MEADOWLARK NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2017
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
The teachers have been working hard on getting benchmark assessments done on all students in reading and math. This month, we will begin diving deeper into our small instructional groupings. We look forward to looking at each student's data and using this data to make sound teaching decisions. Journeys (USD 385 new reading curriculum) and Everyday Mathematics will be the core curriculum in reading and math.
Communication is a focus for all staff this school year! Please be looking for a minimum of a monthly newsletter from your child's teacher highlighting some of the learning objectives happening in the classroom as well as opportunities for you to support your child's education at home.
Be sure to follow Meadowlark Elementary on Facebook as there are pictures posted weekly. Looking forward to an outstanding school year!
Dana Matheny
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR STAFF!
SEPTEMBER
11 - Traci Crusinberry (PE Teacher)
21 - Sheri Idol (Paraprofessional)
23 - Kevin Brightup (Band Teacher)
CALENDAR
September 1
- 8:45 AM - All-Star Pep Rally
September 4
- NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
September 7
- 6:30 pm - Beginning Band Parent Meeting at ACHS
September 8
- 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. - All-Star PTO Family Fun Night
- 8:45 a.m. - All-Star Pep Rally
- 2:30 pm - Grandparent Event in Mrs. Wiltse's Class
- 3:00 pm - Circle of Friends - Meet and Greet
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing Class @ MES
September 10
- 4:00 - 6:00 pm - All-Star Family Back to School Social - Kona Ice
September 12
- 6:30 pm - PTO Meeting in the Meadowlark Library
September 15
- 8:45 am - All-Star Pep Rally
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing Class @ MES
September 18
- 11:30 - 1:30 pm - September Lunch with the Principal
September 19
- 11:00 - 2:00 pm - Circle of Friends - Sedgwick County Park
September 21
- 4:15 pm - Site Council Meeting in the Meadowlark Library
September 22
- CAMP OUT - Student practice the GAD dance
- 8:45 am - All-Star Pep Rally
- 8:45 am - PICTURE DAY (Fall Individual Portraits)
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing Class @ MES
September 28-30
- GAD (Greater Andover Days)
September 29
- 8:45 am - All-Star Pep Rally
- 3:45 pm - Monart Drawing Class @ MES
September 30
- 10:00 am - Andover Days Parade
2017-2018 DISTRICT CALENDAR
MEET OUR NEW STAFF
VICTORIA BAY
Paraprofessional
ALLY ROGERS
Paraprofessional
JILL WALKER
Resource Teacher
SHELLEY HORINEK
Paraprofessional
SHERI IDOL
Paraprofessional
SARAH BOLINE
LAUREN TODD
1st Grade Teacher
ASHLEY WILTSE
2nd Grade Teacher
ALLISON WEIDE
4th Grade Teacher
ANGIE COLLINSWORTH
Library Clerk
BECKY HALL
Instructional Aide
SANNA ALFERS
Resource Teacher
MARISSA COLLINS
YASUKO CRABTREE
MAKI KRETIK
HELPING HANDS VOLUNTEERS
A BIG thanks to all those who helped with Helping Hands! These volunteers directed our kiddos to class, the bus/car, and through lunch during the first week of school!
Thank you volunteers
Amber Kear, April Luina, Julie Prater, Jessica Padgett, Deepa Madhu, Lindy McLeod, Wanda Atkinson, Lizzie Taggart and Gretchen Ledford
BEGINNING BAND PARENTS MEETING
WHEN: Thursday, September 7
WHERE: Andover Central High School
Click on the Beginning Band Website for more information.
All-Star Character Education Program
Meadowlark Families, we are very excited to continue our All-Star Character Education Program, Character Counts: The Six Pillars of Character. The Six Pillars of Character is adapted from the Character Counts! program developed by the Josephson Institute: Center for Ethics. The program focuses on 6 core elements (pillars); Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. These six pillars provide children with a framework for positive character building.
At Meadowlark, our teachers, staff, and volunteers are encouraged to embed the Six Pillars language in all daily interaction, making it a part of the school culture. The language will come up naturally in problem solving situations and classroom management. Approximately every six weeks, one pillar word will be introduced in a school-wide assembly, until all Six Pillars have been integrated. Below is the assembly schedule:
Friday, August 25 - Character Education Assembly - Six Pillars & Trustworthiness
Friday, October 6 - Character Education Assembly - Respect
Tuesday, December 5 - Character Education Assembly - Responsibility
Wednesday, January 31 - Character Education Assembly - Caring/Kindness
Friday, March 2 - Character Education Assembly - Fairness
Friday, April 13 - Character Education Assembly - Citizenship
MUSIC
The students here at Meadowlark have started making music already. Music engages all learners in problem solving practices while he/she practices self-discipline and teamwork. Students are afforded exercise of these life skills while having fun at the same time. This year is full of great learning opportunities.
SAVE THE DATES
- GAD Thursday, September 28th (Watch for more info..)
- 5th Grade Show @ ACHS October 26th @ 7:00 p.m.
- 1st and 2nd Grade Show @ ACHS , January 23rd @ 7:00 p.m.
- 3rd and 4th Grade Show @ ACHS, April 26th @ 7:00 p.m.
- Kindergarten Show @ MES, December 8th @ 10:00 a.m.
3 R’s in Music:1. Respect self/others 2. Responsible: Follow directions 3. Ready to Do your best.
Please don’t hesitate to email or call with any questions or comments. Please come and like my Facebook page in order to see your All Star Students making music!!
