As you may heave reviewed in the state newspapers

March Calendar

Mar= ch 5 3^rd Grade Musical = 9:30 & 1:45

= &nb= sp; Classic Cookie Sales Begin

Mar= ch 12 Classic Cookie Orders Due

Mar= ch 9 Jenkins Night at McDonald’s 5= :00 – 8:00

Mar= ch 10 = Spring Class and Individual Pictures

Mar= ch 16 &= nbsp; PTA Board Meeting 9:00 &n= bsp;

Mat= ch 22 – 26 Spring Book = Fair

Mar= ch 23 6:30 PTA Meeting / Night of the Art= s

&= nbsp; 6:00-7:00 Pick<= /span> up Classic Cookie Orders

= Visit Book Fair 3:00 – 6:30 <= o:p>

Mar= ch 26 Early Release Day for Students 12:00 dismissal

Apr= il 2 = Teacher Workday

Apr= il 5-9 = Spring Break

* We still have one student make u= p day that has not been scheduled. = Be sure to visit the HPS home page to review the updates for the 2009-2010 sch= ool calendar. You can also find the 2010-2011 calendar that has been approved by the Board of Education.

Building Relatio= nships with Students

Jen= kins staff and students begin each day by reciting the Jenkins Character Commitm= ent, “I am a Jenkins student. I am respectful, responsible, cari= ng, and honest. I commit to making myself and my school better each day.” In addition to the Character Commitment, there is a daily quote that reinforces the character traits that drive all expectations for staff and students. Beginning each day with a focus on personal character reinforces our shared belief that good character is our primary goal for all students. The fundamentals of character building can best be taught through modeling and consistent display of respectful, responsible, caring, and honest behavior = of our staff. =

Ear= lier this school year all HPS principals had the opportunity to participate in a training that I found to be truly rewarding. This training began with a reflect= ive process of our own personal strengths and weaknesses and how our character directly impacts the students and colleagues with whom we work. Capturing Kids Hearts teaches = and reinforces practices that enable adults to establish and nurture relationsh= ips with all students. Capturing Kids Hearts will provide the Jenkins staff with common language to build a community of learners within our classrooms and strategies to encou= rage and reinforce expected character. The entire Jenkins staff will be trained, beginning with 24 teachers this school year. Remaining staff members will be tr= ained during the 2010-2011 school year.

McTeacher’s Night at McDonald’s Tuesday, March 9 5:00 – 8:00 = PM

Ove= r 30 Jenkins teachers and staff members are ready to serve you! Mark your calend= ar for dinner at the McDonald’s located at 2511 North Center Street in the Viewmont area. The Jenkins staff will be at your service to assist with cleaning tables, seats and trays, filling your drink and ice cream orders, and passi= ng out condiments. We will be ta= king out the trash, mopping up your spills, and my personal favorite, frying the world famous McDonald’s French Fries! Hanging out with your teacher is a= lways fun, but there is much more excitement.&nb= sp; Every student who attends will receive a free homework pass! We will be looking for you! Don’t forget to we= ar your Jenkins T-Shirts!

Reading for Meaning=

Par= ents often ask, “How can I help my child improve his/her reading comprehension?” Below a= re a few specific comprehension strategies that can easily be incorporated into = book discussion between parents and children.

Monitoring Comprehension

For parents: Be aware of what they do understand and identify what th= ey do not understand. Identifying the area of strength a= nd weakness will guide your instruction.

For students: Identify where the difficulty occurs (“I don’t understand…).

Identify what the difficult is (“I don’t get what the author means when he says…).

Restate the difficult sentence or passage in their own words.

Look back through the text.

Look forward in the text for information that might help= .

Use Graphic Orga= nizers to organize thoughts and illu= strate concepts and interrelationships within the text.

Generating / Ans= wering Questions

Give students a purpose for reading.

Focus students’ attention on what they are to lear= n.

Help students think actively as they read.

Encourage students to monitor their comprehension.<= /o:p>

Help students review content and relate what they have learned to what they

already know.

Encourage students to generate their own questions about what they read.

Modeling / Guided Practice

Model and demonstrate by “thinking aloud” wh= ile reading the text.

Guide and assist the student as they learn to “thi= nk aloud” before having students answer comprehension questions independ= ently.

Comprehension Questions to Promote Higher Order Thinking

What is…? What evidence is there that…?

In what way might…? Find some instance which…?

What part of this could be real / make believe? Explain.

What are the functions of…? Compare ____ to ______.=

&= nbsp; After reading the text, what can be concluded about…?

How can you explain?

&= nbsp; Pretend/Imagine/Create…

&= nbsp; Elaborate on…

&= nbsp; What would happen if …?

&= nbsp; Summarize the story in your own words.

&= nbsp; How would you change / improve..?

What is the most important? Why?

&= nbsp; Based on ___ from the text, tell why…?

&= nbsp; Should ___ be permitted to ___?

Parents as our Partners

It = is difficult to believe it is already March with only a little more than three months remaining in the 2009-2010 school year. Our students have continued to work diligently in the classroom and have made significant academic gains. For some, these last few months br= ing spring fever and long days with extra curricular activities. We ask for your support in maintai= ning both home and school routines that allow for adequate rest and ‘down time’ for growing children with busy schedules. My thanks to each of you for the m= any ways that you “teach” your child, and for the constant support = that you give our school.

Sincerely,

= Stephanie Dischiavi

Principal=