Principal’s Ponderings…
Welcome
Back! I hope you enjoyed a relaxing and happy summer with your family
and friends. It has been fun reconnecting with the children and with
all of you! Our students had such wonderful enthusiasm the first day
of school- so uplifting to see the smiling faces and eager expectation.
Lots of exciting things happened around Meadow while you were away…
We hired one OUTSTANDING new teacher to join our team at Meadow: Jennifer
Judd (6th Grade). She has been diligently working with her team to prepare
for the start of the school year, and she is a delightful person with
abounding energy! In addition, Mrs. Krisl and Mrs. Doherty are joining
us as a 5th grade teaching team. They are already part of our family,
as they are long time Corona Creek teachers. AND, we welcome back Mrs.
Karriker as our team partner in first grade with Mrs. Kandler. Everyone
is so excited to have this dynamic teacher back on staff. We are also
fortunate to welcome Ms. LaVarta as our new reading specialist aide.
She will be here about 15 hours a week supporting Mrs. Bales in the
FORE program. We are determined to have the best darn reading program
in the WORLD in the Waugh district. We also hired….Mrs. O’Brien
as our lunch yard supervisor , Mrs. Welch (Mrs. Krisl and Mrs. Doherty),
Mrs. Good (Ms. Judd) and Mrs. Beggs (Mrs. Locey) as new instructional
assistants. They have already jumped in and we are happy to welcome
them to our school.
I would like to thank Victor, Boni, Rosa, Lupe, and our dedicated teen
work team who cleaned and spruced up our campus from top to bottom.
Their diligent work made our school the clean bright place it is! Thanks!
I also must thank Chris Ferrua- the heart of our school- for her tireless
dedication to Meadow. As you can imagine, there are thousands of tasks
to be completed to get our school up and running, and I am just amazed
at how well she gets it done. Even when BOTH copy machines break, she
still manages to have a smile on her face. I also appreciate Susan Bodulow’s
wonderful abilities and willingness to always do a little extra for
the good of the school.
I am looking forward to a great year filled with exciting learning for
your child(ren). Please know that my door is always open to you, so
please stop by or email me.I am looking forward to reconnecting with
everyone.
As I say every month in my newsletter, Meadow is a successful school
in part to our INCREDIBLE parents! I would like to have every parent
in the school involved this year. First, please consider joining our
PTA. Last year we bumped our membership from 51% (2005/06) to 71% last
year. Membership money helps support many valuable programs that benefit
our students including supply money for our teachers to stock their
classrooms! Even if you can only attend some of the meetings, or none
at all, we would still appreciate your membership. It was fun to see
new faces at the meetings, and they even give out pretty good prizes!
J In addition to joining PTA, we would love to see you help in your
child’s class, drive on fieldtrips, assist with Costco runs, share
a talent with the school, help at a school event, and/or anything else!
If you only have a little time to give, we would love to see you- if
you have a lot of time to give- we would love to see you! One of the
reasons Meadow is the successful school that it is, is a direct result
of the thousands of hours parents, like you, donate to the school. Thank
you in advance for your support.
PLEASE LABEL ALL OF YOUR CHILD’S NEW SCHOOL “STUFF”:
BACKPACK•JACKET•
SWEATSHIRT•BINDER
We hate to see these expensive items end up in our Lost and Found pile.
MRS. BECKER’S PERSONAL GOAL FOR THE YEAR: 100% Parent participation
in PTA. PTA does SOOOO much for our children- would you please help
by joining this year? For your convenience, we will have tables set
up for joining at Back to School Night. You may join even if you are
unable to attend PTA meetings. It would be outstanding to be a school
with 100% parent participation! Last year we hit 71%, so let’s
go for it this year! Thank you!!!
REMINDER….
Student pick up and drop off are in the front of the school. Please
follow the direction of the traffic guard at the front of the school.
IF you are walking to meet your child, please stand in the area in-between
the office and the multi. Teachers will walk students to the front for
a safe pickup. Children are NOT allowed to exit through the back
gate by daycare. Thank you!
PLEASE SLOW DOWN when driving in the vicinity of Meadow School.
Please use caution when driving along Colombard, noting the crosswalk
and no parking zones. Many children cross the street on Colombard, so
please DO NOT make u-turns by the fire lane.
CHARACTER TRAIT OF THE MONTH:
RESPONSIBILITY
Last year we began focusing on a character trait of the month and found
it to be quite successful. Students from each grade level created excellent
skits that they shared with the student body. This year, we are implementing
a new character education program called Caring Community. Our focus
will be on one person, no matter how small, making a difference in the
world. We will have guests from the community who have made a difference
come share with our students in addition to highlighting a trait with
a skit, a song, a story or a picture. Once again this year, each assembly
will feature a class presentation, which will promote public speaking
with our students and will make the learning more hands-on. This month,
I visited each classroom to talk about ACCEPTANCE and BULLYING. If you
have been on our campus, you have seen the “BULLY-FREE Zone”
posters that are proudly displayed on our walls. At our first assembly,
all 457 of our students unanimously agreed that Meadow is not a place
for bullies. We defined who a bully is and discussed strategies for
dealing with a bully. I read a book entitled Odd Velvet to each class,
which presents being different in a wonderful way. The book got great
reviews and I really enjoyed spending quality time with your children.
Please take time to discuss RESPONSIBILITY with your child(ren) at home
and discover what they already know, or what they still may need to
learn, about responsibility. We hope this will heighten awareness around
character education and will reinforce excellent behavior, both in and
out of school.
