Family Newsletter
1/17/21
A great week of conferences
We had a great week of parent-teacher conferences. It was wonderful to see how excited students were to share their projects and progress with families. Thank you for sharing feedback with staff on how the year has been going and things that you are noticing about your child. I heard many positive conversations about the growth that students have made this year. I also heard many concerns regarding children's lack of progress and that they are behind. We know that many students are behind from benchmark levels that we would see in a typical year. We have many additional strategies in place to support student growth and monitor their progress along the way.
We are working hard as a school community to meet every student where they are. We are so thankful to families for their support and partnership to help move students forward. We have classroom teachers, teacher assistants, interventionists, counselors, special education teachers, and administrators all working together to analyze data, identify next steps, and implement supports. I am so grateful for everyone's hard work, positivity, and flexibility as we work together to help every child succeed.
Please reach out if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or if we can provide support in any way. Thank you for your partnership in keeping the Robinson community safe.
Take Care-
Angeline
This Week's Schedule
Link to our school webpage calendar
Week of January 18th
This week is a B week
Monday, January 18th
No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
See the book give away flyer below- location moved
Tuesday, January 19th
Students in person learning
KEES Speaker Series 6:00-7:30- information below
Wednesday, January20th
Wacky Wednesday Theme- Be Comfy- Dress in your favorite sweats and comfy clothes
Students in person learning
Robinson Equity Group Meeting 6:30-8:00
Thursday, January 21st
Students in person learning
Friday, January 22nd
Students online learning
MLK Day Book Giveaway- for all students- must preregister
Every child will get a free book and snack
Amigos food truck will be there
See flyer above for your child's time slot for book pick up
Location: Crown Royal's Motorcycle Club
Please take our KSD Survey
We are seeking feedback from the community, including families, residents, and staff, in an upcoming survey. KSD asks the community to complete the survey now, through Wednesday, January 20, 2021.
Please take a moment to complete the survey at: kirkwoodschools.org/survey. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
BIPOC: What Does it Mean?- KEES January 19th
Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Time: 6-7:30 p.m.
Register: kirkwoodschools.org/keess
Contact: Roberta.McWoods@kirkwoodschools.org
BIPOC: What does it mean?
Panel discussion with people that identify as Black, Indigneous and People of Color (BIPOC) and how BIPOC leaders are seeking to leverage their own identities as well as resources, tools and networks to advance anti-racist change. Panelists will also discuss the radicalized dynamics that happen that originate in childhood that last through adulthood. Insights on how to build a relationship between BIPOC students and their teachers will also be discussed to help the student, parent and teacher forge a strong relationship.
Robinson Equity Group Meeting January 20th
Join via zoom:
https://kirkwoodschools.zoom.us/j/91436746239?pwd=UjAxY1NjWVBMY3dyYTFJMFdWU25TZz09
All current parents who are involved in the REG, and new parents interested in anti-racism work towards building equity for all students at Robinson and in the KSD are welcome to attend. The agenda will be published on the REG Facebook page (@RobinsonEquity), along with a link to the Zoom meeting. Please contact robinsonequity@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Schedule Information
We have received several emails inquiring about any schedule change for our learning model. We committed to maintaining the current schedule for the rest of the school year, including virtual Fridays for all students. We worked as hard as possible to strike a balance between safely engaging our students in person while keeping our students and staff safe. We also worked to be deliberate in our decision-making so we don't put students and parents on a "yo-yo" from in person to virtual. This will continue to guide our decision making.
At this time, we are watching the post-holiday season numbers closely. The current context in St. Louis County and the emergence of a new, more contagious version of the virus are complicating the situation. However, with news of a vaccine, a window of opportunity to expand our in person engagement may present itself as we move toward springtime.
If an opportunity to change the current learning model presents itself to our schools, a full engagement of our Board of Education, staff and families would be held prior to any decision.
Great Free Learning Opportunity for All Students
More than ever, learning how to code is a crucial part of understanding how the world works, no matter what you do or where you’re from. Not only is coding a useful skill to develop, but the employment of computer and information research scientists is projected to grow 15 percent by 2029.
Codivate is a completely student-run nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids develop their computational thinking skills and teaching them how to create practical programs with code.
All too often, students turn to traditional coding programs that place emphasis on the nitty-gritty language-specific details of it all. Codivate uses the dynamic combination of hands-on activities and a carefully curated curriculum to make learning coding as fun as it can be, as well as tutors who are just as excited to teach as students are to learn.
Spring Courses:
-Intermediate Block-Based Programming in Snap!
-Introduction to Programming in Python
-Intermediate Programming in Python
-Introduction to Algorithmic Programming in Java
Classes begin Saturday, February 20th. Sign up today on this form: http://bit.ly/SP2021Code
**Registration closes on February 12th- sign up now to reserve your child's free slot!
Kits you can check out to guide your conversations
These themed kits each include 4-6 books along with a folder of discussion questions and other resources, all packaged up nicely in an easy to carry canvas bag. To check out a kit, please email kristin.davis@kirkwoodschools.org and note which kit you’d like (see the choices below).
We’ll send it home with your child or leave in the curbside bin if your family is virtual. When returning the kit, please verify that all materials are included. They are listed on a tag attached to the bag.
Also, I’d love to see these in use! Please email photos or feedback as well. For more information on We Stories check out http://www.westories.org/.
Free Webinar to Learn more about our Literacy Resource and how you can support literacy at home
Thursday, January 28, 1-3 PM Eastern Time
Join expert Teachers College Reading and Writing Project staff at our upcoming workshop day for parents and caregivers of students in grades K-8. Learn more about ways to support your child’s literacy education at home, what or how they are learning in school, how to best engage in home literacy projects, and more.
These days are typically 2-3 hours long, composed of a series of 15-minute small-group presentations. Parents and caregivers can choose the workshops that match their needs and are free to come for one workshop or many. The schedule of workshops will be made available prior to the event. These sessions are offered live and are not recorded for later viewing.
Click the link below to register.
https://tcrwp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIudu-orzMrGdUN0IyGUGksRGCvS2Sjp9E5
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Robinson Yearbooks and Yearbook Ads go on sale this week through March 12th
You can order yearbooks and ads online via our website:
https://shop.yearbookmarket.com/robinsonelementaryschool
or by paper order form which will be going home at the end of the month.
Our ad prices help to reduce the total cost of the yearbooks for families from $13 down to $10. Our add prices are $15 for 1/8 page, $25 for 1/4 page, $50 for 1/2 page and $100 for our full page ads. You may purchase and create your ad through our website link above. This is the first year that the website lets you fully design and create your ad with the layout, fonts, and colors that you prefer.
If you have never seen our yearbook before, watch this quick informational video about our yearbook and see pages from last year's edition.
If you want help navigating our ordering website and want to see where to click to purchase a yearbook, watch this short video.
If you want help navigating our ordering website to purchase an ad, please watch this short video.
Fifth grade families using the dedication ad builder will need to enter a code upon check-put to receive the 1/8 page ad for free. The code is JR5K8ICQ20 and it is also included in the description of the 1/8 page ad when they are adding it to their cart.
Thank you to PTO for creating and overseeing our yearbook program! We are excited to have the yearbook to remember this historic year. Please reach out to
robinsonelementaryyb@gmail.com with any questions about our yearbook or ads.
Yearbook with Lens of Equity and Inclusion
Our next meeting will be on January 26th from 6:30-7:30. The focus this time will be on the layout and ensuring inclusion of all students in the candid sections of the yearbook. We encourage our online families to participate in the conversation as well. It is important that all of our Robinson students be included in our yearbook. We look forward to our discussion and planning.
Join via zoom