|
Mr. Anderson's Monthly Message Archive |
||
|
September 2008
Hi Parents and Families, |
||
|
June 2008 message
Dear Friends and Families of A.G. Bell, |
||
|
May Message: Hello A.G .Bell Friends and Family,
It finally appears as if Spring is here to stay - Hooray! With Spring comes much activity around the school house including the Spring for Bell Auction, Mariners Night, Staff Appreciation, student placement for next year, staffing and the list goes on and on. Below I’ve highlighted a few items of interest around the school house.
The 08 WASL is Over: We survived! And our 3rd through 6th grade students did an excellent job of staying focused and giving their best efforts. Many thanks to our parents for getting your students here on time, well rested and ready to test. Thanks also to our teachers and staff – many who had to adjust their schedules and teaching assignments to accommodate our testing schedule. Jana Robertson and Debi Miller did a fabulous job of leading the way as our “Testing Coordinators.” WASL results will be back to us in September and we will use the information we receive to measure individual student progress and evaluate the strength of our academic programs.
Jazzed For Bell Auction: On May 17th our PTSA will be hosting our Jazzed for Bell Auction at Kirkland Congregational Church. The auction is our primary fundraiser and supports the wonderful work our PTSA does at Bell. In years past the proceeds of the auction have gone to fund playground improvements, parent math nights, teacher grants, student assemblies and much, much more.
This year’s auction theme is Mardi Gras and the word on the street is that A.G. Bell parent, Gretchen Benson will be cooking it up Cajun style! I also hear that over $18,000 in goods and services have been procured from local businesses. All of these items, plus some really special classroom projects will be available to the highest bidder at the auction.
The Jazzed for Bell Auction is an “adults only” event with beer and wine available for purchase. Tickets are available for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. My wife Christine (I’m hoping to keep the credit card in my wallet this year) and I look forward to seeing many of you there in support of our kids and school.
Student Placement: Just this week we will begin the process of placing students in classrooms for next year. Our goal in all of this is to take individual student differences to create classrooms that are balanced and equitable for students and teachers. We place a high priority into creating class rosters that represent students from various ethnic, social and academic backgrounds. Hopefully all of you have returned your “Reserve a Place” forms as this gives us important information as we create classes and staff for next year.
Junior Achievement Day and Spring BBQ: Junior Achievement is a non profit organization that brings the real world to students through hands-on curriculum delivered by a trained classroom volunteer. On the morning of Friday, May 16th, we will be hosting folks from around our community in our classrooms for our first ever Junior Achievement Day (J.A. Day) at A.G. Bell. Nearly every classroom will be visited by a trained volunteer who will teach age appropriate life skills and academic lessons. The morning will conclude with our annual Spring BBQ. All families (parents and siblings) are invited to attend the BBQ. Look for the brochure that came home earlier this week and plan to join us for lunch at noon that day.
Staff Appreciation: As I write this, Staff Appreciation Week is just beginning – already we feel appreciated. Special lunches, lattes, massage chairs are just a few of the items on the docket for this week. On behalf of all our staff – THANK YOU to all who appreciated. We are definitely feeling the love around here!
In closing, I would be remiss not to mention the recent Hope Link Food Drive coordinated by several sixth grade students Tommy O., Maddy S., Jacque G. and Donnie H. Every class participated and we had over 3000 items donated to Hope Link. We are blessed to live in such a generous community. Way to Tommy, Maddy, Jacque and Donnie. You helped A.G. Bell make such a wonderful difference.
Curtis Anderson, Principal A.G. Bell Elementary
|
||
|
Please mark your calendars for this Thursday, April 10th! Ruth Parker of the Mathematics Education Collaborative is coming to A.G. Bell for an enjoyable and informative Community Math Night. Ruth’s presentation has received rave reviews from other Lake Washington school communities, and we’re very lucky to have secured a place on her schedule. Please join us at 6:45 on April 10th to learn about how to support your children’s math development at home. Childcare for kids from 4 years through 6th grade will be provided. |
||
|
Hello Bell Parents and Family Members,
Each year students in the Lake Washington School District have the opportunity to participate in the state Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). This year students in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade will take WASL during the April 14-May 2 testing window.
The specific assessments are:
Grade 3-Reading and Math Grade 4-Reading, Math and Writing Grade 5-Reading, Math and Science Grade 6-Reading and Math
By testing students in early spring we are able to utilize results in measuring the progress your child has made during the year and in guiding our work as we make instructional decisions for the upcoming school year.
Though these tests are important in helping teachers work more effectively with your child, they only provide part of the total picture of your child’s progress. Teachers assess student performance in a variety of ways on a regular basis, and their insights to your child continue to be your best source of information on “how your child is doing”. Your encouragement and support help your child to perform better in all aspects of learning and assessment.
