April at LES

Dear LES Community,

I hope you had a relaxing and rejuvenating April vacation! We are ready to end the year strong at LES! We are so proud of the growth our students have made so far and we will continue to work together to ensure their success.

Our third and fourth grade students will take the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBAC) May 7-16th and teachers will discuss the importance of working hard and trying their best on these assessments. Families, a supportive and encouraging environment plays a significant role in helping students perform their best. Here are some ways you can help create a positive testing experience for your child:

• Ensure they get plenty of rest the night before each testing day.
• Provide a nutritious breakfast on the mornings of the tests.
• Encourage them to stay relaxed and confident, reassuring them that they have the knowledge and skills needed to excel.

The final months of school will be busy with fun events! Please be sure to review the list of calendar events below.

Best,

Ms. Scorso

Stephanie DeLucia-stephanie.delucia@lebanonct.org

I hope everyone had a relaxing April break. We had many LES students complete the April Break Reading Challenge. Congratulations to those students who kept up their reading over the vacation. With the warm weather and spring sports upon us, it can be harder to keep a reading routine at home. Kids practice sports to get better and reading is like a sport. The more you practice, the better you get. Here are some tips to keep a reading routine at home:

1. Keep books in your car so as you are driving your child can read.

2. Swap out the ipad for a book.

3. Visit libraries and bookstores.

4. Make your own reading list to model your own love of reading and read in front of your children to model reading.

5. Set aside 15-20 minutes of downtime for reading either right after school while dinner is being prepared, or right before bedtime.

Spring is in full swing, and so is National Poetry Month! Reading poetry is beneficial for children of all ages. Reading poetry helps children learn about voice, pitch, volume, and inflection. Poems also teach young readers about speech patterns. Have your child record themselves reading a poem and send it to a family member as a surprise! Check out this helpful article about How Poetry Can Help Kids Develop Reading Skills.

April is also World Autism Awareness Month. Books should be windows for children where they can learn about other cultures, races, traditions, and people with unique abilities. Check out this family site that lists 15 great children’s books about autism.

Climate and Culture Specialist Update~April

Stephanie DeLucia-stephanie.delucia@lebanonct.org

Did you know LES uses restorative practices to help foster a positive school climate? Restorative practices focus on fostering a sense of community to help prevent conflict. It also encourages students to take responsibility for their actions and rebuild relationships. Students at LES work every day to learn how to have self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. These are the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) competencies. Elementary school children are going to make mistakes and these mistakes provide lifelong learning opportunities. Please check out this handbook for parents that explains more about restorative practices. These are practices that parents can use at home as well.

We had 100 students participate in the spring break reading challenge and Market on the Green donated one free scoop of ice cream for each student that participated! Great job LES! Thank you Market on the Green!

Our latest PBIS and Husky of the Month recognition assembly was March 22! Second and Third Grades presented on their service projects-Letter writing for hospitalized children and health care donations for the Lebanon Food Bank. Here is a note from the town social worker, Shelly Aschcom, regarding the second grade donations!

Dear Mrs. Orlando,

Thanks so much to the teachers

and children for all the wonderful

donations! What a blessing for the pantry!

Please make sure this gets in your school

newsletter and media postings so everyone knows

how much the second grade rocks!!!!

Shelly L. Ashcom

Social Services Administrator

Town of Lebanon

After break as part of our social-emotional curriculum, we will be reading Gizmo’s Pawesome Guide to Mental Health to all the 4th grade classes. Gizmo’s Pawesome Guide to Mental Health was developed to respond to mental health concerns and increase youth mental health literacy. Utilizing best practices, the Guide introduces mental health and wellness knowledge and skills to youth at an early age with the hope that they may keep and apply what they learn for a lifetime to help them stay healthy and safe. These include:

1. What is mental health?

2. Mental health is equally as important as physical health

3. Daily activities that support mental health wellness

4. How to identify when mental health needs attention

5. Internal and external healthy coping strategies that support mental health

6. How to identify and connect with trusted adults; and

7. Resources to share with trusted adults.

You may also visit www.Gizmo4MentalHealth.org for more information.

It’s hard to believe we are already in April. I hope everyone had a very restful Spring Break. Now that we are back in school, SBAC prep is in full swing for third and fourth grade. Students have been working hard in their classrooms and intervention groups reviewing for our upcoming SBAC tests. We have been working through practice tests and reviewing testing strategies to ensure students do their best on their tests. Remember, it is important to get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast to nourish our minds! I have included some resources for you to use at home to support your student(s) as they prepare for SBAC.

Sample SBAC Test Questions

Overview of SBAC (from CT.Gov)

SBAC Supports for Students and Families

SBAC Parent Guides from CT Department of Education

Article: How to Prepare For The Smarter Balanced Test (SBAC)

Please feel free to reach out if you would like more strategies or resources on this topic. I am always

happy to share!

Happy Math,

Mrs. Francis (Math Interventionist)

Our preschool program is NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) accredited. Each year we submit a report on the program progress and connections with families:

NAEYC Annual Report 2024

The program evaluation collects implementation data on policies and procedures, program quality, child progress, family/community involvement and satisfaction through a variety of methods including surveys, data reviews, site visits and observations. Results of the annual program evaluation are shared with the Lebanon School Readiness Council, made up of staff, family and community members, with the Superintendent of Schools, and with the Lebanon Board of Education. This council meets quarterly to analyze this information and make funding and programming decisions to address identified needs.The program is monitored by the Principal, Director of Curriculum, and Special Education Director. Data is collected and analyzed through online tools and results are collated as part of the program evaluation process.

Annual program evaluations were completed in March and indicated that the preschool program does well at communicating with families, establishing connections between home and school, making meaningful and respectful relationships with families, and connecting with home on program procedures and community resources and events. Families shared that their students’ individual social and academic needs are met by the educators and the preschool curriculum. Classroom teachers reach out to families to learn more about their traditions, languages spoken at home, and student interests. Students’ progress is reported frequently while respecting language and cultural needs. The preschool program utilizes online communication methods, such as SeeSaw and Thrillshare, to communicate regularly with families and to share community resources. Several opportunities are presented during the school year to invite families into the classroom for special activities. Families are looking forward to learning more about transition activities for preschoolers entering Kindergarten.

• Earth Day-April 22

• Third Grade Music Field Trip-April 23

• Third Grade Concert-April 24 at 2pm and 6pm

• Administrative Professionals Day-April 24

• PTA Paint Night-April 26

• Kindergarten Field Trip-April 29

• Robert Rivest Literacy Assembly-April 30 at 9:15am

• Band and Chorus Concert-May 1 at 2pm and 6pm

• SBAC Parade-May 3 at 2:30pm

• Art in the Dark Week, Teacher Appreciation Week-May 7-10

• Smarter Balanced Assessment for Third and Fourth Graders (SBAC)-May 7-16

• School Nurse Appreciation Day-May 8

• Kindergarten Screenings-May 9 and 10

• First Grade Field Trip-May 9