Principal`s Pen

Transcription

Principal`s Pen

THE SCOOP MADISON SIMIS ELEMENTARY | Issue 13, Volume 80
1
The Scoop
Madison Simis Elementary
An IB World School
April 3, 2015
EXTRAORDINARY LEARNING FOR ALL!
Principal’s Pen
This year’s Simis Odyssey of the Mind
teams:
Dear Simis Students, Parents, Families, Mrs. Weflen’s Team (4th grade)
Second Place Winners, Problem 2!
Friends, and Staff:

Mary (Ghanooni)
The Odyssey of the Mind Central

Ruby Waldron (Hubbs)
Arizona Regional Tournament was held  Maddie Schlesinger (Ghanooni)
on Saturday, March 10th, at Scottsdale  Emily Martinez (Bilger)
Community College. Simis had quite an  Beau Chapman (Cyment)
impressive showing: Of the six Simis

Nico Meetze (Ghanooni)
teams, five advanced to the state

Gabriel London (Long)
tournament in Tucson. Simis teams
won 1st place in two of the five probMs. Deihl’s Team (4th Grade)
lems. In Problem 5, we won 1st place in Second Place Winners, Problem 1!
all divisions.

Ashley Preston (Bilger)
Sixteen total schools competed with
multiple teams in the five problems in
Division 1 (grades 2-5). Approximately,
eleven Division 1 teams advanced to
State, and Simis teams were five of
those eleven teams.






Annie Winkler (Cyment)
King Turner (Bilger)
Savannah (Long)
Lily Trenbreth (Long)
James Brugger (Cyment)
David Orta (Ghanooni)
Ms. Peacock’s Team (3rd Grade)
OM presents a top award recognizing
First Place (Problem 2)& Ranatra Fusexceptional creativity. It is called the
ca Award Winners!
Ranatra Fusca Award and represents
Adam Peacock (Smalley)
the essence of the Odyssey of the Mind Bryce Swartz (Sotomayor)
program. It rewards risk-taking and out Miranda Khazai (Sotomayor)
-of-the-box thinking. This year’s
Ryan Jones (LaBrie)
Ranatra Fusca award presented in the
Mathew Haggart (LaBrie)
Central Regional Tournament went to a Blaire Lynch
3rd grade Simis team!
Sophia Wasserman (LaBrie)
Congratulations to the Kathryn
Peacock Team! This team won for
exemplary style and creativity.
(Continued on page 6)
It’s a
I was born in North Carolina in 1984
and grew up in Wisconsin. I moved
to Arizona in 2007. I taught 4th and
1st grades in the Glendale Elementary School District for five years before joining the Madison School District. I am passionate about animals
and insects. In fact, I recently got
married at the Phoenix Zoo! My favorite subjects to teach are math and
reading. I am looking forward to
many more years of teaching and
learning at Simis. Who am I? (see pg.
11 for the answer)
In This Issue:

Dress Code, pg. 2

IB Report, pg.3

1st Grade Thinkers, pg. 4

4th Grade Exhibition, pg. 5

Why Kids Misbehave, pg. 8

Check out Books, pg. 11
DRESS CODE
Spring is here and with the new season, come new clothes. Let us be mindful of our Simis Dress Code when it
comes to outfitting our students. Teachers are also held to a dress code.
As one of the top elementary schools in the state and an International Baccalaureate World School we expect all
our students to be ready to learn when they arrive on campus and that they are dressed for success. It is the
expectation that all students will wear an outfit that requires no further attention. It is clean, it is utilitarian, it is
safe and does not require adjusting.
Any mode of clothing or appearance that adversely impacts the educational process is unacceptable and will be
addressed by staff. A dress code violation might be issued and/or the student might be asked to change into
something that better meets the standards set.
Shoes
 Must be worn at all times.
 Heels, platforms, metal plates, cleats, flip flops, or wheels on shoes are prohibited.
Hair
 Is to be out of the eyes and of natural color only.
 Haircuts/styles that draw away from the educational process are prohibited.
 Should not be tall enough to affect the line of site of another student.
 No Mohawks.
Clothing
 Over and undersized clothing not permitted.
 Shorts and skirts must reach at least fingertip length.
 No frayed jeans or shorts.
 Tank top straps must be more than 1" wide (no spaghetti
straps).
 No half shirts, halter tops or see-through shirts.
 Should be free from inappropriate or offensive language,
symbols, or pictures.
Hats

Includes all head wear: hats, caps, bandanas, hoods.

