May 3, 2010

New Announcements:

·         Important Upcoming Dates : 

April 27-May 6	STAR Testing for Grades 2-5
May 7	GATE Field Trip to Physics/Math Day at Great America
May 12	Fagerbourg’s Class Field Trip to In-n-Out
May 13	Siskind’s Class Field Trip to In-n-Out
May 13	GATE Parents Meeting (for current 2nd-4th graders), 3:30-4:00, Library
May 13	PTA Meeting, 7:00 pm, Library (Special presentation on school lunch program)

 

 

·         Star Testing - April 27 - May 6
 
The following are some tips on how to help prepare your child for the upcoming STAR test:
 

1. Make sure that your child gets plenty of sleep each night
2. Make sure that your child eats a well-balanced breakfast (including proteins) before coming to school.
3. Please do not schedule any appointments for your child during the testing days.
4. Eliminate any unnecessary stress as much as possible. A worry-free mind helps students be successful.
5. Communicate to your child that STAR testing is a time  to “show what you know!”

Quiet campus 8:40 am – 10:30 am each day. Tardy students must stay in the office once testing has started.

·         PTA and DESEF Board Members for 2010-2011: I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Disney Elementary School Education Foundation (DESEF) and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) outgoing board and committee members for your dedication to our school community. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated parents here at Walt Disney. To all of our incoming board and committee members, I would like to welcome all of our new members and thank our returning members. I look forward to working with each and every one of you to continue to make our community a “great place to learn and grow.”  If you are still interested in working with DESEF or our PTA, please consider attending an upcoming meeting. Each parent group welcomes new members and values your input.

 

·         Parent Volunteer “Thank You” Tea: There are so many different ways that WD parents’ contributions enhance the learning of everyone in our school community.  There have been numerous parents who have helped teachers by performing cutting, copying, and sorting duties as well as providing instruction and support to small groups of students.  Some parents volunteer in our library and cafeteria. Others have served on the boards and/or committees of our parent groups – DESEF and PTA. There are many, many, many more parents who volunteer in other capacities to enrich the WD school experience.  We would like to invite and honor all of you to our Annual Volunteer Tea to be held on May 26^th.  This year, we will have a Breakfast Tea from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. We hope all our parent volunteers can attend for we truly appreciate all that you do!         

 

·         Class Placements for 2010-11:  The teachers and I will work together soon to create balanced classes for next year. If you have questions regarding how we create class assignments, download and read the FAQ sheet. If you would like to submit a Student Information Sheet based on your child’s learning needs, download and submit the Student Information Sheet to the front office by May 10. I ask that NO specific teacher requests or classmate requests are made. The teachers and I will review every form and do all we can to consider your feedback in our placements. You can also pick up a Student Information Sheet in the front office.

 

 

 

Recurring Announcements:
         

 

·         Free & Reduced Lunch:  we have all felt the crunch of our recent economy in one way or another. Our school district does offer school lunch service on a free and/or reduced fee basis for families who qualify. I invite families to consider this option as a nutritious lunch makes a big difference in our children’s day. Visit this website below to download the application, and return it to the Disney office. All applications and information are kept confidential.

·         Summer Enrichment Program :  as many of our families may have already heard during conferences with teachers, our district will not have an intervention summer program for elementary students (except for some cases of special education and English learners). However, enrichment summer school will continue. To see what classes are available, go to the K-4 district summer programs website where you can also sign up your child(ren). Online registration opens on March 24.