our goal is to strengthen family/community ties.

On March 22, 2019 our PTA is hosting a Family Zumba Night and letters have been sent home. If you have any questions regarding this evening please speak with Mrs. Chow our Parent Coordinator or Mrs. Ryan our PTA President.

 Our next Parents as Learning Partners (PALP) day will be on April 5, 2019 and we look forward to you joining us in the classrooms for yet another curricular focus. A letter will be forthcoming. PALP days provide parents with the opportunity to see our curriculum in action, understand our methodologies, how children are learning, and why we do what we do. It also provides you with a new lens for our learning expectations and gives insight as to how you can support the work your children bring home. Our goal is to actively engage parents in the learning process with their child while the teacher explains step by step the “what, why, and how” of the learning process. For your children, this serves as a proud moment of learning along-side their parent. We hope to see many parents on April 5, and look forward to a brief discussion with you about your experience afterward.

 Parent Surveys have been distributed to all families and it is very important that you please make time to take this survey so that we may once again have 100% participation. Information gathered from the Parent Surveys contributes to our school’s overall effectiveness and Quality Snapshot results and provides us with information to continue to ensure your children are provided with the best learning experiences. Every class who has 100% surveys returned will receive a free pretzel and this year will also have No Home Work on a specific Thursday which I will select. We do not give written HW on Fridays and having a Thursday off will make for a nice long restful family weekend. Please support our initiative and submit your parent survey before April 3, 2019.

 Attendance/Lateness Policy:

We continue to drive this important initiative. By 8:20 all children are late and missing instruction. Children must be in school in order to learn/grow and consistent patterns of absenteeism and lateness directly impact student achievement. Instruction begins at 8:15 am.

 Parents please refrain from picking up children early right before dismissal as this disrupts instruction. Emergencies may arise, but they should be minimal. Should you wish for someone else to pick up your child or your child not to go on a bus you must write a note and sign it. The person picking up your child MUST have ID in order for us to release your child to them. This is inclusive of children you wish to walk home. We cannot just take a child’s word and must have this in writing signed by the parent before we allow any student to walk.

 Please note that class trips and special activities are privileges and any student who demonstrates little effort, consistently does no homework, or is excessively absent/late, will not be permitted to go. This is a school policy delineated in our school handbook given to all families at the start of the year which can also be found on our school website: https://www.ps38si.org

Letters have gone home to families where children have fallen below the 90% for absence/lateness. Please support your children in their learning lives by making sure they are well rested, do their homework, and are on time in school daily.

 Testing: Our State Exams are quickly approaching. In preparation for the upcoming tests on March 6, 2019, we invited all parents of students in grades 3-5 to our “Getting Ready for Testing” workshops led by our teachers. These informative workshops provided families with an inside lens of how these tests are structured and what the children are expected to do. All families left with a stronger sense of how we are preparing the children as well as a packet of suggestions for how they can continue to support them at home.

 The New York State ELA Exams will take place on April 2, and 3 and The New York State Math Exams will take place on May 1, and 2. Our curriculum is rigorous and your children have worked hard to prepare all year long. There are 3 Saturday Test Prep Academy days left before the ELA Exam and it is highly recommended that all students are in attendance. After the ELA there will be 2 sessions of Saturday Academy in April before the Math Exam in May. Again, we have worked hard to prepare and support your children throughout the year and I am confident that they will do their very best.

 Our support programs and enrichment programs continue. Additionally, classes with one teacher are supported with another push in teacher to work with small groups of students. We have also purchased I-Ready ELA and Math computer programs. All students are scheduled time in the computer lab 1 period a week for ELA and 1 period a week for math. Our Saturday Academy groups are also scheduled 1 period as well on Saturdays. Every child has been administered a diagnostic assessment at the beginning and the programs meet students where they are at as learners based on the assessment to provide them practice in skills they need to further develop. These programs can be used at home and over the summer, and I encourage families to ensure that their children find some time to do so. 1 hour 2-3 times a week will make a difference.

 Current Support/Enrichment Programs:

Morning Math Program:

Grades 3-5 Saturday Test Prep Academy:

Grades 3-5 Spring Cycle-BOKS Basketball:

Grades 4-5 Spring Cycle CASA Visual Arts: Grades K Spring Cycle- CASA Dance:

Grades 2 Title III Afterschool: K-5 ENL

Students Year Book Committee:

5 Grade Dolphin Cove Store Managers-

5th Dolphin Times Newspaper Club

5th Boys Smart Money Kids

1-5 Lego Robotics: Grades 1, 2, and 4

 Every one of these support/enrichment programs and our rigorous curriculum has been designed to help your children achieve academic excellence providing them with a strong path to becoming college/career bound. We will continue to inspire all children, cultivate their strengths, and strive for academic excellence for all.

 ~Thank you for entrusting your children to us.

 “Partners with Families…Partners In Learning”

   Believing In Children...

Inspiring Young Minds,

  Nancy Murillo

Principal

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