Keeping Our Children Safe

In the wake of the Connecticut tragedy, I want to assure you that we are working hard to keep your children safe. Our hearts go out to those who suffered in this senseless incident and we understand the importance of providing a safe environment for our students. We regularly practice emergency procedures and in the wake of this event we will be reviewing our procedures to try to identify any additional measures that would ensure a safe environment to protect our precious students. Our counselor will be available for any students needing support.

We hope that you will help as well by remembering procedures in place such as checking in at the office as you enter the building and obtaining a visitor’s tag. Our staff is a caring and loving one that would do everything in their power to protect your child.

We hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday and give your children an extra hug.

Happy Holidays!

I am very excited about all the reading students have been doing. Our library is buzzing will activity and Mrs. Whitehead has fostered interest and engagement, even using raps to involve the students in learning library skills. We also have access to a new online program, MyOn that tests students’ reading level and provides a wide variety of reading materials that may not only be accessed at school, but can also be accessed from home. We have a contest to keep the students reading over the holidays. The three students in each grade level (1-5) who read the most over the holidays will receive prizes. So keep that reading going! They can access the program from outside computers including those at the library if you do not have one available at home.

Our students in grades 3-5 are very excited about the upcoming visiting author, Obert Skye. Our students have been working hard on their writing skills this year. Teachers have been taking workshops on how to improve writing which provides them with enhanced skills and knowledge as we move toward the Common Core State Standards which require more writing at higher levels by all students.

We encourage those in the upper grades to forge forward in math using the Think Through Math program which may be accessed from home. This is a motivational program that increases skill and knowledge in an entertaining format. Coolmath.com is a great site for those students who are in the lower levels. Give it a try!

I am very pleased that our families have strongly supported the Food Drive. The Student Council managed to organize a very successful drive which resulted in the Food Bank having to make several trips to the school. We are blessed to have so many families who care about others in our school.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Donuts with Dad on December 20^th. Please remember, if a Dad is not available, we encourage another meaningful individual in your child’s life to bring the student to school and enjoy a donut on that day.

If you get a chance, you may want to stop by the Chubbuck City Office to see the tree that our students decorated. May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Betsy Goeltz

Moving Forward

It was so wonderful seeing so many of you at Math Night. I hope that the information on the Common Core State Standards was helpful, and if you happened to miss the evening, go to the website and you will see a link to information on the homepage. We are working hard to have all students prepared for the future! We are certainly looking forward to our science related assemblies this month by Dr. Shropshire, which are always so engaging and motivational.

The use of iPads in the classrooms has proven to be highly motivating to students. Teachers are using them in some classrooms to increase reading, math and science skills and to produce and create projects. Their use is directly tied to our needs which have been identified, thus helping us to improve on a day-to-day basis. We hope you will also join in and support students from home. MyON is a resource which provides online access to books from school or home. The teachers have the student logins and passwords and there are many interesting books available to families as well as books for the pre-school age group.

We have a couple of our favorite events coming up this month. McTeacher night is Nov. 13^th. It is a fun evening for us to enjoy the company of students and parents in a relaxed environment. We hope to see you there. You may also want to attend the Festival of Trees Nov.28^th-Dec.1st. Our very own Mrs. Reece is in charge of Breakfast with Santa this year and the Fifth Grade teachers are decorating a tree for the school, so make sure you look for it!

Infinite Campus will help to keep you informed as the holiday events approach so be sure to check in regularly, and download the mobile app if you have a smart phone.

 

Crisp Mornings and Strong Minds

Cool mornings certainly help to wake us all up as we come to school, and our students are awake and ready to work as the bell rings. I hope you take a moment as you enter the school to look at all of the hard work displayed in the hallways. Smiling pumpkins and wise owls made by our kindergarten students welcome us as we enter. There are many samples of writing throughout the hallways which demonstrate all of the creativity and technical expertise students have developed. Writing is a focus for the school this year and we hope you will take a moment to comment on your student’s writing at home.

Reading is always at the top of our list and we are so appreciative that the PTA worked so hard to make our Book Fair a success. It will provide our school with many books that can help to enhance the classroom and individual student learning.

We are always concentrating on math as always and hope that you will join us for Math Night on Nov. 8^th. There will be games for all and the fun will help us to promote math skills and knowledge. A different area of learning will be explored as fourth grade students attend the Symphony on October 24^th and in another area, we will have ISU science experts providing exciting assemblies for the students.

I want to thank you for having your students here on a regular basis and on time. These two factors make a difference in how students perform in class.

Have a wonderful fall!

Fall Features

The mornings certainly have that fall feeling to them, and the students come in energized by the cool air. Please remind them to wear appropriate clothing for the temperature and remember to bring it home at the end of the day. Students are settling into a routine and our fall assessments have been administered. These assessments help us to plan our instruction to meet the needs of all students. We will make it possible for all students to have an incredible year. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email, call or visit.

One of the most popular events of the year will take place on September 24^th. Starting at 5:30 the Carnival will be in full swing. Games, food and prizes galore will keep everyone busy. Our PTA has worked hard to obtain a wide variety of prizes from our generous community businesses. Plan on joining the fun!

Our fifth grade students certainly recognize how important regular attendance is. In addition to the increased learning students experience as part of perfect attendance, if a fifth grade student has perfect attendance for the entire year they will receive a mountain bike and a helmet thanks to Phil Meador. The requirements will be detailed in a letter coming home to parents.

We enjoyed seeing everyone at Back-to-School Night. We appreciate your involvement and know what a difference you make in your child’s education. As the school moves toward implementing the Common Core State Standards we discussed at the meeting, you may want to visit http://www.pta.org/4446.htm  for more information. We encourage you to actively participate and volunteer as volunteers help to make the school a better place while “maximizing learning for all students!”

