English - Kitayama Elementary - New Haven Unified School District

Tom Kitayama Elementary School
October 2009
New Haven Unified School District http://www.nhusd.k12.ca.us
~ PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE ~
Dear Kitayama Families,
Lisa Metzinger
Principal
Kitayama Elementary
1959 Sunsprite Drive
Union City, CA. 94587
Office 510.475-3982
Facsimile 510.475.3988
What’s Happening
October
14th – ELAC at 5:00
SSC at 5:30
PTA at 7:00
19th – PICTURE DAY
22nd – MODIFIED DAY
30th – HALLOWEEN
PARADE at 8:10 a.m.
November
1st – DAYLIGHT SAVINGS
TIME-FALL BACK
11th – VETERANS DAY
HOLIDAY
12th – GRADING DAY
17th – LIFETOUCH PICTURE
MAKE-UP
18TH AND 19TH PARENT
CONFERENCE DAYS AND
MODIFIED DAYS
23rd – 27th THANKSGIVING
BREAK
School Office Hours
7:30 – 3:30
Thanks to the support of the entire Kitayama community, we had a smooth and successful start to the
school year. Thank you to the PTA parents who supplied breakfast treats for parents who were waiting in
the office on the first day of school. What a wonderful way to welcome our new families. We currently
have over 800 students learning in our classrooms every day.
As you may have read, our API score improved by 35 points to 840. We are so proud of our
students, staff and families for this amazing accomplishment. This tells us we’re on the right
path. I’m certain that our continued focus on literacy will lead to more gains this year. Each
month, there will be an article describing what the children will be working on in literacy. This
will help you as you read and write with them at home. Our goal is to create independent
readers, writers and thinkers.
We held our annual Jog-A-Thon last Friday, and it was a huge success. The Kitayama
community came together to support our children in our biggest fundraiser of the year. I want to
thank everyone who helped, including the volunteers who came out to count laps and keep the
students hydrated, those who sponsored a student, and those who helped behind the scenes.
As mentioned in our first newsletter, we are cutting down on printing costs, so we will not be sending
home newsletters in the Thursday envelopes this year. Instead, all newsletters will be available on our
website at http://kitweb.nhusd.k12.ca.us. Hard copies are available in the office.
Sincerely,
Lisa Metzinger
~ LITERACY ~
Writing Workshop
In September, all students began the year with a unit
called “Launching” The purpose of this unit is to
teach children how to function in writing workshop.
Students learn how to behave properly during a mini
lesson, how to interact with peers, how to use their
writers’ notebook, how to get materials and supplies
for writing, and how to generate ideas. This unit is
very important, as it teaches students skills to be
independent writers, allowing them to write for 30
minutes on their own after receiving instruction
during a mini lesson.
In October, students will be working on writing
small moments (K-2) and personal narratives (3-5).
In both types of writing, students write about events
from their lives. You can help them generate and
collect ideas for writing. Have them list family
events, vacations, and celebrations that they could
write about. Ask them to share their writing with
you. All writers need an audience, and family
members make great listeners.
~ THANK YOU ~
Thanks to Safeway for donating ice and 1,600
bottles of water for the Jog-A-Thon.
~ PARENT INVOLVEMENT ~
School Site Council (SSC) and ELAC
At Back-to-School Night, we held SSC elections. I
am pleased to announce that Lillie Turner, Loren
Ellis, and Lorena Vierra were elected as our SSC
representatives. They join Eleanor Brown, Aileen
Agustin, and Nicole Pizani. All parents are
welcome to attend SSC meetings. The SSC makes
decisions about school policy and budget. Our first
meeting will be Wednesday, October 14th at 5:30
p.m. in our staff room.
In addition, we need parent involvement in our
English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC),
which meets before SSC at 5:00. ELAC makes
decisions about how to use resources to meet the
needs of our English learners.
PTA
The PTA is the parent group that helps to organize
the many fun events that happen at our site. If you
are interested in being involved the next meeting is on
October 14 at 7 p.m. All parents are encouraged and
welcome to attend.
~~~ UPCOMING EVENTS ~~~~~
~~~ SCHOOL CLIMATE ~~~~~
H1N1 Flu Update
We want to keep the school open to students and functioning in a
normal manner during this flu season. But, we need your help to
do this. Here are a few things you can do:
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Tell your children to wash their hands frequently with
soap and water, both at home and during the school day.
Consider purchasing a small container of hand sanitizer
for your child to use at school, and/or donating a
container to your child’s classroom.
Remind your children to cover their nose and mouth,
preferably with a tissue, when they cough or sneeze, and
to dispose of the tissue in a waste basket or trash can.
Make sure they know to use the elbow, arm or sleeve
instead of the hand when a tissue is unavailable.
Urge your children not to share personal items, such as
food, drink or unwashed utensils.
Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of
the flu include fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit, 37.8
degrees Celsius or greater), cough, sore throat, a runny or
stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired.
Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.
If a child is exhibiting flu like symptoms, or is otherwise
ill, please do not send him/her to school, nor should
sick children be sent to daycare. Any children who are
determined to be sick while at school will be sent
home.
Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no
longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using
fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with a fever at home will
reduce the number of people who may get infected. If the flu
becomes more severe, we may take additional steps to prevent
the spread such as:
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Conducting active fever and flu symptom screening of
students and staff as they arrive at school,
Making changes to increase the space between people,
such as moving desks farther apart, postponing class
trips, etc.
Dismissing students from school for at least 7 days if
they become sick.
For more information, visit www.flu.gov. Your may also call 1800-CDC-INFO for the most current information about the flu.
We will notify you of any additional changes to our school’s
strategy to prevent the spread of flu.
School Safety Drills
To ensure proper conduct and procedures in emergency situations,
Halloween Parade
The Halloween Parade will be held on Friday, October 30. It will
start at approximately 8:10 a.m. on the playground, weather
permitting. Please remember that costumes with any type of weapon
are not allowed. Thank you for your support in this matter.
~~~~~ DISTRICT NEWS ~~~~~
Free and Reduced Lunch Information:
NHUSD offers free or reduced price breakfast and lunch to students
who qualify. Families must complete an application for free or
reduced lunch every year. Students who received free or reduced
price lunch at the end of last school year will automatically be on the
program until October 12th. To able to continue in the program,
you must complete an application before October 9th.
Lunch Payments
To alleviate your child carrying cash to school, families can prepay
lunch meals for their child. Parents may pay on-line or in the
cafeteria. If you’re paying in the cafeteria, we ask that you wait
until after breakfast is served to make your payment. Once the
children are in their classrooms, we can devote all our energy to you.
Checks or cash are acceptable. To pay on-line, go to the district web
site at www.nhusd.k12.ca.us. Go to the “For our Parents” heading.
Then select “Food and Nutrition.” From there, select
“MyNutriKids” and follow the instructions. Whether paying in
person or on-line, it is important to keep the balance in the positive
to avoid negative charges
Bus Information
The bus schedule can be found in the main office. If you have
further questions regarding transportation, please visit the New
Haven website at: www.nhusd.k12.ca.us. Go to the "For our
Parents" heading. Under the "Transportation" heading, you will find
all the bus schedules listed by school site. Bus applications and a
section of "Frequently Asked Questions" can be accessed there as
well. The transportation department is always willing to help
parents with their questions at the Corporation Yard by calling
510/471-5559.