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PARKSIDE ELEMENTARY

November 2012

Wild by Nature

1- 2 Book Fair

2 5th Grade Field Trip

4 Turn Clocks Back

5 Kdg Field Trip

6 No School - Election Day

9 Pacing for Parkside

12-16 American Education Week

13 Parent Visitation

9:30 -11:00 AM

13 PTL Meeting

6:30 PM

14 School Board Study

7:30 PM

16 Picture Retake Day

19 School Board Meeting

7:30 PM

20 1st Grade Field Trip

3rd Grade Filed Trip

21 Early Dismissal 11:15 AM

22-23 Thanksgiving Holiday

29 Trimester Ends

November Calendar

Dear Parents,

I am happy to report the Pennsylvania Department of

Education has named Parkside Elementary a Pennsylvania

Distinguished Title I School for the 2012/13 school year. The

Department of Education will honor Parkside Elementary

along with other Pennsylvania Distinguished Title I Schools

at the 2013 Pennsylvania Distinguished Title I School

Conference in January. Congratulations to students, staff

and parents on this well-deserved honor. Thank you for your

continued support and commitment to excellence in

education.

American Education Week is celebrated in November and

all parents are invited to visit their child’s classroom from

9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 13. During

parent visitation, you will have a chance to observe your

child in the classroom and the excellence in education that

happens every day at Parkside Elementary. I look forward to

seeing everyone at parent visitation.

The month ahead is shaping up to be a busy one. Please

check the calendar for field trips, early dismissals and

scheduled days off.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! Best, Teresa Ford Principal

Congratulations to students, staff and parents on this well-deserved honor.

Parkside Elementary

Pennsylvania Distinguished Title I School

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has named Parkside Elementary

a Pennsylvania Title I Distinguished School for the 2012/13 school year.

The Department of Education will honor Parkside Elementary along with other

Pennsylvania Distinguished Title I Schools at the 2013 Pennsylvania Distinguished

Title I School Conference in January.

Parkside Elementary is among the list of top 25 Pennsylvania schools performing

in math based upon the percentage of overall students in grades three through five

who scored advanced or proficient on the 2011/12 PSSA and have made AYP for

two or more consecutive years.

Parkside Elementary is now eligible to be chosen by the Division of Federal

Programs for possible selection as a National Title I School. The Division of Federal

Programs will identify one school in each state from each of the following

categories:

1. A school that has exceeded its adequate yearly progress for two or more years

2. A school that has significantly closed the achievement gap

The schools representing Pennsylvania are based on exemplary school

effectiveness in the following areas:

(1) use of research based strategies

(2) opportunities provided for all students to achieve

(3) coordination of Title I with other programs

(4) implementation of sustained research-based professional development

(5) established partnerships with parents, families and the community

Parkside Fire Company Visit During Fire Prevention Week, members of the Parkside Fire Company visited

Parkside Elementary School to teach students about fire safety. Kindergarten and

first grade students were given lessons on fire safety, fire escape plans, equipment

worn and carried by firefighters, as well as equipment on the fire truck. The children

had the opportunity to meet the firefighters, ask questions and tour the fire truck.

Thank you to the Parkside Fire Company for the valuable lessons on fire safety.

Harlem Globetrotter Visit In an ongoing effort to promote positive school climate and bully prevention at Parkside Elementary, Handles Franklin of the Harlem Globetrotters visited the school to teach students about the ABC’s of bullying.

The idea behind the ABC's of bullying is to teach children what to do if they are being bullied or if they see one of their classmates being bullied. The letters stand for Action, Bravery and Compassion. During the assembly, Mr. Franklin encouraged students to take action, be brave enough to tell an adult and have compassion for those being bullied. He also had some fun with the students, showing them his basketball tricks and even taking on a group of students in a game of keep-away.

Spotlight on the Curriculum Written by: Rosemary Fowler, Elementary Curriculum Coordinator

and Barb Hagerty, Instructional Technology Coordinator

Technology… Transforming Teaching and Learning

Students + teachers + technology = a thriving classroom! Technology is an essential learning tool for students and an integral resource that supports innovative teaching. The District has invested in a wide variety of technology and teachers are using this technology in creative ways to engage students.

