Welcome to the 2008-2009 School Year! We are glad you are part of our Early Learning Community. We are off to a great start and are looking forward to all of the stages that we will experience with your child as the school year progresses!
Our math program, Everyday Math, is in year two and students, teachers and parents continue to share their enthusiasm. We are still in need of parent helpers for the creation of some of the materials. Please stop by the office at either school if you would be interested in assisting with this.
We are also looking closely at Early Literacy and part of our professional development plan involves an in-depth study of phonics instruction. Opportunities are available for teachers to observe each other during phonics instruction and there are several groups of teachers participating in book studies that have an emphasis in this area of literacy. We will be reviewing current publications with this focus and will look at the results from our assessments to help us recognize areas of strength and need.
We continue to emphasize the importance of health and safety. Through efforts from our School Improvement Team, we kicked off this school year with a new policy on not sending in sugary treats to school for birthdays. This information is clearly defined in our school handbook and we are so appreciative of everyone’s effort in helping this plan to become effective. We have seen some adorable goody bags containing sparkly pencils. One student actually made everyone in the class a special bookmark which he passed out on his birthday! We do know what a BIG DEAL birthdays are and we look forward to recognizing your child on their special day! Teachers have agreed that for holiday celebrations, they would limit the class to one sweet treat only. We appreciate everyone’s effort in helping to keep our students healthy!
Thank you for all that you do for your child each day! Be sure to contact us for any questions or concerns that you may have throughout the school year as we “plant the seeds and nourish the future.”
Warmest Regards,
Melissa A. Marino
