September Newsletter
Whiteman Elementary
Upcoming Events
September
September 3- No School
September 7th-Grandparents' Breakfast at 7:30 Free
September 7th- Fire Prevention Coloring Contest will begin, and Book Fair Items will be sent home
September 11- Patriot Day
September 10-14th Homecoming Week
September 15- 5 K Glow in the Dark Rune
September 21-PTO Bingo Night
September 25- Picture Day
September 28- Love of Reading Day/Character Day/Character Assembly Day
September 28-Football Game and Cheerleader Night
Homecoming Spirit Week
9/10 Monday: Movie Monday dress as your favorite movie character!
9/11 September 11- The other schools are dressing to impress, but we would like to do that as well with RED, WHITE, and BLUE for remembrance of 9/11. Dress your best in Red, White, and Blue.
9/12 Wednesday: Rest up for the big game with Pajama on Wednesday!
9/13 Thursday: Ha! Ha! Hawaiian Day!
9/14 Friday: Light up the night and wear neon colors!
Whiteman August PTO Newsletter
Book Fair & Bingo Night- Mark your Calendars!
Attendance
It is very important to let the office know of the reason for being absent.
Perfect Attendance – If your child has perfect attendance (absolutely no minutes missed from school) at the end of each quarter, he or she will receive a reward celebrating the accomplishment. If they have zero minutes missed the entire year students receive a special certificate and two tickets to a Royals Baseball Game. Tardies and early check-outs are counted against the student’s minutes.
Regular and punctual patterns of attendance will be expected of each student enrolled in our school district. Students should strive to maintain a good attendance record, because there is a direct relationship between school attendance and grades, citizenship, and success in school.
Frequent absences of students from regular classroom learning experiences disrupt the continuity of the instructional process. The benefit of regular classroom instruction is lost, and cannot be entirely regained. The entire process of education requires regular instruction, classroom participation, learning experiences, and study in order to reach the goal of maximum educational benefits for each individual student. The regular contact of the students with one another in the classroom and their participation in well-planned instructional activities under the supervision of a competent teacher are vital to this purpose. As educators, we hope that you will spend quality time in our schools by visiting classrooms, going on school study trips, or volunteering. We value you, as parents, and we appreciate your support of us in our efforts to educate your child. The primary purpose of the district’s attendance rules and procedures shall be to change behavior, not to punish students.
It is recognized that an occasional absence from school may be necessary under certain conditions. However, every effort should be made by students, parents/guardians, teachers
and administrators to keep absences and tardiness to a minimum. There are NO excused or unexcused absences. An absence is an absence. If the absences are in excess of five (5) absences per semester with accompanying low grades, the following actions may be taken:
Letter to parent or guardian indicating the number of absences.
Action Plan conference with administrator
Referral to social worker or school resource officer
Report to Division of Family Services
Possible recommendation for retention.
In accordance with the Johnson County Education Court, when a student's attendance rate reaches 92%, a referral may be made to the Johnson County Juvenile office and the Johnson County Prosecuting Attorney. Further action may be taken through the Johnson County Court system if attendance continues to decline. This policy follows the rules and regulations of the Missouri Compulsory Attendance Law (167.031 RSMo.).
Boxtops
Character Day Assembly
Each month we recognize character students. If your child is chosen you will get a phone call or be informed by the teacher that your child will be recognized during the character assembly. You are welcome to attend to celebrate with your child. We usually hold the assemblies about 2:15. We have tentative dates scheduled below for the school year.
August- No assembly
August/ September 28 - Integrity/Cooperation- Habit 1
October 25 -Respect- Habit 2
November 30 -Empathy- Habit 3
December 14-Compassion- Habit 4
January 25 -Responsibility- First 8 Days
February 22 -Acceptance -Habit 5
March 29 -Self- Control- Habit 6
April 26- Service - Habit 7
May 23- Perseverance FIrst 8 Days
Counselor News
WE Families,
It has been a great start to the school year! I want to remind 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade families that ES2S applications are due on September 4th. I will notify who has been chosen for the ES2S program on September 7th. We will be recognizing the April/May Character kids of the month and ES2S students during the homecoming parade on September 14th! I will send out a reminder when the date gets closer. The character word of the month for September is cooperation. Students will learn the imporatnace on how to work, communicate, and share with each other! This will also be a good opportunity for students to practice Habit 6 synergize!
5 K Opportunity
Leader In Me Parent Informational Section
Beginning of the School Paperwork
Picture Day
Drills
Student safety and wellness is of paramount importance at Knob Noster R-VIII Schools. Emergency preparedness drills (fire, severe weather, tornado, bus evacuation, bomb threat, lockdown, shelter-in-place and evacuation) will be conducted in each building to give instruction and practice in proper actions by staff and students. Emergency exiting procedures will be posted near the door in each instructional area. Instruction regarding fire drills shall be given early in the school year, and drills shall be held regularly throughout the year. Any concerns with safety should be reported immediately to an administrator.
I just wanted to inform parents of the drills and let you know we performed an intruder drill on August 23rd, and will be conducting a fire drill and earthquake drill in September.
Parent Pick Up
Lunch Procedures for visitors
* You may choose to bring your child a lunch or eat a school lunch.
*Your child may choose one friend to sit with them at the parent table( the end of the class table) during lunch.
*Please do not share food with any students beyond your own due to allergies and nutritional guidelines.
* Enjoy this special time with your child and their friend. They love to have you visit!
STAR Testing
Q: What are Star Assessments?
A: STAR ELA/ STAR MATH/STAR LITERACY are short tests that provide teachers with learning data. Star tests are computer adaptive, which means they adjust to each answer your child provides. This helps teachers get the best data to help your child in the shortest amount of testing time (about one-third of the time other tests take).
Your child may take a Star test for early literacy, math, reading, or other subjects of their teacher’s choice.
Q: What do teachers do with Star Assessments?
A: Teachers analyze the data they get from Star Assessments to learn what students already know and what they are ready to learn next, to monitor student growth, and to determine which students may need additional help. Star Assessments are heavily researched and scientifically proven to help teachers guide each student on his or her unique path to mastery.
Q: What do Star Assessments do for my child?
A: By pinpointing exactly what your child knows, teachers can personalize your child’s practice to keep them growing. Plus, short test times ensure your child spends more time learning and less time testing.
Q: Can we use Star Assessments at home?
A: No, Star Assessments are only used at school by teachers to gain insight to guide instruction. However, your child’s teacher may send home reports of your child’s Star results and growth.
Q: How can I help my child with their Star Assessments?
A: The best way to help your child with Star Assessments is to help them understand why they are taking the test: So their teacher knows exactly how to help them learn! For anxious children, it may be important to tell them that they cannot fail a Star test—as long as they do their best, the data generated from the test will help their teacher teach them more great things!
Q: Where do I go if I have questions?
A: Your child’s teacher is the best source of additional information about your child’s progress with Star Assessments. Renaissance is committed to protecting student privacy and will not share data with anyone outside your child’s authorized school staff.