Finding family time

 

Is it hard to get everyone together

for family activities? Try putting

them on the calendar. Choose an

evening each week

and write the

time alongside the scout meetings

and basketball games. That way,

you're sure to build in more family

time.

 

Internet safety:

Here are two important tips to keep

your children safe on the Internet.

Tell them to open e­mails only

from people they know. Also, they

should never give out information

about themselves on the Web.

Examples:

their school, age,

address, or friends' or family

members' names.

Math measures upl

 

Encourage your youngster to practice

measuring at home. Look for ways

he can use a tape measure, a ther­

mometer, or scales.

Example:

"Why

don't you help me measure the

window? Will the curtains fit?"

 

Worth quoting

"when you come to a roadblock, take a detour. "

Mary Kay Ash

Q:

What do

 

you have to pay

when you go

to school?

A:

Attention!

 

With spring ri

ght around the

 

corner, it can be hard to keep

children focused on learning.

What can you do to make

school a top priority for your

kids? Keep these simple ideas

in mind­they're useful at any

time of the year.

Make attendance job

#

I.

Let your kids

know that unless they're sick, they must go

to school. Try to schedule routine dentist

and doctor appointments after school

hours. If possible, take family vacations

during school breaks.

Tip:

Give awards for

perfect attendance each month. Try a "Job

Well Done" certificate or a coupon good

for a night of bowling or a movie.

Show you care.

Want your children to

know that you're interested in their

learning? Talk about their school activi­

ties and projects. Attend as many school

events as you can. If homework and after­

school activities conflict, speak up:

 

­= I

~­

~

"I know you have baseball practice this

evening, but homework comes first. After

you finish, I'll take you to practice."

Keep it upbeat.

"Try to set a positive

example for your children, even when

your own day has been difficult. Instead of

saying, "I had a hard day at work. I'll

never get my project done,"

try, "Work was hard today, but I made

some progress on my project. " If you

show a positive attitude about your

work, your youngsters may feel better

about their own.

 

@

2001

Resources for Educafors. Inc" a division of

Aspen

Publishers. Inc.

 

~

For years people have been telling kids to "just say

no'

 

to drugs. How can children say no to other kinds of peer

pressure? Here are three situations your youngsters

might face and ways they could say no.

Handling uncomfortable situations:

"I have

nightmares after I watch scary movies. Can you please

change the channel?"

Skipping family responsibilities:

"I can't come over now because I have to do my chores. If

I don't, I won't be able to go to Tanya's birthday party on Saturday."

Using tobacco:

"I have a relative who smokes a lot. It's not very nice to be around the

smoke. No, thanks." .

~

~

"' ~

HS33670

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March

200

J

.Page 2

 

Q:

I've

heard so much about

standardized tests, but

I

don't

really understand what they are. What

can

I

do to help my child do well on them

?

A:

There are two kinds of standardized tests.

Standardized

achievement

tests measure what

children have already learned about a subject

in school. Standardized

aptitude

tests measure

how well children are likely to do in the

future. Many states evaluate their schools and

teachers on how well students perform on

these tests ­

.

Keep in mind that your child's test scores

can vary from day to day. Your daughter's

scores can be affected by how well rested she

is, so make sure she has a good night's sleep

before the test. Whether she is anxious or calm

during testing also makes a difference.

Encourage her to listen carefully to the

directions and take her time.

If you have questions about how

standardized tests are used in your child's

school, arrange a time to talk

to the teacher. .

Guess what

 

I'm

 

doing!

Kids are

 

asked to follow

directions

all the time.

Here's a game

where they get

to give the directions!

All you need is a pencil, paper, and

some creative thinking.

Each person thinks of a common task­such

as making a sandwich or washing dishes ­and

writes down the instructions. Then, everyone

takes a turn reading their instructions while the

others try to figure out the action being

described.

Example:

1. Pick up a round object. 2. lift

your arm. 3. Bring your arm down in front of

you. 4. Let go of the object. (Answer: throwing

a ball.)

Your kids will exercise their thinking skills ­

both in writing their own directions and in

figuring out what other people are describing. .

Poetry

 

corner

 

Did you know that poetry can help

build your child's reading and vocabulary

skills? And because many poems are

short, they're easy to read when you

have a little time. Try

these ideas­

.Read one line of a

poem, and then let your

child read a line. If the

poem rhymes, read all

but the last word of a

line and see if your

youngster can fill in the

missing word.

Ø

Read a poem together before

school. Or, copy a poem and put it

in your youngster's book bag or

lunchbox.

Here are a few books to

get your kids into the poetry ­

reading habit:

A Child's Garden of Verses,

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Where the Sidewalk Ends,

by

Shel Silverstein

Read­Aloud Poems for

Young People,

edited by Glorya

Hale .

@

2001

Resources for Educators, Inc" a division of Aspen Publishers, Inc.

---

EARLY ARRIVALS

 

 

Due to the lack of personnel to

supervise, we ask parents to d

e­

liver students to school

no earlier

than 8:30 a.m.

We also ask that

you instruct your child, when

dropped off before 8:40 a.m., to

sit quietly on the bench in the hall

near the Main office. Thank you.

 

DROP OFFS OR EARLY

PICK­UPS AT BUS TIME

 

If you are coming to school to

drop off a student or to pick a

student up early from school, we

ask that you pull into the parking

areas. We ask that you

not

drive

into or park in the bus circle be­

tween 8:30 – 9:00 a.m.

OR

2:30 –

3:15 p.m.

