SOUTHVIEW October 2016

October Dates:

Girls on the Run Each Tuesday and Thursday

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Principal’s Comments

3: Culver’s Day 10:30 a.m.10:00 p.m.

Dear Families,

5: Walk to School Day (at arrival time)

Each day, I look around this wonderful school full of students busy learning together and reflect on all that I have to be thankful for as principal…an amazingly committed and talented staff, respectful students who want to learn, and a supportive community of parents who make Southview the amazing school that it is. You so generously give your precious time and resources on a regular basis, and we thank you for that. Students are arriving well-prepared, enthusiastic, and ready to learn. It has been a real joy to greet them each morning. When I walk through the hallways and classrooms, I see our students fully engaged, our teachers working hard, and our staff supporting students around every corner. Southview is truly a wonderful place to be and we thank you for sharing your student(s) with us!

7: No School Students 10-14: Box Top Collection Week 11: PTO Meeting 7 p.m. 13: Food Service Appreciation Day 14: First Grade field trip 19: Picture Retake Day 20 and 21: No School Students 28: Popcorn Day

I would like to invite you to join our PTO this year! PTO helps support our school in a great variety of ways and ultimately strengthens our school community. Please join us October 11 at 7:00 p.m., if you’re interested. Sincerely,

28: Fall Parade all school, 1:30 p.m. and Fall Parties during day 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: Culver’s Day 10:30 a.m.10:00 p.m. 7: Social Worker/ Psychologist Appreciation Day

Christine Heilman Principal, Southview Elementary

SOUTHVIEW

Page 2

Fall Parties and Parade 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.

The first school party of the year will take place on Friday, October 28. One of the party activities will be a costume parade. Our school-wide parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. Parents are invited to come and join us for the parade. Some grade level parties will begin at 1:45, but watch for grade level communication in case your child’s grade level parties will begin at a different time. As you help your child select his or her costume, we request that you steer away from costumes that depict violence or show ethnic groups in a stereotyped manner. In keeping with the district discipline policy, fake weapons such as guns or knives should not come to school as part of the costume prop. As always, students have the option not to dress up if they choose. Thank you for your help! Parade details: If the weather is nice, the parade route will begin on the blacktop portion of the playground at the playground doors and end at the front entrance of the building. Parents will be able to view the parade from the playground and the front driveway. The front driveway will be blocked off from 1:15 p.m. until the end of the parade. Again, all students will go through this parade route enabling parents with children in different grade levels to see all of their children. If the weather is cold/rainy, our alternate plan is that the parade will take place in the gym and cafeteria. Parents will be invited to find a viewing spot in these areas beginning at 1:10 p.m. All classes will go through this parade route, so parents with students in different rooms and grade levels will have the opportunity to see all of their children.

H.O.W.L. Classes Check it out! Be sure to look for the H.O.W.L. brochure in your child’s Friday Folder at the end of the October. You will be able to sign up for classes the first two weeks of November. Southview will offer two sessions of H.O.W.L. classes this year. The first will run from November 29 - January 19 and the second will be from February 28 – April 13. The registration form is included in the brochure. Please follow the registration instructions carefully and note the registration deadline. Southview offers scholarships to students in need. Information is given on the front of the form. Extra copies of the brochure will be available in the office or on the school website, www.district196.org/sv. Breakfast starts at 8:15. All other students may enter at 8:25. Students who walk or are driven to school should not arrive before 8:15 a.m. No supervision is available before this time since the staff is involved in meetings and preparation for the school day. Students who arrive before 8:25 will be asked to remain outside the building until the bell rings. Students eating breakfast will be allowed to enter at 8:15.

November Conferences Please mark your calendars for the parent/teacher conferences that will be held on November 2 and 3. These conferences are an important way for parents and teachers to share progress, concerns and goals for a child’s achievement for the remainder of the school year. Research has shown that when parents and teachers work together, children experience greater academic success. Parents will be able to sign up for a conference appointment online. The online system is the same one used to schedule our August Literacy Assessments. A reminder notice with directions on signing up will be sent home in October prior to opening the website on October 17 at 9 a.m.

Attendance and Tardy Guidelines for Parents

We want students to be at school every day and we want them to be on time. Good attendance helps children reach academic, social and personal success. In the state of Minnesota, it is the parents’ legal responsibility that all elementary age children attend school. Elementary age students who miss seven unexcused days of school or more, according to the MN Statutes regarding education, are considered at risk for educational neglect and their parents are in violation of the state law on compulsory education. If your child will be absent from school, please call the school to report the absence (before 9 a.m., if possible). You may call the school’s attendance line at 952431-8375. Please leave your child’s name, grade level, teacher’s name, date of absence and reason for the absence. The following are excused absences: Illness Extreme family emergency Funeral Religious holiday Doctor’s visits, including mental health that cannot be scheduled outside of the school day. The following are unexcused absences: Parents who forgot to wake their child Parents did not know the school schedule Child missed the bus Child overslept Child did not feel like going to school Child was sleepy Child thinks school is boring Child is not immunized Staying home to babysit Excessive absences and/or tardies may result in a letter of concern from the school. It should also be noted that three unexcused tardies may be considered as one unexcused absence. If your child is tardy (arrival past 8:40 a.m.) they must check in at the office and receive an orange tardy pass before going to their classroom. If your child leaves school prior to the end of the day, it will be recorded as an early release and will be handled in the same way tardies are handled. If you have any questions regarding this set of state mandated guidelines or the procedures for reporting your child’s absence, please contact Stacy Swenson, school social worker, at 952-4318370.

Page 3

Notice to Parents Under the Federal No Child Left Behind law, parents have the right to ask for certain information about their child’s classroom teachers, and requires the district to give parents this information in a timely manner if they ask for it. Specifically, parents have the right to ask for the following information about each of their child’s classroom teacher: Whether the Department of Education has licensed or qualified the teacher for the grades and subjects he or she teaches. Whether the Department has decided that the teacher can teach in a classroom without being licensed or qualified under state regulations because of special circumstances. The teacher’s college major; whether the teacher has any advanced degrees and, if so, the subject of the degrees. If you would like to receive any of this information, please call Tom Pederstuen, Director of Human Resources, at 651423-7859.

The Leader in Me Have your students been sharing with you what they are learning about The 7 Habits? Have they shared with you how they are a leader in their classroom and school? We hope so! The Leader in Me emphasizes leadership skills development and creates a culture of student empowerment. More specifically, The Leader in Me teaches students the life skills and the self-confidence they will need to lead their own lives and succeed in the 21st century by focusing on the following: Leadership Accountability and Goal Setting Adaptability Initiative and Self-direction

Responsibility Problem Solving Communication Creativity

The Leader in Me is a school wide process that develops staff and students as leaders and thereby transforms the culture and performance of the school. Educators receive ongoing professional development in The Leader in Me framework, and in turn families and schools work together to promote children’s social, emotional, and academic success. The Leader in Me utilizes a number of leadership and educational models and processes, including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; The Four Imperatives of Great Leaders; The 4 Disciplines of Execution; and social-emotional learning and organizational quality models from past and current thought leaders. The 7 Habits is a component of the overall Leader in Me process, which also includes training on establishing a vision for the school, goal setting, data tracking and personal accountability systems. The Leader in Me process draws on The 7 Habits’ timeless principles such as responsibility, vision, integrity, teamwork, collaboration, and renewal. These principles of personal and interpersonal effectiveness are universal, self-evident, timeless, and common to all people and cultures. Here are some video clips that can help you learn more about The Leader in Me : http://www.theleaderinme.org/media_videos/TLIM_Video_Player.html