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Wilbert Snow School
299 Wadsworth Street
Middletown, Connecticut 06457
(860) 347-2579 Fax:(860) 638-3748
Principal-Mr. James Gaudreau email:gaudreauj@mps1.org
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PTO Calendar of Events
Principal’s Message for September 2010
The staff and I are very excited to be welcoming all of the children and families back to Snow School! Our summer family events were well attended and more children than ever before were coming to school to get books. The reading campfires, story-teller, African drumming, and pasta dinner with movie were well-attended, as children had the opportunity to swap books and receive free books. I have been keeping my lists of all who have attended, and a special recognition celebration and ice cream social will be held to recognize their efforts. Invitations will be given out for the celebration, which takes place on Thursday, September 16, from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
All children should hand in a list to their teachers of all of the books and stories they read over the summer. These lists will be used to determine which elementary school in Middletown had the most children reading over the summer. I want 100% of the children to hand in their lists, so please remind them to bring these to their teacher.
The CMT results are in and there is some very good news! Snow School demonstrated adequate yearly progress (AYP) in reading and math according to No Child Left Behind. We made especially solid progress in how our subgroups performed in reading and math. All of the children, teachers, and families should be proud of the effort that everyone has put forth!
I am especially excited about the new Tuesday Folders that we will use every week to make sure all families receive notices from school. Each Tuesday there will be a green folder filled with information from the school, PTO, and community. Please ask your child to see the folder every Tuesday after school. We ask all families to make sure your children return the folder to school on Wednesday. The teachers will hold on to the folders until the next Tuesday rolls around. Tuesday folders will go home on the first day of school with a lot of information.
I want to strongly encourage all families to get involved and be active participants in school. There are many opportunities to be involved. Here are a few:
- Volunteer in your child’s class – work with students in small groups
- Be involved in planning cultural events and guest speakers/presenters – we are always looking for new ideas
- Join the School Family Community Partnership Meetings held prior to each PTO meeting – we discuss goals for improving the school, examine school data, and plan events – this is a wonderful way to be a part of the decision-making process at Snow
- Come to PTO meetings each month – there are many ways to help out and we are looking for creative projects
- Volunteer at the Durham Fair – we are having a booth selling S’Mores and the money raised goes to support our children – call or e-mail me (gaudreauj@mps1.org)
- Join the school data team – teachers and parents meet to focus on school improvement – we meet once a month on Tuesdays during the day – please join us
- Encourage your child to read every night and complete homework
- Complete the monthly family activities to promote reading, writing, and math that you will find in the Tuesday Folders – these monthly activities will replace the Family Friday activities
- Communicate with the teachers regularly – we are all here to support you!
Jim Gaudreau
CALLING IN ABSENCES AND TARDIES
Please do not forget to call the school when you are keeping your child home or you know your child will be late to school for an appointment. You can leave a voicemail for the secretary at any time of day.
The best number to call is 860-347-2579.
Our school data (report card grades and test scores) shows that oftentimes children who are absent a lot or are late to school have lower grades than children who attend school regularly and are rarely late. Being at school and on time every day is one of our school goals!
CMT NEWS – specific data on meeting NCLB
The results of the 2010 CMT are in! Here is a summary.
Grade 3 Reading: 69% proficient Grade 4 Reading: 67% proficient
Grade 3 Writing: 88% proficient Grade 4 Math: 87% proficient
Grade 3 Math: 82% proficient Grade 4 Writing: 88% proficient
Grade 5 Reading: 71% proficient
Grade 5 Writing: 86% proficient
Grade 5 Math: 82% proficient
As a whole school, we met No Child Left Behind expectations in all subjects. Math and writing continue to be strengths, whereas reading scores have been consistent in the past few years but still need to improve. Our subgroups have shown some solid improvement in the past year.
