Ross Glen Road Runner Reporter
December 2019 News
ENGAGED COMMUNITY
December School Events
Thurs. Dec. 5th - Gr. 3 and 4 classes to MHHS for ELF
Tues. Dec. 10th - School Council Meeting at 7pm
Thurs. Dec. 12th- Gr. 2 classes to MHHS for ELF
Thurs. Dec. 12th - RG Family Christmas Night
Fri. Dec. 13th - Professional Learning Day - No School for students
Mon. Dec. 16 - Fri. Dec 20th - Spirit Week
Fri. Dec. 20th - 11:51 Dismissal
Dec. 21-Jan. 5th - Winter Break - NO SCHOOL
Jan. 6th - Classes resume
12 Days of Giving
The 12 Days of Giving starts now and will continue until December 12th.
Our challenge goal is to try and get each class to gather donations that could measure the width of the gymnasium....HOWEVER... exceeding our goal would be classes gathering donations measuring the length of the gym.
In the spirit of giving and sharing, thanks for supporting 4B's ME TO WE classroom value.
Student Leadership - December Spirit Week
Literacy
Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
This article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
Choosing good books
Children need to be exposed to a wide range of stories and books. They need to see themselves as well as other people, cultures, communities, and issues in the books we read to them. They need to see how characters in books handle the same fears, interests, and concerns that they experience (Barton & Booth, 1990). Selecting a wide range of culturally diverse books will help all children find and make connections to their own life experiences, other books they have read, and universal concepts. (Dyson & Genishi, 1994).
Children use real life to help them understand books, and books help children understand real life. Choose books that invite children to respond with enthusiasm and understanding. Look for books with rich language, meaningful plots, compelling characters, and engaging illustrations (Gambrell & Almasi, 1996).
Keep two simple questions in mind: Is it a good story? Is it worth sharing with my student? Other ideas to consider when selecting good books include:
- Is the book worthy of a reader's and listener's time?
- Does the story sound good to the ear when read aloud?
- Will it appeal to your audience?
- Will children find the book relevant to their lives and culture?
- Will the book spark conversation?
- Will the book motivate deeper topical understanding?
- Does the book inspire children to find or listen to another book on the same topic? By the same author? Written in the same genre?
- Is the story memorable?
- Will children want to hear the story again?
"Think aloud" to model how to make connections
By modeling how fluent readers think about the text and problem solve as they read, we make the invisible act of reading visible. Modeling encourages children to develop the "habits of mind" proficient readers employ.
Helping children find and make connections to stories and books requires them to relate the unfamiliar text to their relevant prior knowledge. There are several comprehension strategies that help children become knowledgeable readers. Three are:
- Connecting the book to their own life experience
- Connecting the book to other literature they have read
- Connecting what they are reading to universal concepts
Helping children discover these connections requires planning and modeling. Parents and teachers can encourage and support thinking, listening, and discussion, and model "think-alouds," which reveal the inner conversation readers have with the text as they read (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000). Parents and teachers can point out connections between prior experiences and the story, similarities between books, and any relationship between the books and a larger concept.
Here are some examples of "think-alouds":
- To make connections between the book and your own life, think aloud as you share. When you read the beginning of A River Dream by Allen Say, for example, you can comment, "This book reminds me of the time my father took me fishing. Have you ever been fishing?"
- To make connections between related books with the same author or similar settings, characters, and concepts, say "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe is an African tale that is similar to the tale of Cinderella. Both stories are about sisters – one kind and the other spiteful. Do you know any stories about nice and mean sisters or brothers? Let's continue reading to find out other ways the stories are similar."
- To connect a book to a larger world or universal concept, you could say to your student, "Stellaluna by Janell Cannon helps me understand that we are all the same in many ways, but it's our differences that make us special."
While fluent readers make these types of connections with ease, many readers do not. Children need to be shown this type of thinking and then asked to join in and participate in book conversations. This active involvement gives you, the teacher, a glimpse into each reader's thinking.
To read the full article, please click on the following link https://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-aloud-build-comprehension
Ross Glen School Clothing
The online store for Ross Glen clothing is open again The link is:
https://rossglenonline2019dec.itemorder.com/sale
The timeline to order is tight with the store closing on December 1st. We apologize for the delay with the online store.
If you have questions, please email Ms. Mastel at natosha.mastel@sd76.ab.ca.
Secret Santa Workshop
Items can be dropped off in the office.
Thank you for your support.
Christmas Gift Bags and Gift Tags
If you would like to donate gift bags or gift tags, please drop them off at the office. :)
Ross Glen Family Christmas Night
Date: Thursday, December 12th
Location: Family Leisure Centre
- Skating (enjoy the rink) Rink Open from 6:45 to 8:15 p.m.
- Swimming (children under eight must wear a bracelet and have a parent within arm’s reach at all times)Pool Open from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
- Cocoa and cookies
- Secret Santa Workshop for children to buy presents for their family will be set up for the price of a $1.00 for each gift. Open from 6:45 to 7:45.
Parents must accompany their children for the evening.
For this year’s family event, Ross Glen School will graciously cover the cost of the evening as a Christmas gift to our families.
PARENT COUNCIL
Papa John's
Pizza night allows families to order pizza from Papa John’s online using a special code. The code gives the family a 15% discount and also earns a 15% donation for our school. Once we have further instructions and the required code, we will share it with families.
Here are the Papa John’s pizza night dates for the year:
Thursday, December 12
Thursday, January 16
Thursday, February 13
Thursday, March 19
Thursday, April 9
Thursday, May 28
Thursday, June 11
Community Information
Building Blocks is Back!
We are pleased to annouce the opening of our third location in the portable adjacent to Ross Glen Elementary School. We opened our first location in 2003 right in Ross Glen School and are so proud and excited to be coming home.
This is our part time/full time preschool program designed for children ages 2 – 5 and offer parents the flexiblilty to choose which sessions and which days your child will attend. Parents at Building Blocks can also apply for daycare subsidy which could cover up to $546 per month of your preschool fees. Our hours of operation are Monday to Friday with a morning session 8:30am – 11:30am and an afternoon session 12:30pm – 3:30pm. The fee for a morning or afternoon session is $88/month for one session per week. We also have an hour before school session (7:30am – 8:30am) an lunch hour session (11:30am – 12:30pm) and an after school session (3:30pm – 4:30pm). The fee for one of these session is $32/month for one seesion per week. Parents who access the lunch program would pack their child a lunch. Please keep in mind that we are a nut free environment.
Please join us for our open house on Wednesday, December 11 at 6:30pm – 8:00pm. We look forward to meeting all the new families and working with the staff and council of Ross Glen School. For more information about our programming and how we spend our time with your child or to book a tour, please call 403-504-7544 or refer to our website at www.bbps.ca.
Ways to Connect
Email: rossglen@sd76.ab.ca
Website: http://www.rossglen.ca/
Phone: 403-529-2960
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RossGlenSchoolMedHat/
Twitter: @RossGlenSchool