 

 

FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2001

SUPERINTENDENT’S CONFERENCE DAY

No School For Students

This conference day will focus on the goals of the Elementary School

 

THURSDAY, MARCH 15 & WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2001

Early Dismissal For Parent Conferences ­

12:10 p.m. Dismissal

DISTRICT VOCAL CONCERT

 

Don’t forget the District Vocal Concert on Tuesday, March 13 at the High School Auditorium

at 7:00 p.m. Come and enjoy the vocal talent of our Williamson students as they perform for

you in celebration of “Music in Our Schools” Month.

 

The 4th Grade Chorus is looking forward to singing some of their Spring tunes for you!

 

LEARNING FAIR 2001

 

Have you ever wondered about the power of science, the

magic of math, and the experience of personalized learning?

The Learning Fair 2001 provides Williamson’s K – 12 students

the opportunity to display a major learning experience that

combines content knowledge with process skills to produce a

product or demonstration of learning. On Saturday, March 10

from 1:00­4:00 p.m. the Learning Fair will be open to the com­

munity at the Williamson High School.

 

Students can produce projects and demonstrations in the fol­

lowing areas: interdisciplinary, math, science, social studies,

English language arts, foreign language, technology, home and

careers, the arts, and health. Along with student projects there

will be a wide variety of presentations including middle and

high school musical previews, storytellers, and a select choir

and jazz ensemble performance. Other demonstrations include

a Red Cross awareness session, a chemistry demo, Rocks by

the Wheatons, Star Lab, and a session with the High School

Psychology class. Please share in the spirit of learning by at­

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PARENT ROLE IN NEXT YEAR’S PLACEMENT

 

Similar to the approach used last year, parents will be

given the opportunity to share their preferences with

the school. The following dates and activities have

been scheduled:

 

Monday, March 26, 2001

Packet of information regarding classroom options

sent home with students. This form will allow par­

ents/guardians the opportunity to express your pref­

erence from a list of options.

 

Friday, April 13, 2001

Deadline for return of your placement form

 

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to

contact Miss Ressler @ 589­9668.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

 

It is important that the process of registering

and preparing new kindergarten students

(and parents) occur on Thursday, May 3.

We ask that all registrations occur on this

date. If you are not able to attend registra­

tion on May 3, please call the office to make

other arrangements.

 

Pre­Kindergarten Parent Registration Night­

Thursday, May 3, 2001.

 

Registration

5:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Information Program 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 

An appointment for a Pre­Kindergarten

Screening will be set up at the time of regis­

tration for the week of May 21 – 25, 2001.

 

Further information will be mailed to par­

ents of incoming kindergartners.

PLAYGROUND CLOTHING

REQUIREMENTS

 

With the continuing changing of the

weather throughout the month of March,

we ask that students continue to come to

school prepared for playground. This

includes: gloves, hats, snowpants (or an

extra pair of pants), coats, and boots. The

playgrounds do tend to get muddy during

the Spring months.

 

We appreciate your cooperation in this

matter.

ROLLERSKATING PARTY UPDATE

 

Laurie VanNostrand, the 3rd & 4th grade roller­

skating party chairperson, would like to thank

those who have chaperoned skating parties. The

students really appreciate the time you give. Al­

though we have been able to get by with the num­

ber of chaperones we have had, we sure could use

more! Some of the skaters still need a little extra

help and skates always need to be tied. You don’t

need to skate to chaperone. We hope you will

come and help us at our next skating party on

March 7. There is a place to volunteer on the bot­

tom of the rollerskating permission slip.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

There is also the opportunity to chaperone at the 1st &

2nd grade parties! Come and join in the fun!!

 

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SPECIAL EDUCATION ANNUAL REVIEW REMINDER

 

The parents or guardians of elementary children who receive special education services should

have received a letter with the date and time of their Annual Review appointment. This letter

will be accompanied by a postcard for you to use to confirm your appointment. Parents/

guardians are strongly urged to attend as the child’s individual e

ducation program will be

developed for the 2001­2002 school year. The meeting dates are scheduled for:

 

Friday, March 2, 2001 Wednesday, May 2, 2001

Tuesday, March 6, 2001

Thursday, May 10, 2001

Friday, March 9, 2001 Thursday, May 17, 2001

Tuesday, April 24, 2001

Thursday, May 31, 2001

Wednesday, April 25, 2001

HOME AND SCHOOL . . . A CRITICAL RELATIONSHIP

 

Current educational research has underscored something many knew was true. When parents

are directly involved in their child’s education, the child performs at a higher level. Involve­

ment can take many forms such as:

⇒

daily checking of work

⇒

daily conversations with student about school

⇒

volunteering at school

⇒

frequent communication with classroom teacher

⇒

maintenance of routine at home that supports the educational process

⇒

Regular bed time, regular time for homework, good eating and hygiene habits

 

Your Elementary School, as part of it’s Effective Schools Program, is focusing on strengthening

the home/school network. The

goldenrod rule

involves the use of goldenrod paper to signify

items that need to be returned to school.

 

We look forward to our continued working relationship with you. If you have concerns or com­

ments, please feel free to call 589­9668

 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

589­9668

MIDDLE SCHOOL 589­9665

HIGH SCHOOL 589­9621

BUS GARAGE 589­6901

BUSINESS/DISTRICT OFFICE 589­9661

CSE

589­8308

APPOINTMENTS

 

We recognize that it is not always

possible to make doctor, dental,

and other necessary appointments

after school or on non­school days.

However, we encourage you to re­

quest non­school time whenever

possible for such appointments.

 

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