Snow School Directory
If you would like your child’s name to be part of the school directory, please complete the form that will be handed out the first week of school. We will not publish any names or telephone numbers without your permission. It is a good idea to be part of the directory so that
Dropping off Children in the Morning
Important reminder: children can be dropped off starting at 8:50 a.m. Teachers begin their bus duty at 8:50 a.m. As in the past, children will go to the playground and wait in their teachers’ lines.
Any parent who wants to walk his/her child to the playground should park the car in the side parking lot. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE CIRCLE!
SCHOOL BANKING AT LIBERTY
After being involved in the school banking program for two years with Liberty Bank, we have decided that we as a school will not continue to collect money for savings account deposits. Only a few families were actively interested in the program last year, so sadly, we have decided to end our banking program. Families can continue to keep their accounts through Liberty Bank. Special thanks go to Parents Linda Petras, Jim Brainerd, and Melinda Brainerd for all of their hard work with the program in the last two years! Thank you for all of your efforts!
PARENT INVOLVEMENT ACTIVITIES
Curriculum:
Each month our newsletter will highlight some of the upcoming units and vocabulary in kindergarten – grade 5. For more detailed descriptions, a very thorough curriculum is found on the home page of the Middletown Public Schools website. That can be accessed at www.middletownschools.org. The vocabulary and skills described below can be reinforced at home.
Kindergarten: Math & Literacy: sort objects by size, shape, color, and texture and explain the reason for each sort – make patterns using a variety of manipulatives - identify shapes - recognize uppercase and lowercase letters - practice learning to write upper and lowercase letters – drawing detailed pictures – recognize the words “a” and “I” – express opinions about books and make predictions – use pictures to develop meaning from stories
Vocabulary: pattern, sort, square, circle, days, week, a, I
Grade 1: Math & Literacy: describe patterns and relationships - identifying objects that are the same or different and why – extend or complete patterns – know days of week and use a calendar – sequencing of events to solve math problems – graphing – summarizing info with a beginning, middle, end - distinguish words from sentences – read 110 high frequency words – match sounds to letters to read words – blend four sounds to make words – syllables – generate ideas prior to writing
Vocabulary: title, author, illustrator, sentence, syllables, predict, beginning, middle, end, brainstorm
Grade 2: Math & Literacy: know months of year to solve problems - skip counting - count and read and write numbers up to 1,000 – adding and subtracting whole numbers – advanced patterns – reading comprehension strategy of visualizing – respond to questions about main idea, characters, setting, and conflict – distinguish between a complete and incomplete sentence
Vocabulary: pattern, sum, difference, all together, how many in all, subtract, operation, number sentence, equal, digit, year, visualize, text, context clues, complete sentence, restate, main idea
Grade 3: Math & Literacy: place value (adding and subtracting 100 – 1000 more or less) – rounding to the nearest hundred/thousand – comparing whole numbers – read & discuss literature related to family, friendship, culture, tradition – predictions and supporting evidence to back opinions – writing detailed narratives, paraphrase information
Vocabulary: predictions, supporting evidence, compare, operation, reasonable, rounding, fewer, least, a little more/less than, replaced, value, ones, tens, hundreds
Grade 4: Math & Literacy: extend/compare numerical and geometric sequences and patterns – compare and order numbers up to 100,000 – rounding – estimating with explanations – writing narratives using paragraphs – entertaining beginnings – reading comprehension strategies
Vocabulary: classify, explain, rename, nearest, arrange, growing patterns, about, estimate, value, about, exact, topic sentence, evidence, terms for reading comprehension
Grade 5: Math & Literacy: adding and subtracting algebraic equations – whole numbers to 1,000,000 – extend place value – rounding – ordering numbers - fractions – writing expository essays – predictions based on prior knowledge – determining importance of ideas – main idea and theme – strategies
Vocabulary: expression, symbol, between, decimal, column, place value, approximately, locate, order, expository, paragraphs, reading comprehension strategies
**Don’t miss Guest Speaker Patti Avallone’s free parent workshop on how to support your children’s learning at home – September 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Snow!
MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW SOON!!!!!
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