S.O.A.R Weekly

All Richmond Co. Schools are closed Friday, October 6th and Monday October 9th.

There is only one thing missing at FPS, you! We need parent volunteers to make this work. Statistics show that students perform better at school if their parents are involved. Please visit the following site to learn how you can help: https://www.smore.com/uhcs5

Parent Partners in Education - Knowledge is Power

Curriculum Map - https://rcboe-public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Public/View/Default

Standards Based Report Cards and Parent Guides - https://www.rcboe.org/Page/31026

ELA Parent Guides (all grade levels) - https://www.rcboe.org/Page/30338

Math Parent Guides (all grade levels) - https://www.rcboe.org/Page/8603

Welcome to FPS passport to knowledge. Student's use their cellphone to scan the QR codes to learn about different countries. Its a big small world.

Basics of Attention

Paying attention refers to the brain's ability to take all of the stimuli around us, immediately categorize and organize information as relevant or irrelevant, and focus the mind on one thing. For a child in a classroom, paying attention to the teacher means filtering out as many as 30 other students and the dynamics between them, visual or outside distractions, noises, and more.


This diversity of views comes in part from the fact that although paying attention may seem like an isolated task, it is an elaborate neurocognitive process. Consider everything that is stimulating your senses as you read this sentence. Perhaps there are background noises or a conversation nearby, the aromas of food or pangs of hunger, distractions in your peripheral vision, thoughts of things to do, recent conversations or events still fresh in your mind. Now consider another setting: listening to a class lecture or watching a film. Everyone has experienced a lapse in attention in such settings from time to time. But what if paying attention were a chronic challenge? For some students it is, and they are unable to focus no matter how hard they try.

Experience a visual distraction. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/experiences/attexp1a.html

Let's try to stagger our dismissal. If we do that, it may not be so busy at the end of the day and you may not feel the need to "invent" ways to make it a more pleasant experience. And because my last name starts with an "S" and I am use to being last, lets start backwards. If your last name starts with the letter "Q-Z" try to get to the school around 3:55. We won't release until 4pm, but you will be first and out by the time others come. If your last name starts with the letter "F-P" try to get to the school at 4:07. That is usually after the first wave. If your name starts with the letter "A-E" try arriving at 4:10. Lets see how this works for the remainder of this week. Lets see if more parking spots open up and if the car line is shorter. If not, we can go back to business as usual. Let's just try it to see if it relieves some of the pressure.

We need your help. As you can imagine, the morning intake, lunch, and dismissal are some of the busiest times of the day. How can you help? If you can help at any of these times, please call the front office.

Morning (8:20-9:00)

• Help ensure cars do not park or drop off students in the bus loading area.
• Help ensure students are walked across the street safely (parents should not be letting students out to walk across the parking lot).
• Welcoming students to school in a cheerful manner (high fives, encouraging words, etc).
• Cafeteria helper (breakfast).
• Help students in the morning car line and ensure parents pull as far up as possible to get parents off the street.
• Help teachers get students started (unpacking, passing out items, collecting items, etc.).
• Hall monitor.

Lunch (anytime between 10:55 and 1:20)

• Managing lines and tables.
• Helping students open items.
• Any other assistance teachers or food nutrition needs.

Dismissal (3:30 - 4:30)

• Help ensure cars do not park or drop off students in the bus loading area.
  
• Help ensure students are walked across the street safely (parents should not be letting students out to walk across the parking lot).
• Help students in the afternoon car line and ensure parents pull as far up as possible to get parents off the street.
  
• Help teachers get students ready for dismissal (packed, passing out items, etc.).
• Help teachers get students to designated dismissal area.
• Hall monitor.

We want to hear from you. What are some things you love about Freedom Park? What are some opportunities for improvement? Did you see something that you thought would be really great for our kids? Complete the survey to let us know: https://s.surveyplanet.com/BkuUBM9I-x