Parent Connection

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! August kicked the year off to a great start. Teachers were excited to meet their students, and students were excited to return to school! Attendance Matters, make sure your child(ren) are present every day! Each month we will highlight a skill(s) in Reading, Math, and Speech. Also, in this newsletter you will find additional resources via links. If you are not able to locate a resource or would like additional information, please reach out to your local school. I want to thank you for all that you do to make your child's education possible, we could not do it without you!

Thanks,

Dr. Bruce Prescott

The Tuscaloosa City Schools are attempting to find and identify individuals from birth to 21 years of age who have disabilities or are suspected to have disabilities and are in need of special education services.

Child Find is a program designed by the State Department of Education and the Department of Rehabilitation Services to help those who are in need of special education services.

Parents of disabled children or anyone knowledgeable of disabled children who may need special education services should contact the Director of Special Education in the Special Education Department at (205) 342-0513 for ages 3 through 21 or 1-800-543-3098 from birth until 2 years of age. For more information you may also contact the Alabama Relay Service at 1-800-548-2547.

September

2 Labor Day: School Closed

8 Grandparents Day*

9-13 National Arts in Education Week*

15- Oct. 15 Hispanic Heritage Month*

17 IT Professionals Day #ITProDay*

October

1-31 National School Principals Month #ThankAPrincipal*

2 National Custodian Appreciation Day*

9 Walk and Roll to School Day #BiketoSchoolDay*

9 Parent Visitation Day Elementary School*

10 Parent Visitation Day Middle School*

10-11 World of Works*

14 Staff Planning Day/ No School for Students

17 Parent Visitation Day High School*

14-18 National School Lunch Week #NSLW24*

16 National Boss's Day*

21-25 National School Bus Safety Week #NSBSW*

22 e-learning for 9th and 11th graders (Pre ACT Testing for Grade 10 and WorkKeys for Grade 12) Subject to change

23-31 Red Ribbon Week #RedRibbonWeek*

24 Lights on Afterschool*

*Look for information coming from your Child(ren) School.

10 Activities to do with Sight Words

1.Shine a light on it!

Tape index cards with sight words on them on the ceiling or on a wall. Use painter’s tape so it doesn’t damage the wall. Turn the lights off, and have your child shine the light on a word and read it.

Or, leave the lights on and call out a word. See how quickly your child can find that word and shine a light on it. Kids love this fun game that’s perfect for the 5-10 minutes before bedtime.

2. Hop to it!

Create a hopscotch board with painters tape indoors or sidewalk chalk outdoors. Place a sight word in each square. As your child hops along the board, have them read the sight word.

The great thing about this game is that it promotes active learning and it focuses on just 8-10 words at a time which is the perfect size list!

3. Time yourself!

Use a sand timer or stopwatch. Have your child read a sight word list and time himself. Do it again and try to beat the previous time. Your child can also play “Beat the Clock” by trying to get through an entire list before the timer runs out.

Remind your child (and yourself) that SPEED + ACCURACY = FLUENCY!

4. Clap, Spell, Chant!

Clap the word, spell it letter by letter as you clap, then chant the word again! For extra fun add different kinds of voices and voice levels.

Shout it. Whisper it. Chant it in a baby voice. Or use a cowboy voice. Simply put, make it fun!

5. Write it!

You’ll love this sight word activity. Pour salt or sugar in a shallow plastic tray. Let your child “write” the word in the sugar or salt. This is actually a Montessori technique that works great because your child is learning the word through movement, texture, and sight!

At different times of the year, change up the writing medium to match the season. Use shaving cream to represent snow in the winter. Use colorful sprinkles at Christmas time. Anything goes with this fun sight word activity.

6. Stick to it!

Purchase magnetic letters at the dollar store and put them in a bowl. Have your child spell words using the magnetic letters. They can stick the letters to the fridge or even to a cookie sheet!

Or use a tin lunch box for a portable letter holder and magnet board. Kids love this, and it’s a great way to keep the magnetic letters organized and all together.

7. Scoop it up!

Write sight words on index cards and bury the cards in sand, corn kernels, etc. Have your child use a scoop to get a sight word and read it. Again, you can change out the material based on the season.

You could even add the sight word cards into a sensory bin with several different materials. This sight word activity will be played again and again!

8. BINGO!

Program blank BINGO boards with sight words. Call out a word and have your child find it and place a bingo chip, color square, etc. on it.

