EW Cougar News
Volume 11 Issue 2 October, 2022
Review 360
Good afternoon EW Caregivers,
As part of our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) efforts to provide targeted support to our students, each year we administer a universal screener to students to determine their proficiency in math and reading.
If you recall, several years ago we began administering a third universal screener for students in grades three through five in order to provide targeted support for students with behavioral and emotional needs.
The BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-3 BESS) offers a reliable, quick, and systematic way to determine behavioral and emotional strengths and areas of concern for children and adolescents in preschool through high school.
The screener was administered to your child sometime between the first two weeks of October.
The screener should take no longer than 15 minutes for children to complete.
The universal screener provides a score of normal risk, elevated risk or extremely elevated risk for each student and identifies instructional recommendations. We expect all students to have some level of risk across their elementary career. However, families of any student's self-assessment score that is categorized as overall elevated or extremely elevated, will be contacted.
We will work as a school team to identify interventions in order to appropriately support the needs of each specific student. Currently, we are implementing class meetings, teacher check-ins, weekly social-emotional lessons, monthly guidance lessons, targeted small group instruction and individual check-ins when appropriate with the school counselor, prevention specialist, and behavior specialist.
If you have any questions about the assessment or child’s participation, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Rastetter or me.
East Ward Trunk or Treat
Trunk or Treat is October 22nd, 5-7pm. Our Home and School will be selling donuts, pretzels and cider for $1/each, cash only!
Sign up to decorate your car, donate candy or both!! We are also excited to have a haunted hallway for the older kids!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050f4faea62ea13-trunk
Our parking lot will be closed for general parking. To park and attend this event, please use our field across from the school, side streets (please do not block driveways), or perhaps Central Presbyterian Church. While the event is from 5-7 PM, children can go one time around to each car, perhaps go through the haunted hallway (older grade students), and pause to have a donut, pretzel, or cider before leaving for the night to possibly attend some of the other local functions in the area. Have a great night Cougars!
Saturday, Oct 22, 2022, 05:00 PM
East Ward Elementary
Halloween/School Dress Up on 10/31
In an effort to create life-long memories and encourage school spirit, we are inviting all students to be festive on October 31!
Students can wear costumes, dress like a book character, or wear orange/black. If you choose to participate, students must come to school in their costume/attire (we will not allow students to change). Please make sure all costumes/outfits are “bathroom friendly” to ensure all students are able to use the restroom independently. To keep everyone safe, students may NOT wear face paint or costume masks, bring weapons or any other accessories. Students must wear appropriate shoes for school.
I understand that everyone does not celebrate Halloween, but hopefully through the love of literature, students can find a book character to emulate that will ensure everyone can join in the activity.
Parents and caregivers are not able to attend because of the logistics. We are exploring options for sharing this online so everyone has an opportunity to view. I’ll share details as soon as possible. Thank you!
Indian Heritage Day Volunteers Needed
Happy Diwali!
For those who celebrate, may this Diwali light up new dreams, fresh hopes, undiscovered avenues, different perspectives, and everything bright & beautiful, and fill your days with pleasant surprises & moments. Happy Diwali 2022
Safe Schools Drills
School safety is something that we take seriously in the DASD. In this day and age, practicing drills must be a reality in our schools. Our teachers prepare our students in advance for this type of drill in a manner that was appropriate for their ages. Very soon, we will hold a lock down drill at East Ward. Typically, our Head Custodian, Mr. Grego, Chief Security Officer, Mr. Hubbard and I walk the school. We check every space in our school to be sure that students and staff are as safe as possible in the event of an intruder.
By practicing these steps, we will ensure that police can respond to a potential call quickly while keeping everyone as safe and secure as possible! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email or call me at school. Thank you for your continued support.
Wellness in DASD Parent Speaker Series Information
DASD values collaborative learning and critical thinking while remaining focused on student wellness and serving the whole child. DASD is committed to promoting safe and supportive schools for a positive school culture that celebrates our diverse community and healthy social and emotional development.
“A Conversation About Bullying” with Downingtown alumni Sara Shepard and Zakiya Young will take place on October 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Downingtown High School West (445 Manor Ave, Downingtown).
Attendees must register to attend in advance.
Reading Corner- Talking Counts!
Most words in a child’s vocabulary come from everyday encounters with language. Children pick up language from books, media, and conversations with the people in their lives.
