Parent and Family News
September 25th, 2023
Monthly Parent Meeting
Monthly Meeting
- YWCA and afterschool program
- Mentoring
- Clubs
- Super Saturday - Trunk or Treat
- Questions and Answers
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88261442478?pwd=aMv2ch9SIalDkr6vEZRaJQs5J3Yiva.1
Meeting ID: 882 6144 2478
Passcode: 506858
Thursday, Oct 5, 2023, 05:00 PM
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RSVPs are enabled for this event.
Picture Day
All students will have their picture taken unless we are notified in writing that a child cannot sit for a photograph. These pictures are not shared unless we have signed permission from the family.
Envelopes were sent home this week.
Students must be in full uniform.
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2023, 08:15 AM
24 Westminster Avenue, Buffalo, NY, USA
Attendance 8:00 am - 2:45 pm
• Starting in preschool and kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
• Missing 10%, or about two days each month over a school year, can make it harder to learn to read.
• Students can still fall behind if they miss just one or two days every few weeks.
• Being late to school or leaving early may lead to poor attendance.
• Absences, tardiness, and early dismissals can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. Start building this habit early so they learn right away that going to school every day on time and staying for the whole day is important. Eventually, good attendance will be a skill that will help them succeed in high school and beyond.
Academic Corner
Encourage Daily Reading
Research shows daily reading helps children build reading comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. Consider these suggestions for supporting your child with daily reading:
Establish a Routine
Designate a specific time for your child to read a book at their level for at least 20 minutes every night. For example, set aside time for reading after dinner or before bedtime.
Create a Comfortable Reading Environment
Use pillows, lamps, and comfortable furniture to set up a cozy reading area in your home. Read your books there to model good reading habits.
Incorporate Fast and Fun Reads
Use magazines, newspapers, recipes, TV schedules, and road signs as reading opportunities. Incorporate quick reading whenever and wherever you and your child happen to be.
Read and Ride
Listen to audiobooks while traveling by car, so your child hears modeled fluent reading. Audiobooks can be downloaded from the library for free using the Libby app.
Read and Chat
Discuss the books that your child is reading. Ask questions such as: What was your favorite part? Who were your favorite and least favorite characters? Can you think of another ending?
Farm to Table Farmers Market
Wednesday, Sep 27, 2023, 09:00 AM
24 Westminster Avenue, Buffalo, NY, USA
DESSA
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
We are thrilled to let you know that we will continue to use the DESSA SEL Assessment Program with students this year. Over two decades of research has helped us understand the important roles social and emotional skills play in each child’s success in school, in the community, and, eventually, in higher education and the workplace. Skills such as demonstrating self-control, persisting at challenging tasks, making good decisions, and working well in groups are all necessary for being successful students and adults. The process by which students learn these and other similar skills is called social and emotional learning. To support our students in developing essential social and emotional skills that will help them become successful and responsible adults, we will be implementing a social and emotional learning program throughout our school.
As part of this program, our teachers will be using a tool called the Devereux Student Strength Assexrment, or DESSA, which was developed by the Devereux Center for Resilient Child This tool asks teachers to rate how often a student has demonstrated specific social and emotional skills in the past month.
Sample DESSA questions include:
• How often did the child keep trying when unsuccessful?
• How often did the child offer to help somebody?
• How often did the child get things done in a timely fashion?
• How often did the child work well in groups?
The purpose of the DESSA is to identify which social and emotional skills your child has already learned and what skills he or she might still need to develop. Our goal is to ensure that your child is continuously developing the social and emotional skills that they need for lifelong success. While the DESSA is just one component of our social and emotional learning program, we want to make sure that you are informed of our use of this instructional tool. We believe that the information gathered from the DESSA will be beneficial to your child’s overall success both inside and outside of the classroom.
Aperture Education publishes the DESSA. To view additional information about the DESSA, visit https://apertureed.com/dessa/
Sincerely,
Joe Fabiano, Counselor K-2
Julie Schaefer, Counselor 3-5
Linda Morgan, Counselor 6-8
Brianna Pumputis, Social Worker K-8