Lap top carts are used by secondary teachers for students to access My Big Campus, an on-line social learning platform. Teachers can post and collect assignments, quizzes and tests; students can view tutorials and discuss topics with their peers on-line. Students are demonstrating their knowledge of literature by creating digital brochures or by representing novels using only images. Classes can analyze contemporary television clips or commercials for elements of popular culture and share for discussion and critique on My Big Campus. In the elementary classrooms, lap top carts provide an extension to the computer lab in each school. Students have additional opportunities to use the computer in a variety of ways. For example, when young writers are ready to publish their story or research, they can use a lap top for this stage of the writing process. In addition, the students can do research to prepare for a social studies or science project as well as to prepare a Power Point presentation to share with their class. Mobile devices such as iPods and iPads are being used at all grade levels. These devices allow teachers to assign activities based on student needs, to record student progress, and to have students work in small collaborative groups, among other activities. Since students are introduced to educational ways to use these devices at school, they are able to purposefully use their personal mobile devices at home. Teachers are using applications on iPads to contact students and parents, record student work and instruct small groups of students with interactive activities. A set of i-Pods can be spotted quickly in an elementary classroom at a work station. Students are given specific apps to choose from in subjects such as mathematics, reading, or phonics. They practice the skills that have been taught as they work toward mastery.

Interactive white boards are used by many teachers. Vernier LabQuest 2 probeware, with its built-in graphing and analysis applications, is used at SVHS and NMS to collect, analyze, and combine data from experiments in science classes. Students can then share their results with the class on the interactive white-board, manipulating the images to further analyze their data. The Interactive White Board is usually on at the start of the school day in our elementary classrooms. The teachers use this tool to begin the first lesson of the day in reading or mathematics. The students are able to come to the board and actively participate in the lesson by manipulating the interactive content. During work station time, the interactive white board is now a center where students work together in a small group extending practice time with many skills. To support the district’s vision of using technology to transform teaching and learning, monthly technology trainings are provided to all staff members. In addition, cohorts of teachers have elected to participate in our annual summer Tech Academy to gain additional knowledge and expertise. Our efforts are driven by the goal of increasing student achievement and engagement.

Parkside Stream Study

Parkside Elementary fourth grade collaborated with the Ridley Crum Creek Water Shed

Association to conduct a stream study. The Ridley Crum Creek Water Shed Association

monitors the health of local streams, creeks and lakes throughout Delaware County.

Parkside Elementary students conducted the experiment at the Hinkins Creek located

directly behind Parkside Elementary School. The students collected water samples from

the creek and then preformed tests on the samples to check for dissolved oxygen levels,

PH, phosphates and nitrates to determine the health of the stream. After testing was

completed the students did a comparative analysis. The data was recorded on a

spreadsheet and forwarded to Ridley Crum Creek Water Shed Association. Results of the

stream study were also submitted to the World Water Monitoring Program.

Thank you to fourth grade teachers Ms. Sculley and Mrs. Connolly for this authentic learning experience.

Also, thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped make this a great opportunity for our children to

learn about local nature.

Percy’s Picks

As part of an ongoing positive behavior support program,

Core Essential traits are introduced to students each

month at Parkside Elementary during school-wide

classroom meetings. The purpose of this and other PBS

programs at Parkside is to ensure a positive school climate

for all students. The students listed below were selected

by Percy the panther for exhibiting the Core Essential trait

of Individuality throughout the previous month. Thank

you to our guidance counselor, Mrs. McCarty, for work on

this and other PBS projects at Parkside Elementary.

Sean Healy - Aundrea Silva - Rocco Radico - Jennifer Reeves Aderyn Baker - Henry Sidlow - Sydney Andersen - Ameila Davis Vincenzo Massi - Victoria Adeniyi - Connor Wuebber - Emma Wood Savanna Hackett - Kimberly Oxendine - Xander Cruz - Rylee Bennett Gelsey Maina - Edward Maroulis - Sean Stone - Madison Weaver Verdon Taylor - Jayden Wood - Emma Mansfield - Anthony Ranalli Hagen Thomas - Allison Mercier - Daniela Evans - Gavin O’Flynn Alyssa Lofthouse - Kahmin Purnell - Jonathan Fitting - Kyle Wuebber

Percy the panther will be on the prowl through the month

of November for students who exhibit the Core Essential

trait of cooperation.

Reading Counts The Reading Counts program is a tool used to support independent reading at Parkside Elementary that allows

students to self-select books of interest on their independent reading level and monitor progress. The amount of

independent reading a child does has a direct correlation to vocabulary growth, reading comprehension, verbal

fluency, content knowledge and higher levels of achievement. Independent reading happens daily at school and

is assigned nightly. Reinforcement of reading at home will help to increase your child’s achievement levels.

Parkside Elementary students are wild about reading!

Jayming Liu 709,093

Hailey Lipka 694,156

Julianne Cadden 673,294

Emma Mansfield 637,761

Leanna Dankel-Paylor 575,419

Michael DiFurio 509,544

Jenna Johnson 495,157

Emily Woznicki 394,645

Kevin Bartholf 373,389

Ruby Bonilla 344,037

Damarys Oxendine 315,887

Sarah Shanahan 302,822

Allison Walters 273,888

Andrew Kmett 272,968

Jayden Wood 249,328

Alanya Pro 207,534

Layla Fagone 204,172

Congratulations

200,000+ Word

Readers