January 2017

Washington Elementary School “Parent Newsletter” 2400 Cardinal Drive, East Chicago, IN 46312 www.scec.k12.in.us 219.391-4077 Dear Washington Cardinal Family: Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. Students are now in the 2nd semester of the school year. They will be getting ready for a variety of standardized testing. Parent Informational Sessions will be held to inform parents what testing their children will be taking and how you can help your child at home. We are excited about the second half of the school year. The Parent Group has a variety of activities planned for the remainder of the school year. Please visit the Family Resource Room #136 to find out how you can make a difference by volunteering at our “Cardinal Home”. The Family Resource Room has a variety of information available, community resources and volunteer opportunities. Se habla espanol. All information is kept confidential.

Tiffany Hill Attendance Officer

Greetings, As the new attendance officer here at Washington Elementary, I plan to improve our schools overall attendance percentage. However, I will need tremendous support from the parents. It is essential that your child attends school every day. According to Indiana state law, a child must be present for 95% of the school year. In order for your child to achieve the 95% attendance rate, they can only miss 9 days of school for the entire school year. Currently, our school’s overall percentage is approximately 93%. With your assistance and several new programs implemented I know we can achieve this goal. Beginning in January an incentive program, “The Traveling Trophy” will be introduced. Classes with the highest attendance percentage, per grade level, will be awarded a trophy. Each month the trophy will travel based on attendance results. The classes that have the highest percentage at the conclusion of the year will win a pizza party!! I believe this motivates our children to attend school consistently. Other rewards such as dress down days, certificate of recognition for both students and parents, and enrichment Fridays will also contribute to encouraging perfect attendance. Please remember when a child is absent, he or she misses vital information needed for learning and achieving academic goals. Daily attendance is also imperative for passing standardized tests. I look forward to making a difference here at Washington Elementary with your help. Thank you!!

Upcoming Events in February February 6 Valentine Shop February 10 Family Sweetheart Ball (Mother/son, Father/Daughter, Rolemodel) $15.00 couple/$5.00 additional (includes dinner, dance and entry to raffles) deadline February 3rd Pictures optional

From the desk of: Lisa Gary-Jones, Social Worker MSW, LSW, ACSW,

Happy New Year!!!! Washington Elementary is covering the character traits of Truthfulness and Boldness for the month of January. The definitions are as follows: 

Truthfulness: Earning future trust by accurately reporting past facts



Boldness: Confidence to say what is true, right, and just

Our children need to know that being honest with others is crucial. Honesty allows them to build positive relationships with others at home, school, and within the community. Being bold enough to be truthful, and engage in positive decision making only serves to make our children well rounded students and citizens. When our students are courageous enough to say and do the right things, it builds a great foundation for a positive future. Who better to support these efforts than parents, teachers, and school support staff? When we, home and school, encourage our children to strive daily for the positive, they can “feel” love, care, and concern all around. Take the time to go over these traits with your children, and see if they can give you situations when they have or plan to demonstrate the traits. Thank you for your partnership on this academic journey, it is very much valued and appreciated!!! Martha Purcell ENL Specialist WIDA –World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment. Los estudiantes comenzarán a tomar una prueb o evaluación llamada WIDA. Las letres WIDA significan –Diseño Mundial de Instrucción y Evaluación. Esta evaluación qué nivel de Inglés su siño es competente. .

ISTEP+ Este año escolar también hay una nueva evaluación ISTEP. Se nos ha dicho que esta nueva evaluación ISTEP es un poco más dificil que la prueb de antes pasado Los estudiantes tienen que tomar esta eval,uación seria y prepararse para ell. Padres de familia, les pedimos que apoyen y alenten a sus hijos prepararse y estudidar. La mayoria de los maestros han comenzado a dar el trabajo

De la escuela para ayudarlos a prepararse para esta preuba que viene. Padres, por favor ayude a sus hijos a estar listos para la escuela. Tenerlos que coman un desayuno saludable, y que se que se van a dormer a un tiempo apropiado para que esten descansado los dias del ISTEP. Padres de familia, por favor lláamenos, yo la señora Purcell o la señora Alvarez si tiene cualquier pregunta o preocupación.

Renee Juscik – Instructional Coach ISTEP PART 1 Applied Skills - the open-ended response portion (where the students write out their answers) of the state assessment is right around the corner. The ISTEP+ Part 1 window is from February 27, 2017 through March 10, 2017. Helping students to build their endurance or stamina to stay focused from start to finish on the test is key. Even if your child is not at the grade levels that take the ISTEP (grades 3-6), it is never too early to start building stamina and endurance. Parents can assist by:      

Setting aside daily time for reading. This time should lengthen as per the age of the child. Start small and gradually “build up” the time spent on daily. Making reading an enjoyable family activity that involves as many family members as possible. Removing distractions. Turn off electronic devices during reading time. Try to create a quiet environment. Encouraging children to stay focused and “on task” during reading time. Building endurance requires staying on task. The child should avoid “wandering” and remain seated. Having books easily accessible in your home. Visit the East Chicago Public Library. Remember the “to, with, and by” rule. Make time to read to your child and with your child. Finally, the child needs time to read by himself/herself. If your child has difficulty reading alone, try reading every other page aloud to your child and gradually lengthen the independent reading time.

A test taking strategy that our teachers are using with our students for the English Language Portion of the test is called R.A.C.E. The RACE Strategy involves answering open-ended response questions. Parents can help children at home by reviewing this strategy as your child completes reading response questions on class/homework assignments. The steps to the strategy are:  STEP #1 RESTATE the question. Reread and restate the question in your topic sentence.  STEP #2 ANSWER the question that is being asked. Use your answer to write your topic sentence.  STEP #3 CITE evidence from the text. Use examples and evidence from the text to support your answer.  STEP #4 EXPLAIN your answer. Explain how the EVIDENCE from the text supports your answer. For example, you may use the sentence starter “These quotes show that…” or “This supports the statement…” Parents are a huge support for students when taking tests. Please encourage your child to do his/her personal best when taking any test. We know a partnership with Home and School goes a long way in your child’s academic success.