The Dolphin Newsletter
Home of the Extraordinary Dolphins: October 21, 2016
Principal's Pride
Hello Parents!
During my most recent newsletter entry I shared one of the most effective strategies for supporting your child's education: Attend parent-teacher conferences and keep in touch with your child's teacher.
Strategy: Attend parent-teacher conferences and keep in touch with your child's teacher.
Asa Philip Randolph ES Parent Conference Day: November 08, 2016/No School for Students
This week, I want to take another opportunity to reinforce and share another great strategy for ensuring your child is successful.
Strategy: Make sure that your child gets homework done.
Let your child know that you think education is important and that homework needs to be done each day. You can help your child with homework by setting aside a special place to study, establishing a regular time for homework, and removing distractions such as the television and social phone calls during homework time. Helping Your Child With Homework offers some great ideas for ensuring that your child gets homework done.
If you need additional support for homework support, please contact your child's teacher. They can provide you with resources to support student learning. Also, one of the best resources is right in our community: The Library
Visit eCampus Resources
eCampus is Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System’s online learning suite of FREE resources. eCampus supports the empowerment of patrons through eight unique databases strategically designed to support: test preparation and educational resources for all ages – K-adult; continuing education and GED resources, and career and employment resources. eCampus databases are accessible via the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System library card.
The eCampus databases are:
BookFlix: Online literacy resource for pre-K through 3rd grade that offers a unique way to link fact and fiction through online read-along. Access here: Inside Library / Outside Library
Tutor.com: Online one-on-one tutoring sessions and homework help in academic subjects. Provides access to academic skill building, Georgia Milestone Practice Test, SAT/ACT, GED prep, career assistance and more.
LearningExpress Library: Provides practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, testing resources for all ages -- K-12, undergraduate and graduate, vocational and GED. Career and employment resources are available also.
I hope you will find these resources valuable and utilize the many supports available to ensure your child is successful. Remember, it truly does take a village!
Sincerely,
Principal Miley
Randolphprincipal@fultonschools.org
VERY IMPORTANT REMINDER
Release dates are unique to Randolph Elementary School. Our students will not attend school on these dates, as the dates are reserved for Professional Development for our teachers. During this time, we will focus on Project Based Learning and STEM activities.
Our Next Release Date is November 28, 2016
Let's Talk Testing!
Upcoming are two major assessments at Randolph:
· Write Score: October 3-21
· Iowa Tests of Basic Skills: October 24-28
Write Score is a formative writing assessment aligned to the Georgia Standards of Excellence. During the October administration, our students will respond to writing prompts focused on Opinion writing. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, also known as ITBS, are standardized tests administered to Fulton County elementary students in grades 3 and 5. Students take a battery of tests in the content areas of Math, Reading, Science, Social Studies and Language Arts.
How can you help? Engage your children often in opportunities to share and express their thinking orally and in written format. Encourage them to put forth their best effort, and stress that assessments inform teachers and administrators as to how we can better serve their educational needs.Testing News:
ITBS Exams will be administered Monday, October 24- Friday, October 28 to all 3rd and 5th grade students. We will begin testing promptly at 8:30 A.M. and conclude by 10:30 A.M. The ITBS online testing sessions don’t last more than 60 minutes, and students are assessed in the following categories:
Reading and Vocabulary
Mathematic and Computation
Spelling, Punctuation and Capitalization
Science
Social Studies
Written Expression
Please review the parent notification sent home Thursday, October 6, 2016 and if you should need any additional information, please contact us at 470-254-6520. It would be our pleasure to assist you.
For more information or support, please contact: Victoria Grubbs, Assistant Principal.
Visit the Curriculum Corner
HOW TO RAISE A CURIOUS READER
It’s Never Too Early to Foster a Love of Reading
Satisfy Your Child’s Curiosity
Choose books that support your child’s interests, from dinosaurs to wizards.
Reread your child’s favorite books whenever asked. After several retellings, ask your child to tell you the story.
Involve your child in the reading by asking questions! Ask “what” questions; avoid questions that require a simple “yes” or “no” answer. You might ask, “What do you think will happen next?” Remember to give your child time to think about the question and respond.
Take your child to the library to check out books and attend story hours.
If your child shows an interest in a picture either by talking about it or pointing to it, follow up immediately by asking questions and letting your child answer.
Most important, have fun reading to your child!
I look forward to serving all of your curriculum needs. If you need additional support, please feel free to reach out to me, 470-254-6520.
The Counseling Connection
Character Word of the Month
Responsibility is “taking ownership of my thoughts, words, and actions.”
Character Home Link:
Global Handwashing Day-RECAP
Unity Week
Together against bullying — united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
Week of October 24
Let's make next week, a make it ORANGE week and make it end! What are your true colors when it comes to bullying? The Randolph family will come together to send one large ORANGE message of support, hope, and unity to show that we are together against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. Thanks for the support!
Career Day - Friday, November 4, 2016
Final Call for Volunteers!!!!
The purpose of Career Day is to expose students to a variety of career fields and professions. If you would like to share information about your career, please click on the link below.
