Issue #2: August 22, 2024
Issue #2: August 22, 2024
Embedded Files
From the Principal
From the Principal
Ms. Michelle Alzamora
A Warm Welcome Back!
A Warm Welcome Back!
Dear Families,
We have had a great full week of school. Students seem to be settling into their classes and routines. As we would hope to hear, there is a gentle yet busy humm in the hallways and classrooms.
The first few weeks are dedicated to establishing positive learning behaviors and for teachers to get to know their students. One way that we do this is through routine assessments including our reading benchmark assessments and math screeners. Additionally, in the next three weeks, we will assess our students in grades 2-10 with the MAP assessment. This year we are making a slight change to our MAP assessment protocol for grade 2 students. Students who are not yet reading independently at grade level in grade 2 may not take the MAP reading assessment because they can not yet access the content.
Most students in grades 2 -10 will take the Math, Reading, and Language forms of the assessment. The MAP assessments provide us with external data that compares your child’s performance with a set of recognized standards. Because the assessment is adaptive, we are able to gather information about children outside of the constraints of grade level bands.
This is not an assessment that your child can study for. In order to help her or him do their very best, please ensure that your child gets plenty of rest and eats a healthy breakfast. You can also help your child by not making a big deal about this testing experience. It is not a high stakes assessment and the children have no reason to feel stressed about their performance. Your child’s teachers will share the exact dates that the students in their class are taking each of the three components of the assessment.
You will receive information about your child’s performance on the MAP assessment after all students have completed the tests. For more about the MAP assessment, you can jump to the MAP Family Toolkit. As a school, we look at the results of the MAP assessments to help us understand each learner as well as our programs. Our classroom teachers will spend time together looking at MAP results in conjunction with other pieces of data about learning. As administrators, we use multiple data points (including MAP) over time to help us understand where our students are doing well and where we might consider making programmatic changes.
We invite you to join us on October 28 at 8:15 in the morning for a special MAP Parent Chat.This presentation will be recorded for parents that are not able to join us.
Yours,
Michelle
From the ES Learning Commons
From the ES Learning Commons
Looking for ways to encourage your child to read more? Check out this article from Common Sense Media, How Do I Get My Kid to Read More?" It offers 20 practical tips to help foster a love for books in your child, making reading a fun and engaging part of their daily life!
EYP’s First Library Adventure! 🌟 Excited little readers exploring new worlds and checking out their first books!
We have a new reading buddy in the ESLC, and students are already having fun playing with him while coming up with great name suggestions.
From the Activities and Athletics Department
From the Activities and Athletics Department
ASA's (After School Activities)- Registration opened this week for signups via PowerSchool and the signup window will close on August 27th @ 10 am. (Please note if you miss the signup window, we cannot promise that you will be able to register). Additionally, ASAs are not first come first serve, however, all activities have a capacity cap. We ask that you sign up for your top three choices (if you only want to select 1 activity, please add it for all 3 choices). We try to get everyone at least one of their top choices if not all. Again, there are caps regarding how many students can be in a particular ASA so if your child doesn't get into a certain one, they may be able to get into another.
Please see our ASA page for more information: Click here
September 2-4th: Auditions for Grade 5 only for the Play Production, Matilda. PowerSchool registration is open NOW and will close August 27th @ 1 pm
Back to School Night
Back to School Night
Please save the date for ES Back To School Night on Monday, September 2 from 5:00 - 7:00. We will begin in the theater and then families are invited to go to their child(ren)’s homeroom classes and to meet the specialists. Please note that this is an adult-only event.
