The Clayville Chronicle
May 2019 Edition
From the Desk of Mrs. Francis
Spring is upon us and we are down to the final month and a half of the school year. Our students have been working diligently to meet all of their goals! It is important to keep up this momentum throughout May and June. Please continue to encourage your student to put their best effort into making each remaining school day count.
We have a very busy month and a half ahead. Please refer to the list of upcoming events below.
Warm Regards,
Courtney Francis
Announcements & Reminders
- The Spring Benchmarking Window is May 13th through May 24th. During this time, students in grades K-5 will complete testing in math and reading using benchmarking assessment system, AIMSWeb (K-3) or STAR (grades 4-5). Teachers will use the results of this assessment as one data point to reflect on student progress since the beginning of year.
- It is important that students adhere to appropriate school attire for the spring. As outlined in our handbook: Shoes with open toes, sandals, clogs, and flip-flops are not safe for the recess field, stairs and where objects could be dropped on children’s feet.
- District Policy requires all parents and school volunteers to maintain a current BCI check and to RENEW all BCI checks yearly prior to volunteering in classrooms/school or field trip activities. Please contact the school office if you are in need of a form.
5 Tips to Keep Children Engaged at the End of the School Year
The school year is coming to a close, the weather is getting nice, and the students are getting antsy. For parents, these last few weeks before summer can feel like a marathon, attempting to keep your children from completely checking out from the classroom mentally—without losing your own sanity. Looking for some fresh ideas? Here are five things parents can do at home to keep their children motivated in the classroom through the end of the school year.
1. Give in to the great outdoors
Once the air warms up and the sun comes out, the pull of the great outdoors is hard for all of us to ignore. Make a point of quenching your child’s thirst for time outside during the hours you have with him or her at home. Walk to the local park after school, sign him or her up for an outdoor sports league, take a weekend day trip to go hiking, or simply eat dinner in the backyard as a family. Any time you spend outside with your child will help manage his or her need to escape the indoors while he or she is busy learning in the classroom.
2. Ask questions
Contrary to what you may hear from your child, his or her time in the classroom is valuable right up to the last day of the school year. Teachers are racking their brains every bit as hard as you to keep students busy and learning during the final weeks of school. Help them out by making a concerted effort to get your child talking about that learning at home. Avoid the impulse to focus on upcoming summer activities or indulge in complaints, and ask your child about what the day’s lessons included. As always, express your own interest in those topics—enthusiasm for learning is infectious.
3. Maintain a routine
The days may be getting longer and summer activities may be getting started, but that’s not an excuse to disrupt the school year routine. Make a point of maintaining consistency in your child’s homework time, family mealtime, bedtime, wake-up time, and any other daily rituals you have. This will help keep your child in the mindset for school and improve his or her focus in the classroom right up to the last day of the school year.
4. Reflect on the year
For students, each school year is a distinct experience. As the school year is wrapping up, make it a priority to help your child reflect on all that he or she has learned and done in the classroom over the past nine months. Try having your child write a letter to his or her younger self from the start of the school year—what advice would he or she offer, what challenges can he or she expect, and what should he or she look forward to? This kind of reflection is a great way to get your child thinking about all the progress he or she has made throughout the year and motivate him or her to keep up the academic momentum.
5. Provide some incentive
Never underestimate the motivating power of a little reward. Think about different incentives you can offer your child for displaying continued effort and achievement at school during these final weeks. Maybe it’s an extra hour of TV time if he or she finishes all of the night’s homework before dinnertime or a special outing if he or she achieves a certain grade in a subject that has been challenging. Big or small, dangling a carrot can make a big difference in keeping your child engaged at the end of the school year.
Looking for an at-home program that can help you and your child set personalized learning goals and reward hard work with customized incentives? Study Island for Home provides state-standards aligned practice in core subjects with engaging activities and games that make learning fun. See it for yourself—start your free trial today!
(Source: http://blog.edmentum.com/5-parent-tips-keep-children-engaged-end-school-year)
PAWsitive Office Referrals!
Tootles!
Mrs. Francis enjoyed another lunch with students who either wrote or received a Tootle Ticket acknowledging how a classmate was kind or helpful. Check out the pictures below from our April luncheon!
Don't forget to take a peek at all Tootle Tickets and pictures of our PAWsitive Office Referral recipients displayed in our cafeteria.
April Attendance Winners!
Staff and students have an ongoing discussion about the importance of ATTENDANCE! As a reminder, during the course of the school year, we will host friendly competition to encourage students to come to school every day. The class with the best attendance rate for the month will get to "house" our mascot, Paws! In addition, students who have perfect attendance for the month will be entered into a raffle to win a special prize.
Congratulations to our April winners:
- Mrs. Cardarelli's fourth grade class! Enjoy Paws!
- Anthony M. (K-2 winner) and Madelyn D. (3-5 winner). Enjoy your special prizes!
All students get a fresh start for May
Independent Reading Level Assessment (IRLA)
Grade 5: Mindfulness
Grade 4 Pen Pals
Grade 3 Field Trip
Grade 2: Biography Unit
Grade 1 Readers
Kindergarten: Three Little Pigs Unit
Planting in Preschool
"Focused Listening" with Mr. Wasilewski
High Five Wednesday and Pep Rally!
Talent Show!
Proud New Flag!
Library Media Center Redesign Update!
Thank you, PTO!
PTO Gentleman's Choice Event!
Clayville Skills: Dancin' with Hoops Program
Upcoming Events!
