BPE Monthly
March 1, 2017
Congratulations Cassie Sullivan, Bette Perot Elementary's 2016-17 Teacher of the Year
Join us...
Join the Keller ISD Education Foundation for its fifth annual gala, "Rooted," at Marriott Champions Circle on April 1, 2017 at 6 p.m.
With your help, the KISD Education Foundation hopes to make Rooted its biggest gala yet, as it is the primary source of funding for Keller ISD programs such as Innovative Teaching Grants and Senior Scholarships. Just this school year alone, KEF gave out more than $48,000 in grants for teachers throughout the District.
This year's host is CBS Channel 11's Doug Dunbar, and the Downtown Fever Band will get the crowd on their feet with its performance. Also, the evening will include the announcement of the 2016-17 Elementary and Secondary District Teachers of the Year.
To purchase tickets or a table, go to bidpal.net/Rooted4KISD. If you are interested in sponsoring Rooted or would like to learn more about the Foundation, please contact the Foundation's Executive Director Paige Bussey by phone at 817-744-1050, or by email at paige.bussey@kisdfoundation.net.
Your support is greatly appreciated!
Thank you again for investing in our kids and campus!
Why Read 20 Minutes Every Day?
K12 Reader Reading Instruction Resources
Let’s face it…parents (and kids) are busy! It is difficult to “fit in” all that needs to be done in a day. We are often faced with having to make choices about what stays and what goes in our schedules. So, why is it so critical to include 20 minutes of reading in your child’s daily schedule? There is a wealth of research supporting daily reading with your child especially prior to and during the period when s/he is learning to read. Here are a few of the ways reading with your child for 20 (or more) minutes a day benefits him or her.
Reading is “brain food”
Our brains develop as we “feed” them with experiences. The experience of reading (whether you’re the reader or the one being read to) activates and “exercises” many of the areas of the brain. The visual cortex works as your eyes track the words on the page and look at the illustrations. Your memory makes connections between what you already know about the topic of the story and its content. You integrate new information learned through reading further strengthening and growing your network of knowledge. Reading provides one of the most enriching and complex brain activities available in life.
Reading improves listening skills
What parent doesn’t want their child to be a good listener? The experience of being read to helps children develop good listening skills by keying them into the components of language. Through reading they learn to recognize phonemes (the sound building blocks of language), learn new words to add to their oral vocabularies and connect written words to their real world applications.
Reading builds early literacy skills
Before a child can read independently she must have phonemic awareness and a basic understanding of phonics. Phonemic awareness or the understanding that words are made up of distinct sounds that affect their meaning is the precursor to reading. Reading aloud to your child is one of the main ways to help him develop phonemic awareness. Beyond this, in order to read, a person must understand that there is a connection between letters and sounds. Without this knowledge letters are just squiggles on a page! When you read with your child she learns that print is a representation of the words you say aloud. Repeated experiences with reading allow this understanding to grow. The single greatest factor in a child’s ability to read is early experiences being read aloud to.
Reading prepares children for kindergarten
In this day and age children are expected to come into kindergarten with a strong knowledge base. Today’s kindergarteners are expected to enter the classroom on day one with a knowledge of upper and lower case letters of the alphabet, the ability to recognize basic shapes and colors and the ability to count to ten. Reading books tailored towards youngsters with your child helps them develop these important and necessary skills.
Practice makes perfect
Generally, the more time you are exposed to something and the more time you spend practicing it, the better you’ll become at performing it. This is absolutely true for reading. Research shows that children who have repeatedly been exposed to books from birth generally exhibit strong reading abilities.
Reading improves academic performance
There is a strong correlation between a child’s ability to read and her academic performance. Because so much of our schooling relies on our abilities to read, children must have strong reading skills to succeed and thrive in school.
Reading just makes “cents”
For every year that a person spends reading (either independently or being read aloud to), his/her lifetime earning potential goes up considerably. For a time investment of approximately 87 hours a year (20 minutes a day for 5 days a week), you can increase your child’s ability to support him or herself in the future considerably.
Reading improves relationships
Because we are busy it is difficult to have “quality” one-on-one time with our children without distractions. Building 20 minutes into each day for reading together provides this important bonding time. There is nothing more wonderful than snuggling a young child on your lap while reading a few storybooks aloud. Even if your child is beyond the “snuggling” stage, spending 20 minutes reading independently provides you with quiet, uninterrupted time together engaged in the same activity.
Bette Perot Elementary's Outdoor Learning Center, Patriot Park, Dedicated
Nurse's Notes...
Illness is in the building! Please remember that keeping your child home when they are sick, helps control the spread of illness in the classrooms.
- Keep your child home if they have a temperature of 100 or higher. They need to stay home until they are fever free WITHOUT MEDICATION for 24 hours.
- Vomiting and Diarrhea – The child needs to stay home until symptoms have resolved and the child is symptom free for 24 hours.
- Pink Eye – Red, draining eyes will be excluded from school; please return your child to school with a doctor’s note when they have received appropriate treatment.
Any other questions you have, please email or call.
Help us keep our Patriots healthy!
Our Lost & Found Overfloweth
Anything Look Familiar?
Lost & Found
Lunch Boxes, Water Bottles...
Film Festival Entries Now Being Accepted
- We are accepting online entries NOW through March 20 (the day we return from Spring Break).
- 7 categories to choose from, including comedy, music video and documentary. Enter by yourself, with your friends, or as a class project!
- Finalists will be honored at an Oscars-style Awards Ceremony to be held in May where they will receive certificates, trophies and prizes.
- The “Filmmaker Campus of the Year” trophy is awarded to the school that enters the most films.
- All the information can be found on the website www.kellerisd.net/film.
Change of Dismissal Plans
Birthday Celebrations
- Coordinate with the teacher so she can incorporate the celebration into the plan for the day and anticipate scheduling conflicts.
- Bring store/bakery bought treats with the ingredients on the packaging
Mark your Calendar
March 2nd - 1st Grade Musical Performance
Tuesdays in March - Running Club
March 7 - Dining Out at Spring Creek Barbecue
March 24 - Preschool Patriots
March 28 - STAAR Writing Assessment (4th grade)
Campus may be closed on March 29th if make-up tests are being administered
March 3, 24, and 31 - Spirit Days
Save the Date - Kinder & 1st grade Round Up
April 4th - 5:00-7:00