Sandburg Sayings

Sandburg Sayings Carl Sandburg Elementary School Newsletter KEITH KINCAID, PRINCIPAL At Sandburg School, our focus is to read carefully, think deeply, and respond thoughtfully. • March 20 (2:30 p.m.) -EARLY DISMISSAL End of 3rd quarter Spring break begins • March 21 - 30 -NO SCHOOL Spring Break • March 31 (9:00 a.m.) -School resumes • March 31 (9:30 a.m.) -3rd Quarter Good Citizen Ribbon Ceremony for grades K, 1, 2 • March 31 (10:00 a.m.) -3rd Quarter Good Citizen Ribbon Ceremony for grades 3, 4, 5 • April 3 -Bank at School • April 3 -Sandburg night at the Montvale Pizza Hut • April 4 -3rd quarter report cards come home today! • April 8 (12:00 p.m.) -EARLY DISMISSAL for School Improvement • April 10 (6:00 - 7:30 p.m.) -FAMILY MATH NIGHT • April 16 (9:15 a.m.) -Author Obert Skye visits Sandburg • April 17 - 25 -2nd graders take the Stanford 10 test. As the weather warms up, it’s often tempting to put less emphasis on school. Although this is a natural temptation, it’s not in the best interest of our children. With a full quarter of school left after spring break, it’s important for boys and girls to “give it all they’ve got.” Just as a coach wouldn’t allow a winning sports team to “coast” through the last quarter of the game, it’s important that as parents we don’t let our “winning students” coast through the last quarter of the school year. Shown below is the role of the student as outlined in our Home/School Compact. Please take some time to sit down with your child and review his or her role. In order for a student to receive the full benefits of schooling, each child must assume some of the responsibility and be an active participant in the educational process: • • • • • • • • • • As a student at Sandburg School, I will: Work hard and do my best everyday. Ask questions when I don’t understand. Finish class assignments. Show respect for myself, others, and property as outlined in my copy of The Student Success Guide. Follow all school and classroom rules and expectations. Pay attention in class. Take papers home, share them with my family, and have notes signed. Bring homework home, do it, and return it to school. Read 15-20 minutes every day at home. Bring my bookbag and needed supplies to school each day. From The Principal’s Desk MARCH 19, 2008 Thank you for reviewing the student’s role with your children and requiring them to fulfill their role in getting a quality education. Working together we can! Congratulations to Mrs. Boyd and Mrs. Colgren, both of whom have been nominated by Sandburg families for the 2008 District #186 Educator of the Year! Be sure to mark your family’s calendar for Thursday, April 10 at 6:00 p.m. Sandburg will be hosting FAMILY MATH NIGHT on this evening. This is sure to be one of the highlights of the year for Sandburg families! Our 4th and 5th grade students will be in charge of each of the different math stations that are sure to be fun and educational for the whole family. Look for more information to come home in the Wednesday folder. Don’t miss it! Family Math Night is coming! Sandburg Sayings Sandburg office: 525-3264 Visit our website: www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/sandburg Page 2 Family Trivia Night What fun we had last Friday night at Sandburg Family Trivia Night! Thanks to Lynn Gilmore and Bette and Paul Wells for all of their work to make this evening a success! Thanks to Gus Gordon for being our emcee for the evening. Thanks to all of the Sandburg families who helped set up and clean up. What a fun and educational evening! Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You! On Tuesday, April 8 your doorbell might ring in the afternoon with a special delivery for you and your child. No, it’s not the pizza delivery man who will be ringing your doorbell. It might just be your child’s teacher. On that afternoon, students are being dismissed from school at noon. Starting at 1:00, Sandburg teachers and staff will be stopping by some homes in Sandburg’s neighborhoods with books for you and your child to keep at home and read together. We’ll also be handing out tips with ways to promote your child’s reading at home. “Ding Dong, Sandburg calling!” Community Events Last weekend, several 5th graders from Sandburg earned District-level honors! In the District #186 Solo and Ensemble Contest, all of the students from Sandburg did an outstanding job! Below are the results: 1st place vocal soloists: Emma Howe, Mitchell Goldberg, Shannon Dorr, Katy Pennell, Heather Buttry, Veronica Martin, and Rachel Fewell. Mitchell Goldberg also received a 1st place rating on his violin solo. 1st place duets: Sheldon Gooch and Mitchell Goldberg. Congratulations to each of our Sandburg musicians. A special “Thank you” to Mrs. Gilmore for fostering the love of music in our Sandburg students! Music News Dismissal Time and Picking Up Your Child Please remember that the safety of the children is the number one concern that all of us share. With this in mind, following a few simple parking lot rules will help ensure that even the busiest traffic times are safe times for all the children. Remember, saving a few seconds of your time is never more important than safety. • Traffic flow is one-way only. Enter the parking lot from the north entrance only. Exit through the south drive. Please remember that all vehicles should travel in a counter-clockwise direction only in the Sandburg parking lot. • Never pass a school bus that is loading or unloading students. Not only is this dangerous, it is illegal. • If you pick up your child from school, pull into a marked parking spot and walk to the front of the school. Do not leave your car anywhere else in the parking lot except in a marked parking spot. Students have been instructed to wait for you in the “yellow safe zone” until you meet them there. • Never beckon a child to come across the parking lot to meet you. Children are never allowed to walk onto the parking lot without an adult’s hand. • Whenever possible, use the sidewalk on the south side of the lot to walk the length of the parking lot. If you see an event listed in this section of the newsletter and would like more information, please stop by and get a copy of the flier from the Parent Resource Table. If you find it impossible to stop by the school, please send a note to your child’s teacher or call the office. We’ll make sure a copy of the flier is sent home with your child. Community Event fliers that are currently available in the front hallway: ~ Kiwanis Club Children’s Chess Tournament ~ YMCA Summer Camps ~ Camp Invention (summer camp) ~ YNOT Outdoors Summer Camp ~ Springfield College Summer Camps ~ Cy Young Little League registration ~ American Girl author, Connie Rose Porter, of the Addy series Children’s Reading Hour and book signing The next time you visit Old Country Buffet, be sure to thank the manager for donating the chili for this year’s Chili Supper! Five Quick Tips for Reading Together 1. 2. 3. Help your child pick books that will help him be a better reader. Consider your reader’s interests, experiences, and reading level when selecting books. Introduce the book in a relaxed conversation. Praise your reader for: ~ using picture clues. ~ noticing and fixing mistakes. ~ using letter sounds. ~ maintaining meaning while reading. ~ rereading. ~ reading smoothly with expression. Read together on a nightly basis. Then talk together about what you’ve read. Most importantly, make reading together an enjoyable experience. 4. 5.