SOUTHVIEW November 2016

November Dates: 2: Parent / Teacher Conferences , 4:00 p.m. – 8 p.m. 3: Parent / Teacher Conferences, Noon—8 p.m. 3 and 4: No School 7-11: Student Council Food Drive 7: Culver’s Day, 10:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m. 8: Election Day— VOTE 11: Spirit Day– Sports Day 12: Girls’ on the Run 5K! 15: Site Council Meeting, 4-5 p.m. 15: PTO Meeting, 7 p.m. 24-25: Thanksgiving Break– No School 29, 30: HOWL Classes Begin Early December Dates: 1: HOWL Classes 1: End of Trimester 1 2: Staff Development Day– No School 5: Culver’s Day, 10:30 a.m.– 10:00 p..m. 6: Preschool Gingerbread Party 9: Report Cards Sent Home 16: First Grade Gingerbread House Day

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Principal’s Comments Greetings, Southview Families! It was great to see so many of you at our Fall Parade and parties today! As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, I am happy to be principal of this great school. I am thankful for our amazing staff, for their dedication to excellence, and their commitment to their students. I am thankful for our incredible students, their love for learning, and their respect for one another. I am thankful for our parents, their positive support in helping us educate their children, and their commitment to Southview Elementary. It is especially wonderful knowing that we are part of such a caring community that is committed to making sure every student is successful at school. I would like to thank you for the ongoing support you give to Southview through our fundraising efforts. We work hard to minimize the number of fundraisers we do at school and appreciate your participation in the fundraisers we choose to do. All money earned from fundraisers goes directly to the Southview PTO. The PTO gives ongoing support to our students by providing: field trips, fine arts programs, Bingo Night, Popcorn Days, Education Grants for classrooms and specialists, and MORE! The Southview PTO meets throughout the school year. Please see our calendar/ handbook for meeting dates and join us whenever you are able! All are welcomed to attend! This coming Tuesday, November 8, is election day. Remember to VOTE! As you know, November 2 and 3 we will have parent/teacher conferences. I urge you to attend your child’s conference. Call the Southview office at 952-431-8370 if you still need to schedule a conference. We look forward to seeing you! Thank you for your partnership in education. Enjoy these beautiful autumn days! Respectfully,

Christine Heilman

SOUTHVIEW

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How can I help my child as a reader?

Southview office hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you need to contact the school nurse, Gina Singer, please call 952-4318794.

Please Send a Note for Transportation Exceptions: To help avoid confusion and to help provide a safe commute from school, parents are asked to send a note or call the school if their child is to go home from school in any other way than their normal means of transportation. Also, written notification must be provided if a student is to go to a location other than the identified end of the day location.

Below are some quick and easy things you can do with your child to help him or her become a reader. Of course, the most important thing you can do is to read with your child everyday. This will improve your child’s understanding and fluency, as well as promote greater enjoyment of reading. Allow your child to select appropriate reading materials from the school or local library. Once your child has read a book, encourage him or her to talk about the experience with you. Have your child tell you what he or she liked and/ or didn’t like about the book. You may want to encourage your child to consider reading more books on a certain topic or by a specific author. Parent Read Aloud: Select a time for reading aloud that is relaxed and quiet. Read aloud to your child for 10-30 minutes. Read aloud to children at all ages including into middle school. Lower the lights and select a seat that allows you to be close to your child. Select a book that will help your child develop a love of reading and books. Develop a routine that leads up to read-aloud time in your home (right after dinner, before bed, after you sing a special song each night, etc.). Read with expression. Remember to stop reading from time to time to “think aloud.” This allows your child to hear about what you are doing as a reader. For example: explain how you solved a challenging word; make a prediction about what you think will happen next based on prior knowledge you have; explain how you put story clues together to determine something happened even when the author doesn’t come right out and tell the reader (making an inference). Discuss what was read with your child after reading. Examples:  What part did you like? Why was this part important to the story?  Did you visualize any part of the story? Tell about it.  What words in the story surprised you?  Would you read other books by this author? If so, what might be similar in the books? If not, why? Book selection suggestions:  books you liked as a child  a book your child may not select because the words are difficult or unfamiliar books from various genres (fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, biography, science fiction, etc.)  award winning books  essays, newspaper columns, reviews, articles from local and national newspapers and magazines  books in which you can hear and model the voice of the author or characters

Dress Appropriately for the Weather...