We look forward to having a wonderful year together!

Summer Sunset

The summer is setting and it will soon be time to return to school. The staff at Ellis has been preparing for another productive year over the summer. Students again achieved at a high level with significant gains in language and all scores were above the 90^th percentile!!

We are looking to the changes which are rapidly impacting and transforming education. As some of you may know there is a significant shift in the standards we will meet. Idaho has adopted the Common Core State Standards, which represents a strong change in English Language Arts and Math. In these standards there is a strong emphasis on problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and other 21^st century skills students will need to be successful. Research is indicating that knowing about change strategies, which we have been working on, providing training on effective teaching strategies (Teachers have taken courses over the summer and will continue to explore more during the year.) and embedding technology into the learning process will significantly boost student achievement. We have been reviewing research on the best possible ways to implement technology, as we are aware that the use of technology without teacher direction is of little value. Our teachers are the Key!! As a school, we are poised to move forward.

You are partners in this process. If you want to learn more about the Common Core State Standards, the PTA website has an excellent overview for you. http://pta.org/common_core_state_standards.asp

Make sure you once again monitor the posting on Infinite Campus. If you do not have access you may call the central office before August 13^th and starting on the 13^th, Mrs. Obray and I will be in to help you. One important date to be aware of is August 14^th. That is registration day. We look forward to seeing you.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.

End of a Successful Year

Dear Ellis Families:

Another successful year has flown by. The students set goals and end of the year assessments indicate that they met those goals as scores in all areas were above the 90^th percentile with growth in language and science exceeding 9% at some levels. We attribute this to the hard work by students, staff and of course families supporting learning throughout the year.

We will have some staff changes and additions. Mrs. Magnuson is moving to another school and Mrs. Mann decided she wanted to graduate from first grade and join our lucky second grade team. Moving into the first grade is Mrs. Waldram who has had experience at Edahow and comes with glowing recommendations. We are also adding a third grade this year due to the large number of students and Ms. McNabb will fill that position. She comes highly recommended and will make a wonderful addition to the third grade team.  We are looking forward to having her on the staff.

The end of the year was eventful as always. The Awards Assemblies allowed us to recognize the many students who worked hard during the year and we are indeed proud of them all. Fifth grade graduation was a bitter sweet moment as students who have spent many years at Ellis found their elementary career coming to an end. We will be sad to see them go, but we know they are well prepared for middle school.

I want to thank the staff who has worked so hard this year to ensure that students are in a welcoming environment which supports and maximized learning. I would also like to thank all of the volunteers who make Ellis a better place and particularly our hard working PTA who have managed to support education and provide students and teachers with tools that enhance their classrooms. Parents of course also helped by sending in box tops for education. Through that program, the PTA raised $2,015! So, keep clipping those tops!

We hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable summer and visit the library frequently.

See you on August 14^th at registration!

Sincerely,

Dr. Goeltz

Spring Fever

It is hard to imagine that we are nearing the end of the year. One of the events that marked this event was DARE Graduation. The fifth grade students acquired skills that will help them meet the challenges they will face in their lives and all of them. All students have been working hard to acquire knowledge and skills this year and the upcoming testing will provide us with an indication of both their success and ours. We work hard to provide individualized instruction to maximize learning for all students and the students know their goals and strive to achieve them during the year. The Idaho Reading Indicator will be administered to students starting on April 30^th while the ISAT window opens on April 9^th. We want students to demonstrate the knowledge they have gained and in order to support that at home, it is important they have a good night’s sleep as well as a nourishing breakfast.

One of our popular events, the book swap, is scheduled for April 19^th from 6-7pm. Our book swap is an opportunity for students to bring in and exchange books thus providing new reading material at no cost. Students will bring the books in to class prior to the event and get a credit to use to acquire books which others have brought.

The calendar is very full at this point in the year so make sure to check upcoming events on Infinite Campus. We look forward to seeing you at some of these events as we round out our year.

Forging Forward

We have been working hard with our goals in mind. Students have been reflecting on their achievement thus far this year and looking toward accomplishing their goals by the end of May. The staff has been looking at student data and determining where we are and changes we may need to make to achieve our goals. These goals include looking to the future and Common Core State Standards which will be in place by 2014. These new standards have us looking critically at how we can promote problem solving, inquiry-based learning, research, collaboration and creativity. Our upcoming professional development day will concentrate on exploring the CCSS in math and language arts. We are looking at the future and how to best prepare our students to be successful in a global society.

We are very appreciative of all the parent involvement and thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic turn out for Moms in the Morning. Students have been demonstrating their concern for others through participation in the Penny Wars which provides funding for the Idaho Food Bank, as community members show their interest in the school and join us on March 2^nd to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day by reading to classes. We hope you will all find time to pick up one of the wonderful Dr. Seuss books and celebrate reading with us!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We have started the New Year off with a bang and the students came back ready to go! Teachers are taking additional training on teaching writing in the classroom. If you have not already noticed, take a moment to talk to your child about their writing and look at what they have been accomplishing in the classroom. I know I am enjoying all of the stories displayed in the hallways.

I hope you will take a little time to attend our Technology Night on Jan. 19^th from 6:00-7:00. We want to let you know how we are using technology to engage and enhance the educational process here at school. We will also be helping parents to face the daily challenge of how to address the multitude of issues you face with monitoring and guiding the use of media.

I look forward to seeing you at the Parent Teacher Conferences on January 26^th. We will be using the same format we used the last time and students will guide you through what they have been doing in the classroom with the teacher providing feedback during the evening.

As we head into the New Year we want to thank you for all your support. Your help with reading and other academic areas certainly helps to make the difference in your child’s education. Thank you for being the fabulous parents you are!