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Mary Fay Pendleton K-8 School
Striving for excellence in academics and leadership!
The Vision and Mission of M.F.P.
Vision
At Mary Fay, our vision is to create a place that builds leaders. We will do this by working together to:
•Set high expectations for and clear goals for our students and staff
•Equip our students with the 21st century skills they need to thrive
•Create a culture of trust, respect and collaboration
•Create a positive, orderly, and safe place for students
•Celebrate strengths and meet the individual needs of each student and staff member
Mission Statement
Our mission is to create a school community in which all of our students learn at high levels, reach their potential, and become successful and productive citizens, college and career ready. We will do this by instilling a love of learning in each student and by creating a safe, engaging, rigorous, and caring learning environment for all students.
A message from Mr. Dominguez
Parents and Community Members:
The 2013-2014 school year continues to fly by. As we speed toward the end of the year, there are a few things to be aware of.
First, 3rd-8th grade students will be taking the Smarter Balanced Assessment this year. For RLA and math, the test will last about 3.5 hours for each student and will be taken predominately on-line. Remember, the Smarter Balanced assessment is not counting for or against your student. Rather, this is an opportunity for the state of California to "test the test" in order to determine test and question effectiveness. The testing window opens April 7th and closes on May 15th. Within that window, students from each grade level will report to the computer lab to take the Smarter Balanced assessment. Please support your student and our school during this trial testing period by ensuring your student eats a good dinner and breakfast and get adequate sleep each night.
Playground Partners is beginning on Wednesday, April 2nd. Playground Partners is a grant funded program offered by the YMCA which provides interactive and structured playground games to students during lunch recess. These games are highly engaging and serve to reduce negative behaviors happening during recess time. We are excited to welcome Playground Partners to Mary Fay.
APEX Fun Run: The Apex Fun Run is a fundraising opportunity which will take the place of our annual jog-a-thon this year. Festivities will begin with a kick-off assembly beginning on April 1st. Apex staff will visit classrooms daily to discuss the Fun Run and to discuss effective leadership under the theme "Power Up". The actual Fun Run will take place on April 10th. We are looking forward to an outstanding event.
Leader in Me: As part of our focus on building The Leader in Me at MFP, staff members will be receiving on-going training. Beginning on April 3rd, each staff member will receive two days of training from a qualified presenter through the Covey Foundation. We are excited to continue our journey in implementing The Leader in Me at Mary Fay.
Meet the New Principal-Chad McGough: A "Welcome to MFP" reception will be held for Mr. McGough on April 24th from 3-4 p.m. Be sure to come out and meet Mr. McGough and hear his thoughts and vision for MFP.
Finally, as you may know April 11th will be my last day as Principal of Mary Fay. While I am excited to be working closer to my family, I am truly sad to leave MFP. I want you to know that I consider it one of the greatest honors of my professional life to get to know and work with your children and serve you as principal.
I leave you with a quote from Dr. Seuss:
"Don't cry because it is over. Smile because it happened."
Our lives are a tapestry of memories and moments and seasons woven together. Years from now when I look back at my time at Mary Fay, I will always do so with a smile.
Farewell and Thanks Again.
Mr. Dominguez
Save-the-Date: Meet MFP's new leader!
When: April 22
Time: 3:00 p.m. (after the final dismissal of the middle school students)
Where: Cafeteria
Middle School Leadership Class
Our focus for the rest of the school year will be working with our kindergarten buddies in Mrs. Warman's class, supporting future school functions and career research. Happy Spring!
Mrs. Elizabeth Metcalf, 7th grade Professional Educator
A Message from the MFP Library!
March Reader Leaders:
5th Grade
- Hunter Keller
- Melissa Thomas
- Alyssa Hamlett
- Esperanza Soliz
6th Grade
- Dean Fecteau
- Jacob Shapiro
- Jacob Russell
7th grade
- Sophie Monarque
- Rendell Dolan
- Jonathan White
8th Grade
- Zanashia Graham
- Sebastian Winfield
- Kobe McAlister
Accelerated Reader News
On March 7th, the top 25 students in each grade were invited to the AR Pizza Party. The top 25 students are selected based on the percent of their individualized reading goal, not the actual points. Per usual, 2nd grade is a real horse race...the lowest % of goal for the 2nd grade was 280%. WOW! 2nd grade readers are constantly challenging each other to read more...and more!!!
Other Library News
Starting Monday March 17th, Mrs. Katie Draves will be the substitute Library Technician for the remainder of the 2013/14 school year while Mrs. Larson is out on maternity leave. Her e-mail is KDraves@fuesd.orgPTSA is busy, busy!!
Congrats to the 2014-2015 MFP Executive PTSA Board:
April Romero - President
Frances Ashe- VP of Membership
Michelle Kidd- Secretary
Keyoica Rod- Treasurer
Dynia Boddie- Historian
There are still open positions for next year’s board. If you are interested, please contact April Romero at Mfppta@gmail.com
Support our APEX Fun Run!
