Announcements February 14

Michael Anthony Steele steals the Show

Author, Michael Anthony Steele, presented to our kids.  His message of using every experience you have to become a great writer was very entertaining for our kids.  The number one thing that our kids took away from his presentation is "I CAN DO THAT!"  

Here are some interesting facts about Steele

• Written over 100 books
• Some titles include: The Tony Hawk Live 2 Skate series, The Green Lantern Web of Doom, The Penguins of Madagascar - King Julien's Guide to Ruling the Zoo, Lego City-Fix that Truck, Wishbone Mysteries-Case of the Impounded Hounds, FireHouse Dog The Movie Novel
• Written 25 episodes for the PBS series, Barney and Friends 
• Written 5 home videos for BOZ, the Great Bear Next Door
• Was a staff writer for the Wishbone television series

If you want to know more about him, visit his website at www.michaelanthonysteele.com.

Upcoming Events

Date	Event	Information
Thu, Feb 20	Buckeye Book Club	Mrs. Meza, Mrs. Broadwell, and Mrs. Bishop’s classes girls only will meet in the Library from 4:00-5:15 p.m.
Thu, Feb 27	Buckeye Book Club	Mrs. Meza, Mrs. Broadwell, and Mrs. Bishop’s classes girls only will meet in the Library from 4:00-5:15 p.m.
Mon, Mar 3-7	Texas Public School Week
Tue, Mar 4 No visitors will be allowed for lunch due to testing guidelines.	3rd and 4th grade Mock STAAR Math Testing	3rd and 4th grade will take their Mock STAAR Math test on this day.
	Stars Mini Camp	There will be a Stars Mini Camp held in the Elementary gym from 3:30-5:00 p.m. Students must have the form and money in an envelope to be able to be released for the mini-camp at the end of the day.
Wed, Mar 5 No visitors will be allowed for lunch due to testing guidelines.	3rd and 4th grade Mock STAAR Reading  Testing	3rd and 4th grade will take their Mock STAAR Reading test on this day.
	Stars Mini Camp	Day 2 of Stars Mini Camp will be held in the Elementary gym from 3:30-5:00.
Thu, Mar 6	Bring  Your Parent To School	PK -1st grade will be having a “Bring Your Parent To School Day” from 7:20-8:30 a.m.   7:20-8:00 will be breakfast in the cafeteria.   8:10-8:30 will be music performances and Specials presentations will be in the gym and science labs from 8:00 - 8:30.
	Stars Mini Camp	3rd and final day of Stars Mini Camp will be held in the Elementary gym from 3:30-5:00 p.m.
	Stars Mini Camp Show-Off	Participants in the Stars Mini Camp will be having a Show-Off for parents at 5:30p.m. in the Elementary gym.
	Buckeye Book Book Club	Mrs. Meza, Mrs. Broadwell, and Mrs. Bishop’s classes boys only will meet will meet in the Library from 4:00-5:15 p.m.
Fri, Mar 7	Bring Your Parent To School	2nd - 4th grade will be having a “Bring Your Parent To School Day” from 7:20-8:30 a.m.   7:20-8:00 will be breakfast in the cafeteria.   8:10-8:30 will be music performances and Specials presentations will be in the gym and science labs from 8:00 - 8:30.
	PK Field Trip	PK will go on a field trip to the Caldwell Zoo on this day.
	End of the 4th  6 weeks	Report cards will come out after Spring Break.
Mon, March 10 through Fri, March 14	Spring Break

Announcements January 25

Reading is the Key

The more you read, the more you learn.  Students took benchmark tests last week, and there was one connection.  Students who were more fluent readers with higher comprehension made higher scores.  The STAAR test will be administered this spring to 3rd and 4th graders in Reading and Math and to 4th graders in Writing.  These tests are very challenging and require students to not only be good readers but also critical thinkers. 

Parents can help their children be proficient readers by having them read every night.  Reading for 15 minutes every night builds fluency, comprehension and vocabulary.   Just like riding a bicycle, playing a sport or playing a video game, the more time you spend doing reading, the better you will get at it.