Should not be worn inside any school building.
Miscellaneous:

No tattoos or writing on skin.

No false nails.

Modest jewelry that does not interfere with active play is
acceptable. No large or dangling earrings.
Dress Code Exceptions: Special occasions (spirit days or
loop celebrations) designated by a teacher, grade or school
(i.e. pajama day, wacky hair day).
2
3
IB Update—Melissa Powers, IB Coordinator https://sites.google.com/site/madisonsimisib/
April IB Learner Profile: Thinker
Thinker: We use critical thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on
complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
Our IB learner profile word for the month of April is Thinker! Perfect timing, since
this is the month our students will be taking the AZMERIT test. As they embark on
this new adventure in state testing, we are reminding our students to be thinkers.
Parents can also encourage their child to use their critical thinking skills to do their best on the test. Apart
from state testing, we also want our students to be thinkers on a global level. Students at Simis are learning
to take responsibility in what they are learning and to be big thinkers about difficult problems. I enjoy
watching our Simis Ambassadors help the first and second graders be thinkers when they facilitate problem
solving on the playground. The Ambassadors are trained to not solve the problems for the kids, rather to
help them think and come up with reasonable solutions.
Just because we are teaching our students to be thinkers, doesn’t mean that they should not also be challenged! We all can model good thinking skills by analyzing the world around us. Remember to be a thinker
and have fun discovering new things.
Kindergarten Teacher
Appreciation
Breakfast
Thank you to everyone who was able to help
out with the Kindergarten breakfast! The
breakfast would not be a success without the
support and dedication of Simis Parents!
Special thanks to Nikki Cox and Hissyfits for the beautiful fairy garden decor and the parents who helped make
it happen: Linda Chu, Aaryn Alonzo, Jennifer Peacock, Shawnee Doherty, Bob Pappanduros, Katey Sanchez,
Foresters, Andrea Hipps, Chavon Boston, Molly Mayfield, Eleazer Valadez, Jenn Waldron, Nicole Ramirez,
Shannon Kavanagh, Melisa Camp, Mikki Mitnick, Andrea Lopez-Kessler, Kim and Casey Robinson, Tara
Bethell, Alicia Therien, Sara Reimer, Laura DeLuna, Johanna Brosie, Jenny Elser and of course Doug Armstrong
for opening gates and doors at all hours! A final thank you to the unknown parent who came in and cleaned
everything up...whoever you are...THANK YOU!
We are First GradeThinkers!
100th Day Olympics
Ms. Atkinson’s class takes the
Marshmallow Challenge!
4
5
Fourth Grade Exhibition
Dear Simis Families,
As part of being an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, the fourth graders at Madison Simis
will be participating in an Exhibition. An exhibition is the culminating experience where our students have the
opportunity to exhibit the IB Learner Profile and Attitudes and all they have learned throughout their time at
Simis. It is an exciting, self-directed, process-driven project. It is not a science fair, a poster contest, or a competition. Students must use the PYP Transdisciplinary skills of communication, social, research, selfmanagement, and thinking skills. They will be engaging in a collaborative, transdisciplinary inquiry process that
involves them in identifying, investigating, and offering solutions to real-life issues or problems. Exhibition is a
celebration of whom our students are as learners.
Students will start brainstorming ideas and thinking about what types of current events they are passionate
about. They will spend the next six weeks researching and working on their inquiries. The children should use
their time at home to do further research and prepare for the work in class. The actual work should be done in
class so the teacher can keep track of progress. Each child has a PYP Exhibition Student Packet to record every
step of the process. This year groups of students will also have adult mentors who will help guide them along
the process.
How can parents help? Parents can: ask your child about the Exhibition; support and encourage your child;
provide background knowledge; help to locate resources (people, places, media, and information); celebrate
with the students by attending the final presentation on April 29th. The presentations will be during the day
and in the evening at school.
How do we assess the work? Exhibitions are the best way to measure learning because they put the students
right in the midst of their learning. We assess the process more than the product. Students are expected to
write in their Exhibition Student Packet to show how their thinking and goals are evolving. Remember, the
Exhibition is a celebration of how your child is as a learner.
Sincerely,
The Fourth Grade Teaching Team
Thank you 2nd Grade
Dear 2nd Grade Students, Parents, and Teachers,
Thank you so much for all of your hard work and support during our "What
a Wonderful World" program. Your hard work really paid off. Thanks also
for the beautiful flowers, wonderful notes, and Spinato's gift cards. The
flowers reminded me of you all through Spring Break. I love Spinato's and
now I can have many wonderful dinners there with my family. Thanks for
your generosity and I look forward to our future musical experiences.
Sincerely, Joshua Block
Principal’s Pen
(continued from page 1)
Mr. Carson Bilger’s Team (3rd Grade)
First Place Winners, Problem 5!
Ivana Grgic (Brewster)
Sam Luba (Brewster)
Jeffrey (Sotomayor)
Colin Lifshitz (Sotomayor)
Brianna Stenke (Sotomayor)
Sabrina Case (Sotomayor)
Addison Case (Sotomayor)
Mrs. Rukanzakanza’s Team (3rd Grade)