During March 31st- April 9th, students will be collecting pledges for the laps that they run on April 10th. (1st Grade will run on March 11th!) We will send home a flyer with the times that your student will be running. We hope you can join us to count laps. Please contact Dynia at mfpptavolunteercoordinator@gmail.com if you would like to help. This event is such a fun event for the students, teachers, staff and parents.
If you would prefer to run with your child, it will cost $10. That money will credited towards their donation total.
Look for a flyer from your student’s teacher. Each teacher or grade will have donation goals which will enable students to earn even more prizes for their class or grade.
Also, 10% of money raised by each classroom will go back to that teacher in the form of a gift card to be spent this year.
Don’t forget to wear your Blue Spirit Shirts every Friday! Our next big Spirit Day is Friday, April 11th. Mr. Dominguez has been instrumental in developing and supporting our spirit days. Let’s give him a friendly farewell with a “sea of blue” on April 11th. The PTSA will have a prize for all students wearing their blue shirt on that day.
April 25th is Crazy Hair Day!
Look for information to come home about Teacher and Staff Appreciation. The week of Appreciation is May 5th- May 9th. If you are interested in helping with any of the activities, please contact Christina at mfphospitality@gmail.com or Dynia at mfpptavolunteercoorniator@gmail.com
Keep sending in the Box Tops and Trash to Cash items! We are still counting and handing out the monthly prizes.
Here are the totals so far:
Kinder- $546.60
1st - $498.90
2nd - $542.60
3rd- $314.50
4th - $349.00
5th - $266.40
Middle School- $366.50
Happy Spring!
Killian Kelly, PTSA President
U.S. Marine Corps P.E. Fitness Challenge---come rain or shine!!
Special thank you to all of the wonderfully supportive and amazing Marines who volunteered their time and heart as well as, Maria Swanson, MFPs School Liaison Officer, MCB Camp Pendleton.
We look forward to their visit again next year!! In the meantime, let's all stay in shape.
Safe School Ambassadors (SSA)
The Safe School Ambassadors (SSA) have been hard at work using the skills learned at their two-day training in an effort to decrease incidents of mistreatment at Mary Fay Pendleton (MFP). Before our Winter Break, SSA completed The Fall Action Snapshot Campaign to calculate the number of interventions they used when incidents of mistreatment took place at MFP. The numbers are in and I want to share with you the number of Safe School Ambassador Actions that are projected to take place for the 2013-2014 school year alone.
For our Middle School SSA, the projected interventions are 960 per year.
For our Elementary School SSA, the projected interventions are 1020 per year.
That’s a total of almost 2,000 student interventions per year!
SSA showed their continued commitment to the SSA program by re-signing their SSA contract this spring, completing as many acts of kindness possible from January 27-31st—as part of “The Great Kindness Challenge”—and plan to increase their interventions for the Spring Action Snapshot Campaign.
Please continue to support your MFP SSA and encourage their great work. Also, I ask that you please start thinking about referrals and possibly taking part as a Family Facilitator for our 2014-2015 MFP SSA team!
Beatriz Barron
USC Intern and SSA Facilitator
MFP and Mrs. Kerr are NOW on Twitter!!
Twitter:
@WkerrED
Dr. Suess Week---Read Across America!
Measuring and Math---We learn the Common Core, together, as a "buddy class"!
Buddy Classes are in full swing at Mary Fay!
We not only have “Buddy Classes” for discipline (time out room) but also for teaching! Mrs. Crowell’s Kindergartners were great helpers and very patient as Mrs. Seeger’s Second Graders measured them as a culminating activity to their Common Core Measurement Standard.
The 2nd graders then took their Kindergartner’s data back to class and measured themselves to compare their measurements to their buddies.
The children synergized and the outcome was a win-win lesson.
Welcome Mr. Garcia to MFP!!
6 Students from MFP are playing in the Potter MS band!
Congratulations to the following Bulldogs:
Sabella Ibinyopakaka
Andrew Joseph
Katelyn Gunther
Lauren Schmidt
Thomas Tait
Collin Johnson
MARY FAY IS READY TO ‘TEST THE TEST’
It’s almost time to test the test!! What does that mean for your student(s)? Here’s the scoop…
We are excited to share with our parents and students that our staff here at Mary Fay has been working very hard to train and prepare for the upcoming tests that our students will be participating in this spring. In addition to the Science portion of the California STAR test that will be administered from March 31st – April 4th for all fifth and eighth grade students, our third through eighth graders will be joining students from 22 states across the nation to ‘test the test’ from April 7th – May 16th.
It’s time to say goodbye to number 2 pencils and bubble sheets! The Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test is a newly designed, computer-based assessment that is aimed toward measuring students’ ability to problem solve and think critically. The Smarter Balanced assessments are designed to provide universal access for all students and are a key part of implementing our new academic standards and preparing them for success in college and careers.