Discipline Dynamics
Patrice Givens, Administrative Assistant
RTI/ SST Chair and Discipline Support
October: Fall Tips for Behavior Management
Bullying and Teasing
Let's Get Along! 11 Children's Books About Bullying, Teasing & Empathy Bullying is when one person hurts, scares, or harasses another person on purpose. This can be through punching, shoving, spreading rumors, exclusion, or teasing. Additionally, cyberbullying is when bullies use the Internet, mobile phones, or other type of cyber technology to harass others. This might involve sending mean or threatening texts or emails, posting nasty pictures or messages about others on blogs or websites, or using someone else's name to spread rumors.
Overexposure of Violence on TV
7 Ways to Curb Kids' Exposure to Violence Limiting kids' exposure to violence can help reduce the risk of overall violent behavior in children — from bullying and gang violence to school shootings and self-harm — as well as the risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental-health effects of violence.
Social Media Safety for Kids
School-wide Behavioral Initiatives
S.W.I.M
S = Show Respect
W = Work Hard
I = Include Kindness
M = Make Responsible Choices
S.W.I.M Reminders
Sometimes we need a reminder to follow the rules and make better choices. In this instance, teachers and staff will give your student a citation referred to as, “S.W.I.M reminder.
Dolphin Dollar Store: Reward System
We love to reward students for extraordinary dolphin behavior! Your student can earn as many Dolphin Dollars as they want. At a designated time of the month, Ms. Scott, guidance counselor will open the Dolphin Dollar Store that is filled with all kinds of prizes. Purchases can be made with Dolphin $$ only.
Media Matters
Digital Citizenship
Students have completed the Digital Citizenship lessons for the months of August through September. The students were taught various online safety lessons such as cyberbullying, privacy & security, internet safety, creative credit, being a super digital citizen etc. Ask your child how they can continue to practice safety online on all devices!
Book It Program
Pizza Hut Book It Program began October 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017. Teachers have set reading goals with their classes and once the goals have been met students will receive a coupon for a free personal pan pizza. Let's continue to READ, READ, READ!!!
Scholastic Book Fair
The Scholastic book fair will be held November 14th to November 18th. We will need volunteers for that week to help and assist our students to make their selections and purchases as well as daily set up and break down. More information to follow.
Melanie B. Ellis
METI
Parent Connections
Parent Liaison: Sandra Mack
Parent University
1st Class October 26, 2016 8:00AM
TOPIC – Successful Behavior Strategies for Home and School
Facilitator: Julie Schneider, Behavior Support Specialist – South Learning Community
“Randolph's PTA is partnering with Randolph’s Parent Liaison office to launch a Parent University seminar program this year. All parents, grandparents and guardians of Randolph students are encouraged to participate in the seminars. Beginning on October 26, seminars will take place at least once per month at the school. Video links to recorded seminars will be available online after the program. Parent University participants who enroll by October 26, will be eligible for incentives and to participate in the Spring graduation ceremony.”
Registration: Successful Behavior Strategies for Home and School
To Register as a Volunteer:
http://www.fultonschools.org/en/divisions/sup/comm/Pages/partnersvolunteers.aspx
Wellness Corner
Fall is Here ………..
Tips to Control Allergens
To control your allergic asthma, you have to avoid breathing the allergens. Here are some tips to get relief:
· Stay inside when pollen counts are high. Keep the windows closed. If it's hot, use an air conditioner with a clean air filter. Don't use an old air conditioner if it smells musty or moldy. Don’t use an evaporative cooler (also known as a swamp cooler).
· Avoid dust mites. These microscopic critters live in fabrics and carpets. Wrap your pillows, mattress, and box spring in allergen-proof covers. Wash your sheets and other bedding once a week in hot water. Remove wall-to-wall carpeting if you can. Get rid of areas where dust can gather, like heavy curtains, upholstered furniture, and piles of clothing. If your child has allergic asthma, only buy washable stuffed animals.
· Control indoor humidity. Check with an inexpensive meter. If moisture is above 40% in your home, use a dehumidifier or air conditioner. This will dry out the air and slow the growth of molds, cockroaches, and house dust mites. Get a pro in to repair any plumbing or roof leaks.
· Check for pet allergies. If you have pets, get tested to see if they’re causing your problem. Keep them outdoors or find another home for them if you can. At the very least, ban all pets from the bedroom. High levels of cat allergens can stick around for many months in a home or apartment after cats are no longer living there. There are no hypo-allergenic cats or dogs. You can wash your pet every week, but it won’t make much difference in the amount of their allergen you breathe in. Dusts or sprays that claim to reduce pet allergens are not proven effective.
· Keep your kitchen and bathroom clean and dry to prevent mold and cockroaches. If you’re allergic to cockroaches, and you see signs of them in your home, contact a pest control company. Insect spray won’t do the trick. You have to get rid of all sources of food in your home, even small crumbs in the carpet and oil stains near the stove. Run the exhaust fan when you cook or take a shower to lower the humidity in the room.
· Choose air filters wisely. Large HEPA room air filters remove smoke and other small particles (like pollen) from a room, but only when the fan is on. They don’t lower humidity or reduce dust mites. Electronic air purifiers create ozone, which can cause airway inflammation.
· Be careful doing outside work. Gardening and raking can stir up pollens and mold. Wear a HEPA filter mask while outside to reduce the amount of pollen and mold particles that get into your lungs
School Governance Council Meeting
SGC Chair: Catherine Rowell
Vice Chair: Raynal Harris