November/December PARENT Newsletter, 2004



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NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL:

Dear Williams Elementary School Community,

We have already successfully completed our first nine weeks! Thank you for meeting with your child’s teachers for PARENT CONFERENCES. It is so important for a positive partnership to develop between school and home. If you have not scheduled a conference, please call your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Additionally, please continue to call or email us anytime you have a question or concern. Communication and working together as a TEAM is so vital for our children’s success!

Williams continues to be a No Place for Hate Campus. Students are encouraged to respect each other regardless of differences and to stand up for themselves and their peers when they see forms of disrespect. The No Place for Hate campaign was kicked off with students signing a school-wide Resolution of Respect. The Resolution reads as follows:

• I promise to do my best to treat everyone fairly.

• I promise to do my best to be kind to everyone, even if they are not like me.

• If I see someone hurt or bullied, I will tell the teacher.

• Everyone should be able to feel safe and happy in school.

• I want our school to be No Place For Hate.

Please join us in your homes and community in encouraging No Place for Hate.

Thank you for sharing your child with us each day!

With PRIDE,

Natasha Drumgoole

Principal

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A list of assets, known as the

40 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS highlight the building blocks that children need to increase the likelihood of them growing up healthy, caring and responsible. Children who have more “assets” are more likely to avoid “high risk” behaviors as they go through middle and high school and are more likely to succeed in school and LIFE.

This month, the focus is on “Positive Identity” which includes:

• Personal Power-young person feels he/she has control over “things that happen to me”

• Self-Esteem-young person reports having a high self-esteem

• Sense of purpose-young person reports that “my life has a purpose”

• Positive view of personal future-young person is optimistic about her/his personal future. Take the time to talk to your student about future goals.

“Believe in your dreams and they may come true; believe in yourself and they will come true”

ABSENCES: Thank you for calling the office and sending a note when your child is absent. This helps us TREMENDOUSLY! Also, please submit a doctor’s’ note to the office if your child leaves school for a Doctor/Dentist appointment. This will ensure your student is counted present for the day.

From the Counselor:

Bridges to Growth offers many wonderful parenting classes. Here are several that are scheduled for November:

• Nov.6-“Becoming a Love and Logic Parent” in Spanish, 1:00-2:30 pm~FREE The Caring Place Annex

• Nov 6-“Teaching Children About Money”~FREE

• Nov 8-“Parents Morning Out”-9:30 am-11:30 am. For children with special needs~FREE

• Nov 11-Lunch and Learn-“Igniting Sparks in Children and Youth”, 11:30 am-1:00 pm FREE

• Nov 22-“Surviving Divorce and Co-Parenting so Children Thrive”, Saturdays once a month, 8:30 am-12:30 pm. $25.00

**Please call (512) 864-3008 to pre-register for classes**

Bridges to Growth is located at 805 W. University Ave in Georgetown.

Terri Boccella

Social Issues Coordinator

Williams Elementary

512-943-5162 boccellat@

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PICKING UP: Thanks for either using the car lane or coming to the office when picking up your child. Deadline for calling in to change the way a student goes home is 2:00pm. Our afternoon procedures have been very smooth thanks to parent cooperation in following our afternoon procedures.

What sleep means for your child

As adults there is little valued greater than a good night’s sleep. In children however, there is a growing issue of sleep insufficiency that has far reaching effects on health, success in school, and overall cognitive performance. Recognizing the role that sleep plays in a child’s developing brain and body is important to ensuring their success.

The Physiology of Sleep

There are two types, or rather states, of sleep: Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These states are known as “quiet” and “active” sleep, respectively.

During NREM sleep, tissue growth and repair occur. Blood supply to the muscles is increased and important hormones for growth and development are released to do their job. During REM sleep, dreams take place. While the brain is active, the body becomes immobile and relaxed as muscles are turned off. REM sleep provides energy for the brain and is vital for optimal daytime performance.

Sleep plays an important role in the consolidation of memory. Studies suggest that new memories are replayed by the brain during sleep, fostering long-term memory formation. This includes information learned in school. Sleep plays an important role in retaining new knowledge.

Sleep Requirements

School-aged children require 10-11 hours of sleep each night. Sadly enough, very few children attain this amount of sleep on a regular basis. This age group proves to have great risk for sleep problems due to the ever increasing amount of distractions available to them.

More than two-thirds of American children experience one or more sleep problems at least a few nights a week. Maintaining reasonable school, home and extracurricular balance and limiting exposure to media especially in the hours just before bed, can help prevent problems such as insomnia, difficulties falling asleep, and difficulties sleeping through the night.

Effect on Learning and Attention

Studies have found that activity in the cerebrum, the area of the brain responsible for alertness, attention and high-order thought processes, changes in response to sleep deprivation. Cognitive functioning suffers as a result of sleep loss.

ADHD and Sleep

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and associated behavioral problems have been linked to several sleep problems. Likewise, symptoms related to sleep problems are often mistaken for ADHD. Children, unlike most adults who respond to sleep with sluggishness, tend to over compensate sleep insufficiency and speed up.