Parent Communication

If you have concerns or questions about your child's reading level or performance, please contact your child's teacher.  They have the most information about your child and can tell you exactly what strengths and weaknesses your child has in reading, math, writing, science and social studies.  By having a frequent and open line of communication with the teacher, you and the teacher can work together to help your child improve in their learning.

Upcoming Events

Date	Event	Information
Wed, Jan 29	Buckeye Store	The Buckeye store will visit PreK -1st classrooms on this day.
Thu, Jan 30	Buckeye Book Club	Mrs. Meza, Mrs. Broadwell,  and Mrs. Bishop’s class girls only  will meet in the Library from 4:00-5:15
	College Day	Wear your College attire.
	Buckeye Store	The Buckeye store will visit 2nd -4thclassrooms on this day.
Tue, Feb 4 & Wed, Feb 5	4th grade Mock Writing	4th grade will have their Mock STAAR writing test on these days.
Thu, Feb 6	UIL Meet in Henderson	The UIL Writing and Speaking events will take place in Henderson on this day.
Thu, Feb 6 Sat, Feb 8	Buckeye Book Club	Mrs. Meza, Mrs. Broadwell, and Mrs. Bishop’s class girls only will meet in the Library from 4:00-5:00 p.m.
	UIL Meet	UIL Meet will be at the Elementary campus.  Volunteers needed.  Sign- up sheet is located in the work room.
Thu, Feb 13	Author Visit College Day	More information to come. Wear your college attire.
Fri, Feb 14	Valentine Parties	1st and 3rd         12:10-12:40 4th and K            1:00-1:30 PreK and 2nd     1:50-2:20

Early Release on Thursday and Friday, January 16 & 17

On Thursday and Friday this week, the students will have an early release at 12:00 p.m.

Lunches will be at the following times:

10:25 – 10:50	PK Lunch	2nd Lunch
10:55 – 11:20	1st Lunch	3rd Lunch
11:25 – 11:50	K Lunch	4th Lunch

Monday, January 20 will be a school holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  We will see everyone back on Tuesday, January 21 which will begin our School Board Appreciation Week.

Incident at the Elementary Today

Today, a person came onto school grounds without checking into the office, and he attempted to remove a car without permission.  He was detained by Upshur County deputies immediately.  No students were endangered during this incident.

Parent Night this Tuesday, January 14 from 6:00 - 7:30

Hey Parents,

What are you doing this Tuesday, January 14th? Come to the elementary school from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

See what the kids will be learning  in the spring semester. 

Every teacher will have class meetings with all parents from:

• 6:00 – 6:30 for PK classes
• 6:30 – 7:00 for Kindergarten , 1^st & 4^th  grade classes
• 7:00 – 7:30 for 2^nd and 3^rd grade classes.

3^rd and 4^th grade parents will learn about the STAAR test coming up this spring, and all parents will learn what kids need to do in January and February to improve in their reading, writing and math.

Win Brookshire's Gift Cards

We are also having a drawing for Brookshire’s gift cards.  Every parent that comes to the parent night and attends their child's homeroom parent meeting will have their name entered into the drawing.  Just make sure you sign in at your child's homeroom class.

Specials Classes on Display

 The music classes will be performing in the gym, and your student's art work will be on display in the hallways.  Science labs will be open for parents and students to do experiments together, and social studies projects will be on display for parents in the cafeteria  Art, science and social studies will be open as a come and go, while the music performances are at the times below.

Music Performance Times in the Gym. 

Be sure to take your child to music room 180 five minutes before the performance.

Grade	Kindergarten	1st  Grade	2nd Grade	3rd Grade	4th Grade
Class	Lopez & Griffin	Jones & Dodson	Wilson & Davis	Bishop & Jackson	Rivers & Low
Time	6:05-6:15	6:15-6:25	6:25-6:40	6;40-6:55	7:00-7:15

Intervention Labs will be Open

If your child goes to the intervention lab, please stop by and see what we are doing to help your child in the reading or math.  They are making great progress.