Daniel Lowton (Brewster)

Carmen Duerinckx (Sotomayor)

Skye Goodman (Brewster)

Student name withheld

Jessa Jacobs (Brewster)

Emerson Dominguez (Killin)

Cole McLaughlin (Smalley)
Ms. Morrison’s Team (2nd Grade)
Second Place Winners, Problem 3!

Jason Morrison (Guggisberg)

Avery (McCarthy)

Sebastian Hoskins (McCarthy)

Ian (Watt)

Katherine Wazny (Harding)

Annabelle (Watt)

Kaylee Lewis (McCarthy)
Simis has really been done proud by the accomplishments of these young men and women and
we would like to congratulate them!
6
ST
1
7
GRADE MUSIC PROGRAM
April 9th at 6 p.m.
Dear First Grade Parents,
I am writing this letter to give you some details about our first grade music program. The program is entitled “Animal
Planet: Wild Songs for Little Creatures.” As the title suggests, we will be singing many different animal songs.
Hopefully you have heard some of the songs that we have been practicing already. The first graders have enjoyed learning these songs, and I know you will enjoy seeing them performed. At Simis we work hard to include all students in the
music program. All students will have an instrument part and will sing on all the songs. There will also be parts in the
game songs as well as singing and speaking parts, which are mentioned below.
Now, I need your help!
This program has many opportunities for solos and speaking parts. The solos are parts of the songs we are learning in
class. The speaking parts introduce the songs and give some information their origins. I will be assigning the solos and
speaking parts during music class. If your son or daughter receives a part, please rehearse with her/him so that they feel
very confident for the performance.
To help enhance the experience, we are asking that children wear a simple animal costume. A plastic hair band with
some construction paper ears attached would be great. Whiskers can be drawn on with an eyeliner pencil. If you already
have an animal costume at home, that would also be appropriate.
Our dress rehearsal will be Wednesday, April 8th at 8:00 a.m. Please send your child to school that day wearing his/
her costume along with school clothes for afterwards.
Decorating committee: Kristen Baker will be coordinating the decorating committee. If you would like to help
Kristen transform our cafeteria into a wild scene please contact her: [email protected].
On the night of the program, doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Parking is always an issue at Simis. Please carpool if possible.
The students will be meeting in their classrooms at 5:45 p.m. Prepare to enjoy a great show!
Thanks for all your help!
Joshua Block
Simis Music
[email protected]
8
Drink Pouch Brigade® Milestone Program Update
Recycle
&
Win
Simis is very close to reaching the final milestone for
collecting 200,000 drink pouches since 2013. By
becoming the first school to reach this milestone,
Simis will win a playground made from recycled
drink pouches courtesy of TerraCycle. Please consider collecting these drink pouches and dropping
them off in the cafeteria.
Collect from:
Sports events
Birthday Parties
Classroom Parties
Picnics
Green Team Volunteers Needed for the 2015-2016 School Year. If you’re interested in
volunteering and/or being Chair of the Committee, please contact Gisel Trevino at (480) 6124076 or email [email protected]
9
Why Children Misbehave?
A common question I receive is, “why is my child defiant?” or “why does my child
misbehave?” These are valid questions to ask, and is the first step in wanting to
remediate your child’s defiant behavior. I thought it might be helpful to explain a
model for understanding a child’s misbehavior so that you as a parent, might be
able to answer the question, “why does my child misbehave?” In the next Scoop,
I’ll offer some suggestions for how to remediate a child’s defiant behavior.
Research has identified four major causes for children misbehaving, which
include, a child’s temperament, parent characteristics, situational consequences,
family stress events, as well as the reciprocal interaction among these factors.
1. Child’s Temperament—Temperament refers to a child’s activity level (e.g.
hyperactive, inattentive), general attention span, emotionality (e.g. cries easily,
hard to console) and irritability, sociability, response to stimulation, and habit regularity (e.g. a child is a picky eater, has
shorter than normal sleep patterns). Some children are born with a certain predisposition toward negative temperament, low frustration tolerance, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and even more serious difficulties such as thought disorders
and intellectual delay that can cause conflict between the child and parent very early in their development. In a society
that values controlled, well-channeled activity levels, sustained attention, emotional regularity, and predictable regularity of habits that leads to easy caregiving, an infant or child who seriously deviates from this is more likely to have negative parent/child interactions.
2. Parent Characteristics—A parent’s own characteristics play some role in the development or maintenance of
behavior problems in their child. Some characteristics that parents have that may contribute to difficulties in managing
their child’s behavior include, health and/or physical problems, emotional difficulties, mental illness, problems with
attention span, impulse control, eating, moodiness, or sleeping patterns.
3. Situational Consequences—Children do NOT misbehave without cause or reason; that is, a child’s behavior is
NOT random, but is a learned response to a consequence occurring immediately after a child misbehaves! First,
many children misbehave to gain rewards. For example, we have all seen the child in the grocery store screaming to his/
her parent begging for a candy bar. The parent, who is often embarrassed, frustrated, and angry with their child, often
relents and gives the child a candy bar in an effort to calm them down. The problem is that this child has just learned that
if he/she screams in a store, they are able to obtain a reward (in this case, a candy bar). The child does not need to be
successful all the time in gaining positive rewards in order to show disruptive, noncompliant, or oppositional behavior to
most commands. Even if a parent only sometimes gives in to buying the candy bar for their defiant child, the child has
still learned that being defiant in public will result in a positive reward. Children might also misbehave in order to avoid
or escape unpleasant, boring, or effortful activities (e.g. chores, cleaning their room, doing laundry, going to school).
4. Family-Stress Events—Stress within the family is another common factor that can contribute to a child’s behavior
problems. Some common stressors such as family health problems, marital discord, financial troubles, behavior problems with other children in the family, employment difficulties, and problems with friends can all create an emotional
climate in the home where child oppositional behavior may flourish, in part because stress affects the manner in which
parents both receive and deal with everyday child management problems.
Although each of these four factors contributes directly to creating or sustaining noncompliant behavior in children,
they can often interact with each other to create further difficulties in the family. For example, a parent’s medical problem can influence the family’s financial situation, which itself may then affect the parents’ marital relationship. This
stress may then manifest in the parent negatively interacting with his/her child (e.g. becoming more irritable or angry)
and thus exacerbates a child’s likelihood of misbehavior. Understanding these four factors and how they interact with
each other in your family home is the first step to remediating your child’s misbehavior!
Barkley, R. A. (2013). Defiant children: A clinician’s manual for assessment and parent training (3 rd ed.). New York, NY, US: Guilford
Press.
2014-2015 Simis
Yearbook
Every year the PATS Yearbook Committee works diligently to create a
unique book to capture the events of the school year. We are currently
accepting pre-orders for the 2014-15 Simis Yearbook. Now until May 1,
2015, purchase a yearbook online for only $20.00 each! After May 1st,
yearbooks will be sold for $25.00 each and will not be available for
purchase online.
Two ways to Pre-Order Your Yearbook:
Order your yearbook and pay online, by going to: http://shop.simispats.com/Simis-Yearbook_c2.htm
Download the 2015 yearbook order form, fill it out, and turn it in at the front office, with your child’s
teacher, or by mail. Make your order selection and enclose payment of either a check made payable to
PATS or exact cash. Sorry no CODs. A separate envelope/order form is required for each student.
10
11
PUBLIC/LEGAL NOTICES
Information Regarding Homeless Students
Students are considered homeless if they are: In a shelter, motel, vehicle, or campground; on the street; in
an abandoned building, trailer or other inadequate accommodations; or doubled up with friends or relatives
because they cannot find or afford housing. If children are homeless they have certain rights or protections
under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act. These protections include the right to: go
