Placerita Prospector
Parent Newsletter for Placerita Jr. High - September 2018
Placerita is a Title I School
Title I
What is Title I?
Title 1, Part A, is a federally funded program which provides services to schools based on student economic needs. Title I is designed to support state and local school reform efforts tied to challenging state academic standards to improve teaching and learning, and to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. Title I schools jointly develop a written parental involvement policy with parents each year called the School-Parent Compact.
In the William S. Hart Union High School District, eight schools are eligible to receive Title I funds and implement schoolwide programs as a part of the Elementary and School Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB), and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).
Parent involvement is critical in support of student achievement. Each school provides opportunities for families to be engaged and involved in their child’s education to support student learning. Parents are encouraged and invited to become partners in education with each school, contributing valuable ideas, input, and feedback throughout the year which is used to revise school site plans annually.
Parents are encouraged to maintain regular two-way communication with school staff regarding issues involving student learning and successful participation in school-sponsored programs. Parents should also play an active role in assisting their student with academic learning at home, and monitoring their student’s progress.
For more parent information see the link to the District Website HERE.
Raising Scientifically Literate Children
NEA's guide to provide you with information to support your child's interest in the learning of science.
NEA and National Parent Teacher Association
Raising Scientifically Literate Children (PDF)
Science is all around us. Nearly everything we do has a scientific implication. We are a nation of citizens that depend greatly on science. Parents and educators can do many things to build a love and respect for science in our children. The references and resources in this guide cover everything from what you should expect from your child's school, to encouraging your child, to a unique list of activities to keep your young scientist engaged.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SCIENTIFICALLY LITERATE?
Sientifically literate children have and continue to develop the critical thinking skills necessary for academic success. Scientifically literate citizens understand the importance of science in their daily lives, can evaluate public policy decisions, and make informed decisions about science reports in the media.
TEACHERS TALK ABOUT HANDS-ON SCIENCE. WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR MY CHILD?
Often in the past, science was only defined as reading the text and answering questions about the science content or watching the instructor demon- strate a science experiment. Teachers still use these strategies, but now we also see children using “hands-on” materials, learn- ing about science first-hand and conducting experiments themselves. Under the guidance of teachers, students experience the excite- ment of observing scientific phenomena directly.
WHAT CAN I DO TO ENCOURAGE MY CHILD?
- Foster your child’s natural curiosity. Take a 10-minute walk around the backyard, your neighborhood, or a local park. Start a collection of natural items such as leaves. Take the leaves home and identify the trees they came from (visit The National Arbor Day Foundation web site for help). You and your child can make rubbings of the leaves by placing white or notebook paper over the leaves and using a crayon to rub over the paper. You should see an imprint of the leaf on the paper. Create a journal by writing one or two sentences that describe what you and your child observed. Read the journal as a bedtime story.
- Take your child to a museum or a nature center. Many cities and towns have museums, technology exhibits, and nature centers designed specifically for children. If there isn’t a center or museum in your town, take a virtual field trip on your home computer or a computer in the library. Visit—
- Exploratorium: The Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception
- Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
- American Museum of Natural History presents Ology
- Dive and Discover: Exhibitions to the Sea Floor (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
- DuPage Children’s Museum
- Current Science and Technology Center at the Museum of Science of Boston
- Consider a camp that focuses on science or technology. If your child is inter- ested in space, the US Space and Rocket Center holds week-long space camps for children ages 9-18 and in honor of the United State’s first woman astronaut, Sally Ride, a special parent/daughter weekend program is specifically designed for girls between 7 and 11 years of age.
Other things you can do.
- Encourage your child to take science every year she’s in high school. Typically, colleges are looking for students who take two to four years of laboratory science.
- Take family time and do an experiment together. It can be as simple as filling up the kitchen sink with water and testing items to see what sinks and what floats or shaking heavy cream in a jar until it turns to butter. Ask your child to predict what will happen before doing the test and ask why he thought it happened after the test.
WHAT IF I DO AN EXPERIMENT WITH MY CHILD AND SHE ASKS A QUESTION AND I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER?
That’s ok. In fact, that’s what science is all about—finding out the answers to questions that we have and things we won- der about. Say, “I’ve often wondered that myself. How do you think we could find the answer to that question?” Then, look for the answer together.
Help your child choose a book from the National Science Teacher’s Association’s (NSTA) list of Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12. The NSTA has published these lists since 1996. Access them online at www.nsta.org/ostbc .
WHAT REFERENCES ARE AVAILABLE TO HELP ME SUPPORT MY CHILD’S INTEREST IN SCIENCE?
Web sites
National Education Association
The National Science Teachers Association
American Association for the Advancement of Science Project 2061
Books
- The Way Things Work. David McCauley.
- 365 Simple Science Experiments Muriel Mandell, E. Richard Churchill, Louis Loeschnig, and Frances Zweifel.
- The Five Biggest Ideas in Science Charles M. Wynn and Arthur W. Wiggins.
- Reader’s Digest Children’s Atlas of the Universe Robert Burnham.
Magazines
National Geographic for Kids
National Geographic
Ranger Rick
Your Big Backyard
Discover
Zoobooks
Placerita Jr. High School
Email: jturner@hartdistrict.org
Website: www.placeritajuniorhigh.org
Location: 25015 N. Newhall Ave. Newhall, CA 91321
Phone: 661-259-1551
Twitter: @placeritajhs