PawPrints, March 2013 - West Broad Street Elementary School

' MARCH/APRIL 2013NEWSLETTER OF THE WEST BROAD STREET ELEMENTARY HOME & SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONPrincipal’s CornerMrs. Marianne BoydParents…As you know, we havebegun the Pennsylvaniatesting cycle, with theWriting PSSA test havingbeen given to our fifthgraders during the weekof March 11 th . BeginningTuesday, April 9, andcontinuing through Friday,April 12 th , all third,fourth, and fifth grade students willparticipate in the Reading and Mathstate assessments. This continues withfourth graders taking the SciencePSSA’s on April 22 nd and 23 rd . One ofthe rules mandated by the statethis year is that no electronic deviceswill be allowed in the testingsite. This includes, but is notlimited to, cell phones, iPod’s,iPad’s, tablets, Kindles, andhand-held games.As we did last year, all of our teachersbegan several months ago to give“PSSA-like” homework on Wednesdayevenings to help prepare the children(and you!) for the tests.In addition, we have invited somestudents to PSSA prep classes, whichare held on Tuesday and Thursdaymornings.These assessments challenge our studentsin many ways, particularly in theareas of critical thinking, problemsolvingand, believe it or not, followingdirections, in all the content areas.I wanted to give you some ideas onhow to help your children prepare,within and beyond thescope of academics:Please be sure yourchild leaves any electronicdevices homeduring testing week!Practice basic mathfacts in all four operations(addition, subtraction,multiplication, and division).This is the one thing you can do forfive minutes a night that will makea huge difference in the accuracy ofresponses. Use a deck of cards, flipthem over, and have your child say themath fact; play the game “24;” usedice to create math computationproblems instantly; remember flashcards—dollar stores still carry them,and they still work (or make a setyourself—both work just fine!); usethe Everyday Math website to practice;have a competition for a pizzanight in your house; use white boards,slates, anything you have, to writedown a fact and have your child tellyou the answer; sing them in the car,while taking a walk, etc., etc. I cannotemphasize enough how important it isto have complete automaticity withfacts—it can make the difference betweena basic and a proficient score!CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGEDates to RememberApril 12:Family Fun Night 7PMApril 27:Open House 5:30-7PMMay 10:Talent ShowMay 21:No School - In-ServiceMay 27:No School - Memorial DayMay 31:Field DayJune 3:Field Day Rain Date' PAGE 1'

' MARCH/APRIL 2013NEWSLETTER OF THE WEST BROAD STREET ELEMENTARY HOME & SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONPRINCIPAL’S CORNER CONTINUEDRead to or with your child everynight! It sounds so basic, but thistime will enable you to check yourchild’s understanding of text by stopingand asking a question or askinghim/her to make a prediction. Letyour child know that, on PSSA’s, he/she can always go back into the textto find an answer. This is somethingchildren are often reluctant to do—please tell them they can and shouldre-read the text every time they areanswering a question or writing alonger response.There is always some anxiety when weare facing assessments, but a littleanxiety actually helps us work at ouroptimal level. Let your child knowthat these tests are important, he/sheshould give his/her BEST effort, andthat every best effort will pay off inthe scores received.Finally, give your child encouragement!Send all of them off with asmile, good luck, and a firm, but loving,“Do your Best!”We know these are stress-producingweeks, and know that your childrenhave been prepared well by theirteachers. Your support is so vital totheir success in all areas of theirschoolwork, and PSSA’s are no exception!Thank you all for parenting well!WBS Home & SchoolAssociation Officers2012-2013PresidentLisa BlankensteinVice PresidentBeth GoshowTreasurerMichele MillsSecretaryTara Kuhnsman“MINUTE TO FINISH” FAMILY FUN NIGHTThe second Family Fun Night of the year, themed ‘Minute to Finish”,was held on Friday, February 1st. Approximately 55 West Broad studentsand their families enjoyed a night of challenging games in thegymnasium. A fun time was had by all!Mr. Burns was the emcee for the evening and did a great job gettingeveryone involved, while Mr. Phillips was the official timekeeper andkept things moving along.There were a total of ten different games to play with a different numberof stations at each game. We had 44 people playing at the sametime! We saw some head-to-head competition between mother anddaughter and individuals trying to better their performance with eachsuccessive try.Home & SchoolAssociation Meetings:April 9thMay 14thJune 4th7PM, WBS LibraryChild care is provided.Translation services available uponrequest.All kids left with a souvenir from the evening, and three lucky studentsleft with a themed family fun raffle basket: Family Move Night, FamilyScience Night, and Family Game Night.Mark your calendar for the next Family Fun Night on Friday, April 12th- this will be the last one of the school year, don’t miss it!' PAGE 2'

' MARCH/APRIL 2013NEWSLETTER OF THE WEST BROAD STREET ELEMENTARY HOME & SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONDO YOU HAVE PICTURES...of school activities? students in their classrooms? If so, the Yearbook Committeewould love to have a copy of them! We are looking for any pictures taken at WestBroad activities this school year to possibly put in the yearbook. Here's how toshare them with us:Copy and paste this link into your web browser:http://dropbox.lumapix.com/?zphk-3bjr-8wm.You will see labeled folders. Choose the correct folder by clicking on it.Click "Add Images" in the upper right hand corner. This brings up the window for your computer. Go towhere the pictures are on your computer and upload them.If you click the blank folder it will bring you back to the main "menu". Close the window when you aredone.If you have any questions please contact Penni Farrell at penfar@verizon.net.ELEMENTARY REDISTRICTINGThe Souderton School Board voted unanimously on March 26th, 2013, to approve the redistricting plan thatwas recommended earlier in the month by the Elementary Redistricting Task Force.On February 28th, 2013, the School Board voted to close Lower Salford Elementary School; the RedistrictingTask Force was then formed to provide input into the redistricting process that resulted from the closure.The Task Force was chaired by Frank Gallagher, Assistant Superintendent, and facilitated by Dr. LouiseDonohue, Professor of Practice in Educational Leadership at Lehigh University; members consisted of principals,teachers, Home & School parents, and district administration, with more members from thoseschools most affected. Three redistricting options were discussed during meetings held over the pastmonths.The plan that the Task Force recommended will place the about 340 students currently attending LowerSalford Elementary to Vernfield Elementary, and shift about 165 of the current Vernfield students to SalfordHills Elementary. Also under the plan, the line between West Broad Street Elementary and Franconia Elementarywill shift resulting in 14 current WBS students moving to Franconia.Both the closure of Lower Salford and the new redistricting plan will be effective for the 2013-14 school year.A map of the revised attendance areas can be found here:http://www.soudertonsd.org/schools/elementary/school-closure-2012/boundaries/.The Redistricting Task Force is now working to help provide smooth transitions for the students.' PAGE 3'