CONVERSE CONNECTS

SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER

A great start!

What a great August we had here at Converse! We are back in a good groove with lots of great learning happening every single day! Sometimes when our kiddos get home and they are asked "How was your day" the only answer you get is fine! Try some of these questions to see if you can get some good conversation going that will give you a better glimpse into our day!

Arrival and Dismissal

Thank you so much for all of your help with our morning and afternoon procedures! We have seen things running so much smoother. We appreciate your patience that first week when we are all getting used to new routine and getting back into the swing of things. I appreciate those of you that are using the Buckle Up Zone to get your kiddos secured. This helps our line move smoothly! THANK YOU!!!

A few things to remember for arrival to keep things running smoothly:

1. Please do not leave gaps in the line to stop at the 2nd grade doors for drop off. Once you are in the safe zone for drop off, you can pull forward and your student can walk in any of our doors. If they are getting breakfast, it is actually helpful for them to go in the front doors of the building so they are closer to the cafeteria.

2. If you are at the front of the line, please remember to pull all the way forward to the cones at the front of our safe zone so we can have more cars dismissing at once.

3. Remind your kiddo that they need to have all of their things ready when you stop...backpacks, lunch boxes, kisses and hugs... this makes the drop off smoother for you both.

4. PLEASE REMEMBER TO STAY IN THE LINE. We still have some people parking in our front and 1st grade parking lots. The front lot is for staff, kids hope volunteers and parents that need assistance at the office area. The 1st grade parking lot is for staff only. If you are pulling into that parking lot from Walnut Street, you are often blocking staff from being able to park. This is also not a part of our safe zone and we may not see students that are walking from that direction.

5. Please stay in the line as you are dropping off. Do not exit the line to move to the front of the line outside of the safe zone cones. We know waiting can take a few minutes, but it is vital for our procedures to run smoothly.

Upcoming events

September 6th- LABOR DAY- NO SCHOOL

September 9th- PICTURE DAY- See photos below for specific codes. Students will be bringing home a picture day reminder on Friday the 3rd.

We have been working hard on focusing our attention on the person that is talking. CLICK HERE to watch a video to talk about listening with your whole body! It is so important!!

zoom_out_map

Jackets and other personal belongings

It is that time of year when our mornings are getting chilly and our lost and found starts filling! It is so helpful to our staff if your child has their items labeled clearly with their name. You would not believe the things that come up missing. If we have names on items, we can find their owner faster! Please label jackets, lunch boxes and backpacks! When it is time for hats and gloves, it really helps if names are written on the tags.

New Reading Curriculum

We are so excited to have a new reading curriculum this year! The amazing teachers that work with your children everyday have been working hard all summer getting themselves prepared for a new approach to teaching reading. I will be sharing things with you this year about The Science of Reading so you are more informed about our approaches. Many of you are used to watching for reading levels. While that is still important, our focus will be shifted to working on the sub skills that help our students reading levels grow. You may hear your children talking about Sound Walls instead of Word Walls. You may hear them talking about the skills AND knowledge portion of their reading instruction. We are thrilled to have a strong curriculum that will address student needs. We will be using the CKLA curriculum that is aligned with the Science of Reading. Here is an article if you would like to start to understand the Science of Reading approach.

https://www.cdl.org/science-of-reading-from-a-parents-perspective/