The MSE Roaring Report
January 2016
Upcoming Events
*Please remember Early Dismissal is EVERY Wednesday at 2:30
JANUARY AT A GLANCE...
- January 5-- Classes Resume
- January 18--No School (1st make up day if we have a snow day)
- January 28--MSE Science Fair, 2-7 pm
February Events...
- "Love Your Library" Book Drive--all month
- Feb. 8--Six Flags Book Logs Due
- 15th-- No School, Presidents Day (make up day if we have a snow day)
- 18th-- 2nd Grade Presidents Day Concert, 6 p.m.
- 19th--Movie Night at MSE, 6-8 p.m.
- 26th--Spring Fundraiser Kick off
- 28th--Harlem Wizards at TBHS, 2-6:30 p.m.
- 29th--Spring Food Drive
- 29th--Yearbook Orders Due
HAPPY 2016!!!
What's on the Menu
A MESSAGE FROM MRS. HOLTHAUS
Most of us have heard the phrase “Miss School – Miss Out” many times. However, how many of us have stopped to think about how our students miss out when they are absent from school. Did you know that the number one predictor of school success is student attendance. Other areas of impact are feelings of belonging, legal troubles, and dropout rates. It’s difficult for the teacher and the class to build their skills and progress if a large number of students are frequently absent. In addition to falling behind in academics, students who are not in school on a regular basis are more likely to get into trouble with the law and cause problems in their communities. A 2008 study that tracked students from kindergarten through high school found that dropout patterns were linked with poor attendance, beginning in kindergarten. They discovered that as early as kindergarten, behavioral differences are apparent between those who go on to graduate and those who drop out, with dropouts missing an average of 124 days by eighth grade.(http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/school-attendance-issues/)
One area that is a struggle for some of our students is getting to school late or leaving early. When students come to school late or leave early they are missing out on important learning opportunities. Students are counted absent for the time that they are away from school. If a student is late to school regularly they are regularly missing important information in the same subjects. If a student is late to school two days in one week he or she may have missed out on 40% of the information taught in a subject such as reading or math.
Please take the time to have a family discussion about attendance habits. Attendance reports for your child are available on the portal. Helping your child make good choices about having good school attendance is one way that you can help them be successful at school. 90% attendance should be the minimum attendance rate. Please help your child develop good attendance habits.
Mrs. Holthaus
Second Graders Went Shopping For Families In Need
COUNSELOR'S CORNER
Getting Your Child to School
Does your child give you a hard time about coming to school? Does your child say, “I don’t want to go to school” or takes too long getting ready in the morning? It’s a common problem! Here are some tips to help curb the bad habit before it turns into a serious concern.
* First, make sure you understand the importance of your child being at school on time every day. Even a few tardies really add up! Say your child is only 10 minutes late each school day. Not a big deal right? Well, that adds up to 1,750 minutes = almost 30 hours of school missed in one year! THAT IS A BIG DEAL!
* Determine any school or home barriers that are preventing your child from coming to school. Are they prepared? Do they connect with their teacher? Do they feel safe at school? Do they have a routine for bedtime and morning at home?
* Communicate with your child’s teacher, school counselor, or principal to help your child feel better about coming to school.
* Once any simple barriers are removed, make it a priority to get them to school on time. Do not make or accept any excuses!
* Routines are key. Bedtime should be consistent to assure enough rest. Most elementary aged children need between 8-10 hours. Adults should set the bedtime.
* Develop a morning routine that works. If you or your child is constantly rushing to get out the door, everyone needs to get update least 15 minutes earlier. Rushing is not a good way to start the day.
If your child continues to give you hard time about coming to school, try using logical consequences to help them change their own behavior and learn responsibility. Here are a few examples for dealing with frequent problems:
* Your child fusses and fights each morning. Immediately implement an earlier bedtime of at least 30 minutes. Explain to your child that their behavior shows that they need more sleep. When they can show better behavior in the morning consistently, they can earn back a later bedtime little by little.
* Your child refuses to get ready. Bring them to school in their pajamas. Pack a bag with their clothes to change into at school when they’re ready to be a student.