Some common symptoms of sleep deprivation in children include moodiness, aggression/emotional explosiveness, inattention, and hyperactivity/impulsivity.

Other Risks Associated With Sleep Insufficiency

Several additional difficulties and disorders have been tied to insufficient sleep in children. Obesity, difficulties with emotional regulation, disruptive family functioning, and depression and anxiety are among these.

Proper Sleep Hygiene

To avoid these symptoms and offer each child every opportunity to facilitate learning and activity during the day, fostering appropriate sleep hygiene is of vital importance. This includes developing a regular wake and sleep pattern for your child seven days a week. For more information on sleep hygiene, consult the National Sleep Foundation.

If I can be of any assistance to you or you have questions please call me or email:

Christine Johns

School Nurse

Williams Elementary

512-943-5161

johnsch@

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Dads, or other significant male role models, are needed to help out at school as Watchdogs.  Dads come for one day, help with campus security, play, listen to kids read, and act as a role model at recess and PE. A background check must be completed before reporting for duty. Please contact Mrs. Sepulvado for more information at 943-5167.

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Three ways to earn Box Tops

1. Clip from more than 200 packages

2. Shop online

3. Enter bonus Box Tops sweepstakes online

To view a list of participating products, shop through the Box Tops Marketplace, and enter sweepstakes, go to and sign up today! Be sure to select Williams Elementary as your school during the registration process.

Once you register at the Box Tops for Education web site, you’ll be able view Williams Elementary progress, print coupons, and sign up to receive e-mails letting you know when sweepstakes and bonus Box Top deals are happening.

Children can bring in Box Tops to their teachers or the library.

TARDY POLICY: If your child is tardy, arriving after 8:00 a.m., please PARK and come to the office with him/her. Your student must sign in and receive a pass to class. Excessive tardies will result in disciplinary consequences. Please work hard to get your child to school on time. Thanks!

A BOOK FAIR CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY VOLUNTEERS

NOVEMBER 17-21, 2014

Our Fall Book Fair is just around the corner and…..we need you!

Join our volunteer group and help us plan and conduct our best book fair event ever!

If you like to:

• organize and put things in place

• bring a creative flair to signs and decorations

• offering a helping hand setting up or packing up

• help shoppers of all ages find the perfect book

……this is the volunteer opportunity for you!

MOTIVATING YOUR CHILD TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL:

• Show interest in your child’s learning. Ask about what is happening in school. Ask to see their TAKE HOME FOLDER each Thursday!

• Work with your child on setting daily goals that are attainable. Write the goals in a prominent place.

• Help your child envision and formulate long-range goals.

• Instill in your child the idea that achievements are usually the result of persistence and hard work, not luck or ability.

• Show caring and love if your child makes a mistake or fails and help him or her see mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.

• Use words and actions to demonstrate faith in your child’s ability to learn and achieve.

• Look for successes in your child’s efforts and acknowledge them.

• Recognize, praise, and celebrate your child’s successful completion of a goal.

• Model for your child language that conveys positive expectations, such as I can, I will, I want to, I understand, my goal is, and so on.

• Frequently stress to your child the importance of learning and education.

IMPORTANT

DATES

NOVEMBER

4-Shelter for Tornado Drill-9:00 a.m.

5- Delivery of PTA fundraiser items.

6-Fall Picture Retakes

6-PTA Board Meeting-6:00 p.m.

6-Cici’s Pizza Night

11-Veteran’s Day ceremony-9:00 a.m.

17-21-Fall Scholastic Book Fair

14-Reflections Deadline

25-Thanksgiving Dinner in cafeteria

25-Progress Reports go home

26-28-Thanksgiving Holiday

DECEMBER

4-PTA Meeting-6:00 p.m.

4-Cici’s Pizza Night

11-Ford & Williams Holiday Concert

12-Fine Dining event in cafeteria during lunches

17-Awards Assemblies

18-Holiday Parties/FMNV Day

18-End of 2nd Nine Weeks

Christmas Holiday

Dec. 19, 2014-January 4, 2015

STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL ON JANUARY 5TH, 2015

Please remember to come to the office to check your student out following a school function. This includes awards assemblies, etc.

Please do not take your child out early or arrive late from holiday break!

STAAR TESTING SCHEDULE:

3rd GRADE: Math (4/21/15)

Reading (4/22/15)

4th GRADE: Writing #1 (3/30/15)

Writing #2 (3/31/15)

Math (4/21/15)

Reading (4/22/15)

5thGRADE: Math (3/30/15)

Reading (3/31/15)

Science (4/23/15)

Reading Re-Test (5/12/15)

Prior to Christmas break, please make a point to check the LOST AND FOUND for jackets, coats and lunchboxes!

The LOST AND FOUND is in the cafeteria.

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© 2014 Scholastic Inc. 11677 • 146204

Permission to reproduce this item is granted by Scholastic Book Fairs®

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