Hutchings Herald 2-14-2020
The Principal's Corner:
Families,
Today I am launching our Little Caesar’s Pizza Kit Fundraiser which we have done the past few years. However, this year we are going to allocate the funds directly to classroom libraries with the intent to increase the number of high-interest books for students. All research shows that the best environment for a student to learn in are environments where students are engaged in high-interest books that are developmentally appropriate for them.
I wanted to launch this fundraiser but I also wanted to provide an update on what the staff has been doing this year in order to create the best possible learning environment for your children. We started the year by adopting a new curriculum called The Units of Study. The curriculum is K-5 and right off the bat, we saw an increase in what we were asking our students to do as readers. Students were asked to have multiple sets of books, learn and implement different strategies to use while reading, talk about their reading, compare their books to other books, create connections across texts from different sources, and much more.
In order to accomplish this, our staff went through multiple days of training. They have stayed late at night, and they are working through pacing guides and lesson targets for the day. Every two weeks at our staff meetings we take a topic from the Units of Study and dig deeper into that topic; and on the weeks we do not have staff meetings, teachers meet with their grade-level teams to plan and prepare the units for the students. On our half-days, throughout the year, the staff has been working with instructional coaches to gain more knowledge on the best ways to implement this new curriculum. Mrs. Ott and Mrs. Stolle are also working through the Units of Study Phonics program and the Units of Study Writing program for future implementation in the coming years.
I also had the staff go through literally every single book in the entire school. We got rid of books from 1923 that were worn down and just not interesting to kids. We went through all of our classroom books and updated the materials there so rather than reading about how to plug into something called the World Wide Web and use a browser called Netscape Navigator, we got new books about science and technologies that actually have some relevance to the students. We created new libraries in our classrooms, spent money on bookshelves, bins, labels, and of course more books. We also went through and made sure we have books to support struggling readers and books to push our higher readers in every single classroom.
It had amazing results! We no longer have many students say, “There is nothing to read” or “I’ve already read that do you have something else?” However, I still have one major problem, which I am hoping to fix using the funds from the Pizza Kits. I have many students who want to read specific subject matter books (for example books about unicorns) and I do not have a selection of those books- and I definitely don’t have those books for multiple levels and grades. I need to be able to have our staff go out and get these books so when your child goes to pull a book off a shelf or from a bin, they find something they are super excited about. This opens the door for our teachers to have conversations about THE READING SKILL instead of trying to explain what the book is about.
I do not think I have ever said that anything here at Hutchings is imperative, so this will be my first. It is imperative that I have a wide range of high-interest books for our kids. I will go as far as to say that it is the most important resource we need to have at the school. Our staff is committed to doing the work, I am committed to giving the time, we just need some help with the finances. So if your family can help with the Pizza Kits, that would be fantastic
Mr. Moore
Attendance Update!
There will be times that a child needs to miss school - sick with a contagious illness; an appointment(s) that can’t be scheduled outside of the school day; a family emergency that can’t be avoided, etc., but overall students should miss very little school. Regular attendance in school is one of the most important factors related to success in school.
- Absences add up - even if your child misses just a few days of school here and there, important concepts can be missed/not learned. According to research, missing two days a month negatively impacts a student’s academic performance (missing 2 days a month = ~ 18 days/year - that’s 10% of the school year that a student is missing; missing 3-4 days a month = ~27-36 days/year - that’s 15%-20% of the school year that a student is missing)
- Elementary attendance affects reading - reread the last sentence above. Frequent absences in elementary school have been shown to significantly impact a student’s reading skills.
- Elementary attendance problems can negatively impact a student’s future - research shows that by 6th grade, attendance problems become a leading indicator that a student will drop out of high school.
- Attendance affects social growth - elementary students are still learning social and emotional skills that will help them throughout their lives. At school, they learn to interact with others, make friends, and build relationships with adults outside their family. Consistent attendance helps foster positive social and emotional growth for your child.
School is the equivalent of being a student’s job. It is important that students receive the message that being in school everyday is the expectation, just like adults are expected to be at their job everyday. When this is the expectation, attendance does not become an issue. There are things that parents can do to support this expectation:
- Develop routines - prepare for school the night before (clothes out, coat and backpack ready) - set the tone that going to school is the expectation; have a consistent bedtime that supports getting a good night’s sleep; get up in the morning at a time that provides for a less stressful start to the day - enough time for a good breakfast and to get to school on time. Finally, if your child does have to miss school, develop a habit of getting work from the teacher that he/she may have missed from the teacher. This reinforces the expectation that it’s important to be in school.