Student Council Spirit Month!
Show your Clayville School spirit each week in May!
May 3rd – Mismatch Day
Don’t worry about matching your clothes today and
bring a donation (no monetary donations please) for the Scituate Animal Shelter.
Kitten Chow (most needed), Canned cat and dog food, Dog treats (Milk Bones or Beggin Strips), Paper Towels, Laundry Detergent, and Dryer Sheets
May 10th – Neon Day
Wear your brightest neon clothing and bring a donation to support
Help the Homeless RI
Socks, $5 Dunkin Donuts or Subway gift cards, Gift cards for grocery stores or Cumberland Farms in any denomination
May 17th – Disney Day
Wear your favorite Disney clothing (no costumes please) and bring in donations to support the Tomorrow Fund
Monetary donations or arts & craft supplies are needed
(crayons, markers, coloring books, drawing paper)
May 24th – Clayville Day
Wear your Clayville Spirit Wear or anything purple and bring peanut butter & jelly to kick-off the Spring Food Drive
Reading Week!
Clayville School will once again be hosting a reading week!
- Theme: Reading is Out of this World!
- Dates: 5/20-5/24
- More details to come soon!
Spring Scholastic Book Fair
It’s a Dino-Mite book fair! Stomp, Chomp and Read.... at our Annual Spring Scholastic's Book Fair! Visit Clayville Library for our fun dino themed fair May 28 - 31, 9 am - 3:00 pm & during Arts Night for awesome books plus games & prizes!!
All proceeds are used to purchase books for our classrooms, library & students. Volunteers needed! Please email Amanda Rossi (amandarossi87@gmail.com) if you'd like to help!
Field Day 2019!
Celebration Event Dates!
- June 5th - Kindergarten Celebration
- June 7th- PreK Celebration
- June 10th- Grade 5 Celebration
Notes from Nurse Lisa
Allergy season has arrived! Seasonal allergies or “Hay Fever” (Allergic rhinitis) are among the most common chronic conditions worldwide. Allergy symptoms can be very uncomfortable for your allergy sufferer. People with allergic rhinitis generally experience symptoms after breathing in an allergy-causing substance such as pollen, dust, grass, or mold. In the spring, the most common triggers are grass and tree pollen. For some people, allergies can
also trigger symptoms of asthma.
When a sensitive person inhales an allergen, the body’s immune system may react with the following symptoms (listed in order of frequency):
● Stuffy nose due to blockage or congestion
● Itching, usually in the nose, mouth, eyes, or throat
● Puffy, swollen eyelids
● Redness of eyes
● Sneezing
● Cough
If your child suffers from allergies, an allergist or pediatrician can help with recommendations for over-the-counter, non-drowsy medications or prescribe an allergy treatment and management plan. Please medicate your child at home before school. Remind your child to wash their hands and face after any outside activities, as this action will help remove the pollen.
PTO Update
News from Northwest Special Education
Greetings, parents and caregivers,
Happy spring! We would like to personally invite you to join us at our next Special Education Local Advisory Committee (SELAC). Our special education group would like to start hosting a bi-annual orientation and welcome event for all new parents entering special education in our region (Foster, Glocester, Scituate) - we want to hear about your experiences and ideas.
After listening to some parent’s experiences moving into our school district, or starting special education after early intervention (EI), we believe an event like this would be extremely beneficial. Our hope is to not only provide information about parental rights and understanding IEP’s, but to give families the opportunity to meet each other and key service providers in our district.
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 6:30 pm at the Northwest Special Education Office. Please join us to provide your ideas and insight into what this experience was like for you, brainstorm ideas on what information is essential to offer, and the best way to provide that information. If you plan to attend, please contact the Northwest Special Education office at 401-647-4106. If you are unable to attend, but still want to be involved, please reach out to us about any ideas and tips you may have at Hmkpuzzledparents@gmail.com.
Thank you, Heather Kennedy and Colleen Brophy
SELAC Co-chairs
News from the Scituate School Committee
Dates to Remember:
- 5/1-5/2: RICAS Testing- Grades 4/5 Math
- 5/1: PTO Meeting @ 6:30 p.m. in Clayville library
- 5/3: Mismatch Day!
- 5/6-5/10: Teacher Appreciation Week!
- 5/6: Grade 2 Field Trip Audobon Society
- 5/7: Grade 3 Field Trip to Water Festival
- 5/7: School Committee Meeting @ 7 p.m.
- 5/8-5/9: RICAS Testing - Grade 3 Math
- 5/9: Grade 5 Trip to Scituate Middle School for Music Day
- 5/9: Clayville Night @ Smash Burger in Johnston 5-8 p.m. (benefits 5th grade class)
- 5/10: Neon Day!
- 5/13: Biomes Skills Program 3:10-4:15
- 5/15-5/16: Grade 5 NGSA (Science) Testing
- 5/17: Disney Day!
- 5/20-5/24: Reading Week!
- 5/22: Author Bill Harley Presentation
- 5/24: Clayville Day!
- 5/24: Kindergarten Field Trip to Mystic Aquarium
- 5/27: No School - Memorial Day
- 5/29: Field Day! (rain date 5/30)
- 5/29: Arts Night!
Stay in Touch!
Email: Courtney.francis@scituateschoolsri.net
Website: http://www.scituateri3.net/Clayville/
Location: 3 George Washington Highway, Clayville, RI, USA
Phone: 401-578-8477
Twitter: @Mrs_Francis7