GATOR TALES
Grace Abbott Elementary
October 4, 2019
Principal: Dr. Erik Chaussee, epchaussee@mpsomaha.org
Secretary: Cindy Wrenn, clwrenn@mpsomaha.org
About Us
Email: clwrenn@mpsomaha.org
Website: abbott.mpsomaha.org
Location: 1313 N 156th St, Omaha, NE, USA
Phone: 402-715-2900
Facebook: facebook.com/GraceAbbottElementarySchool
Twitter: @MPS_Abbott
NEWS FROM DR. CHAUSSEE
TRAFFIC UPDATE
Starting Tuesday, October 8, some major changes will take place at 156th & Cuming/Burt. Here are the main points:
156th Ave will close near Cuming Street.
157th & Cuming will be the crosswalk where pedestrians will cross Cuming Street south to north. It will be a three way stop.
The crosswalk at 156th & Cuming/Burt will move to the south side of the intersection.
The kids who cross 156th Street will need to cross 155th & Burt coming to and from the 156th Street intersection.
No U turns will be permitted on Burt St. east of the intersection and everyone will obey that new rule.
Staff members will be placed to help the kids cross safely at various locations.
Police have been requested to enforce the first few days of this change which will last 30-60 days.
156th Street will become a school traffic zone.
FALL CONFERENCES
October conferences will be here soon and they are a great opportunity to meet face to face with your child’s teacher. Hopefully other communication has taken place through open house, curriculum night, notes home, telephone calls, and email. The following suggestions might make for a more productive conference:
You may want to ask your child’s teacher:
Does my child participate in classroom activities?
Does my child know the math facts?
Does she/he have self-control in the classroom?
How does my child get along with others?
Does my child read in his/her spare time?
How well does my child comprehend what she/he reads?
How well does she/he write?
Does my child appear to be happy at school?
You may want to tell your child’s teacher:
Which school activities your child talks about at home.
If anything has happened lately at home that might affect your child at school.
What you see as some of your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
Another great resource for teachers and parents is this website: www.hrrp.org. There is information on family involvement which closely resembles what I have stated above.
One conference per student, please. It is our hope that all parents can attend the conferences together and not request two time slots.
MAP TESTING
For the last three years we have been administering the MAP test in reading and mathematics in all grades during August and they are also given in grades 6-8 in the middle schools. Fifth graders also take the science test. We feel the information gained from these assessments is extremely helpful for teachers as they plan their daily lessons. The results will be shared with you in a similar fashion to last year during our October parent conferences. Most students will now have have taken the test nine times over the last three years. Our students will take the test three times a year.
All students in grades 2-5 will be setting goals with their classroom teacher. Growth goals have been established according to norms but students and teachers can deviate from those expectations. General information on goals will be shared at parent teacher conferences. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or me.
Students have started Exact Path. They can do this at home. We hope that all students can do 20” of math and 20” of reading per week outside of school.
The table below shows a comparison between Abbott and the average MPS elementary school. The second and third columns show our average percentile achievement for all grades. The third and fourth columns show the percentile growth from fall to spring. The last two columns show the percent of students meeting their expected growth. The green shows above average growth. The blue shows substantial growth! Good news for all of us!
UPCOMING EVENTS
RUNZA NIGHT October 7
CONFERENCES October 10, 15 & 16
FIRST GRADE FUN NIGHT October 22 6:30 p.m.
Hy-Vee Cash for Students
Save your Hy-Vee receipts from any Omaha / Papillion Hy-Vee store from September 1st through December 31st. Gas receipts, diner, coffee shop and pharmacy are accepted. Hy-Vee will donate $1 for every $200 spent during this time period to our school. Send your receipts to school. If you receive your receipts via email you can now forward them to cash4abbott@gmail.com.
Don’t forget to ask family and friends for their receipts!
Kindness Retreat Volunteers Needed
Twenty parents and college students are needed to help lead small group discussions with our Abbott students to help them learn skills to stand up to bullying and #BeKind. Bonus: six volunteer hours are available for this event!
Contact Ashley Liston, committee chair mrs.aliston@gmail.com
BUZZ BOOK INFORMATION
VANITY BRICKS
We hope you and your children have had an opportunity to check out Abbott’s remodeled entry space. This cozy and useful sitting area seems to always be in use by students and staff as a small group meeting place. The area is enjoyed both for educational and social gatherings.
If you have not had a chance to see the entry way, please stop by and take a look as you attend the upcoming Walkathon dinner/dance, October PTO meeting, movie night & parent teacher conferences. As you will see in the floor of the entry area, Abbott families and staff have purchased approximately 50 vanity bricks that will remain a part of Grace Abbott for many years to come!!!
The PTO would like to continue to offer your family the opportunity to be a part of this exciting project. Additional orders for personalized bricks are currently being taken. The bricks cost $50 per brick. Your personal message (for example, “The Smith Family”) will be sandblasted into the brick by Greg Huliska of Sandstone Studios Inc. (Please see the attached order form for specific instructions and parameters regarding your personal message.)
Due to the labor involved in replacing the blank bricks with vanity bricks, newly ordered bricks will be laid once the PTO has accumulated approximately 20 orders. In order for your brick to be installed with this fall, please turn in your brick order form in to the office no later than October 21st. Please attach cash or a check made payable to Grace Abbott PTO.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Erin Barry at erinlbarry@hotmail.com.
Thank you!
Grace Abbott PTO
5TH GRADE YEARBOOK DEDICATION
GRACE ABBOTT SPIRIT WEAR
BOX TOPS COLLECTION
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR IS COMING!!
October 10 - 4:00-8:15
October 15 - 4:00-8:15
October 16 - 8:00-11:30
We will also stay open for 20 minutes following dismissal on school days.
October 2019 Book Fair Volunteers
Are you interested in volunteering during the 2018 fall book fair? We would love to have help with set-up and tear-down. In addition, some help allows us to have a dinner break during conferences as well. Volunteers will receive a $5 gift certificate to spend at the fair, and you may choose one of the posters to keep. It also works wonderfully for any school service learning requirements!
Volunteers are welcome any time throughout the fair during conference times. If you would like to volunteer at a time other than what is listed, please contact Mrs. Cryer at cacryer@mpsomaha.org or 402-715-2917
We do need volunteers!!! If you would like to sign up to volunteer please click on the link below: