Vol. #3, Issue #2 Bulldog Tracks - Haysville USD 261 · smores! We also enjoy reading books every...
Transcript of Vol. #3, Issue #2 Bulldog Tracks - Haysville USD 261 · smores! We also enjoy reading books every...
PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY PRAIRIE ELEMENTARY
WOULD LIKE TO HONOR THE WOULD LIKE TO HONOR THE
BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO
HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY
WITH A SPECIAL ASSEMBLY, IN THE GYM AT 8:30 AM ON NOVEMBER 11, 2009. IF WITH A SPECIAL ASSEMBLY, IN THE GYM AT 8:30 AM ON NOVEMBER 11, 2009. IF
YOU KNOW A CURRENT OR FORMER MEMBER OF THE MILITARY, WE WOULD LOVE YOU KNOW A CURRENT OR FORMER MEMBER OF THE MILITARY, WE WOULD LOVE
TO HAVE THEM AS OUR SPECIAL GUEST.TO HAVE THEM AS OUR SPECIAL GUEST.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR PICTURES OF VETERANS FOR A POWERPOINT PRESENTA-WE ARE LOOKING FOR PICTURES OF VETERANS FOR A POWERPOINT PRESENTA-
TION. PLEASE TURN THEM INTO THE OFFICE (MARK WHO WE RETURN TION. PLEASE TURN THEM INTO THE OFFICE (MARK WHO WE RETURN
THE PHOTOS TO) BY NOVEMBER 2. THE PHOTOS TO) BY NOVEMBER 2.
IF POSSIBLE, WE WOULD LIKE THE STUDENTS AND STAFF TO WEAR RED, IF POSSIBLE, WE WOULD LIKE THE STUDENTS AND STAFF TO WEAR RED,
WHITE AND BLUE FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION.WHITE AND BLUE FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION.
October 2009
Upcoming
Events
In this issue:
Get to know some of the new
staff at Prairie in
our“Spotlight” section
What’s a Smencil?
and much, much more!!
October 2009
Vol. #3, Issue #2
Prairie Elementary School
Home of the
BULLDOGS!!!
Prairie P.R.I.D.E. Pledge
Showing P.R.I.D.E
is what we do.
Here at Prairie
you can too.
Respect and
Responsibility
Bring out the best
In you and me.
Being Honest
and being fair,
shows other people
that we care.
We all know what's
right and good.
We will do the things
we should.
Sound off...Prairie
Sound off...P.R.I.D.E
Sound off...Prairie
P.R.I.D.E.
Sound off!
BULLDOGS!!!
Bullying Prevention Assembly Oct 9
SWF—Sack lunch needed for
1st—5th
Oct. 9
Visit from author John Hall Oct 14
No School-End of 9 weeks Oct 16
Scholastic Book Fair Oct 19-22
Parent/Teacher conferences Oct 19, 21
& 22
Conference Release Day-No
School
Oct 23
Picture Retakes Oct 27
WCT Red Riding Hood
Assembly
Oct 29
Bulldog Tracks
PARENT/TEACHER
CONFERENCES
Parent – Teacher Conferences are scheduled
for Oct. 19-22. We have set a goal to meet
with 100% of our parents – which will ulti-
mately increase communication and involve-
ment for everyone! Specials (Music, PE,
Library and Tech), Title and SPED teachers
will be scheduling conferences in addition to
classroom teachers. Parents, thank you in
advance for making these meetings a
priority. Conferences will be Monday and
Wednesday evening from 4:00-7:00 p.m. and
Thursday from 8:00 a.m. 3:50 p.m. There will
be NO SCHOOL for students on Thursday,
Oct. 22 and Friday, Oct. 23. Friday is the
Conference Release Day for Staff. We believe
communication is key to a successful year, so
mark your calendars now and plan to attend!
Technology class for October will continue to work on
placement in SuccessMaker Math and Reading. Some of the
students are beginning to reach placement, and others will
be reaching placement soon. Once they have placement,
they are working on their own level in Math and Reading
while in SuccessMaker.
We will work on keyboarding skills throughout the year, but
we have a new program ―Keyboarding for Kids‖ for third-
fifth grade that students will begin working on soon. I am
really proud of how well some of the students are doing with
the keyboarding. We work on correct posture
(ergonomics) and typing correctly.
Staff
Spotlight
Look in this spot each month for our
“Staff Spotlight”, and get to know the wonderful
Prairie staff. Each teacher has written a short
biography for you to enjoy!
Carolyn Brown, PreK teacher I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I love sharing the joy of learning and knew as a preschooler that I wanted to be a teacher. I have been teaching for 35 years. I have taught for Haysville for 25 years as a speech/language pathologist and the last 15 years as a PreK teacher. I have a husband, 2 grown children, and a granddog. I love to travel, garden and digital scrapbooking. Mrs. Shipman, PreK teacher My name is Mrs. Shipman. I have taught for 9 years. I graduated from WSU. I have a son who is 20 years old, and a daughter who is 16 years old. I have 2 dogs named Barney and Diamond. I grew up in Haysville. My husband is a supervisor at a shop which builds conveyors. I love teaching at Prairie. Mrs. Pile, Kindergarten teacher My name is Diania Pile and this is my second year at Prairie teaching Kindergarten. I am very excited for another wonderful year! I have one son, Ben. He is four and attends preschool here at Prairie. My niece and nephew also attend school here. My favorite activity is spending time with my family. We enjoy spending time outdoors. We recently bought a camper and spend as many weekends as we can camping. I love roasting marshmallows and making smores! We also enjoy reading books every day and sports. I enjoy seeing all my students from last year in our hall. Let‟s “saddle up for success” and have a great year! Marsha Archer, Kindergarten teacher I have taught in Haysville for over 28 yrs. including being a sub for 3 yrs. This is
my 26th yr. to teach kindergarten. I had the privilege of doing my student teaching with Lenora Heath at Rex Elem. and then
co-teach with her for over 20 yrs. I have been married to Charles Archer for 39 yrs. We have 4 children (1 son and 3 daugh-
ters). We have 8 grandchildren and #9 on the way this Spring. Five of them attend Prairie. I also have a daughter who
works as a para in the district. My husband and I love to travel and spend time with our family. We all enjoy camping and
boating. My hobbies are grandchildren, sewing and needle work.
LIBRARY LINES
The pedal is to the metal in the library! Students are digging into
their AR books and are already earning necklaces and charms for
great reading. These awards are given to students who achieve a
90 or 100% score on an AR test taken in their number range
(determined by their STAR diagnostic test). AR tests based on their
textbooks are not included. Great reading is also celebrated on
the AR board in the south hallway leading to the library. The num-
bers on the broncos represent the number of 90 or 100 % tests
those students have achieved so far.
Lessons have focused on main idea and supporting details in great
stories, keyword searching to locate books and information, and
reading TumbleBooks on the computer. John Hall’s books have
been featured as Prairie gears up for this year’s author visit with
Mr. Hall, the winner of the 2009 Bill Martin, Jr., Picture Book Award.
(This award is named after Kansan, Bill Martin, who
was best known for Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do
You See.) John Hall’s books are available at a dis-
count through the school. Call 316-554-2350 for more
information.
Congratulations to Cami Mills, Jacey Anderson,
Tayla Mallernee, Carly Smith, Kassidy Newton and
Allyson Stowe on becoming members of this year’s
KMEA Honor Choir! Students from all over central
Kansas audition for placement in this special choir.
They will perform in Sterling, Kansas, at the Ora
Shields Activity Center on Saturday, October 24th at
noon. The public is welcome to attend!
This month we will be finishing our
hand-soccer unit in
1st-5th grade. Once
this unit is finished, we
will start a unit of bad-
minton. In this unit the
students will learn a
variety of racquet skills
including forehand, backhand and serving.
Page 3
Fridays are FANTASTIC at Prairie! On select Friday mornings at 8:25 AM, we end the week with an all-school recognition assembly. For the month of Oct. we will have a “mini” FFA” on the 9th. Our „big‟ FFA was held on Oct 2nd . Parents are welcome to attend any of our assemblies. Chil-
dren may sit with their parents, but due to overcrowding, we ask that you sit together in the back of the gym.
Bullying Prevention at Prairie
Since the first week of school, staff and students have been focusing on
our school wide bullying prevention rules. We are committing to:
We will not bully others.
We will try to help students who are bullied.
We will make it a point to include others who are easily left out.
When we know somebody is being bul-lied, we will tell an adult at school and
an adult at home.
Please teach and encourage your child to use: STOP – WALK – TALK procedures if
they feel someone is not being respectful to them or someone else. See October’s
counselor’s corner for more information.
Prairie P.T.O. News
A BIG thank you to the parents who attended the room parent meeting. We appreciate the extra
time you will be spending planning parties for our students.
Reminder: The fundraiser was due on October 6th. If you didn’t get yours turned in, please do
so by Friday, Oct 9. Pick up will be between 3:30 and 6:30 pm, November 3rd . It will be
important to pick up food items that day due to lack of storage for them.
Don’t forget to send the Box Tops for Education labels and Campbells soup labels to school
with your student.
Pizza Hut Night: Pizza Hut will donate 25% of the sales generated from Prairie one
night a month. Our first Pizza Hut Night will be October 19th. We will be sending
home a flyer with more information soon.
The next skate party will be Wednesday, November 4th.
Counselor’s Corner Teaching Our Children to be
Respectfully Assertive
Teach and encourage your child to use: STOP – WALK – TALK procedures
when they feel someone is not being respectful to them or someone else.
This teaching format can be used if…
*Someone directs a problem behavior toward your child. (victim) *Your child sees others receive a problem behavior. (bystander) *Someone tells your child to stop. (bully) STOP: Teach how to use a school-wide stop signal if you feel some-one is not being respectful to you or someone else. If someone is directing problem behavior to you or someone else, tell them to “STOP.” -Teach and practice a physical and verbal signal. *Show eye contact…big voice…hand up…fingers closed *Say…”Stop” or “Enough” or “Don’t” -Teach a reply if someone gives YOU the stop signal. *Stop what you are doing. *Take a deep breath. *Go about your day. WALK: Teach how to walk away immediately after giving the stop signal. Encourage your child if they walk away. TALK: Teach how to get help. Teach where the line is between tat-tling to hurt and reporting to help. Practice with your child (who, what, where and when)… *I told _____ to stop. *I tried to walk away. *Please help.
Positive Behavioral
Interventions & Supports
Red Ribbon Week 2009
Prairie Elementary will be participating in RED Ribbon Week activities the week of Oct. 26-30. Each
day special ―dress up‖ events are planned. The events and dates are listed below:
Monday Oct 26th: Give Drugs the BOOT! Welcome to Red Ribbon Week! Red Ribbon Week was
started in memory of a man named Kiki Camerena. Kiki was a law officer and was committed to stop-
ping people who were buying, selling and using illegal drugs. He was killed while on duty by one of
these drug dealers. In memory of Kiki, say ―NO‖ to drugs, walk away and find an adult you
trust to talk about it.
Tuesday, Oct 27th: HATS Off to Being Drug Free! Wear a hat to show your commitment
to being drug free!
Wednesday, Oct 28th: “PAWS”itively Drug Free! Show your Bulldog spirit and wear a
Prairie shirt or purple/orange colors! Bring some loose change if you would like to donate to
the Kansas Humane Society.
Thursday, Oct 29th: Follow Your Dreams and Pledge to be Drug Free! Wear your pajamas and
dream it...believe it...achieve it...choose a drug free lift!
On
Friday Oct. 30th , students may come to school in their costumes. This is optional.
Weapons of any kind (even replicas) are not allowed, nor any costume that depicts violent be-havior. For this day only, they will be allowed to go directly to their classrooms and not wait in
the gym.
We will start the day with a ―Snake dance‖ parade. The parade will go through all the
rooms to Halloween music, then end up in the gym.
After the festivities, students will be provided treats in their classroom by room parents.
They will change out of their costumes, and the school day will continue. Some classrooms will
have Halloween or Fall themed activities within their regular classroom subjects throughout the
day.
If you need further information about this event, contact the school office.
School Wide Halloween Festivities
We would like to thank Stone Creek
Nursery and Absolute Natural Stones
for their contribution to the flower
beds on the south and east side of
Prairie. An additional THANK YOU to those
who contributed to our ―Mums‖
fund. We were able to get 18 new
mums and enough river rock to
spell P R A I R I E. Check it out the
next time you are visiting us.
Page 4
The book fair will arrive at Prairie soon. Many books,
including the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid called Dog
Days, will be available. Families are invited to partici-
pate in the family event drawings at the fair on Mon-
day night, the 19th. The book fair will be open eve-
nings until 7pm on Oct 19 and Oct 21st.
Thanks to all parents and grandparents
who avidly encourage students to read
and help provide students with more
reading choices through fair purchases.
SCHOOL BUS CONDUCT
All students are expected to obey bus safety
rules. The drivers will be conducting bus
evacuation drills with the students this year.
Our first drill will be scheduled during Bus
Safety Week-October 19-23. In addition , we
would appreciate your assistance in discussing
these rules with your children and stressing the
importance of following the guidelines.
•At the bus stop—Line up a
safe distance from the street.
Respect
other people’s property.
After the bus has come to a
complete stop, board in an orderly manner.
•On the bus– Obey the driver, take a seat
promptly. No pushing, shoving, or fighting.
Speak in a quiet voice. Keep arms, head and
belongings inside the bus. Place all trash in
containers. Respect bus property.
•Getting off the bus—take turns exiting. Walk
in an orderly manner.
Move away from the bus immediately.
•Riding the bus is a privilege. The penalty for
failing to follow the rules will be the loss of bus
riding privileges.
Star Polisher Recognition Program
During the school year, the Haysville Board of Education presents the “Star Polisher” award to
staff members, school volunteers and school com-
munity partners who go that extra step in helping the school district and its students to succeed.
