 |
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
2007/08 TellerGrams
Sep/Oct/Nov December January February May
2006/07 TellerGrams
September
2005/06 TellerGrams
October Teller Elementary Office Phone: (720) 424-3585 School Hours: 8:55AM-3:45PM Morning playground supervision begins at 8:45AM. |
Tellergram September, October, November 2007
From the Principal……Focus on Classroom Instruction: Our teachers completed reading, writing and math assessments a couple of weeks ago. These assessments are providing valuable data to teachers on how to best meet the learning needs of your child. Teachers are using this data in their team meetings to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our students. These teams of teachers plan for specific and targeted instruction to meet the diverse needs of students in their classrooms. Teachers group students for small group reading instruction based on the reading assessment results. When you visit your child’s classroom, you should notice students highly engaged in learning with their teachers and other adults. During the Reading Block, teachers typically teach a mini lesson on a specific reading strategy or concept about literature to their students. After this lesson, students engage in independent reading of “just right” books. Students will practice the strategy during their silent reading. Students may also respond to what they are reading in a variety of ways to help them improve their comprehension. To help your child become proficient as reader, you can: • Read to a beginning reader on a daily basis. • Encourage your children, who can already read, to read 15-30 minutes each night. Based on student writing samples, we are noticing that students are frequently misspelling common sight words and grade level vocabulary. We are expecting our students to use correct spelling, capitalization and punctuation in all their written work across all content areas. You can help us reinforce this by reviewing your child’s written homework at home with them at least once a week. From our analysis of math data, we are still finding that many of our students are not at a proficient level in knowing their basic math facts. You can help at home by working with your child on the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. Another way you can help strengthen children’s number sense is by helping them see how you use estimation in your daily life. (When you purchase something with cash, you can talk to them about how much money you expect back from the cashier. Or determining if you have enough money based on the cost of the items you want to purchase.) Our parents and staff make an impressive team working together to support all of the children at Teller! Once again our PTA is proving that Whatever it takes….. our kids are worth it! The 2007-2008 fundraising efforts are going towards funding a $45,000 commitment for staff salaries.
The art displayed outside the auditorium was framed and hung by Julius’s dad, JB Marconcelli. I love how the students’ art has transformed the feel of that barren hallway into such a colorful and warm environment. We have also hung some photos of Teller from the 1920’s and 1930’s. A huge thank you to JB for the hours he spent framing and securing the art to the walls. Speaking of the auditorium … Now that our climbing wall is paid for, our next improvement project for our school is the replacement of the curtains in the auditorium. Look for more information in the near future on how you can help make transform the stage curtains into a beautiful backdrop that truly frames our students’ performances. We already have an anonymous donor who has jump started our fundraising with a $1000 donation. (Estimated replacement cost for the stage curtains is between $12,000 -$14,000.) Are you endangering the lives of our students by……
Please help keep our children safe! Teller’s Policy on Birthday Celebrations: To minimize interruptions to classroom instructional time, we only celebrate individual students’ birthdays at school with treats for the class in the ECE and Kindergarten classrooms. Teachers recognize students’ birthdays in their classroom in their own special way. However, you may recognize your child’s special day by donating a book in their name to their classroom library. We invite you to schedule with your child’s teacher a time to come in and read the book to the class in honor of your child. Karti Lyons, Principal After School Pick-UpThe drive through pick up at the curb lane on Garfield is working well. Please remind other family members or friends of these procedures, if they will be picking your child up at the end of the day.October 22nd & 23rd - Parent/Teacher ConferencesYour child’s teacher has been sent home a conference sign-up schedule. Times will be scheduled between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm on Monday, October 22 and Tuesday, October 23. Please take the time to sign up for a conference to find out how your child is progressing and how you can help. You will receive your child’s Standards-Based Progress Report at this conference.Our goal is to have 95% parent participation at our conferences. Please help us meet this goal by scheduling a conference time and attending the conference. Bullying is serious and may constitute a crime Bullying, name calling, teasing, intimidation and other behaviors will not be tolerated at Teller. The DPS School Board has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy in regard to these behaviors. The Colorado State Legislature has considered this issue to have such a serious negative impact on students that School Districts are required to have a policy in place for bullying prevention and education programs. Law enforcement may apply any of several laws already Colorado statutes to behaviors commonly associated with bullying