Shoemaker Newsletter
January, 2020
Dear Families,
Happy New Year! I hope that your holiday was filled with family, friends and many new memories. We are excited to get 2020 started and look forward to an action-packed remainder of the school year.
In addition to the many academic and arts related activities, some PTO events to look forward to include Bingo Night on February 7th, Shamrock Shake on March 13th and the Color Run on May 29th.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, or just pop in to say hello!
I wish you and your family a happy and healthy New Year.
Warmest regards,
Mrs. Vogel
Important January Dates:
January 8 - Parent's Night - RSVP to Mrs. Ringer 6-8pm
January 10 - Mustang Meeting for students/staff 2pm - we will livestream for families
January 14 - PTO meeting 6pm
January 20 - Martin Luther King Jr Day - No school
January 24 - 12:30pm dismissal - lunch will be served
Upcoming February Dates:
February 7 - PTO Bingo 6-9pm
February 14 - Mustang Meeting for students/staff 2pm - we will livestream for families
February 17 - President's Day - No school
Community Service Club News:
Happy New Year to one and all! What a fantastic response we received in December to the Community Service projects that we sponsored. We collected 185 coats, 205 hats, 158 pairs of gloves, 3 pairs of boots, 8 snow pants, and 89 scarves. We divided these up between the STA Stuff the Bus project and New Bethany Ministries in Allentown. Plus we collected 200 toys for Toys for Tots. Thank you everyone who was able to participate. The children also created beautiful wreaths and Christmas trees out of their handprints which were sent to Fellowship Manor in Whitehall.
January’s project: For the month of January, we will be taking a break while the PTO conducts the Read-a-thon. Stay tuned as we will be collecting items for animal shelters in February, Pennies for Patients in March, then we finish up with a book drive in April.
As always, I thank you for your constant support of our projects and I wish you all a healthy and safe New Year.
Mrs. Brenda Ringer
Professional School Counselor
REMINDER: The second Parent’s Night will be on January 8th from 6-8PM. The topic will be about the changing landscape of childhood with all of the electronics at their fingertips. It is a great presentation with lots of things for parents to be aware of. Please RSVP to Mrs. Ringer by Jan 3rd.
Links to Learning:
What is Guided Reading?
During conferences you may have heard your child’s teacher talk about guided reading and the work your son/daughter is doing at that time. So what is guided reading and what does it look like? Here is a quick breakdown of this instructional practice:
Small group meets with the teacher
Read books on the students’ instructional reading level (not too easy and not too hard)
Teachers support students in building a network of strategic actions for reading increasingly challenging texts.
Strategic actions include: solving words, reading fluently, summarizing, inferring, analyzing and more!
The skills developed during guided reading then support students reading and work in other subject areas
Students read a wide variety of texts
Helps students to learn to think like proficient readers
"In guided reading, you meet students where they are and lead them forward with intention and precision." –Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell
If you have any questions about your child’s reading or the work they are doing in guided reading, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or his/her teacher.
Mrs. Konjoian
Instructional Specialist
jkonjoian@eastpennsd.orgFrom the Health Room:
Hard to believe the holiday season is before us already. I would like to thank all of the very generous parents that have sent in clothes and underwear for our students. Your donations are very much appreciated!
We have had a busy school year so far. We have most of our state mandated screenings done. You will be receiving notification of your child's results, as soon as we get a few of the "bugs" worked out of our new computer program. If your student failed either vision or hearing screening you would have been made aware via phone or mail.
FYl: we have been seeing a stomach virus and a virus with a high fever. Please remember, we do not stock Tylenol or Motrin. If you would want your child to receive medication, it must be brought into school by an adult with the medication administration form completed by a parent or guardian. You can obtain this form on the EPSD Website under Health Services.
Fever is defined as an oral temperature greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Students may return to school when the temperature is less than 100 degrees without the fever reducing medication for 24 hours. If your child has been vomiting he or she should remain out of school until no vomiting for 12 hours after eating.
EPSD has also had a few reported cases of Pertussis within the district. Please refer to the district website. The Parent Letter Regarding Pertussis contains very valuable information on this topic, for more detailed information please talk to your children's health care provider.
Please remember to let the Health Room know if your child was started on medication or has had a dosage change so we can update your child's medication record to maintain their safety. You can do this by emailing at bfreiwald@eastpennsd.org or calling 610-965-1587.
We have awesome students at Shoemaker and we appreciate all your assistance in maintaining the team approach. We wish everyone a happy, peaceful and fun filled holiday break!
See you in 2020!
Mrs. Freiwald RN