University Elementary News
May
Principal's Message
As we prepare to finish up the 2018-2019 school year I would like to thank you all for choosing to bring your student to University Elementary and entrusting us with your student's education. We know that all of you have a neighborhood school assigned to you and yet you made the conscious choice to attend our school, a magnet school for project based learning.
Recently Mr. Kurada posted a Donors Choose for our school in order to acquire a special printer to print posters allowing students and teachers to document the learning process in PBL . Thank you to all who donated so generously. Donations were matched through the Donors Choose organization and we managed to raise the full amount in only eight days. The teachers look forward to professionally documenting the work that they do with our students.
I would also like to thank you for the support you have offered this school year in general through donations and/or volunteer work. There are so many ways to support our school and it is all very much appreciated. Together as a community, and in a relatively short time, we have created a model project based learning school that we can all be proud of. That said, there is always room for improvement.
I have had the opportunity to share the results of our school survey with some of you in a couple of different settings. There were one hundred and seven responses. There were eleven statements, one yes/no question and then a space to describe how we might improve our school.
•80% are satisfied with the education of their student, 19% somewhat agree with this
statement and 1% disagreed
•93% understand what project based learning is, 6% somewhat agree and one person does not
•93% agree that integration of hands on project based learning (PBL) enhances their child's education, 5% somewhat agree and 2% disagree
•46% would like to learn more about the value of Project Based Learning and the value of multi-
age classrooms, 41% somewhat agree with this statement and 13% do not feel they need
further information
•95% agree that field trips provide hands-on experiential learning experiences for their child that
support classroom learning, 4% somewhat agree and 1% disagree
•93% understand that field trips are dependent upon every student contributing $50 each
school year, 6% somewhat agree and 1% disagree
•83% feel that the garden is an important element of project based learning at our school, 14%
somewhat agree and 3% disagree
•84% understand that each student's $50 garden contribution will sustain the program we have
worked so hard to develop, 13% somewhat agree and 3% disagree
•84% feel welcome by the principal and office staff when on the school campus, 12% somewhat
agree and 4% disagree
•72% agree that their child is having healthy peer relations, 21% somewhat agree and 7%
disagree
•91% feel comfortable approaching their child's teacher when their child is having challenging
peer relations, 8% somewhat agree and 1% disagree.
•97% would recommend our school to others and 3% would not
The comments regarding how we can improve our school are quite varied but include facility improvements, more after school programs, foreign language, more counseling hours, and an improved handbook with clear expectations of students and families. I am happy to sit down and review all comments with anyone.
In summary, I believe most parents are quite satisfied with our school vision and implementation. Because 93% understand what project based learning is, I feel that the 87% that would like to learn more about the value of project based learning and the value of multi-age classrooms might really want to learn more about the research on multi-age classrooms. I am happy to share that research again. One parent suggested creating videos that people could easily view explaining the value of each. i think this is a great idea and will work to get these to you by mid June, mid August at the latest.
With regards to peer relations, we have adopted ToolBox a social emotional curriculum which I believe has made a positive difference in how our students interact. As students become more accomplished in their ability to use the tools/strategies they are better able to advocate for themselves which is the ultimate tool. When we return to school in August we will be introducing new school expectations as part of our district wide approach to Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). They focus on respect, responsibility and safety. We started this process this year with our staff team. We will also introduce a new reward system that will be used with greater fidelity. The PBIS team and I are very optimistic about strengthening compassion, empathy, and respect amongst all students and staff.
Battle of the Books District Wide Competition
Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
The final PTA meeting for the 2018-2019 school year will be held Thursday, May 16th. At this meeting we will vote on how to spend remaining funds that have not been used and determine the amount to carry over to begin the 2019-2020 school year.
I would like to take this moment to publicly thank the Executive Board for their work this past year. This group of parents all work full-time and yet have managed to serve very important roles in supporting our school. We have met twice a month all year and their commitment, ideas, and "get it done" attitude has not gone unnoticed. Thank you all!
Garden Update
Upcoming Events - these can also be accessed on the calendar page of our school website.
Please note: not all May field trips are noted here. Please see teacher newsletters for more specific information regarding individual classes.
5/5 Garden Committee Meeting 4:30 Teachers' Lounge - all are welcome to attend
5/6 Teacher Appreciation Week - more information to follow from PTA
5/7 2/3 PBL Exhibit 12 noon
5/8 TK/Kindergarten Orientation 6:00pm
5/9 K/1 PBL Exhibit 5:30-7:00pm in our Multi-Use room and playground
5/11 Spring Feed
5/14 Inclusion Assemblies am and Band Concert at 6:00pm
5/15 4/5 Classes Field Trip to the Exploratorium and the De Young Museum
5/16 PTA Meeting 6:30pm
5/20 Garden Committee Meeting 4:30 Teachers' Lounge - all are welcome to attend
5/21 Race Car Challenge (right after our assembly)
5/21 Swirl Time Dine and Donate
5/27 Memorial Day Holiday - No School
5/28 Field Day
5/29 STEAM Day
5/31 5th Grade Promotion 9:00am
5/31Last day of school. All students will be dismissed at 12:00noon
* Remember you can always check the calendar on our website, just follow the link below.
University Elementary School
Email: charlotte_straub@crpusd.org
Website: https://uelf.crpusd.org/
Location: 8511 Liman Way, Rohnert Park, CA, USA
Phone: (707) 792-4840
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/University-Elementary-School-at-La-Fiesta-1628724350766801/
Twitter: @UELFSEAWOLVES