O C T O B E R
5 - 9 , 2 0 1 5
El Semanario
Edison Language Academy – Together Through Two Languages (310) 828-0335 www.edison.smmusd.org
ANNOUNCEMENTS Spanish Phonics Workshops for Kindergarten Parents – Sign up on the Kindergarten Bulletin Board for to learn how initial reading is taught in Spanish at Edison -st either September 28 or October 1 from 2:003:00 or on October 7 at 6:30 pm. Edison Ballet Folklorico – There’s still time to join Edison’s Ballet Folklorico class, meeting Wednesdays until Fall Festival – right after school in the cafetorium (grades K-5). Where Are You From/What is Your Cultural Heritage? – In last week’s packet, you received a form inviting you to share your family’s cultural heritage/origins with Edison. We will be representing the cultural heritages of our community on a large map in the cafetorium as a visual display of the wealth of cultures and experiences represented in our school. Student Investigations for Hispanic/ Latino Heritage Month – With this week’s packet, there is a flyer about an independent learning project about the contributions of Hispanic/Latino Americans. Student submissions are due on Fridays until October 16 when we hope to debut a “Did You Know?” bulletin boards with our students’ investigations. Participation is voluntary. But this could make for a fun family discussion, another way for students to build those Common Core research and non-fiction writing skills, and a way for students to follow an interest of their own to create new knowledge. Transitions to School – We’re now a month into the school year and it’s time for parents to bid farewell to their children in the Courtyard in the morning. Children are now accustomed to class routines and instruction can begin more quickly for everyone when goodbyes stay in the courtyard! Volunteers and Clearing TB Tests – If you are one of the parents who attended the September volunteer trainings and needed to get a TB test, remember to bring proof of that clearance to Yoly asap. Your name cannot appear on the approved volunteer list until your TB test is cleared.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK: WHERE IS MY CHILD’S TEACHER? Now that we are settled into the 2015-2016 school year, many of you will start to see occasional absences by your child’s teacher for school-related business. As teachers, our favorite place to be is in the classroom with our students and we try to minimize absences. However, some times, the best way for us to serve our students is by taking a step away from the classroom to assess students individually or to participate in professional development. In order to design appropriate instruction to move all students forward, we need to know where their reading skills are at the beginning of the year. While some reading assessments can be given to the whole class at the same time (on the computer or with paper and pencil) some of the most effective reading assessments are those that are done 1:1 with children. For those types of assessments, we will often provide a substitute to cover the class while the teacher engages in this important assessment work. Your child’s teacher may also be subbed out for the day occasionally for Professional Development – sharpening their skills as a professional educator in a particular area in order to better serve your child. While we do a lot of our Professional Development on Wednesday afternoons when students are dismissed early, sometimes there is an important opportunity to attend a conference or a full day session on a particular topic. For example, some of our teachers will be participating in district workshops on Cognitively Guided Instruction in math presented by Dr. Meagan Franke and her colleagues from UCLA. Others will be attending a session on Readers Workshop presented by Dr. Lucy Calkins from Teachers College. Sometimes, all the teachers at a particular grade level may be out of the classroom to work together planning a unit of study, analyzing assessment data to determine how to best differentiate at their grade level, or looking at student writing or math together. And once in a while, a teacher may be absent for an hour to attend an IEP meeting for a student receiving special education services or to participate in a Student Success Team meeting. Please know that we make these choices thoughtfully and carefully to preserve as much instructional time as possible and teachers prepare detailed plans for their substitutes. But good professional development for a faculty and time to carefully evaluate student progress can result in more effective teaching and better learning for students. So we ask your support and understanding when it is sometimes necessary for a teacher to be away from class. . September 30 8:30 am and 6:30 pm Annual Title I Meeting
October 7 – PTA Executive Board Meeting 6:00-8:00 p.m.
October 12 – PTA Reflections Art Program Kick-Off