situations. In accordance with School Board Policy of “zero tolerance, Teller will follow a DPS behavior intervention “path” for identified bullying behaviors. Students will first be reprimanded by the supervising adult and counseled for appropriate ways to handle problems with other students. Repeated offenses will result in the student’s referral to the Principal at which time parents will be requested to attend a conference to draft a behavior plan. Should bullying behaviors continue after a conference, the principal will implement systematic suspension for each subsequent incident of bullying behaviors. After 5-10 days of suspension, the principal may request that the student be expelled from Teller Elementary. If this occurs, an expulsion hearing would be held with a DPS official. As you can tell, bullying behaviors are considered a serious offense. Providing a safe and positive learning environment, free from bullying will be incorporated into the Educating for Character process. Please talk to your child about your expectations for their behavior. Please take note of this Safety concern:Please do not bring your pets onto the school grounds during school hours. Even though your dog or cat is considered friendly, many students rush animals and interact with them inappropriately and your pet may not tolerate that well. Some students have serious allergies to dogs and cats.IMPORTANT NOTICE:• We have had a lot of students in the office in the morning before 8:45 am and in the afternoon after 3:45 pm. Supervision is not provided on the playground prior to 8:45 am. The cafeteria opens for breakfast at 8:35 am.• The office staff cannot accommodate babysitting tasks. Do not send your child to school before 8:45 am or pick them up after 3:45* pm. • If you need childcare in the morning or afternoon, please call Kaleidoscope Corner at: 720-424-8291. *The office closes at 4:15 pm daily. If the office staff has been unable to contact you or the other individuals listed on your emergency call list, prior to 4:15 pm, they have specific District procedures to follow. District procedure requires the school staff to call the Denver Police Department if a responsible adult cannot be reached. If your child is not picked up by 4:15pm, the office staff has been instructed to call the police. If you call in advance, your child may stay in the office past 4:15 for a $10 per 15 minute fee (per child), starting at 4:00. E.g., if you pick your child up at 4:30, there will be a $20 charge. (This fee will pay the overtime costs for our secretaries when they have to stay past their normal hours) School Safety/Crisis Procedures at Teller:After the recent tragedies nationwide, we want to let you know the procedures that are in place at Teller Elementary to keep your child safe.
Please know that your child’s education and safety come first with the staff at Teller. Please don’t hesitate to call if you have specific safety questions for us. Teller Elementary Destination ImagiNationCall for coaches! We need coaches!(There is training for coaches.) 2007-08 Team Challenges Imagine that you and a few friends are given a project to complete in an eight week period, without help from anyone outside the team... The project involves designing and constructing a technical device that must move from point A to point B under its own power. Imagine that you must also write, produce, and star in a story that involves the technical device. You need to make props, costumes, and everything else, and package it into an eight-minute Presentation. Now imagine that you and your teammates are 10 years old and you are hearing the thunderous applause of an enthusiastic audience as you present your completed project! If you think this is far-fetched, you haven¹t been to a Destination ImagiNation® Tournament! Our teams work on ¬ and solve ¬ Team Challenges like these, completely on their own. Why Team Challenges? Our Team Challenges encourage development of Creative Problem Solving techniques, teamwork and creative process over a sustained period of time, usually eight to twelve weeks. Our Challenges are designed to be: Fun to solve Academically-based (corresponding to education standards) and include a research component Focused on one or more of the following areas: • Technical/Mechanical Design • Structural/Architectural Design • Theatrical/Literary/Fine Arts • Scientific Exploration • Improvisation Each year teams of two to seven members select one of five competitive Challenges. With the guidance ¬ but not help ¬ of a Team Manager (who serves as facilitator, not coach), the team creates an action plan and works together to create everything needed for their Presentation. --Joy Urbach Breakfast!Teller’s Lunchroom continues to serve hot breakfast! The lunchroom opens at 8:30 am, please join the Teller students for breakfast to promote this program at our school!Meal Charging PolicyAny student in grades ECE through 5th grade who forgets or loses his/her money may charge up to $5.00. Prior to this limit being reached, a written notice will be given to the student to notify the parent/guardian. If payment for charges is not received the next school day, an alternate meal will be served. If charges are still not paid after two days, a nutritious snack will be served instead of a meal. In all cases, the charges MUST be paid back.Tardy Students:I have noticed that we have 5-6 students tardy each morning. Students are considered tardy if they are not with their teacher when the 9:00 bell sounds. The new DPS data system is now able to track student absences and tardies in hours and minutes. Students must report to the office if they are not in the classroom when the 9:00 tardy bell rings. Elementary school is a good opportunity to start teaching your child the importance of punctuality.
|
This site is using the DPS2.0 theme.
