Vista Views
March 27, 2019
News & Information @ Alta Vista
CLASS PLACEMENT PROCESS
As April sneaks up on us and the weather begins to feel more spring(ish), our thoughts turn to the next school year. This is the perfect opportunity to explain how class placement happens at Alta Vista.
The Alta Vista staff spends many hours and puts a great deal of professional thought and effort into placing their present students into next year’s classes. Teachers consider many factors as classroom groups are prepared, including the range of academic abilities, numbers of boys and girls, academic and social leadership skills, individual learning styles, behavior and special education needs, student personality and interaction, and class size. The objective of the process is to produce a balanced heterogeneous combination of student groups. This important task contributes significantly to the creation of a positive class environment that enables students to reach their potential. The Alta Vista staff takes class placement of all children seriously and wants only the best for each child.
If you feel that there is specific information that the neither current teacher nor myself are aware of, please send me an email (baileyc@unionsd.org) with details about your child’s strengths and challenges. Although I am not able to schedule individual parent meetings, this process provides the opportunity for you to share insight about your child with me. We cannot speculate at this time on staffing assignments as these may change over the summer due to a number of factors including enrollment and number of class sections needed at each grade level. Requests for specific teachers are not appropriate and will not be considered when student placement is made. It has been my experience that nearly all children are able to adjust rapidly to the different teachers they have over the years. This, too, is an important skill to learn - how to get along with and work with a variety of people.
Thank you for your understanding and for entrusting us with your children.
FAMILY CODE NIGHT - TONIGHT @ DARTMOUTH
Join the Dartmouth STEM Girls Club tonight for Family Code Night. No experience is needed for a fun night of coding alongside your child in the Dartmouth STEM Building. The event takes place from 5:45 to 7:00 and is intended for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
If you would like to attend, please complete this registration form(https://goo.gl/forms/BBur8TN5qoxZgXR53 ). It's important to note that each child in attendance should have one adult with him/her. If you are registering more than one child, you must fill out one form for EACH child.
CALLING ALL YARD DUTIES
Are you interested helping at Alta Vista and want to earn a little money too? You might want to consider joining our pool of outstanding lunch time yard duty supervisors. Scheduling is flexible and we are happy to work around other obligations. Not ready to make a weekly commitment? We can also add you to our list of substitutes. Stop by the office or call Vicki for more information.
SUPERINTENDENT DENISE COLEMAN VISITED ALTA VISTA LAST WEEK AND ENJOYED VISITING OUR CLASSROOMS
5th Grade Using Words Their Way
4th Grade Gold Rush Slide Shows
Hands On Learning in 2nd Grade
Working Together in 3rd Grade
Guided Reading on Pajama Day
Alta Vista Garden Club
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE - RESPECTING DIFFERENCES
With this in mind, I would like to share the following short article, "Respecting Differences: Everyday Ways to Teach Children About Respect". It is written by Elizabeth Erwin and Leslie Soodah for PBS Parents.
Now more than ever, people are aware of the importance of teaching children to respect people of various sizes, abilities, ethnicities and ages. When children respect themselves and others, they feel good about who they are. When children learn to value people who are different from themselves, they are better prepared to live peacefully in a diverse world.
Because children learn during everyday moments, it is important that adults remain aware of what we say and do. Children can learn that people are more alike than different, and that all people (no matter what color, size, ability or age) want love, joy and security. It all depends on the messages they're hearing and behaviors they’re observing.
We can model respect in our everyday interactions, so that our children learn to value all people. Let’s teach all children by pointing out positive messages in stories, television programs or advertisements.
Messages play an important role in how children learn. Children today are getting multiple messages from media and society. By becoming more aware of the messages our children are faced with each day and by focusing on the positive ones, we can influence the messages that our children are receiving. When we see negative messages or stereotypes, we can use those as teachable moments to discuss what we’re seeing.
PBS.org goes on to include additional information about the power of words, using media wisely, and learning through literature. I encourage you to take a few moments to read through the articles to learn more about how we can help our children to value others and celebrate the diversity of our community.
Alta Vista Coming Events
3/27 - FAMILY CODE NIGHT @ DMS (Info Above)
3/29 - MULTICULTURAL NIGHT 5:00-8:00
4/1 - THIRD GRADE FIELD TRIP TO CAMPBELL HISTORICAL MUSEUM (HANSON, WERNER, LO, ANDERSON)
4/3 - THIRD GRADE FIELD TRIP TO CAMPBELL HISTORICAL MUSEUM (BINESH AND ANDERSON)
4/4 - THIRD GRADE FIELD TRIP TO CAMPBELL HISTORICAL MUSEUM (MALAVE AND WERNER)
SPRING BREAK - APRIL 8 THROUGH 12
Alta Vista School
Email: baileyc@unionsd.org
Website: https://altavista.unionsd.org/
Location: 200 Blossom Valley Drive, LG
Phone: 408.356.6146
Twitter: @TeamAltaVista