BUS TRANSPORTATION

We would like to encourage as many families as possible to use our buses. The regulations for bussing were lifted on February 11th. Students will remain masked on the bus at all times.

VACCINE FOR TEACHERS

Many of our teachers have taken advantage of vaccine appointments and will have received their first dose prior to April 5th.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

Students' desks will be spaced at least 3 feet apart. Early in the school year we removed extra furniture from all classrooms to accommodate social distancing and to safely move around the classroom.

LUNCH

Students will continue to sit a least 6 feet apart in our cafeterias. We will continue to use both the gym and the cafeteria to accommodate all of our students.

SNACK/MASK BREAKS

Students will maintain at least 6 feet of distance from one another. Snack and mask breaks will be held outside as often as possible when the weather is good. For inclement weather days, we have a schedule for classes to have snack in our cafeterias.

CLEANING/CUSTODIAL STAFF

We will continue to maintain cleaning procedures. Our custodians are working nonstop at least 6 days a week to keep our buildings clean and safe.

EXTENDED DAY

At this time we are not able to offer extended day. We will continue to revisit this as the year progresses.

Reading Out Loud With Your Elementary Child Can Be:

Positive - Productive - Powerful

Q: “What can we be doing at home to help our child improve

with their reading?"

A: One thing. Read out loud with your child.

I'm talking about all elementary grade students, and even more so with upper elementary. Yes, that's right, I'm urging parents to sit with their third, fourth, and even fifth grade child and taking turns reading out loud with them.

This one act opens the door to so many other things; parents recognizing (1) the skill they have as readers and as thinkers themselves, and (2) that they are capable of sharing that skill with their child through modeling, then a very powerful reading support system begins to take shape.

The Set Up:

• Sit next to each other

• Take turns reading one page at a time.

• When you read, model strong phrasing and expression.

• When your child reads, listen to the story. Let your child attempt hard words.

• Help explain new vocabulary.

View the Experience as an Equal:

• Read with your child as a “fellow reader,” partners sharing the experience.

• Try to avoid too many corrections or judgements.

• Enjoy the book as two readers.

(Focus on what your child is doing right during reading time. Correcting all mistakes and misinterpretations leads

to your child getting frustrated, then you getting frustrated, then your child getting attitude, then you getting snarky,

then your child shutting down. Am I right?)

Read a Variety of Texts:

• Choose short texts such as: blogs, poems, recipes, directions, games, sports and magazine articles.

• Choose a chapter book that you and your child save to only read when you are

Together.

Take turns:

• Read one page out loud, then your child. Continue taking turns.

• Model solid reading fluency. This means: read at a comfortable pace,

read with expression.

Think Out Loud: (Encourage Predictions, References, Feelings)

• Verbalizing your thinking in detail is very powerful!

• Strong readers pause and think about what they have read.

• Show your child what goes through your mind as you read.

Positive:

• To conclude, try some poignant compliments such as:

"I'm proud of you for working on that (or) sharing your thoughts about that

(or) taking a stand on that (or) being honest with how you feel about that.

Aren't you proud of me, too?" You might get a minor eye-roll,

but a smile will probably accompany it!

If you have a question about reading, comprehension tips, anything, please forward it to mdavis@awrsd.org.

I hope you find these tips helpful!

Mrs. Davis

Title One Reading Intervention Teacher

WES/MHS