Staff members, students, parents, volunteers and school patrons are encouraged to make nomina-
tions. Nomination forms are available in the school office or visit the district website at
www.261.com for more information. Deadline for turning in nominations for the
fall semester is October 23rd. Please think of a worthy staff
member that you can nominate.
R E C Y C LE Your Pop Cans at Prairie
Prairie has received a grant from the Kansas
Department of Wildlife and Parks called
OWLS. OWLS is an acronym for Outdoor
Wildlife Learning Sites. An OWLS is an out-
door environmental/wildlife laboratory, at or near a school,
consisting of one or more native habitat features. It is de-
signed to attract native wildlife and to facilitate multi-
discipline learning opportunities for students. We will use the
money collected from recycled cans to purchase plants and
seeds for the habitat. You can drop cans off at anytime dur-
ing regular school hours.
We are also recycling empty inkjet
cartridges, cell phones and several other electronic
items through Cartridges for Kids. Prairie earned
$139 last year through the program. The money
will be used to help fund future Family Nights at
Prairie. You may send your items to be recycled to
school with your student.
Join the Haysville Recreation Department in celebrating the
spookiest holiday of the year by participating in the
2nd annual Halloween Parade!
Dress up and come out for this frighteningly fun
event. Treats will be handed out and refreshments will be
served. Parents, bring your camera for the perfect photo op-
portunity of your little monsters!
When: Thursday, October 29th
Where: Parade begins at the Community
Building in the Historic District (130 E. 2nd)
Time: Line up begins at 6:15 pm, parade starts at 6:30 pm
Cost: FREE
Smencils are gourmet scented pencils
made from 100 % recycled newspa-
pers. They are guaranteed to maintain
their scent for at least two years. We
have 10 scents available. Smencils will
be available for sale every morning in
the office. The cost is just $1 and
comes in a tube made from biodegrad-
able plastic. Proceeds will go to help
fund special school assemblies and
other school wide programs.
NOTES FROM THE NURSE
We will be offering fluoride mouthrinse treatments
to the 3rd and 4th graders again this year. Permis-
sion slips will be coming home soon. If you are inter-
ested, please sign and send back to the teacher or
nurse. I will do them once a week for 6 months.
We will also be offering the H1N1
vaccination. The district will be send-
ing out a letter as soon as the vacci-
nation is available to us. The details,
time, place, etc. have not been set
yet.
Please continue to remind your children about good
handwashing. It is very important for everyone!
Also please remember to send jackets with your
children, it's getting cooler outside for
recess.
Thank you, Nurse Lewman
The Communities In Schools (CIS) Program has been very busy planning programs and services for the
09-10 school year. We have already started a Choices Group with 5th grade students, a Girl Power
Group with 4th grade students, a Scrapbook Club with 4th grade students and My Changing Family
Groups with 1st grade and 3rd grade students. In a few weeks, we will also be adding the following
groups to our schedule: 1st Grade Friendship Group, 1st Grade Handwriting Club, 2nd Grade Friendship
Group, 2nd Grade Handwriting Club, 3rd Grade Self Esteem Group, 3rd Grade Boy Power
Group and 4th Grade Boy Power Group. After-school programs that will be up and run-
ning soon include Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the 5th grade Community Service Club and
the 4th grade Origami Club.
CIS brought in the Mental Health Association‟s IC Hope Program to Prairie on Septem-
ber 22nd to talk to Mrs. Kondo‟s classroom about bullying. We have four more IC Hope Program Presen-
tations scheduled in other classrooms throughout the month of October. Two of the presentations will
discuss bullying and the other two presentations will focus on teaching students how to cope
appropriately while having a bad day.
****Help Us Help Our School****
If you shop at Homeland or Target, you could be
helping the students at Prairie. Every time you
use your Homeland card, make
sure to tell them you want Prairie
to get credit for it. Our number
is 64004. If you have a Target Visa
Credit Card, Target will donate 1% of
your total purchase to our school. Make sure to share
Prairie‟s id number, which is 126593.
Prairie participates in the
BOXTOPS FOR EDUCATION PROGRAM.
Bring your boxtops
and labels to
help our school!!!
Mommy, My Shirt Is Too Small!!!!!
Do you have any Prairie shirts your children have
outgrown? Please consider donating them back to Prairie.
We have students who attend Prairie whose families are not
always able to purchase a shirt. Drop off any Prai-
rie shirts you are willing to
“recycle” in the office. A child
will benefit from your kindness.
The economy is tough for so many of our families. The
district hopes to offer some relief. The Clothes Closet
operates out of Nelson Elementary. It offers gently used
clothing to families who need a little extra
help. You must make an appointment with
Cathy Michaels (554-2273) before you can
“shop” at the Clothe’s Closet.
If you have any clean, gently worn clothing
(especially jeans for older children and teens)
you would like to donate, you can bring them to the
Prairie office or drop them off at Nelson Elementary.