You can increase your child’s vocabulary and background knowledge—two important pieces of the reading puzzle—by having conversations with them. Giving children a rich language environment is one of the best ways to build a foundation for reading success.
With babies:
■ Talk to them about what you’re doing so they can begin to connect words with concepts.
■ As your baby begins to speak, start asking, “What’s that?” when pointing to objects or pictures. Elaborate on their simple answers as a way to have them listening to more words. “Yes, that is a banana! It’s yellow and smooth.”
With young children:
■ Talk about the things you see in your neighborhood, on trips around town, or on television. These conversations help build a child’s understanding of her world.
■ When reading, pause to ask questions or comment on the story. Ask, “Why do you think he did that?” or “What do you think is going to happen next?”
■ Use interesting and new words with your child. For example, “This cookie is scrumptious! It is really good!” or “I can see you’re reluctant to leave, but we can come back tomorrow.”
■ Tell your children stories from your own life, or about the day they were born. This helps develop their personal and cultural identity.
It doesn’t matter what language you use— a rich language environment creates better readers!
For more ideas to help your kids build vocabulary, visit:
Counselor's Corner
This October, Counselor lessons will focus on the following topics:
- Kindergarten: Feelings
- 1st: Persisting
- 2nd: Appreciating Differences
- 3rd: Growth Mindset
- 5th: Emotional Baggage
Coping Strategy of the Month:
Talk to a trusted individual
Setting our kids up for success:
- Stick to an appropriate bedtime and wake up time
- Keep routines simple and consistent
- Keep open lines of communication with the school
- Make expectations clear but achievable
- Provide positive reinforcement
- Collaborate where possible, but remember who is in charge!
From the desk of Mrs. Rastetter:
We’re officially one month (and some change) into the new school year! It has been so wonderful to feel a sense of returning to normalcy even as we continue to feel the effects of Covid.
The start of a new school year brings new routines, new expectations, and new demands. It can often times be difficult for students to adjust to the new normal in the early weeks and months. Something we often ask ourselves is “how can we set our students up for success?”
We want to ensure we’re creating a balance of expectation and patience. While we might have high expectations for our kids and ourselves, we also need to keep in mind the extraordinary challenges we’ve all faced over the past few years. How can we show ourselves and others some patience and grace while also working towards our usual high standards? The column to the left provides some suggestions to help set our kids up for success.
From the Health Room
Happy October East Ward Elementary! Halloween is quickly approaching and we want to keep our children safe, below are some safety tips:
Trick-or-treat safety tips
· Make sure that children under 12 trick-or-treat and cross streets with an adult.
· If kids are mature enough to be out without supervision, ask them to stick to familiar areas that are well lit and to trick-or-treat in groups.
· Avoid carrying sticks, swords or other sharp objects.
· Check treats for signs of tampering before children are allowed to eat them. Candy should be thrown away if the wrapper is faded, torn or unwrapped
School Attendance
School attendance is very important (even while online), and our Cougars want to be in attendance as much as possible! There is a strong correlation between a student’s attendance and learning. We encourage students at East Ward to come to classes, on time, each and every day, unless there is a health related reason for their absence. The DASD carefully tracks each student’s attendance daily, and is required to notify parents once their child has reached 3 illegal absences. An illegal absence is defined as an absence with no note received within three days. An attendance improvement plan will be developed if a student reaches 6 illegal absences. The plan will include interventions that will be put in place to improve school attendance.
As you can see, attendance is very important, so if your child is absent from school, please email our attendance line at ew_attendance @dasd.org prior to 9AM. Doing this will serve as your absent note rather than having to send in a written note. If you do not have email, we will need a written excuse. Please know that the email or written note serves as written documentation for your child’s absence from school and is filed accordingly. If you know your child will be late to school due to an appointment, an email will also help to eliminate your written note upon arrival.
Student/Parent Handbook
Our 2022-2023 Parent Handbook is posted on the East Ward Elementary School website. When visiting our homepage, please scroll down to the lower left portion of the page. In the “Backpack” you will find the Parent Handbook posted. It is very important that each parent/guardian read through the handbook. Important information such as attendance regulations, communication protocols, health and medical guidelines, activity fees, student expectations, calendar, instruction and assessment is included. Also featured is a section about our Home and School Association; officers, committees, and events are included.
East Ward Elementary School
Email: ewinfo@dasd.org
Website: https://ew.dasd.org/
Location: 435 Washington Ave, Downingtown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-269-8282
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dasdew
Twitter: @dasd_ew