Stone Oak Elementary News
January 3, 2016
Happy New Year!
The Importance of Reading
Look for more information in the coming weeks about our SPRING READING CHALLENGE. We are excited to unveil our plan to increase the time each of our students is reading self-selected books. We hope to cultivate a love of reading in every one of our students.
istation Information:
Your child is currently receiving individualized, supplementary reading instruction through the use of the computer-delivered program called Istation. Your child can continue his or her reading experience by accessing istation at home.
If you have not already, please install the program on your home computer. Go to www.istation.com/IstationHome/ and follow the simple installation instructions. If you need any assistance, please call 1-866-883-7323, and press 2.
You can access reports on how your child is doing on the istation monthly assessments taken at school by going to the website listed above and using your child’s log in credentials, including their username and password. Please note, the school/domain is: stoneoak.neisd.tx
Please encourage your child to use this program at home if at all possible. This is an excellent way for your child to continue their learning beyond the classroom environment, and help parents get involved in their child’s education.
KIDS---DON"T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR COLLEGE T-SHIRT ON MONDAY! We always wear our favorite college shirts on Mondays to promote awareness of higher educational opportunities.
The Importance of Creativity: 20% Time Projects
“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed.
The vision pulls you.”
-Steve Jobs
Google Uses 20% Time to Increase Creativity
What 20% Time allows students to do is pick their own project and learning outcomes, while still hitting all the standards and skills for their grade level. In fact, these students often go “above and beyond” their standards by reaching for greater depth of knowledge than most curriculum tends to allow.
The idea for 20% time in schools comes from Google’s own 20% policy, where employees are given 20% of their time to work and innovate on something else besides their current project. It’s been very successful in business practice, and people describe it as wildly successful in education practice.
When a student has completed all of their assigned classwork and the teacher checks for mastery of the material, the student can ask for 20% Time to work on an independent research project. Each Stone Oak student will have a blue 20% Time Research Folder to keep in their desk and take home. This work is not for a grade, it is simply time set aside during the school day to maintain engagement and increase creativity amongst our students.
Sharing and collaborating
Parents, be sure to ask your child about their 20% Time Project. Sometimes they may want to work on it at home. They may also want to work on it with other students, parents, or siblings. We think that is great!
presentations
Students will have a chance to share with the entire grade level their 20% Time Projects once a month at the PLC grade level activities.
The Importance of Talking
I came across an interesting article while on a flight over the holiday break. I wanted to share this with you from the Southwest Airlines Inflight Magazine.
"Dr. Dana Suskind performed miracles by giving deaf children the ability to hear. Then she realized it wasn't enough. Now she's trying to help an entire generation of kids by convincing parents to:
1. Tune In
2. Talk More
3. Take Turns
In 2009, Suskind founded the Thirty Million Words Initiative to teach parents how to harness the power of their own speech to build their children's brains. "You don't need a master's degree to make your child smart," Suskind says. "You just need to talk with them."
Transforming typical daily activities into learning opportunities is precisely what Thirty Million Words teaches, ensuring that overloaded parents can participate without the burden of an added task.
It's an imperative message for families, particularly in an era when digital enticements compete for parents' attention. One needn't look further than the nearest playground to see parents ignoring their tiny charges in favor of a hand-held device."
For more information please visit her website www.thirtymillionwords.org.
"A world famous study by researchers Betty Hart and Todd Risley (1995) found that some children heard thirty million fewer words by their 4th birthdays than others. The children who heard more words were better prepared when they entered school. The same kids, when followed into third grade, had bigger vocabularies, were stronger readers, and got higher test scores."
Upcoming Events: January 2016
Friday, January 1: Happy New Year!
Monday, January 4: Back to School
Wednesday, January 13: Coffee with the Principal @ 8:30 am
Monday, January 18: No School- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. DayJanuary Benchmark Testing WIndows Open: More details are forthcoming
About Us
Email: ekrimb@neisd.net
Website: www.neisd.net/stone/
Location: 21045 Crescent Oaks, San Antonio, TX, United States
Phone: 210-407-7800
Twitter: @StoneOakEl