4/12 NO SCHOOL (K-12 grades) 9-12 PIR Day. Tues. 4/16 School Pictures –
packets coming home soon. Wed. 4/24 Grade 5 Band & Orchestra Fest. Thur.
WHITTIER NEWS DARREN SCHLEPP, PRINCIPAL
CAROL HUMMEL, SECRETARY
[email protected] March, 2013
Dear Parents:
A Note from Mr. Schlepp
It is amazing that March is here already. A huge thank you to the PAC for a very successful school carnival. I know everyone participating in this event had a great time. The work that goes into pulling this together is very much appreciated for our school community. As the spring thaw happens, please remind your student not to play in the water or mud. I always enforce the “natural consequence” for choosing to do this however, so we typically do not have kids call home if they get wet. Hopefully, our messy play area will dry up quickly.
We will be involved in our State CRT assessment during the next few weeks. A parent letter had been sent out with information for families in grades 3-5 to discuss the timeline and purpose of this assessment. We know our students are well prepared for this test as teachers clearly focus on our Montana Standards and the specific grade level skills these standards address. Once again, we appreciate the extra efforts you build in for learning for your children. Reading every night and practicing basic math computation is a key contributor to their success at school. Let us know if you have any questions or comments regarding your child’s learning experience. Sincerely, Darren Schlepp , Principal Safety Corner: As a friendly reminder for after school pick up, please meet your child on the playground by their classroom line up area. This helps with congestion in the hallways and ensures a safe and orderly dismissal procedure for students and staff. Reminder: All exterior doors are locked during non-recess hours, so if you plan on coming into the school, please come through our front doors where you will be able to check in and enjoy your time here for volunteering. Thank you MontCAS Standardized testing… will be administered starting February 28 and going through March 8 for students in grades 3, 4, & 5. Most of the testing will occur between February 28 – March 8. Please make every effort to have your child at school each day on time, well fed, and rested. We want our students to have every opportunity to do their best. Destination ImagiNation… Whittier School is once again proud to host the Destination ImagiNation Regional Tournament. The tournament will be held at Whittier School this Saturday, February 23. The competition will start around 8:30 a.m. and continue until approximately 1:00 p.m. Please come cheer on the Whittier Teams. The Secret Garden… try outs for this year’s Missoula Children’s Theater of the “The Secret Garden” will occur on Monday, April 1, with the public performance the evening of Friday, April 5. A special thank you to Lisa Lawton for all her time and effort arranging for this wonderful opportunity for our children.
DATES TO REMEMBER… Mon. Fri. Wed. Thur. Mon. Wed. Fri. Wed. Fri. Tues. Wed. Thur.
3/11 NO SCHOOL – SPRING BREAK 3/15 NO SCHOOL – SPRING BREAK 3/20 Columbo’s Night 3/28 Music in Our Schools Concert 4/1 Try outs for “The Secret Garden” - right after school is out (MCT) 4/3 EARLY RELEASE – 1:45 p.m. dismissal 4/5 “The Secret Garden” Performance at 6:30 p.m.-public performance 4/10 Columbo’s Night 4/12 NO SCHOOL (K-12 grades) 9-12 PIR Day 4/16 School Pictures –packets coming home soon 4/24 Grade 5 Band & Orchestra Fest 4/25 Grade 5 Concerts at Bozeman High School at 7:30 p.m.
TESTING! TESTING! TESTING!
NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY
Our third, fourth, and fifth graders will be taking the CRT (MontCas) tests from Thursday, February 28, to Friday, March 8.
REMINDER FROM THE WHITTIER LIBRARY Library Books are DUE on Library Days
TIPS FOR PARENTS: *Attendance on these testing days is important! These tests are difficult to make up. We lack supervisors who can take individual students to make up the tests. *Please send your students to school on time! Once testing has begun, it is difficult for students to receive directions again without disrupting the class. *Early to bed. A good night’s sleep is very important the night before a big test. Most children need at least 10 hours of sleep to perform their best. *Prepare a good breakfast. Test morning is not the time for a high-sugar snack or no breakfast at all. A nutritious and filling breakfast is a must. We will be providing healthy snacks during testing as well. *Keep things in focus. Standardized tests are just one of the ways that schools evaluate children’s abilities. Don’t believe or let your child believe that poor test results mark him or her as a failure. *Please avoid interrupting classes during testing times. We will be posting testing signs on doorways during each testing period. Please avoid interrupting classes during these times.
ATTENTION 5TH GRADE PARENTS We would like to thank the 5th grade parents that took the time to attend the 6th Grade Registration night on February 12. If you did not attend this Registration Night, your 5th grade student is not registered for 6th grade. The Whittier office will be sending home 6th grade registration forms for these students. Please return these forms to the Whittier office or the appropriate middle school office ASAP. Also, it would be helpful to know the reasons why parents did not attend Registration Night so we can improve our registration percentage for next year.
INTENT TO RETURN FORMS This year the Intent to Return forms will be sent home after Spring Break. They will be sent out after the new school boundaries have been finalized. If you mark you have an incoming kindergarten student for 2013-2014 on the form, you still must register your kindergarten student with the Enrollment Office at Willson School. You will need a copy of your child’s birth certificate and immunizations to register.
ALEXANDER – Library Day is WEDNESDAY NELSON – Library Day is FRIDAY WESSEL – Library Day is THURSDAY BARGHINI – Library Day is WEDNESDAY FRASER – Library Day is TUESDAY NASH – Library Day is MONDAY SOETE – Library Day is THURSDAY CUNNINGHAM – Library Day is MONDAY MADSEN – Library Day is TUESDAY BALDWIN – Library Day is WEDNESDAY UNDERHILL – Library Day is FRIDAY WEMPLE – Library Day is FRIDAY WIERS – Library Day is MONDAY
THANK YOU!!! LOVE & LOGIC CLASSES COMING SOON! Free parenting classes with Love and Logic begins March 21! Sign up at allthrive.org or by calling our parent liaison, Lori VanVleet, at 922-4245! Learn more tools to make parenting more fun!
5th BAND/ORCHESTRA FESTIVAL On WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2013, all Bozeman Public School band and orchestra students in the fifth grade will again be offered an enrichment day in performance music education. Sacajawea Middle School will host the orchestra festival. Chief Joseph Middle School will host the band festival. The festivals will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and all students will be bused from their home school to Sacajawea and Chief Joseph for the afternoon. Parents will need to pick up their children at the middle schools at the end of the day. The afternoon includes sectional instruction offered by a specialist on each instrument, a performance by each specialist for the students, and an all-district band and orchestra rehearsal for the combined groups from all seven elementary schools. After giving the students a day to rest their playing muscles, we will present a District Fifth Grade Band and Orchestra Concert on THURSDAY, APRIL 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bozeman High School South Gymnasium. We look forward to this being a rich experience for each child!
SCHOOL PICTURES ON TUESDAY, APRIL 16!
EARLY RELEASE APRIL 3 AT 1:45 P.M. NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, APRIL 12!