If you are a parent of a 3rd - 6th grader, you will soon be receiving a specific schedule for the WASL indicating the specific days your child will be tested. Please keep this schedule handy, providing a good nights sleep, healthy breakfast and extra encouragement for your student on the days he/she will be testing.
|
||
| February 2008 Focusing on Student Success: “CASTing With a CIP”
I thought I might get the attention of the fishermen and women out there with this title but fortunately/unfortunately this, our topic this month has nothing to do with fishing. In fact our CAST meetings and CIP deal with much more relevant topics than fish. Meeting the academic needs of every child and ensuring that we provide quality academic programs for our students are a priority at Bell. Allow me to explain how CASTing and the CIP process allow us to meet these objectives.
CAST Meetings – In addition to the WASL and classroom reading assessments, students at Bell are given a formal reading assessment (DIBELS and QRI) three times every year. Following these assessments, teachers meet to discuss results and develop plans for students who are not yet at standard. These meetings called CAST meetings (Collaborative Academic Support Team) involve classroom teachers, special education and our safety net support staff discussing individual student progress and possible support measures that can be provided to students. Using our Safety Net and Better Schools teachers, many of our students receive one and two additional “doses” of reading instruction everyday. These programs are provided by trained Instructional Assistants and Certificated Teachers before, during and after the regular school day. We just adjusted our staff.
CIP – We have just completed the first phase of our 2007/08 CIP Plan (Continuous Improvement Plan). This year we developed a process that allowed grade level teachers more autonomy in determining goals that match the needs of their specific students. This process allowed teachers to gain a clear understanding of their student’s strengths and challenges by meeting with previous teachers, reviewing various indicators including previous report cards, classroom based assessments, and WASL scores. Grade level teams used this information to develop goals and focus areas for each content area, including expectations for student performance and specific strategies to be implemented. A specific area of focus was given to mathematics and developing strategies that meet the needs of level 1 and level 4 students. Teams are now working to create and implement common assessments in each content area that will indicate whether or not goals for student performance have been met along with providing valuable information on the success of our plans.
At Bell we are very serious about meeting the needs of all our students. While we have not perfected our ability to meet every student’s needs, CASTing and developing a relevant CIP provide us with frequent opportunities to revisit the topic of student learning.
|
||
|
January 2008 Developing a “Math Culture” at Bell
Happy New Year A.G. Bell Friends and Families,
The New Year provides us with the opportunity to reflect on past success and retool for future success. Currently we are in the process of developing our Continuous Improvement Plan. This process includes looking at student progress using various tools (report cards, WASL scores and much more) to determine both the strengths and challenges of individual students and groups of students along with the academic program we provide at Bell. We use this information to set goals as a building tool and create an action plan for moving forward. Speaking of moving forward, I would like to update you all on the current progress of our Math Agenda. As I have discussed in other articles it is our goal to “develop a ‘math culture’ at A.G. Bell to support our students in becoming “confident and competent mathematical thinkers.” Allow me to update you on our current progress:
Current Progress: We now have a Math Team comprised of parents and teachers to guide our work. We have reallocated a staff position (Mrs. Perry) for Math Safety Net. Mrs. Perry is currently working with grades 3-5 to provide remedial type services – this includes math support in and out of the regular classroom and after school groups. In writing our CIP plan, grade levels and teachers are focusing on meeting the needs of all students in math. We currently have 30+ kids and multiple parent volunteers participating in Math Olympiad in grades 5/6. We also have 3 teachers volunteering their time on Monday afternoons to help facilitate this program. Mrs. Higgins and Mrs. Cook have allocated some of their 5/6 grade classroom discretionary funds to pay for 6th grade math support groups that meet after school several days a week. We have several teachers willing to facilitate primary and intermediate math clubs.
What’s Next: Our math team will meet soon to plan an AG Bell Family Math Night for our community. We would like to pursue more math club opportunities for our kids (intermediate and primary). We are considering bringing a nonprofit group, Math Explorations along side of us to help with our work.
In all we are pleased with the progress we are making in reaching our goal of developing a math culture here at Bell and look forward to more opportunities to involve our families in this process.
Happy New Year!
|
||
|
December 2007 Hello A.G. Bell Friends and Families,
Thankful - (adj.), grateful, appreciative, pleased, gratified, obliged, indebted.
It’s all that and more! In this season of thankfulness, I am reminded of all that we, the A.G. Bell Community, have to be pleased, gratified, appreciative and grateful for as we work together to meet the academic and social needs of our children while preparing them for their future.
Let me share few of the many things for which I am most thankful here at A.G. Bell:
· A wonderfully diverse group of students.
· A dedicated and supportive parent community and PTSA that puts kids’ needs first. We are truly partners in your children’s education.
· A teaching staff that is second to none in their skill, dedication to kids and willingness to continue learning together.
· The best support staff (I.A. custodians, secretaries) with a “whatever it takes” attitude that makes it happen every day around here. . Recently, I participated on a team with six of A.G. Bell’s finest and one dedicated single mom to discuss what could be done to further support an individual student in her academic and social growth. Each member of our team shared valuable insights and expertise as we crafted a success plan for this student. As I listened, and shared in this collaborative process, I couldn’t help but remember our mission to support and celebrate each student and the valuable role we all play in this process. We at A.G. Bell have much to be thankful for. Have a wonderful holiday season!
|
||
|
November 2007
Hello A.G. Bell Friends and Families, |
||