Mrs. Middleton, Music Teacher
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
We are off and running in physical education class! I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and tell you a little about the PE program at MES. I am Mrs. Crusinberry and this is my 20th year of teaching and my 18th year to teach PE in Andover. I have 5 children ranging from ages 23-8. It is my passion to get kids off to a good start in seeing the value in physical activity and that physical activity can be enjoyed by everyone! I will provide a variety of activities and units that will allow students to learn new skills and refine existing skills. It is my goal to instill in students the desire to be active and stay healthy, hopefully for a lifetime! Physical activity helps kids pay attention better in the classroom, improves tests scores, and helps with discipline issues. Not only does PE help kids mentally and physically it also allows students opportunities to work on social skills, such as sharing, taking turns, teamwork, sportsmanship, and how to except other’s differences. In every class I attempt to provide all of the children with experiences that are both beneficial and enjoyable. Each lesson is also adjusted to take into account the wide range of skill and fitness levels that characterizes children in elementary school.
The AMP (Art, Music, & PE) teachers rotate on a 3 day rotation. It’s important to know what day your child’s PE day is so that you can remind them to wear tennis-shoes. They must have tennis-shoes to be able to fully participate and get the most benefits out of class. If your child cannot participate due to illness or injury please send either a parent or Dr.’s note or email me.
In PE it is expected that students follow these rules: 1) Be an active listener 2) Use good sportsmanship 3) Stay on your feet 4) Have fun and do your best 5) Wear tennis-shoes and proper clothing 5) Wait for instructions before using equipment. For rules that are broken I use the “3 Strikes” policy. Strike 1=Warning, Strike 2=Time Out & fill out time-out sheet, Strike 3=Conduct mark in classroom and email/call parents. Any physical harm to another student or extremely inappropriate words during class will result in a principal referral. Any time a student has to sit out they will fill out a time-out sheet. If a student has to sit out due to not wearing tennis shoes, not feeling well, or an injury they will fill out a time-out sheet if they do not have a parent or Dr.’ s note. Time-out sheets need to be signed by parents and returned on their next PE day. That is just a way of communicating to parents what is happening during PE. Please mark your calendar with the PE dates below. I will keep you posted of other special events that come up. I am working on getting a facebook page up and running, you can also check out my school website to find helpful information. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me at crusinbt@usd385.org. I check my email regularly throughout the day. Thank you for allowing me to teach your child! I’m looking forward to a fun and exciting school year!
Mrs. Crusinberry
MARK YOU CALENDAR
September 22 – GAD CAMP OUT (Children learn dances for GAD Parade)
January 4-25 – Archery (4th & 5th Only)
March 26-April 13 –Roller Skating in PE (2nd-5th Only)
May 18– Field Day
LIBRARY NEWS
BACK TO SCHOOL BASH!
PTO NEWS
T-Shirt Orders
Did you forget to order your child's Meadowlark shirt?
Don't worry, we have extended the deadline!
All T-Shirt orders need to be turned in by Tuesday, September 5th.
PEACHJAR
Peachjar is simple and fun to use- you'll start to receive emails from us with flyers in them!
You never have to log in! But you can to manage your account preferences. Login information is sent to you. You will regularly receive emails with the latest flyers. They can also be viewed on the Meadowlark website. Simply look for the Peachjar logo! If you aren't receiving emails, create an account.
EARN CASH FOR OUR SCHOOL
Dillons Community Rewards Program
Dillon's makes fundraising easy---all you have to do is shop at Dillon's and swipe your Plus Shopper's Card! Go to Dillons.com and sign in or create an account to enroll. This enrollment must be updated every year. Once signed in, update your Community Rewards under your Account Settings. Search for Meadowlark to earn extra $$$ for our school!
Shoparoo
Every photo of a grocery receipt earns money for our school! Free to download, free to use. Nothing to buy or sell. Help us raise thousands of dollars a year!
- Download the Free Shoparoo App in the App Store & Play Store http://www.shoparoo.com/
- Select Meadowlark
- Take pictures of Receipts!
- Watch Meadowlark earn money!
Box Tops
Clipping Box Tops is an easy way to earn cash for our school. Each one is worth 10 cents for our school! Just look for the pink Box Top on tons of products. All you need to do is cut them out, glue or tape them to a collection sheet, and send them to school. Each month we will send home a new collection sheet. Be sure to send your sheet back to school by the end of the month, and, don't worry, it's okay if it isn't full. We have a great trophy that the winning class each month will get to keep in their classroom.
This year, our goal is to earn $1,000 for our school.
For more information on Box Tops, including a list of participating products, go to www.boxtops4education.com. Be sure to sign up as a member (it's free) so you can check out our school's earnings and get access to coupons and bonus offers. They also have an app that you can check out!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. We are here to help and would love to see this year be one of our best in Box Top earning!
Buy products with Box Tops on them.
Clip Box Tops from each package.
Send the Box Tops to school in a baggie or on a collection sheet.
Each Box Top earns Meadowlark 10 cents.
Amber Kear
Jessica Cicora
Mrs. Haynes 3rd grade class won the most Box Tops collected for the month of August!
Order forms will be coming home soon!
If you wish to purchase pictures, you must return your order form and payment on or before Friday, September 22. ALL STUDENTS will have their picture taken for publication in the yearbook. We will begin taking pictures at 9:00 am.
Meadowlark Elementary School
Email: harveyr@usd385.org
Website: http://meadowlark.usd385.org/
Location: 1411 N Main St, Andover, KS, United States
Phone: 316-218-4630
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meadowlarkelementary