For a seasonal twist, use fun items for the Bingo chips. Mini erasers from The Target Dollar Spot make great chips. You could use Hershey Kisses at Valentine’s Day and mini presents from the Dollar Tree at Christmas. Anything that will fit on the Bingo square is great!

9. Go Fish!

Another fun sight word activity for parents to do at home is sight word fishing. Print the fish on colored card stock. Write a sight word on each fish, and attach a magnet to it. Use a fishing line on a dowel rod to “fish” for and read words. Be sure there’s a strong magnet at the end of the fishing line to “catch” the fish!

10. What’s the password?

Make a Sight Word Password for each room in your house. Tape the sign on the door. Your child must read the word to enter the room.

You can do this fun game with letters or numbers, too. Be sure you use painters' tape, so you don’t damage your walls or doors.

Source: FREE Sight Word Activities You can Use at Home | Just Reed & Play (justreedblog.com)

Tips for Math at home

• Provide activities that enrich and relate mathematics to daily life:

• Talk about how many bowls to put out for dinner

• Fold napkins in different shapes

• Have your child count similar items as you put away groceries

• Have your child help measure ingredients for recipes

• Give your child change to count out to pay for small purchases at the store; have older children calculate the change

• Ask your child to compare prices of items by asking things like, “Which can of beans costs more?”

• Allow your child to weigh the fresh produce; have older children calculate the price by multiplying the price per pound by the number of pounds

• Read the days and dates on a calendar, talk about the number of days in the month, the number of days remaining until a special event, etc.

• Draw a scale map of your home and determine the best escape route in case of an emergency

• When traveling, write numbers on a grid and have your child color in the box as they see the numbers on signs or license plates

• Check your child’s assignment list daily

• Monitor daily work and be aware of the content being studied

• Use computer software or online games or apps to practice math skills at home

• Provide some math activities at home:

• Each person rolls the dice and adds, subtracts, or multiplies the numbers

• Dice and Money. Each person rolls a die and gets the number of pennies as dots shown. When someone gets five pennies they trade it in for a nickel, dime, and so forth, until they’re trading for a dollar

• For two people, give each person 13 cards from a deck of cards, have each person flip a card, then have your child decide whose card has the higher value to determine who wins the set of cards. In a tie, place three additional cards face-down, then turn the last card up; the higher card on that turn wins all the cards. Play until one person has all the cards in the deck

• Newspapers and Magazines. Find numbers in print and cut them out, then glue them in the correct order onto a larger sheet of paper

• Keep empty containers, write different prices on them, then play Store by using a calculator to add up the prices for different purchases

Source: Parent strategies for improving their child’s math - Teach. Learn. Grow. (nwea.org)

Helpful Tips from the TCS Speech Team:

A wonderful way to support your child’s speech and language skills is through books. For students working on speech sound production (articulation), have your child find words in the book that have his/her targeted speech sounds. Then have your child try to practice that word 2-3 times. Students working on fluency can practice his/her smooth speech strategies while reading or retelling the story. For students working on language skills, books provide multiple opportunities to work on receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language skills. You can ask WH questions to your child about the story, find words in the story the child is unfamiliar with and look up the definitions, have the child retell the story, and discuss the characters feelings in the book.

There are fantastic read alouds of these books on youtube if you do not have access to the book.

Below are some fun ways to practice speech/language skills in the car:

Play I-Spy -Start this activity by describing items that you see (i.e., I see something that is green and is found on the ground). Once your child has guessed the correct item, encourage them to describe items too.

I Spy Articulation- To practice their targeted sounds, have your child look out the window and find items that contain their speech sound they are targeting in therapy. For example, if their target sound is /k/, they may see a can or a car. Have them say the word 3 times.

Categories Game- Ask your child a variety of questions regarding categories (i.e., Name 3 pets, 3 things that are red, 3 zoo animals, etc). This encourages them to think of vocabulary in terms of groups and categories.

ABC Game- Take turns with your child naming an item that begins with the letter of the alphabet. For example, you can say “A is for Apple” and then ask your child to think of an item for letter B. Or if your child is working on speech sound, play only thinking of words with their speech sounds.

There are lots of ways that you can support your highly able child at home.

1. Trust your child as a learner

Let them take the lead with their own homework, for example: you might feel that they're being sloppy and not making an effort, but it's important that they learn to organise themselves and manage their own learning. If you help with projects or homework, encourage critical evaluation and conversation (be a ‘critical friend’).