We will see you on Tuesday from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

January 1 Announcements

Happy New Year.  We finished 2013 in grand fashion with lots of great improvement in our learning and excellent parent involvement.  Before we know it, the semester will end on January 17.  Wow!

Parent Night - Tuesday, January 14 from 6:00 - 7:30

All parents are invited to see the great things the kids have done in their music, art, science and social studies specials classes and meet with their child's homeroom teacher to learn what students will be learning in the spring semester.  3rd and 4th grade parents will learn important information about the STAAR test and what students will need to do to pass the tests.  More information will come out next week.

What do Reading Levels Mean?

By the end of the semester, I want to show you where students should be at this time of the year in respect to their reading level.  Before you look at the table below, please know that reading growth differs from child to child.  The most important thing we must consider in reference to reading is that growth is just as important as the reading level.  If your child is below level, the question that must be asked is whether or not your child is making growth each six weeks.

Grade Level	2nd 6 Weeks Reading Level Range	Growth from previous 6 Weeks if reading level is below level
K	0 - 1
1st	6-8	Students should make 3-4 levels growth
2nd	18-20	Students should make 1-2 levels growth
3rd	23-24	Students should make 1-2 levels growth
4th	27-28	Students should make 1-2 levels growth

* Special Note - 30 is the highest reading level possible.

How can parents help their child improve in their reading?

• PK - 1st grade 
• Work with your child to help them know their letters, the sounds that they make, and be able to identify them quickly wherever you are. (grocery store, signs, cereal boxes, etc.)
• Students should practice reading every day for 10-20 minutes.
• Sight words are taught every day.  Ask your child's teacher for a list of sight-words.
• Use a wide range of vocabulary in regular conversation.  Vocabulary exposure is  key component to improving reading.
• Encourage your child to write.  Writing reinforces reading and vice-versa.
• 2nd - 4th grade
• Students should practice reading every day for 15-30 minutes.
• Spelling words are taught every week.  Ask your child's teacher for a list of spelling words.
• Use a wide range of vocabulary in regular conversation with your child.  Vocabulary exposure is a key component to improving reading.
• Encourage your child to write.  Writing reinforces reading and vice-versa.

Upcoming Events

Date	Event	Information
Mon, Jan 6	School  Resumes
Thu, Jan 9	Buckeye Book Club	Ms. Hooton, Mrs. Henry, and Ms. Scott’s classes, boys only, will meet in the Library from 4:00-5:15.
	College Day Progress Reports	Wear your college attire. Progress reports will be sent home.
Tue, Jan 14	Benchmark Week Parent Night	All students will be taking benchmark tests We will have a parent night from 6:00 - 7:30.
Thu, Jan 16	Early Release	Students will be released at 12:30 on this day.  Staff will work a full day.
	College Day	Wear your college attire.
Fri, Jan 17	Early Release	Students will be released at 12:30 on this day.  Staff will work a full day.
Mon, Jan 20	Martin Luther King Day	No School for students and staff
Tue, Jan 21	School Resumes	All students and staff will return to school.

Gilmer Elementary School Cafeteria Receives Superior Rating

This past Tuesday, Michael Olivas, a State monitor for the Texas Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Division for School Operations visited our campus.  During his visit, he audited all of our cafeteria functions from food preparation all the way to the end of the line when students throw their trash away.  His audit evaluates our adherence to federal and state food laws, and we are excited to report that Gilmer Elementary School received a perfect 100%.

Mr. Olivas said that a perfect score is rarely given to schools.  He also said that we would be receiving a congratulatory award from Texas Department of Agriculture for having an excellent review.  

Congratulations to Roberta Jones, GISD Food Director, Genise Maberry, GES Cafeteria Manager and all of our cafeteria workers for their commitment and dedication to providing all students and staff the healthiest meals in the cleanest cafeteria in East Texas.  Job well done!