Alto All Star Gazette
October 21, 2022
SCHOOL BEGINS AT 8:50 A.M.
1/2 Day Dismissal: 12:00 PM
24-hour attendance line: 616-987-2625
From the desk of Principal Papes
Dear Alto Families,
Thank you for taking the time to meet with our teachers this past week for Parent/Teacher Conferences. The teacher-parent-student relationship is one that we greatly value at Alto Elementary and believe is critical to your child’s success in school. Thank you for your continued support! Additionally, a HUGE THANK YOU to the parents who brought meals in for our staff on Monday and Wednesday. Everything was delicious, and the meals were much appreciated by staff during a long work week.
You received an NWEA MAP report for Reading and Math if your child is in grades 1-5. MAP assessments are computer adaptive achievement tests. This means the difficulty of the questions is adjusted throughout the test so that each student essentially completes a unique set of questions based on responses to previous questions. As a student answers correctly, questions become more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the questions get easier. By the end of the test, most students will answer approx. half of the questions correctly. However, the adaptive test will identify each student’s level of achievement (RIT score). The RIT score has the same meaning regardless of a child’s grade level or age. This is very beneficial information that guides instruction for our teachers in the classroom. Furthermore, MAP results provide excellent information to measure student growth over time. 1st-5th grade students will take the MAP test again in the winter and spring. I encourage you to ask your child’s teacher if you have any questions regarding the results.
Halloween
We will be celebrating Halloween on Monday, October 31st. The school parade will start at
2:30 PM. Parents are encouraged to join us! The parent viewing area will be outside unless we have inclement weather that day. If we have inclement weather, the parent viewing areas will be moved inside. The plans for class parties and activities will be communicated by your child’s teacher. The teachers will also reach out regarding volunteer opportunities. We ask that parents do not “drop in” at parties unless they are signed up to volunteer or prior arrangements are made with the teacher. We hope that this relieves some pressure parents often feel to attend class parties because they think it is expected that every parent attends. We encourage students to bring costumes to wear for the parties and parade. Please note: Toy weapons, blood and gore are not allowed with costumes at school. Teachers will be communicating their requests for donated treats or other items. Our Alto staff has decided that we will continue to require that all treats be store-bought (no homemade treats please). This will also continue to apply to birthday treats as well. We’re looking forward to this fun event!
Substitute Teachers Needed!
Have you considered being a substitute teacher? We are in need of more substitute teachers at Alto Elementary! Being a substitute teacher is a very flexible position. You can choose what days you want to work and what schools you want to teach in. In fact, we have some substitute teachers who choose only to teach at Alto. No prior experience is required. However, you must have at least 60 credit hours from an accredited community college or university. Please contact Alicia Hollern (ahollern@lowellschools.com) or Paul Papes (ppapes@lowellschools.com) if you are interested.
Para Educator Substitutes Needed!
We are also in need of additional para educator substitutes. Para educator subs will be called to help cover a variety of para educator positions when staff is absent. These include: classroom para educators, lunch indoor and outdoor supervision, and morning drop off supervision. No prior experience is required. College credits are also not required. Please contact Alicia Hollern (ahollern@lowellschools.com) or Paul Papes (ppapes@lowellschools.com) if you are interested.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Paul Papes, Principal
Mark your calendars!
10/27: 4Bu to WWC
10/28: 4M/4Bo to WWC
Music Notes!
It's AUTUMN in the MUSIC ROOM
Your Kindergarten through 2nd graders are studying seasonal songs!
We are learning (k) and reviewing (1-2) rhythm instruments. We are using the ORFF instruments to accompany our AUTUMN LEAVES song.
Our Third Graders and playing and singing - "Are You Sleeping" and using the ORFF instruments to accompany the song. They are learning the hand signs, (DO, RE, MI, high SOL, low SOL) for the song also.
Fourth AND Fifth Graders are learning how to produce the proper sound on their recorders ( we get better sounding with each lesson!) We are concentrating on the notes B A G and learning how to read them on our hand staff and actual staff. We will begin songs for our Christmas concert next week! It will be here before we know it!
Concert - December 14 - one concert at 10 am the other at 2 pm
Musically yours,
Mrs. Gumina
Student Activities
Alto Elementary
Website: lowellschools.com
Location: 6150 Bancroft Avenue Southeast, Alto, MI, USA
Phone: 616-987-2600
Facebook: facebook.com/lowellschools.com