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With colder weather here, please dress your children accordingly. Students go outside for a 25-minute recess either before or after lunch. Students should have a warm coat, boots (when they become necessary), gloves, and a hat. Thank you.

Severe Weather Notifications If the decision is made to either delay or cancel school, the information will be communicated to district employees and parents via an early-morning phone call from the superintendent on the SchoolConnects mass notification service that the district subscribes to. Calls will be made to the student’s primary (home) number and one number for each adult associated with the student. Duplicate numbers are not called. In addition to the SchoolConnects call, the cancellation will be communicated in the following ways:  On all four Twin Cities television network affiliate stations, and WCCO-AM (830) radio. Look/ Listen for the “Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools”;  On the banner of the district website at www.district196.org, and  On the district information line recording at 651-423-7777. If school is canceled, all daytime and after-school community education activities (including early childhood) are also canceled, as well as all elementary and middle school after-school and evening activities. Decisions about whether to hold evening high school and Community Education activities are communicated on the district website and information line. If school is closed due to cold, the YMCA school-age care program has three sites that will be open (6 a.m.- 6 p.m.) to all families registered for SAC. Those sites are: Cedar Park, Oak Ridge, and Shannon Park. If school is closed due to snow, the YMCA SAC program will also be closed! If the opening of school is delayed, all school buses operate on a normal but delayed schedule and the following activities are canceled: morning and afternoon early childhood special education, morning-early childhood classes, and morning Community Education activities. If severe weather develops during the school day, schedules may change and would be communicated via the SchoolConnects service and on the district website, information line and television.

The Sheridan Story 

Over 200,000 children in the state of Minnesota live in food insecurity and do not always know if they will re ceive their next meal. 100,000 of those children live in the metro area.  25% of District 196 students are in poverty  52% of those are elementary children  32 % of Southview’s students are in poverty Southview is looking to assist students experiencing food insecurity by helping to close the weekend food gap between Friday and Monday, when children are not able to participate in the free or reduced meal programs at school. District 196 is achieving this with the assistance of community partners and volunteers and an organization called The Sheridan Story. Via The Sheridan Story, on the last day of school each week during the school year, every student whose family opts-in to the weekend food program receives a nutritious bag of food containing one of each of the following:  canned fruit,  canned vegetable  canned protein such as tuna or chunk chicken,  pasta/rice and  a catch-all item such as soup, stew, chili, mac & cheese, etc. Would your family like to donate? It costs $130/student who participates in the program. Donations can be sent to: District 196 Foundation 3455 153rd Street West Rosemount MN 55068 OR www.sheridanstory.com/district196 (and select Southview on the drop down menu)

Absence Reminder: If your child is going to be tardy or absent from school, please leave a message to notify us of his/her absence. The number to call is 952-431-8375. When leaving your message, please give the following information:   

Name of student Name of your child’s teacher Reason for absence or tardy

Ideas for Supporting Your Mathematician at Home: Ask more questions. Give fewer answers.  What are you trying to figure out?  What do you know now?  Where could you start?  Have you solved a similar problem before that would help?  I wonder what would happen if you tried…?  I see you have an answer. Does that make sense?  Let’s reread the problem. Have you answered the question? Avoid teaching a specific algorithm too soon. Teaching a procedure before a child has had a sufficient amount of time to develop an understanding of the concept forces the child to focus on the rules for the procedure rather than thinking about the mathematics. This makes the procedure more error-prone. Students are ready to practice facts and computation once they develop an understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division concepts. Allow children to invent strategies for solving problems.  This encourages number sense and success in mathematics.  Children generally begin to solve problems with pictures or tools, followed by counting up or back, and eventually become more efficient with number facts.  When faced with new math concepts, such as fractions or decimals, children often return to modeling or drawing before trying more advanced strategies.  Ask your child to explain his/her thinking when solving problems.

Include your child in the mathematics of everyday life.  Determine correct change at the drive-thru.  When cooking, double or half a recipe.  Involve your child in a construction project.  Play card games and board games.  Involve your child in planning a party.