Rocket Fuel
October 2022
A Note from Mrs. McMinn
Our district's theme is "We Serve". You may see that motto in different places this year regarding school. At Polk Central, our theme this year is "Together, We Serve". Our goal is to create an inclusive campus where all students, staff, parents, and community members feel valued and want to be a part of our growth as a school. Serving students has always been the primary goal for the district, and we want to foster a sense of community while we serve our students. We've had so many families sign up to volunteer and be a part of the community we are establishing. With over 70 families registering for Parent Teacher Organization and several parents and community members volunteering in some capacity here at school, we know we are well on our way to reaching our goal of serving together! Thank you so much for your continued support of our school!
August
September
October
Counselor's Corner
Health Notes from Nurse Anna!
ELL Spotlight!
The Silent Period
Do you ever feel like your ELL is melting into their seat, missing out on all the beautiful lessons you have planned for hours? ”Think twice! They may “silently” be learning the most from you.
When you first receive that phone call or email, giving you a heads up about an incoming student that does not speak another language other than English, your heart stops for a second. You dig into the dusty box in your brain labeled ESPANOL, unpacking all the words on your last 7th-grade Spanish test. You almost wish that you woke up one day next to the Spanish version of you. I am here to remind you that you can save time and not feed the fear. Stay calm and remember “the silent period.”
Research has shown that language acquisition requires six stages: pre-production, early production, emergent speech, beginning fluency, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. Another word for the pre-production stage is ‘the silent period”. At this time, the learner is observing your gestures, verbal cues, and intonation and getting familiar with the basic sounds of English. This stage can last from a few weeks to a few months. I want you to know that if you are already doing the best for your students, you are doing the best for your ELL. So, don’t panic, stay calm, remember the “silent period,” and call Ms. Maria.
Sources:
The Silent Period. An examination.. Gibbons - Language Learning - 1985
Language Acquisition. Colorin Colorado. February 18, 2020. https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/language-acquisition-overview#:~:text=This%20is%20also%20called%20%22the,longer%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20individual.&text=The%20individual%20begins%20to%20speak,and%20absorbing%20the%20new%20language..
Title I Updates!
What does it mean to be a Title I school?
Title I, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides financial support to states and school districts to meet the needs of academically at-risk students. This money is used to hire highly qualified staff to look at data with grade level teachers and together with classroom teachers they form Intervention Reading Plans and plan research based activities for identified at-risk students to meet standards set by the state. This money is also used to train teachers, pay for salaries, buy books to support at-home student libraries and buy resources to meet these goals.
Parent Resource: https://mclass.amplify.com/homeconnect/ (Your child’s teacher will provide you with home connect activities that will be specific to your child during parent meetings.)
Parent Involvement
Thank you so much for all of your volunteering since school started! Parents are volunteering in classrooms, on field trips, and even with school events such as fundraisers and class pictures! Please remember to check out our parent involvement links on our website and reach out to us when you are ready to get soaring with our Rockets!
Many parents asked how they can better help their child succeed in school. At Polk Central, we are building a culture of reading because research shows that independent reading builds successful students! If you have a K-2 student, read together each evening. If you have a 3-5 student, encourage them to read their Accelerated Reader book out loud to you each evening. It increases fluency and comprehension skills!