Friday Focus
4-12-19
Dyslexia
Roughly one out of five children suffer from dyslexia.
With our required screenings increasing next year, I hope we can find additional ways to help children become fluent readers.
Wendy and Jill are going to a workshop this summer to receive additional training to help guide us with this process. They have also spent an extensive amount of time studying the issues and formulating plans to meet the legal and practical requirements of this new legislation. There has also been a district wide committee making sure South Madison is on track.
Blast Off
We held kindergarten Blast Off last night for our incoming kindergarten students. Hats off to our excellent kindergarten staff who take the time to come back, meet the children and parents, teach a lesson four different times, and increase the confidence of both parent and child that Maple Ridge is right for them. A big thanks to Jill Mohr as well. She manned Amanda's usual Blast Off station so she could be Kennedy's mom last night.
Reminders
We have a staff meeting on Monday morning at 7:45 in the media center. The meeting is with One America.
Please also remember that our classroom doors must be shut and locked when we have students in the room.
ILEARN
I received information from IDOE that reminds us of their plan to make site visits. They want to make sure we are following all the testing protocols as well as prescribed security measures. Items can't be left by the copier or out on our desk when we are not in the room. Test items are secure and must be in our direct possession or locked up in the test material cabinet.
During the time we are testing, I would ask that our K-2 friends try to avoid using the restrooms in the 3-6 wing when 3-6 are testing.
Valerie's Vision
Kindergarten Blast Off was last night. It’s always an exciting night for parents and future students to meet the teachers, ride a bus for the first time, visit the kindergarten classrooms, and walk through the school.
Since I had the opportunity to play my role as a mom last night, I had the pleasure of seeing our teachers shine during their lessons. I tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible in the room. As all the teachers were teaching their lessons, I kept thinking about the amount of pressure that quick fifteen-minute lesson truly is. Not only are five-year-olds, with little to no school experience participating in the lesson, but there is also a room full of parents watching the teachers every move. I’m pretty sure our kindergarten teachers have nerves of steel because they continually pull off this night with ease and grace. One teacher even commented to me, “Oh! I didn’t even realize you were in the room!”
This week, make sure to give a kindergarten teacher a smile, pat on the back, or compliment. These teachers give parents a positive first impression of the school. Maple Ridge is fortunate to have such a passionate kindergarten team.
“First impressions matter. Experts say we size up new people in somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes.” -Elliott Abrams