The Stadium Drive Star Where academics shine through the arts
April 2016
Overcoming Math Anxiety Math anxiety might be passed down from generation to generation, affecting children's math performance, according to a study published in Psychological Science. The study analyzed data on math achievement and anxiety for 438 first and second graders in 90 classrooms at 29 schools in the Midwest. The researchers tested children on math abilities at the beginning and end of the school year and surveyed their parents about their own comfort with math and how often they helped their children with homework. Researchers found that math-anxious parents who helped their children frequently with homework didn't help much at all — their children learned significantly less math during the school year and finished with more math anxiety. The effect remained even when controlling for variables such as the parent's education level or the teacher's math knowledge. It didn't spill over into reading achievement. People with high math anxiety tend to believe that math is not useful and don't have motivation to succeed in math. Furthermore, children who start behind their peers in math skills don't usually catch up, according to past research. Our math program, Math Expressions, has resources to help parents help their children. Please click here for more information.
Placement Request The procedure of assigning students to teacher class lists is a thoughtful sequence of events which attempts to balance many factors and variables, such as:
providing each child with exposure to a cross-section of student abilities distributing numbers of students equally by classroom totals and gender the need to separate certain students for behavior and increased opportunity for student success
Stadium grade level teachers, in conjunction with the principal, consider such variables when determining the best placement for each individual child.
Parents who feel that their child has a particular educational need and wish to make us aware of their child’s specific circumstances, may submit a letter of explanation to assist in the placement process. Requests should be made only when a specific learning need can be better served. Parents are asked not to request a particular teacher based upon a child’s/parent’s likes or dislikes of personalities. Parent “Letters of Explanation” should be received by Mr. Murray no later than April 22, 2016 for the following school year. Please understand that due to the factors explained above, it may not be possible to honor all classroom placement requests.
The Great Thaw As we begin to dig ourselves out from the winter, please consider packing a change of shoes, socks, and pants for your child. Accidents do happen outside and a proactive “pack” might prevent an unexpected trip to Stadium or save a child from being wet for the remainder of the school day.
Take Your Child to Work Day Thursday, April 28 is the annual Take Your Child to Work Day. Please let the 1|Page
main office know if your student will be absent as we will still need to account for his or her whereabouts.
PTO News
someone in place before the end of this year so that she can provide as much guidance as possible. The chair person is responsible for organizing meals for our teachers during conferences (fall and spring) as well as two smaller events (one in May and one in December). Please contact Sue if you are able to help with this.
Thank you to everyone that came out and supported our 4th annual Adult Trivia Night. This year’s event was our most successful, raising over $4,000 for the PTO to help fund various school activities. We would like to send a very special “thank you” to Scott and Jennifer Taylor for all their hard work planning this event. Not only did we raise a lot of money, we had a lot of fun as well. We would also like to thank the volunteers that helped in the planning as well.
“Donuts with Dad” is coming to Stadium on Friday, April 29 at 8:00 AM. A flyer will be sent home this week and information will be available on our Facebook page as well (Stadium Drive Elementary PTO).
Kids’ Night Out A.R.T.S For a Cure Relay Team has put together another Kids’ Night Out at Stadium Drive Elementary School in an effort to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Students are invited to sign up to join the fun. Feel free to wear school appropriate pajamas and bring a comfy blanket. Please click here to view our flyer.
The Scholastic Book Fair was a great success. The book fair is the only source of funding for our media center and without the help of volunteers, we could not be as successful. We would like to thank everyone who helped with setting the fair up, taking it down and everything in between. We hope to see you again in the fall!
Upcoming Events 4/14 – PTO Meeting – 4:10 PM
Be on the look-out for some special Spirit Sticks that students are able to earn in the classroom. Spirit Sticks were provided by the PTO to teachers to use as rewards and incentives in the classroom. Make sure to fasten them to backpacks so your child can show off his accomplishments.
4/29 – Donuts with Dad – 8:00 AM
We will begin to accept nominations for PTO board positions at our April 14 meeting. We are seeking nominations for President, Vice President and Secretary. Every current board member will remain at Stadium as a parent next year and are available for support and guidance. We have had a very successful year and we need the continuing efforts of volunteers to continue. If you are interested or would like additional information, please feel free to contact Sue Louvar at susanhandel@yahoo.com.
5/5 – PTO Meeting – 4:10 PM
We have one committee chair position that we will need to fill as soon as possible. Michelle Garretson has been the head of our Staff Appreciation Committee for the last several years. This is her last year as a Stadium parent and it would be great to have
5/3 – Teacher Appreciation Day 5/12 – Spring Art Show, Open House – 6:00 PM 5/25 – Dance Spectacular (Matinee) – 2:00 PM 5/26 – Dance Spectacular – 6:30 PM 5/30 – Memorial Day Recess 2|Page