Rosendale Handbook - Niskayuna Central School District

Welcome to
Rosendale
A Parent Handbook
2013-2014
Important Contact Information
Principal - Miss Lauren Gemmill
Secretary - Mrs. Kathy Smith, Ext. 14701
Nurse - Mrs. Stacey Murphy, Ext. 14704
Rosendale Phone- (518) 377-3123
Rosendale Fax- (518) 377-1098
District Office- (518) 377-4666
Student Support Services- (518) 382-2525
Transportation- (518) 370-0160
Rosendale Website- http://www.niskD\XQDVFKRROVRUJ/rosendale/
Niskayuna Central School District main website- www.niskyschools.org
Visiting Rosendale
We love having family members visit and volunteer at Rosendale! For the safety of our students,
all visitors need to check in at the office upon entering school. During the hours between 8:15
a.m. and 1:45 p.m., all doors are locked. You will need to use our buzzer system to enter the
main office. We ask that all visitors sign into the visitor’s book and take a badge.
In order to keep interruptions to your child’s classrooms at a minimum, we ask that you leave
snacks, lunches, lunch money, birthday treats, instruments, or other items forgotten at home in
the office. We promise to deliver them in a timely manner. When musical instruments are
dropped off, we will place them on the racks in the designated areas.
Absences/Tardy
The school doors open at 7:45 a.m. each morning. Announcements begin at 7:55 a.m. If your
child arrives after 7:55 a.m. they will be marked “tardy”. The number of absences and times
tardy will be documented twice a year for you - once on the March report card and again on the
final report card in June.
When a child has reached an excessive number of days on which they have been tardy or absent,
a letter is sent home. The purpose of the letter is to keep parents aware and informed.
If your child is going to miss school, please call the school at 377-3123 and press 3 for the
nurse’s office. Please leave a message stating your child’s homeroom teacher, the date and time
and the reason for the absence. If you do not call us, we will call you to confirm that your child
is home and will not be coming to school.
While we certainly appreciate the value of family vacations, we ask that you try to avoid
scheduling vacations when school is in session. If you find that this cannot be avoided, please
note that classroom teachers will not be able to provide you with all of the instruction that
students will miss. Much of the instruction that takes place in the classroom cannot be sent
home.
Health Office
Health records are maintained for every child in the school district. New York State Education
Law requires physicals for every kindergartener, second grader and fourth grader. While it is
preferred that your own physician complete the physical, the school physician will provide
physicals for all children who do not have them. Immunization records (or the appropriate
medical or religious exemptions) are also required for all students.
Any treatments or medications administered at school, including over-the-counter products,
require a prescription from your child’s doctor. An adult must deliver all medications to school
in the original labeled container. Students may not transport medications.
Please note the following illness guidelines:
•
•
Children must remain home for 24 hours after the last incident of vomiting, diarrhea or
fever
Children being treated with antibiotics for contagious conditions must be treated for a
period of at least 24 hours before returning to school
Please notify the nurse of any special health considerations for your child.
Dropping off your children if they are not taking the bus in the morning
In order to drop off your child in the morning, enter the driveway and bear to the left. Before
entering the bus port, make a left turn into the side parking lot. An adult will be waiting to greet
your child by the flagpole. Please do not enter the bus port between 7:40-8:05 a.m. Many times
we have busses arriving early or late and it interrupts our bus drop off process. More importantly,
it also creates the potential for a dangerous situation since neither our bus drivers nor our
children are expecting cars to be in that area during that time.
Morning drop off can get very congested, especially on days when a grade level has a special
project or presentation due. Please note that you can pull up past the flagpole. This will allow
three cars to drop off at the same time. Please do not pass cars that are dropping off students as
that could create an unsafe situation for our students.
Please do not drop off students before 7:40 a.m., as there is no supervision before that time.
