Autism Awareness Day

Tuesday, April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day.  

The sixth annual World Autism Awareness Day is April 2, 2013. Every year, autism organizations around the world celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awareness-raising events. North Reading Public Schools is celebrating World Autism Awareness Day by encouraging staff and students to wear blue.

Did you know ...

Autism now affects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys, Autism prevalence figures are growing. Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S. Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases, Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism.                                 

Feb. News

Dear Members of the J. Turner Hood School Community,

I hope that everyone is managing to keep warm in this cold weather. The students will be happy when they are once again consistently able to go outside for recess.  I would like to remind you to send your children to school dressed appropriately for outside recess. Coats, hats and gloves are very important. We will always go outside for recess unless it is dangerously cold. If recess is canceled, please understand that it was canceled due to rain, snow or health recommendations only. It is our belief that students need physical activity and fresh air and therefore we send the children outside for recess in the winter.

MCAS- As part of the 1993 Massachusetts Educational Reform Act, a statewide assessment system was instituted. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) was designed to ensure that the Curriculum Frameworks were being implemented in all schools across the state.  MCAS testing begins in the third grade and students are continually assessed until they meet the high school graduation requirement. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires all children in grades three to eight to be evaluated annually in ELA and Math. 

We, as a school, will continue to review all aspects of our instruction. This test is an important indicator  of our school’s ongoing assessment of student learning and achievement. At the elementary level the MCAS is designed to provide students, parents, teachers, and the community with information about the curriculum and student achievement.

The testing windows for this school year are as follows;

• March 18, 2013 through April 5, 2013 - ELA Testing Block (Grades 3-5)
• May 6, 2013 through May 21, 2013 - Math Testing Block (Grades 3-5), Science Testing Block (Grade 5)
  
  

This is an important assessment. Please avoid vacation days and appointments during school hours for these dates. Please feel free to call and speak to me if you have any questions regarding the MCAS tests.

Sir Ken Robinson- On January 28, 2013 I was invited to attend a lecture by Sir Ken Robinson as part of a professional affiliation with Merrimack College. I have been a longtime fan of Sir Ken! Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. He is also one of the world’s leading speakers with a profound impact on audiences everywhere. The videos of his famous 2006 and 2010 talks to the prestigious TED Conference have been seen by an estimated 200 million people in over 150 countries.

Please check out my blog to read more;

http://jthoodschool.blogspot.com/

School Security- The J. Turner Hood Elementary School has always been and continues to be a positive, proactive, and friendly place of learning for our neighborhood students and families. A large component of this special setting is the safety and security that we maintain for our students during school hours. All doors will be locked for the entire school day. This includes the front door. While this practice ensures safety for all it does require us to change a few additional practices.

Please be aware that we will be reinforcing the following safety practices:

1.     Going forward please be cognizant of drop off times for before school programming as the front doors are locked and the office is not fully staffed until 8 AM. If your child does not arrive as scheduled, staff are unavailable to admit them into their classroom.

2.     After School programming- Please be advised that as we tighten security, we respectfully request that parents remain outside of the building during pick up times. This includes afterschool enrichment.

Just some friendly reminders:

1.     All visitors must sign into the office and obtain a visitors badge. 

2.     When you visit the school, no matter how brief your visit is, you must wear a visitor badge. I have instructed my staff to stop any visitor, whether well-known or unknown, if they are not wearing a badge.

3.     Please do not visit your child’s classroom unless you have a scheduled appointment with the classroom teacher. Unscheduled visits are very disruptive to the classroom teacher and to student learning.

4.     Dismissal – All of our current dismissal practices will remain in place.

A Culture of Innovation Lessons Learned from Sir Ken Robinson

A Culture of Innovation Lessons Learned from Sir Ken Robinson

“You want to free up the abilities of everybody to contribute ideas, because everybody has ideas, and you need to create a climate in which that will happen. The role of a creative leader is not ‘command and control’, it’s more like ‘climate control’.”

On January 28, 2013 I was invited to attend a lecture by Sir Ken Robinson as part of a professional affiliation with Merrimack College. I have been a long time fan of Sir Ken! Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. He is also one of the world’s leading speakers with a profound impact on audiences everywhere. The videos of his famous 2006 and 2010 talks to the prestigious TED Conference have been seen by an estimated 200 million people in over 150 countries.

The premise of Sir Ken’s work is the notion that creative people are not rare; creativity is a characteristic of being human.  As young children, people have tremendous confidence in their imagination, but it tends to dissipate, as we get older.  Sir Ken reported that we have forgotten what imagination can accomplish. Robinson stressed the inherent deep natural powers of creativity as evidenced by the way we have created our lives. Each life is lived uniquely; there are no two identical.

