Bird's Word for September 21, 2023

In this Bird's Word:

• Message from Mrs. Behnke
• From the Health Office
• FFEJ News (Falcon Families for Equity & Justice)
• School Lunch Menu
• Flyers

Reminder:

• No School October 2nd, Teacher Workshop Day
• No School October 19 & 20, Fall Recess

Achievement for all students is a top priority for us at Falcon Heights Elementary and for Roseville Area Schools. We seek to be in partnership with families in the education of all students. It is through a commitment to take your child/ren from where they are academically, socially, emotionally, physically and move them forward to becoming the best of who they can be today and into tomorrow. We believe this is possible through hard work and dedication of our students, families and staff everyday. Falcon Heights is a place of great learning. This year will be the same. As a school we are committed to creating a learning environment where all students can achieve everyday.

Our School Improvement Goals for the year are:

Literacy -The percentage of all students in grades K-3 at Falcon Heights Elementary school who are in the “low risk” and “college pathways” categories on the Fastbridge earlyReading/CBMR standardized assessment will increase from 81.4% end of year 2023 to 83.3% end of year 2024.

Math - The percentage of all students in grades 2-6 at Falcon Heights Elementary who are in the “low risk” or “college pathway” categories on the Fastbridge aMath standardized assessments will increase from 77% in the 2023 end of year to 79.3% in the 2024 end of year, which represents a 10% increase in proficiency.

School Culture - By June ODRs (level admin assisted) of Hispanic students will decrease from 1.82 to 1.55 and BIPOC students will decrease from 1.24 to 1.05.

As part of our commitment to a positive learning environment, we practice the Falcon Way and work on creating spaces that all students feel they belong. Each classroom participates in weekly Social Emotional Learning lessons and activities. There are a variety of resources that our staff utilize such as Second Steps, Class Dojos, and Be Good People. We also have a handful of friendship groups that Ms. Natalee, School Social Worker runs with groups of students.

FAST (Fastbridge) - Formative Assessment System for Teachers

All students are participating in formative assessments in reading and math several times during the year. This week students K-4 have met 1:1 with an assessor and grades 2-6 are completing assessments online. Teachers will use the data to inform their instruction as well as identify needs for intervention and enrichment.

Fall Conferences

Teachers will be arranging conferences over the next several weeks. This is an opportunity for teachers and families to discuss goals and hopes for the year. You will be hearing directly from your child's teacher.

Welcome Back to School from the Health Office! Here is our contact information:

Attendance Line:

FH-Attendance@isd623.org

651-646-0816

Angie McCoy, Health Assistant:

angela.mccoy@isd623.org

651-724-6556 (Health Office main line)

Alaina Bohl, Licensed School Nurse:

alaina.bohl@isd623.org

651-724-6541

Attendance:

Please report all absences and attendance information to the FH Attendance Line (FH-Attendance@isd623.org or 651-646-0816). Absences should be reported by 9:30 AM. Regular and on-time attendance is crucial for children's learning!

Medications:

If there are medications that need to be given at school, please email the nurse for more information, or stop into the Health Office. All medications (including things like cough drops and Tylenol) need to be given through the Health Office. Please do NOT give medications to teachers -- the Health Office staff needs to confirm health conditions, paperwork, medications, and expiration dates.

Extra Clothing:

Please include a change of clothes in your child's backpack. Bathroom accidents and messes on the playground sometimes happen, so it's important for students to have a change of clothes available when necessary.

COVID Updates

COVID Isolation Guidelines are the same as last school year. If your student tests positive for COVID they must stay home for 5 days (from symptom onset or date of positive test, whichever is first). Please notify the Health Office if your student tests positive. Health Office staff will talk through the dates and confirm the timeline. Students can return to school on day 6 and will be required to wear a mask at school on days 6-10.

There is no quarantine of close contacts; please send your student to school each day that they feel well.

We still have COVID tests. Contact the Health Office if you would like one sent home with your student, or pick some up in the front office.

Falcon Families for Equity and Justice (FFEJ) is a group of caregivers committed to learning, growing, and working together in solidarity to create a more equitable, safe, and supportive environment for all students.

We hope you can join us for the following events:

October 11th- 7:00-8:30 Welcome Meeting, update from Principal Behnke about school and district equity goals.

November 8th **please note this is a date change from our flyers**- 6:00-8:00, Community Night: Open Gym and Board Game Night

December 6th- Invited Speaker: Delon Smith, Director of Equity and Innovation, details to come!

January 17th – 6:00-7:30, Our 3rd Annual Family Service Fair

More information to come for the rest of the year! If you have any questions in the meantime feel free to email us at falcon.families.for.equity.justice@gmail.com or check out our website

https://falconfamiliesforequityandjustice.wordpress.com.