Picking up your children
Please send in a dated and signed note in the morning if you are picking up your child early for
an appointment or if someone other than you are picking up your child. In order to sign your
child out, you will need to come into the office, even if it is at dismissal time. If you are picking
up your child, please park in our parking lot. Please do not enter the bus port area after 1:45 p.m.
Bus
Over the past couple of years we have spent time working with our students on what good bus
behavior looks like and sounds like. It is our expectation that students abide by our bus safety
rules:
• Stay seated at all times
• Talk quietly
• Keep all parts of your body to yourself
• Always respect others and yourself
• You are responsible for your actions
Bus Passes
Bus passes should be sent in with your child whenever your child’s afternoon routine is going to
change. As an example: your child is going to a friend’s house or going to an alternate location
for the day. Bus passes are available from your child’s teacher or in the main office. When we
receive a bus pass from your child, one copy stays in their classroom and the other copy is sent to
the office. The copy in the classroom will be given to your child at the end of the day so that
they can give it to the driver. Students will not be permitted on another bus without a bus pass.
After School Bus Safety
It is our procedure to drop off kindergarten students door to door and to make sure that a parent
or adult is present at the drop-off time. If your child is in the position of realizing no one is home
after being dropped off, it is critical for him/her to know what to do. Here are some suggestions
we encourage you to consider and review with your child:
• Leave a spare key in a safe location for your child to use in an emergency situation.
• Place emergency contact numbers by the phone. If your child enters the house and is
alone, these numbers can be accessed easily and quickly.
• Review safety procedures (lock the door, don’t open the door for strangers, practice
having your child call your work/cell number or an identified family friend.)
The safety of our students is very important to us. Thank you for taking the time to develop a
family plan and for sharing in this important work.
Students who go to Daycare after School
When your child is not going to daycare either because they are sick or they are visiting a friend,
please remember to call the daycare and let them know so they don’t worry when your child
doesn’t arrive with the other Rosendale students.
Snack/Lunch
There is time for snack in every grade. Please remember to pack your child a healthy snack each
day. Water bottles are also encouraged, especially in the warm months.
All students have a thirty-minute lunch, along with a twenty-minute recess period. Children can
buy lunch or bring one from home. To prepay for lunches, send in a check made payable to
“Rosendale Cafeteria”. Put the check in an envelope labeled “lunch money” along with your
child’s name on it. You can also prepay for lunches at www.mySchoolBucks.com. Every child
is assigned a code and they simply key in their code to pay for lunch. If they forget their code,
the cafeteria workers will look it up for them. Cash is also accepted for individual lunch
purchases.
Children can buy “snack/dessert” at lunch. The cafeteria carries a line of snacks that are
available for purchase after all lunches are sold. Students need to eat their lunch before a snack
can be bought. Parents have the option of not allowing their child to purchase snacks. This is
done through, www.mySchoolBucks.com.
Students sit with classmates in the cafeteria. There is a “nut free” table for children who are
allergic to nuts. There is a separate table for each grade level.
Students are asked to raise their hand when they want to leave the cafeteria to use the restroom.
Playground Rules
At Rosendale, we go out as long as the weather cooperates. We value the opportunity for the
kids to get fresh air and physical activity during their recess break. Please remember to dress
your children for the weather. When it’s cold they must have hats, mittens and winter coats. If
you have a second pair of snow pants and boots available, your child can leave them at school
during winter months. It is always a good idea to label all clothes with your child’s name.
During the first week of school, students are reminded of the rules for the playground. Miss
Gemmill, teachers, teaching assistants and clerical assistants all discuss playground rules with
students. They are also posted in each classroom. The rules are listed below:
Please use the equipment in a way that is safe to you and others!
Remember to:
• Sit and only go down the slides.
• Sit with your whole body on the Merry-go-Round and stay on until is has stopped. Only
one person should push the Merry-go-Round at a time.
• Use the swings for swinging. Please don’t jump off of them.
• Only hang from the umbrella. Friends should not push someone hanging from the
umbrella. Please do not sit on top of the umbrella.