The assessments will become operational in the 2014-15 school year, and will provide information during the year to give teachers and parents a better picture of where students are succeeding and where they need help. This practice run of the assessments will be used to evaluate the testing software, ensure the quality of assessment questions, and evaluate the effectiveness of the assessment administration and training materials. Your child will test for approximately 3.5 – 4 hours over multiple days in mathematics and English language arts. Participation is confidential, and your child’s grades will not be affected.
If you would like more information about Smarter Balanced, please visit the Smarter Balanced website at http://www.smarterbalanced.org/. You can find more information regarding the California STAR assessment by visiting http://starsamplequestions.org/.
See this video for an idea of what Smarter Balanced is all about: Smarter Balanced Video
Your time is truly appreciated and we value you as a partner in helping to make the next few weeks of testing a success. Here’s how you can help:
- Ensure your child gets plenty of rest and eats a healthy breakfast.
- Remind your child to leave their electronics behind.
- Ensure that your child is present and on time to school.
- Remind them to bring their best attitude and give 110 percent on the test, even though it is practice. Next year is the real deal!
- Direct any questions regarding testing windows to your child’s teacher.
Sincerely,
Mary Fay Pendleton Testing Team
GATE Updates
The GATE Team kicked off the New Year with our first After-School Mad Science Workshop for students in grades 3-5. On January 13th 35 eager students showed up to engage in a physical science workshop involving chemical reactions. Students had the opportunity to see science in action as they mixed different substances together to create their own bouncy balls. On February 3rd those same students showed up again, to watch and learn as the Mad Scientist performed experiments with the students that had them actively engaged in the scientific process. The next Mad Science Workshop for GATE students in grades 3-5 is March 10th.
The GATE Team is excited to announce 2 After-School Science Workshops, presented by the Discovery Science Center, that are coming to MFP in April for our GATE Middle School Students! More information about the workshops will be sent home in the next few weeks!
Mrs. Jennifer Vitielllo, 6th grade Professional Educator
APEX FUN RUN is here!! April 10th
We are so excited to announce that our school will be participating in the Apex Fun Run this year as one of our major fundraisers! The Apex athletes will be with our students from March 31st to April 11th teaching leadership and fitness as we raise pledges to help our school.
Please feel free to visit www.apexfunrun.com to learn about this interactive program that helps schools all over the country raise money, while promoting leadership and fitness. This year’s character theme is Apex Power Up! Students will embark on a journey through space to learn what it takes to be a truly powerful and effective leader.
Our 5 Power Up qualities include:
· Positive Attitude
· Others First
· Work Together
· Exercise
· Responsible
Assembly Woman Quirk-Silva visited MFP
2013-14 Yearbook and School Sire Council updates...
The Journalism classes have worked diligently this past month and the yearbook has been submitted to the company. The yearbook delivery to students is scheduled for Monday, May 19th. More yearbooks will be available for sale the week of May 19th for $30.00. Congratulations to the yearbook staff of students who learned about all aspects of planning, preparing, and publishing a student yearbook.
SSC:
The School Site Council will be looking at final activity and budget reports as we finish this school year. Our school has made positive progress this year on technology, more academic support, PBIS, leadership training, and additional after school activities. The Council will need many new members next year. Please consider serving for two years on this important council. Watch for nomination and election information!
Linda Williams, 6th grade professional educator
Out of the mouths of babes...a Safe Schools Update!
The Safe School Committee continues to work on our Disaster Plan and safety rules. Thank you to all the MFP families for supporting us as we strive to develop and perfect, the rules and plans. You may wonder, “ Do the children feel safe?” Here’s what a group of second graders had to say in their personal narratives following the March Disaster Drill.
“The reason why I feel safe at this school is because of some things I see and do like: drills, a fence everywhere around the school, a nurse to take care of us, noon duty, and sidewalks so we can walk to MFP.” says Angelina Salas.
Ethan Santos stated, “Our school has noon duty people, they are benevolent and helpful because they catch people who are rude.”
Chloe King feels, “Our teachers help by doing drills, they team-up to think of ways to help our school be safe.” She also says, “Noon duties are everywhere so they get to you fast!”
Patrick Donigan wrote, “I like my safe school. They keep us safe by putting a prodigious fence around the school, having lots of benevolent recess duties, the nurse, and the disaster drills that are not vague.”
To sum it up, Kemanique Gumbs wrote, “This school has drills like disaster and fire drills so we won’t be traumatized when something bad actually happens. We will know what to do….The drills are not vague . Everyone obeys the signs and rules here at Mary Fay, which is why we are a safe school.”
Upcoming MFP Events: APRIL 2014
APEX Fun Run: April 10th
SPRING BREAK: April 14-21st...Return to School on the 22nd of April!
April 24th: Meet and Greet for Mr. McGough
April 25th: Student of the Month and Crazy Hair Day
Don Dornan Games: May 3rd