Enjoying Recess with the 4-6 Grade Students

Today was a beautiful day!  I took a few snapshots of the students enjoying their recess today because once again next week it looks to be bringing in below zero temperatures!  BRRRRRR

                                    Shay, Sydney, Katlyn, Janzen and Jaiden were trying to make an upside
                                 down snowman but ran out of time to get it completed.

T-Shirt Time!

On February 3rd & 4th we will have students paint their t-shirts that they will wear throughout reading month.  Please send a light color t-shirt to school with your child before those dates.  The design for the t-shirts is the chinese symbol for read.  I have attached the picture.

Reading Month Celebration in February! Theme: Chinese New Year!

We will be celebrating reading month in February with our elementary students.  Our theme will be the Chinese New Year!  "Year of the Reading Rabbit!"  We will be promoting reading at school and nightly reading at home.  Each student will want to read and record their minutes from home so they can reach the monthly goal for minutes to be read individually and by the entire elementary school.  If they meet their individual reading goal they will be able to go sledding at Icelandic State Park as their reward.  If all the students get a cummulation of reading minutes to reach the goal that is set they will get to see their principal (me) do something crazy as usual for the wrap up of reading month.  I will fill you in on the minute goals next week.

The Reading Kick Off is scheduled for Jan. 31st at 10AM in the multipurpose room.  You are all welcome to attend!  I could really use some parent volunteers throughout the month to help with our reading activities.  If you are available please contact me.  The office number is 701-265-8417 or send me an email. 

Thanks!

Helping Hands!

Lauren and Sunny are great students!  We didn't have a dishwasher today at school and they were kind enough to volunteer for the job over their noon hour!  THANKS GIRLS!  It was greatly appreciated!

NATIONAL TESTING Jan. 25th & 26th

Dear Parent or Guardian:

I am pleased to announce that our school has been selected to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card.  NAEP is a program of the U.S. Department of Education, and is an ongoing assessment of what our elementary, middle, and high school students know and can do in various academic subjects.  From NAEP we will be able to see how students in our state perform compared to students in other states and across the country.

The NAEP assessment will take place on Jan. 25th for the 4^th grade and Jan.26^th for the 8^th grade.  Our students have been selected to take the reading, mathematics or science assessments.  The reading and mathematics assessments will only take 90 minutes, and science will take slightly longer.  Students do not need to study in preparation for NAEP; however, we do ask parents to encourage their children to do their best on this important assessment.

Participation in NAEP is voluntary and confidential.  This means that the names of students who take part in the assessment are not recorded on any of the materials that leave the school, and your child’s grades or progress in school will not be affected in any way by participating.  No results will be reported to or about individual students or schools.  Students may omit any question or part of the assessment that they do not wish to answer.

NAEP appreciates the participation of each child who is selected; each child is important to provide an accurate picture of what children in our state and across our country are learning in school.  However, if you do not want your child to participate in the assessment, please notify me in writing by Jan 21st.  If you have questions, please contact me at 265-8417 or via email at jolyn.greenwood@sendit.nodak.edu.

For more information about NAEP, please visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.  A demonstration booklet that contains student background questions and examples of test questions similar to those asked in this year’s assessment is available both at the web site and at the school office.

Never enter a staring contest with a cat. Or a baby. on Twitpic

Never enter a staring contest with a cat. Or a baby. on Twitpic

January 17th- No School - Teacher In-service

On Monday, January 17th, students do not have school.  The teaching staff at the Cavalier Public School will be taking in a professional development day.  Mary Helen Pelton will be providing a presentation about bullies, victims and bystanders.
In the seminar we will
*acquire sufficient quality knowledge and skills in working with bullies, victims, and bystanders;
*provide leadership to bring about a cultural change that says "NO" to violence of any kind; and
*reduce bullying and provide a positive school environment where all students can learn and staff can teach.

In March students will be provided with a in school residency with the CLIMB Theater Group from Minneapolis.  They will be addressing bullying with students and teach them skills to deal with the various situations that arise from bullying and how to prevent and stand up for themselves in those situations.

We encourage all students to be respectful to each other at our school.  We do our best to keep the students learning environment inviting, safe, and comfortable.

Teachers Attend Visual Phonics Workshop

This past Saturday and this coming Saturday our Prek-2 grade teachers along with Title I reading teachers are attending training in visual phonics.  This is a program to help teachers teach students phonics through additional visual clues, such as hand signals or symbols.  So if over the next couple weeks your child starts talking and includes hand signals, you will know they are in the group that is learning through visual phonics.  Research supports this program as a great way to help students learn phonics.  Many students learn better through visual clues so this would provide them with that type of support.

Cold temperatures expected for the week.  Please be sure your child has outerwear to cover they faces as well, such as a ski mask or scarf and hat.

Thanks!  We are off to a great week here at the Cavalier School!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday vacation.  It is the first day back to school for our students at Cavalier today.  Busy, busy!  It is so nice to see all the students and staff hard at work again.

Yesterday the teachers had an in-service day.  During the in-service we had a chance to meet with reading curriculum representatives and learn about some new reading series for PreK-12.  Teachers will be reviewing and assessing the various curriculum programs and decide on which company we will go with for reading by April this year.  The plan will be to implement the program during the 2011-2012 school year.