• Stay in the tunnels, not on top of the tunnels.
• Climb on the areas that are for climbing, not the outside of the ramps.
Balls and sports equipment should stay on the field and blacktop areas only.
Lacrosse balls, softballs, and baseballs should not be used at recess time.
Teaching and clerical assistants frequently remind students of the rules during recess. A loss of
playtime may result if a student is consistently not following the rules and/or is being unsafe.
Birthdays
Birthdays are announced daily during the morning announcements by Miss Gemmill. Students
are asked to come to the main office to receive their birthday pencil. Summer birthdays are
announced during the month of June.
Your child can bring in a special snack to share with the class on his/her birthday. Please check
with your classroom teacher in case there are allergies or other food restrictions. Birthday
celebrations typically happen during the classroom snack time and as such, we do not invite
parents and family members to attend.
We discourage birthday invitations being sent in to school. The Rosendale Directory is available
each fall. The directory provides parents with the contact information for students. This should
assist with setting up play dates and sending invitations from home.
Chorus
Chorus is part of the fourth and fifth grade instructional music program. It occurs during the
instructional day.
Orchestra and Band
Orchestra is offered to fourth and fifth grade students. Band is offered to fifth grade students.
Lessons occur during the instructional day. There are a few after school rehearsals throughout
the year.
What is ASEP?
ASEP is our After School Enrichment Program. Two different sessions run during the school
year- typically one in the fall and one in the spring. ASEP classes run from 2:15-3:15 p.m. The
fee for ASEP classes varies depending on the class for which your child enrolls. ASEP catalogs
come home with students before each session. The catalog has descriptions of all classes, days
of the week the classes are offered and registration information/fees.
PTO
We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful PTO! The PTO website is informative and can
be found at http://rosendale.niskypto.org/
PTO will have a great deal of information available at the Back to School Nights. There will be
an opportunity to sign up to volunteer at PTO events, to provide treats for classroom parties, as
well as to sign up to be a member of PTO and receive your Rosendale School Directory.
Overview of the Curriculum at Rosendale
Reading
Reading instruction at Niskayuna incorporates research-based practices that include both direct,
explicit instruction and opportunities for students to practice skills and strategies in authentic
reading experiences. Teachers plan lessons and units to include whole group, small group, and,
in some cases, one to one instruction. In addition, reading instruction is balanced to include
important components of literacy learning including: vocabulary and comprehension
development, decoding strategies, building fluency, sight word acquisition, and phonological
awareness development. Teachers have access to a variety of instructional tools, materials and
resources to design lessons that best meet the needs of the readers in their classrooms while,
building skills and competencies toward grade level NYS common core standard expectations.
Writing
Rosendale, in conjunction with all of the elementary schools in the district, has transitioned to
using the Writer’s Workshop model for writing instruction. The Writer’s Workshop model
focuses on writing instruction within different units of study. All students are taught writing
goals within a number of units throughout the year. These include, but are not limited to: a
launching unit, a personal narrative unit, a non-fiction unit, an opinion unit, as well as a unit on
short story. The learning goals of the units are aligned kindergarten through fifth grade, ensuring
that skills are progressing and building upon each other from year to year. These units also
provide instruction toward mastery of the grade level NYS common core standards for: types of
writing, writing process, language conventions, research and presentation of topics and stories.
The Writer’s Workshop embraces student choice. Students find the writing instruction
extremely motivating. Although they work within the set unit and are responsible for learning
three to five predetermined goals within each unit, students have choice as to the topics they
choose to write about.
The Writer’s Workshop approach is truly differentiated- meaning that every child is working at
their own developmental level. Although all students receive instruction around the unit goals,
they also conference individually with the teacher to insure that instruction is tailored to their
own needs.
Students spend about four to six weeks in each unit. During that time they are drafting and
revising their writing. At the end of the unit, each student chooses one piece that they bring
through the complete writing process. Students also publish writing in other content areas on a
regular basis.