- Be informed - Know bus pick up times, parent drop off times, and school start times, so that you can determine what time your child needs to be “out the door” to get to school on time.
- Schedule & plan strategically - if the expectation is that you go to school everyday, not going to school becomes the exception. Students learn very quickly that there is little that interferes with them going to school, and when something does interfere it is because all other options were tried and/or the situation was an emergency/out of the adult’s control. Notify the school whenever your child will be absent and share the reason for the absence.
- Ask for support before the school contacts you - If you are having difficulty getting your child to school, if your child doesn’t seem to want to go to school for any reason, or if there are other extenuating circumstances interfering with your child not being in school (medical condition; family dynamic, etc.), talk to your child’s teacher, school counselor, or an administrator, so that you can work together to resolve whatever issue is having a negative impact on your child’s attendance - collaborate as to how to reset the expectation!! Regular school attendance is required/is the law. School’s monitor attendance and are required to notify parents when attendance is an issue. Typically, an initial letter is sent to make parents aware of an attendance issue when students have missed 10% of the time that they have been in school (5-10 days missed a quarter; 10-20 days in a semester). If after the initial letter is sent, attendance doesn’t improve, a second letter is sent. If a second letter does not warrant a change, a meeting is required to develop a plan. The final step when all of the other efforts have been exhausted it to contact the county truant officer. Schools never want to get to this point, but will go this route if a student is not attending school regularly.
Book Fair
Our Spring Book Fair is approaching. Please see the information below as I am hoping to go "green" in the fall with sending flyers home.
Book Fair will run as follows:
Here is our homepage link: Home Page Link for Spring Scholastic Book Fair
Preview Day, Friday. March 6
Students will shop during their library times Monday, March 9-Friday, March 13.
Book Fair Flyer If the book has a purple circle on it they can click on it and hear an audio about the book.
We do have a pre order for the "One and Only Bob". Please click the links below.
Pre-order for "One and Only Bob"
Book Fair Preview Video for Grades BK-5 Please select the video that applies to your child on the right side. Videos are BK-3 and 4-6.
Preview video for Grades BK-5
Parents can use eWallet to purchase books at the book fair. See below for details.
eWallet
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Book Fair.
Mrs. Deurloo
MacGregor's Message:
Kindergarten Registration is March 17
Howell Public Schools will hold its annual Begindergarten and Kindergarten registration event on Tuesday, March 17. To learn about the district’s Begindergarten and Kindergarten programs, find your child’s home school and begin the online enrollment process, please visit HowellSchools.com/KDG.
Livingston Educational Service Agency Early Childhood Programs are Enrolling for Fall
Livingston Educational Service Agency Early Childhood Programs are enrolling for the 2020-2021 school year. Head Start and Great Start Readiness Programs offer no-cost/low-cost preschool to income-eligible or children “at-risk” who qualify under federal and state guidelines. Families meeting eligibility guidelines have access to learning opportunities, health and wellness, social and disability services, and other community resources. Children of all abilities are encouraged to apply. To learn more, please call 517-548-2100 or visit www.startfreepreschool.org to complete an application.
Information for Fifth Grade Families Regarding Middle School
As you and your child prepare for the transition to middle school, the middle school principals wanted to share some upcoming dates. On March 12 and 13, the middle school principals and counselors will be visiting all fifth-grade classes in the district. During these visits, they will be going over the changes to expect in the transition to middle school and some things students can start doing now to prepare. Additionally, they will review how the middle school day is structured and the encore class choices available to students. A fifth-grade parent night will be held at both Highlander Way and Parker on Wednesday, March 18th at 6:30 p.m. Students and parents are encouraged to attend this meeting.
No School on Monday, February 17
Please remember that there is no school on Monday, February 17 in honor of Presidents’ Day. Classes will resume on Tuesday, February 18.
|
Hutchings Elementary, 3503 Bigelow, Howell, MI 48855
Phone: 517-548-1127, Fax: 517-548-1763
|
|
Calendar of Events
- February 15th - Free Movie 12:00
- February 16th - Free Movie 2:30
- February 17th - No School
- February 28th - 1/2 Day For Students
|
|
|
Howell Public Schools would like to continue connecting with you via email. If you prefer to be removed from our list, please contact Howell Public Schools directly. To stop receiving all email messages distributed through our SchoolMessenger service, follow this link and confirm: Unsubscribe
SchoolMessenger is a notification service used by the nation's leading school systems to connect with parents, students and staff through voice, SMS text, email, and social media.
|
|
|
|