to school, no matter where they live or how long you have lived there; be enrolled immediately without birth
certificates, immunizations or school records; attend school while the school arranges for the transfer of
school and immunization records or any other required documents; enroll in school without giving a permanent address. Schools cannot delay enrollment; continue in the school they attended before becoming
homeless or the school they last attended; and receive transportation to and from the school they attended
before becoming homeless or the school they last attended, if requested. If you have questions or concerns,
please contact your local school office.
Información con respecto a Estudiantes sin vivienda
Los estudiantes son considerados sin vivienda si ellos están: en refugios, vehiculo de motel o en campamentos;en las calles; en un edificio abandonado, remolque u otro hospedaje inadecuado; viviendo con
amistades o parientes porque no pueden encontrar o no puede pagar vivienda. Si los niños no tienen donde
vivir, ellos tienen ciertos derechos o protecciones bajo el Acto de Asistencia Educativa de estudiantes sin
vivienda McKinney-Vento. Estas protecciones incluyen el derecho a: Ir a la escuela, sin importar donde viven o por cuanto tiempo han vivido allí; m tricularse inmediatamente sin certificado de nacimiento, cartilla de
vacunas o documentos escolares; asistir a la escuela mientras la escuela hace los arreglos de traspaso de escuela y documentos de vacunas o cualquier otro documento requerido; matricularse en la escuela sin dar una
dirección permanente. Las escuelas no pueden demorar la matriculación; continuar en la escuela que asistieron antes de quedarse sin vivienda o a la última escuela a la que asistieron; recibir transporte hacia y de la
escuela que asistieron antes de quedarse sin vivienda o a la última escuela a la que asistieron, si lo
solicitan. Si tiene preguntas o comentarios, por favor comuníquese a la oficina de su escuela local.
Title I Schools
The federal government provides assistance to schools serving students from high-poverty backgrounds
through the Title I program. Madison School District has a number of schools served through the Title I
program. Simis is not a Title I School. As part of the change in federal law, parents of students attending
the Title I schools may now request information about the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teacher. Specifically, parents may request information about:
 Whether the teacher has met criteria for the grade levels and subject areas taught;
 Whether the teacher is teaching under an emergency credential or license, or other provisional status;
 The baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any graduate degree held by the teacher, and the
field of discipline of that degree; and
 Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and if so, their qualifications.
If you would like to know the qualifications of your child’s teacher or paraprofessional, please contact (602)
664-7900.
12
Check Out a Library Book from Home
The Madison School district has thousands of electronic books (ebooks)
available in the Simis Library catalog? Every student has been assigned a
username and password to access these books at any time – even from
home! Here’s how:

Go to the Simis homepage http://www.madisonaz.org/simis-

elementary/
At the top of the page, click the “parent” tab, then “library catalog”

Click “login” at the top of the library page

Have your student enter their login information (student log in is the
same as their classroom computer log in)

At the top of the page click “Follett Shelf” (All titles here are ebooks.)

Click on a title – then you can either “open” the
book or “checkout” the book (loan period is 5 days)
Contact Us
We want to hear from
you! Please let us know
how we can best serve
your student:
Madison Simis School
7302 N. 10th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85020
(602) 664-7300
Visit us on the web at
www.madisonaz.org
For Simis PATS:
www.simispats.com
Articles for the Scoop:
[email protected]
Any questions, please contact Mrs. Howgard in the
Library at [email protected]
Mystery
Solved!
Did you guess:
3rd grade teacher
Mrs. Martinez
(a.k.a. Ms. Cochrane)
We hope that everyone had a great Spring Break and is as refreshed
and ready for this semester as we are! For the month of April, After
COOL Fitness will be playing Snow Ball Kickball, a fun version of kickball that gets the whole outfield involved on each kick. Our coaches will
also play Blob Tag and Skunk Tag. The students will practice their football skills in Go Fish.

Principal`s Pen

Transcription

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