Sir Ken asserts that failing to appreciate the true nature of creativity has wider ramifications, too. “Often the culture of organizations inhibits creativity, because to be creative requires certain things.” “It requires you to take risks, and if people are worried that doing something unusual will prejudice their progress through the organization, they’ll step back. The issues are partly conceptual – misunderstandings about what this is and why it matters – and they’re partly cultural. If organizations don’t understand the dynamics of the creative process, they’ll wish for innovation to happen when the conditions for it to flourish don’t exist.”

If we’re to learn to cultivate creativity in a systemic way, definitions are a good place to start. According to Sir Ken “creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value.” In his book Out of Our Minds he goes even further, breaking down creativity as several interwoven processes: the first is generative (‘It may begin with a thought that is literally half-formed’); and the second is evaluative (‘At the right time and in the right way, critical appraisal is essential. At the wrong point, it can kill an emerging idea’). But on whose shoulders does it fall to get the balance right? Is creativity fostered from the top down? “There are some things we know about leadership which tend to inhibit creative thinking,” says Robinson. “Leaders can perpetuate problems when they try and control everything and remove the discretion of people in their organization. What you want to do is free up the abilities of everybody to contribute ideas, because everybody has ideas, and you need to create a climate in which that will happen. The role of a creative leader is not ‘command and control’, it’s more like ‘climate control’. You create a culture.”

To Learn More about Sir Ken Robinson and his work please visit his website located at:

http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/

January Newsletter

January Newsletter

The winter months provide us with a period of time when we can focus on learning without calendar interruptions. Everyone is excited to return, rested and healthy once again, and students are ready and motivated to learn. We have been off and running since the minute the doors opened! Here at school we are ready to make 2013 a year filled with success through hard work and dedication by providing students with daily opportunities to grow. The hard work is
the responsibility of us all – teachers, students, staff, families, and administrators. I know together we can make learning an exciting venture!!

Recess:

The winter season is upon us. I would like to remind you to send your children to school dressed appropriately for outside recess. Coats, hats and gloves are very important. We will always go outside for recess unless it is dangerously cold. If recess is canceled, please understand that it was canceled due to rain, snow or health recommendations only. It is our belief that students need physical activity and fresh air and therefore we send the children outside for recess in the winter.

Good Study Habits:

An important aspect of schooling is the development of good study habits. These skills are equally valuable for students when doing school related work at home and by reinforcing them in both environments, their academic success will be increased. Some beneficial habits include:

·         Assigning a “settling down” time that is routine and consistent.

·         Including 5-10 minute “breathers” or “mini-breaks” when children are working on a lengthy task or project that requires concentration and effort.

·         Creating a “distraction-free” study space that is equipped with good lighting and necessary study tools.

·         Writing and posting lists to track assignments that can be checked off when completed.

·         Making flashcards and using them to drill and learn math facts, spelling words, and test information.

·         Teaching students from an early age to be responsible for knowing what needs to be done and when it is due.

RMLD Award:

On January 7, 2013 Nicholas Rinaldi was honored at the Reading Municipal Light Department. Nicholas finished in third  place in their recent electricity poster contest. Great Job Nick, we are proud of you!

Bus Behavior:
If your child rides the bus please go over the importance of following the bus rules. Here are my bus expectations.

1.     What is your job on the bus? (To find a seat, to behave, to be safe, to keep our hands to ourselves, to have quiet voices, etc)

2.     What is your job right away when you get on the bus? (find a seat right away. We do not save seats, or look for our friends. Our job is to get on a seat quickly.)

3.     How should you act on the bus? (You should stay seated, no standing. You may talk with the person next to you, but not the person across the aisle or way up ahead or in back of you. You may not tease, push or hit anyone.)

4.     Who can you talk to while you are on the bus? (The people next to you, but not the person across the aisle or way up ahead or in back of you.)

5.     What should you do if you hear someone teasing and making someone feel bad? Or, if you see someone hitting or pushing? (Say Stop. Ask your bus driver or teacher to tell Mr. McKay).

6.     What will happen if you are teasing, making someone feel bad, hitting or pushing on the bus? (Mr. McKay will speak to you & call your parents.)

7.     What will Mr. McKay tell kids who continue to tease or make someone feel bad, hit or push on the bus? (Mr. McKay will tell them that they may not ride the bus anymore.)

8.     What part of the bus can you sit in? (K and grade 1, the front of the bus. 2 and 3, the middle of the bus. 4 and 5, the back of the bus.)

Remember let’s be Safe, Responsible and Respectful!

Lost & Found:

Our lost and found bin is overflowing. The bin was recently relocated to our lobby. Please stop by our lobby and check for any lost items.