Elementary Back to School Night Schedule
5:00 – 5:15 Welcome to ES Back to School Night in the Theater
5:30 – 5:50 Grades EY, KG-5 Homeroom Class Session #1
6:00 – 6:35 Drop in visits with specialist teachers
6:40 - 7:00 Grades EY, KG-5 Homeroom Class Session #2
Specialist Teacher Locations
Arabic Teachers - Rms 110, 112, 114, 116
Music K, 2 & 3 Grade –Rm 109
Music EYP, 1, 4 & 5th Grade – Rm 111
Art – Art Facility (upstairs, next to the Gym)
PE – ES Learning Commons
Counselors - ES Learning Commons
Learning Support Teachers - Rm 108
Library – ES Learning Commons
Sun Safety at ACS
Sun Safety at ACS
Sunshine and fresh air are a recipe for a fun recess, but protecting your child's skin from the sun's rays is essential. That's where hats come in!
Here at ACS, we encourage all students to wear hats during outdoor play. A wide-brimmed hat or legionnaire style hat is recommended for the best protection. Not only do hats shade your child's face and neck, but they also help keep their head cool and comfortable.
Sun Safety Matters!
Sun exposure, especially during peak hours, can lead to sunburn, premature aging, and even increase the risk of skin cancer. Hats are a simple and effective way to minimize these risks and ensure your child can enjoy recess safely.
Don't Forget to Label It!
With all the excitement of recess, hats can sometimes get lost. To help make sure your child's hat finds its way back home safely, please label it clearly with their name.
Working Together for Sun Safety
By working together, we can ensure all our students enjoy a fun and sun-safe recess. So pack that hat, label it with [Child's Name], and let the playtime begin!
Class Parents
Class Parents
We hope that each ES class has at least one class parent. If you are interested in helping in this role, please contact your homeroom teacher.
Here are the key responsibilities of a Room Parent:
Liaise with your homeroom teachers to assist with specific requests.
The teacher in each classroom will have specific requests and levels of involvement which will vary from class to class and grade to grade. These usually relate to homeroom activities and chaperones for class trips. Room parents are NOT expected to do everything themselves.
Attend Elementary School Parent Coffees and Parent Teacher Group (PTG) Meetings.
Whenever possible, please have at least one class parent attend PTG meetings and Coffee mornings. Specific dates are listed in your Elementary School events calendar.
Assist with parent volunteers.
You will be contacted from time to time by the chairs of various events to help find volunteers. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Assist with recruiting of chaperones for field trips if needed.
A minimum of two chaperones will accompany students on all field trips.. The student-to-chaperone ratio for overnight travel must be no more than 8:1. The student-to-chaperone ratio for walking and day field trips must be no more than 10:1 . A chaperone is defined as a teacher, teacher assistant, parent, School employee, or other responsible adult that has been approved by the principal.
Additional Information
Parent Issues and complaints
When parents approach you with personal or academic problems involving their child at school, please do not attempt to handle these problems yourself. Rather, refer the parent to the appropriate teacher or ACS staff member involved. As a parent rep, please manage WhatsApp discussions so that they remain positive and helpful.
Class pot-luck events or other whole class “extra” activities
You are welcome to have class potlucks and other class wide or grade wide events outside of the school day. Please understand that the homeroom teacher may not always be able to attend.
Some of the holiday events or ‘extras’ which occur in some classes are not possible without the tremendous support and organization skills of dedicated parents.
From the Counseling Department
From the Counseling Department
Chances are your child's emotions fluctuate quite often! Over time, this may make you feel stuck as a parent around how to support your child and yourself in addressing emotional outbursts. It is taxing work. To possibly help, we've added another tool to our ES Counseling Website - Check out these Tools to Try posters you can print and hang in your home to remind yourself and family members that there are tools you can use. The tools are best used together, as a family - not just for the kids!
We are here and happy to support you if you have any questions or would like to discuss ways to create a calmer home environment.
Tim Steadman and Hayley Jeanes
ES Article of the Month
ES Article of the Month
Important Dates & Quick Links
Important Dates & Quick Links
Mark Your Calendars!
Mark Your Calendars!
August 23 - PTG Back to School Pincic
August 27 - CCT - Late Start Day
August 27 - Registration closes on PowerSchool for ASAs Session 1
September 2 - Back to School Night
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