2. Keep informed about what your child is being taught in school

There are lots of ways to do this, ranging from talking to your child about what they're learning and whether they're enjoying it and finding it challenging, to regular meetings with their teacher or gifted and talented lead.

3. Remember learning can and should be enjoyable

It doesn't have to mean ploughing through textbooks and worksheets; you could, for example, extend their learning by encouraging them to find (reliable) YouTube videos about their class topic, using games-based learning strategies like apps and board games, or visiting museums that are relevant to what they're learning.

4. Let your child see YOU learning new things

Share your own enthusiasms, and be a learning example: don't be afraid to say you don't understand something or that you make mistakes. Getting things wrong takes courage but will help your child become a more resilient learner who doesn't get discouraged or upset if something doesn't work out.

5. Keep an eye on their mental health

Highly able children sometimes lack confidence. They might feel bored at school, which could lead to disruptive behaviour. They might be overly perfectionist and beat themselves up if they get something wrong. They may even be bullied. Encourage them to mix with other children in and out of school, talk to them about how things are going, and don't hesitate to seek help from the school or their GP if you have concerns.

6. Don't be too pushy

No one imposes more pressure on themselves to be perfect and to succeed than the gifted child. Your role is to support, not pressurise.

7. Let them be a child

However bright your child is, they are still a child, without the benefit of your adult experience and understanding of the world. Don't expect them to be mature beyond their years, or to always be sensible and rational. It's also vital to remember that even the most exceptional children need to sing silly songs, play outside, watch television and do all the things that children enjoy doing.

Source: Supporting your gifted child at home and at school | TheSchoolRun

Parents of high school students in grades 11 and 12 should contact the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services(205-554-1300) for the purpose of completing an application for adult support services. I also recommend that parents consult with ADRS about postsecondary service possibilities and procedures.

Transportation services may be available through Handi-Care (https://www.handi.care/). Handi-Care is a new for-profit transportation company in Tuscaloosa and surrounding areas. They take medicaid, which may help with the cost.

Transportation services may also be available at Tuscaloosa Transit Authority. Parents are encouraged to go to the website: Tuscaloosa Transit Authority; click on Demand Response Services; click on ADA Application and Rules to learn about how to access the services; click on Reasonable Modifications to learn more about requirement.

1. Time Management and Organization: Use a daily planner to plan out your days. Whether your planner a virtual (Google calendar), on your phone, or a physical planner that travels everywhere with you, use it and stick to it as best you can. Schedule in your free time, test prep hours, and anything else you can think of.
2. Task Prioritization: Using your calendar, evaluate what needs to be completed first. Is it the assignment that is due in two or the essay that is due in two weeks? Some students work better when harder tasks are completed first. Determine what is most important so that you can chip away at your to do list one assignment at a time.
3. Note Taking and Note Reviewing: Taking notes while you hear information will help you absorb it and hold on to it better. Sometimes it is hard to take detailed notes while your teacher is moving quickly in class. You can abbreviate words and phrases and use highlighters or different colored pens to help you remember where you have additional questions. Raise your hand in class or plan a time to meet afterwards for your teacher to elaborate. Once home, review your notes daily so that you can refresh your memory.
4. Setting Up Your Space: Your home study space is very important for your success. Do not study in your bed or in spaces where you can be distracted. Set up a desk or table in a quiet area with all of your supplies (paper, pencils, calculator, highlighters).
5. Motivation, Rewards, and Breaks: Small successes add up to your overall goal. Do not forget to cheer yourself on and to give your brain a chance to recharge by taking breaks.
6. Study Groups: Team up with others to study outside of school or ask your teacher if there are days that extended learning is offered after school.

Tuscaloosa Public Library

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WHAT IS DOLLY PARTON'S IMAGINATION LIBRARY?

Success By 6 of United Way of West Alabama is proud to provide Dolly Parton's Imagination Library books FREE to children from birth to 5 years of age living in Bibb, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter, and Tuscaloosa counties. Once a month, your child will receive a new book by mail. You only need to do two things: register your child and pledge to read the books to him/her. Please, climb on board Dolly Parton's Imagination Library!

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Email: webmaster@tusc.k12.al.us
Website: https://www.tuscaloosacityschools.com/
Location: 1210 21st Avenue East, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404, USA
Phone: (205) 759-3700
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Twitter: @TCSBoardofEd