Mathematics
Our math instruction is based on the New York State Common Core Learning Standards. A
primary resource teachers use is the textbook series, Math in Focus. Throughout the series,
concepts are taught moving through the sequence of concrete to pictorial to abstract. Concrete
learning happens through hands-on activities with manipulatives such as counters, coins, number
lines, or Base Ten Blocks™. Pictorial learning uses pictures in student books, drawings, or other
forms that illustrate the concept with something more than abstract numbers. The abstract stage
is the more familiar way most math problems are taught and practiced with numbers and
symbols. Rigorous problem solving is focused on in every chapter/unit of instruction.
(http://cathyduffyreviews.com/math/math-in-focus.htm)
In third grade, students are grouped based on their mathematical ability; however ALL students
participate in the grade level curriculum. There is no math acceleration in third grade. Grouping
is fluid and students are moved within the three third grade classrooms based upon their
instructional needs for each unit. Group placement in third grade does not determine group
placement for fourth grade.
During the summer between third and fourth grade, using a number of data points, Miss Gemmill
determines who will be offered the opportunity to participate in the accelerated math program.
The data points include: math scores from cumulative tests throughout the third grade year, the
Northwest Evaluation Association Measure of Academic Progress (NWEA- MAP), the third
grade New York State Math Assessment, and teacher recommendation. Parents will be notified
if their child is being offered the opportunity.
In both fourth and fifth grade, one teacher at the grade level teaches the accelerated class, while
the other two teachers teach the grade level curriculum.
Science
A brief outline of the topics explored at each level is below:
Kindergarten: Five senses, Promoting Good Health, Weather/Seasons, Animals, and Shadows,
Plants, Water play
First:
Seasons/Earth, Sky and Moon, Properties of Matter, Force and Motion,
Embryology
Second:
Chemical and Physical Interactions, Measurement, Plant Adaptations & Life
Cycles, Solar System
Third:
Earth & Weather, Phases of Matter, Forms of Energy, Comparing Life Cycles
Fourth:
Earth's Landforms, Properties of Matter, Electricity & Magnetism, Simple
Machines, Ecology: Plants & Animals
Fifth:
Ecology: Pond Life, Sound and Light, Looking at Liquids, Minerals
Social Studies
A brief outline of the topics explored at each level is listed below:
Kindergarten: All about me, All about my family, My classroom Community, Holidays
and Traditions
First:
Families, Traditions and Communities, Economics, Geography Skills
Second:
Communities, Geography Skills, Citizenship
Third:
Geography Skills, Countries
Fourth:
NYS History and Government, Geography Skills
Fifth:
Western Hemisphere, National Government, Geography Skills
Health
All Niskayuna elementary schools follow the same health curriculum. All lessons are done at a
developmentally appropriate level. This includes the content and vocabulary introduced and
taught. The curriculum is focused around six main units- Bullying and Violence Prevention,
Nutrition and Physical Fitness, Body and Growth Development, Self Worth and
Mental/Substance Abuse, HIV/AIDS Prevention.
Standardized Testing and Assessments
All students are assessed in the area of reading and mathematics with the electronic MAP
(Measures of Academic Progress) assessment. The assessment was first used at Niskayuna
during May of 2012. The results of the MAP are used to provide parents and teachers with a
cumulative picture of students’ achievement and growth. Parents receive the assessment results
each year in their child’s June report card.
Students may also be assessed with the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmarking Assessment System.
This assessment is formative in nature and helps teachers assess individual student’s areas of
strengths and weaknesses, as well as plan both small and whole group reading instruction.
Students in third, fourth and fifth grade take two New York State Assessments, one in the area of
English/Language Arts and the other in the area of mathematics. These assessments take place at
the end of April/early May.
Fourth grade students also take a New York State assessment in the area of science. The science
test is given at the end of May.
All New York State Assessment scores are sent directly to the home.