* Your child doesn’t care if they’re late.
However many minutes of school they miss, they spend doing extra homework after school. Or, they go to bed a minute earlier for each minute they miss of school.
Habits At Home
With the New Year in full swing, this is also a good time to renew your support of your child’s learning and school.
Here are a few ideas utilizing the 7 Habits:
- Put first things first:
- Spend a few minutes every evening looking over handouts your child brings home and fill out forms to return the next day.
- Synergize:
- Tell your child’s teachers if you can help them out at school or home.
- Attend conferences, parent meetings, and school events regularly.
- Think win-win:
- Make sure teachers know you appreciate their efforts. From time to time, send a thank-you note or e-mail.
· Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood:
- Contact your child’s teacher immediately if you see a problem. Good communication between home and school will help your child succeed.
Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood means that it is better to listen first and talk second. By taking the time to listen to another person, you reach a higher level of communication. Teaching Habit 5 to young children is done by first considering their age and development. Young children find it difficult to understand another’s point of view. This habit is best approached by introducing listening as a skill that should be practiced. Learning to listen without interrupting and learning to listen with your ears, your eyes, and your heart will help children build a foundation for Habit 5. Simply put, we have two ears and one mouth so that we can spend more time listening with the intent to understand.
Younger-Child Activities:
· To better understand how listening can help or hurt a relationship, try “pretend listening” with your child for a few minutes. Your child will be frustrated. Explain what you were doing and discuss how your child felt. Now have your child ignore you when you are talking. Discuss how it makes you feel when you are ignored. Finish the discussion by thinking of ways to let the other person know when you feel you are not being truly listened to. Remind your child that this is also an example of Think Win-Win.
· Body language can be even more important than words. Play a game with your kids where you each try to guess the other’s emotion (happy, sad, angry, frustrated, bored, etc.) without using any words, just body language.
· Demonstrate how saying the same phrase in a different tone of voice can give the phrase a completely different meaning. Try emphasizing different words in the phrase “I didn’t say you did it” and then have your child tell you how the meaning changed.
Art Room News
Square 1 Art-
If you were wondering about Square 1 Art we will be doing it in the spring this year. You will get your orders in time for Mother’s Day.
Crayola Colorcycle-
Our students are bring proactive and collecting markers to recycle with Crayola. Send in any old and dry markers of any kind (dry erase, permanent and highlighter) to the art room where they will be collected and shipped to be turned into clean burning fuel.
Collecting: Plastic Grocery bags, Wire clothes hangers
Mrs. Adams
Library News
Happy New Year from the library! Lots of excitement at the library in 2016. Kindergarten classes will begin learning how to use shelf markers this month. First thru third grade just wrapped up our Show-Me Reader Program unit. We read this year’s 10 nominee books during library class time and voted for our favorite book. Students selected The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt as their top book choice. We are looking forward to seeing what book wins at the state level in April.
Fourth and fifth grade are continuing with book talks related to this year’s Mark Twain Award nominee titles. If your child chooses to read at least 4 of the nominee titles and passes the related AR book quizzes they get to vote for their favorite chapter book in March. If he/she reads all 12 nominees before the last day of school and passes the related AR book quizzes they get their picture added to the Reader’s Hall of Fame in the library. I can’t wait to see how many pictures we add this year!
Music Notes
I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday break, and are excited about coming back to school for the second semester!
Congratulations to the 4th grade on their holiday program in December! We had a large number of families attend, and it was a great show! Also, thank you to the third grade classes and teachers for spreading the joy of the season by caroling with us on our last day before break!
The second grade classes will have their program on the evening of February 18, 2015 in the Main Street Gym at 6:00 PM. If you are the parent or family of a second grade student, please save that date!
Thank you for always supporting music at Main Street Elementary
P.E. Fun
We will be starting the new year with more emphasis on physical fitness and cardiovascular health. Our activities will be more skill based rather than competition based. Please send you child in tennis shoes so they can fully participate! Thanks for your help with this.
Stay Active,
Kim Larson