Words from Walsh September, 2021
Staying connected with Walsh School
Hello Walsh Families!
I am excited to welcome everyone to Walsh School and anticipate a successful and fun-filled year for all our students. Our first days went well, and I can only assume that it was because of our energetic, supportive parents who worked with our staff to make each and every child feels safe and welcome.
We will again be using First Student bus service and their experienced leaders, dispatchers and drivers. Should you have any bus concerns, please contact Jen, the dispatcher, at 815-726-0033 or the office. For our early childhood students, transportation will be provided by Grand Prairie. The dispatcher, Courtney, can be reached at 815-838-1012, or Elaine with Special Services at 815-836-7719, should you have concerns.
I cannot express enough gratitude for everyone’s patience and understanding during our first couple of weeks, both with transportation and in our parking lots. Hopefully by now, all of the necessary bussing adjustments have been made, and we have settled into a regular routine. Most of our bussing calls are about busses running a little late - which we anticipate - but now you will begin to see a more regular drop off time. Make sure you adhere to your list when asking people to pick up your child on the corner, or call the office to add new names to your pick up list.
For our car riders, I remind you to be alert when using our parking lot. Always use the circle drop off in the morning, and when picking up, remember that no child should cross the parking lot without an adult. There is, of course, absolutely no parking for pick-up or drop off in the front parking lot. Remember to only use the North Street parking lot. I thank you for your effort in helping to keep our children safe.
All physicals, dental and eye exams are now due for our kindergarten students. Please turn them in as soon as possible, if you haven’t done so already. Please contact our school nurse with any medical needs or concerns for your child.
This week and next, our students will be taking the FastBridge benchmark assessment in reading and math. The results will be used to help identify our instructional needs for individuals and classrooms in general. It also helps us it to determine the need for extra supports or challenges for students.
Finally, an ENORMOUS THANK YOU for your patience and grace as we get the year started. Although our theme last year was We Are All in This Together, it is still valid today. We count YOU as part of the WE. Thank you for being part of the Walsh Family!
As always, if you have any concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Until I see you again...
Stay well and be safe,
Teresa Martin
Principal
Important Dates in September
Mark Your Calendars
1 - Shield Testing Begins
6 - NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
10 - Spirit Day - Patriot Day (Wear red, white & blue)
16 - Fall Picture Day
21 - Board of Education Meeting @ 7 p.m.
24 - Spirit Day - Crazy Sock Day ~ We are wild & crazy about school!!
School begins at 8:50 a.m.
*Please note, every Wednesday is an early dismissal at 2:50 p.m.*
Remember to call the office by 9:00 a.m. if your child will be
absent or tardy.
Office hours are 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. ~ 815-838-7858 ~ www.d92.org
AM Early Childhood Hours are 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m
*Wednesday early dismissal at 11:00 a.m.
PM Early Childhood Hours are 12:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
*Wednesday early dismissal at 2:45 p.m.
All important fliers are posted online for your viewing.. don't miss a thing!
Kindergarten News
Welcome to our students and families! We are so glad that you are here! Kindergarten is off and running, and we are getting to know our teacher, our classroom, our school, our staff, and friends! Our focus has been to build a friendly classroom environment! The kindergarteners are very busy learning the routines that will be in place all year long. The students are adapting to the longer school day, and building stamina to work independently.
We are excited to begin our Launch Unit of Reader's Workshop. We will work on developing good reading habits. Students will explore a variety of different books and texts. They will learn how to talk about books and share with their peers while exploring the different genres.
We are also very excited to begin our math series Bridges. We have started with learning about numbers one through five.
You can continue to support this smooth transition by providing a healthy snack, checking your child's folder nightly, and making sure he/she gets enough sleep at night. These three tips will help us sustain a successful year!
B.E.E. Awards
First Grade News
We have started our phonics program called "Fundations." This program is a highly structured and intensive approach to decoding, reading, and spelling. We are reviewing some of our Kindergarten skills and beginning some new first grade skills.
We have also started our reading curriculum, Schoolwide. During the Schoolwide launching unit, students will be learning about text and genre features, choosing a "just right" book, making connections, discovering new vocabulary and writing an opinion piece.
Our math series is called Bridges, In this program, students focus intensively on four critical areas specified by the common core state standards for mathematics in grade one:
*Addition and subtraction within 20; *Whole number relationships and place value; *Linear measurement in non-standard units; and *Reasoning with shapes and attributes.
In addition, students participate in math practice with different activities.
September is also a very important time at home. It is a time to establish homework routines, which will carry throughout the school year. Parents should allow time for reading and practicing math facts each night.
We are off to a great start and we look forward to a successful school year!
Notes From The Nurse
Art News with Mrs. Deckinga
PICTURE DAY - September 16th
Music Notes with Mrs. Moan
Welcome to the Walsh Music Room!
What a wonderful start to the new school year.
Music takes us to new places! Let’s go!
Early Childhood: The preschool students will be practicing steady beats using classroom instruments like rhythm sticks, eggs and drums. We are moving our feet to different styles and speeds of music, with some dancing too! We have been practicing our Hello Song and singing with puppets. We love songs about animals.
Kindergarten: The Kindergarten students are reviewing music skills like steady beat, pitch matching and high/low. We will be “Goin’ to the Farm”, and meeting all kinds of farm animals. We will meet ducks, chickens and cows this month. The students will also be dancing and playing instruments and games.
1st Grade: The first graders are excited about singing! The students will start with some musical opposites review, like high/low, fast/slow and quiet/loud. Throughout the month, the students will be learning about mallet technique and playing our barred instruments. We are also learning some simple folk dances and sign language.
Spirit Sticks are Back!
Any Dismissal Changes Should be Made by 2:30
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
What are the CASEL Competencies, you ask, and how do they help our school improve? Let me explain a little bit about CASEL and about the competencies. CASEL stands for The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, and this organization seeks to provide schools with resources and guidance in supporting social-emotional learning for our students and staff. CASEL also provides resources for parents, as we know that social and emotional learning starts at home. Parents and families are critical partners in helping their children develop social and emotional know-how. They can model the kinds of skills, attitudes and behaviors we want students to master.
The 5 Competencies and a few examples of skills in each are:
- Self-awareness: label and recognize own and other's emotions and how they affect others, recognize own strengths and limitations, and identify own needs and values
- Self-management: set plans and work toward goals, manage personal and interpersonal stress, use feedback constructively, seek help when needed, and advocate for oneself
- Social Awareness: identify social cues to determine how others feel, respect others, understand other points of view and perspectives, and appreciate diversity
- Relationship Skills: demonstrate capacity to make friends, exhibit cooperative learning and working toward group goals, communicate effectively, and provide help to those in need
- Responsible Decision-making: negotiate fairly, become self-reflective and self-evaluative, identify problems and generate alternatives, and implement problem-solving skills
Why is it that we are making Social-Emotional Learning a priority? Because research confirms that social and emotional competencies can be taught, modeled, and practiced, and lead to positive student outcomes that are important for success in school and life. So not only do social-emotional competencies prepare students to participate in learning activities, they also increase a student's capacity to learn.
I will continue to share SEL activities, goals, and information with you in our newsletters this year. Please feel free to reach out with feedback.