READING EVALUATIONS
All students at Meadow and Corona Creek are individually tested in reading.
We use multiple assessments, DIBELS and the Core Phonic Survey to determine
your child’s growth and current standing in reading. Once each
child is tested, the teacher, principal, reading specialist, ELL teachers,
Speech and Language teacher and the schools psychologist meet to individually
discuss each child. It is an amazing in-depth process that ensures no
child in the Waugh School District falls through the cracks.
BACK to SCHOOL NIGHT
TOMORROW NIGHT
Wow! Do you have a treat in store for you!!! Our teachers have planned
a fantastic evening for you to come and learn about your child’s
class. Back to School Night is a great opportunity for you to meet your
child’s teacher, check out the beautiful classroom, and learn about
all the exciting things that your child will learn this year. I am looking
forward to seeing you!
1-3 6:45 Multi
7-7:45 Classrooms
4-6 7:30 Multi
7:45- 8:30 Classrooms
If you have not yet returned your student forms to the office, please
take a moment and fill everything out… we appreciate your help.
THANK YOU TO THE MANY (MOST) WHO TURNED EVERYTHING IN ON TIME- YOU HELP
MAKE OUR JOB EASIER!!! J
Teacher Trainings
This past summer our district adopted a new social studies program for
our school. It is the updated Houghton Mifflin Social Studies program
and it is fantastic. We can’t wait for our students to experience
social studies with us this year. Look for these books on display in
your child’s classroom on Back to School Night. For the next two
Wednesdays our teachers will be trained on how to use this new program.
We have grade level specific experts from Houghton Mifflin coming in
to show us the ins and outs of the program.
LUNCHTIME ETIQUETTE
We are working hard to keep our
school clean, and we could use your
support. Please talk with your child
about throwing away trash and
keeping our campus CLEAN!
We thank you for reinforcing this
important responsibility at home so that
students clearly understand our expectations.
Vandalism at school
As mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, Meadow is a beautiful
school with many new improvements. It saddens me, as I know it does
you, that our school is a target of vandalism. If you notice ANY suspicious
behavior before or after school hours, PLEASE report it to the police.
We have so many wonderful parents that it seems if we all keep our eyes
open and take a stand that our school will not be taken over by a few,
we can help stop the vandalism. Thank you for helping keep Meadow beautiful!
PLAYGROUND SAFETY
Safety is paramount here at Meadow. Thanks to everyone who is entering
the school through the front and picking up at the front. Please remember
that the back gate, by daycare, is ONLY FOR DAYCARE drop-off or pick-up.
Also, we enjoy having parents on our campus, but we respectfully ask
that after 8:00AM parents and guardians not be on the playground. You
may watch your child(ren) from the area in front of rooms 21,22,23.
Thank you for your cooperation! Our hard working yard supervisors want
to ensure that our children are well watched and safe. Please see me
if you have any questions.
Site Council Members Needed
Interested in getting more involved with school? We need a few good
parents to join us for a two year commitment on Site Council. We meet
the first Monday of every month from 5:30-6:30. School Site Council
serves as the school community representative body for determining the
focus of the school’s academic instructional program and all related
categorical resources. It is actually a lot of fun, and is a necessary
part of our school. PLEASE consider applying for this role. If you are
interested, there is an application in today’s folder. Thank you!
If you have any questions, please call the school office.
PARKING LOT SAFETY
The Petaluma Police
Department has increased patrols
around our school to increase
school safety. We have many
students who walk and/or bike to
school, so please slow down and
use extra precaution while driving
through the neighborhood.
We need parents to observe the
following rules when dropping off
and picking up students:
1. The red zone is for pick up/drop off ONLY – NO PARKING is allowed.
2. ALL students must be escorted across the parking lot.
3. Unless you are handicapped, DO NOT park in the handicapped zone.
4. Please drive SLOWLY and use EXTREME caution.
5. Please be PATIENT and allow a few extra minutes for drop
off/pick up.
We welcome parent visitors at Meadow School. In fact, we strongly believe
that our parent participation is one of the reasons Meadow is a Blue
Ribbon School. Everyone who visits
a school site during normal working hours MUST sign in the school office
PRIOR to entering the campus. This applies to EVERYONE who comes to
our school for any reason. You will be given a nametag to wear while
you are with us. If you are dropping off a lunch or something for your
child, please come to the school office, rather than the classroom.
We do everything possible to keep our campus safe, and to avoid classroom
interruptions.
Got Scrip?
Ok- I dislike asking for donations, and I
know that you have heard about scrip,
but I was hoping that more of us would
use Scrip because it is a wonderful way
for us to make some much needed
money, and
IT DOESN’T COST YOU A CENT!
Some of the best things in life are free,
and Scrip is one of them! Our awesome
PTA is again sponsoring the sale of Scrip
to fund programs that DIRECTLY
benefit your child (ren)! PLEASE use
the Scrip program as much as you can
this year…if we think about using it
before making many of our purchases,
we can make lots of extra money
for Meadow. If you have any questions
about how to use the program, please
call Doris Watson at 778-8846.
SCRIP HOURS FOR PURCHASE:
Fridays 8 – 9 am in front of the school
OR… you can drop off your order
anytime in the school office. THANK
YOU!
Mark
your calendars:
August 30 Back to School Night
August 30 Picture Day
August 31 Site Council Forms are due
September 3 No School
September 10 PTA, Site Council
October 3 Walk and Roll to School
October 20 Visions and Vines
Please read with your child and then read some more!!! It is such a
special way to bond with your child and to encourage a lifelong love
for reading!! We strongly encourage at least 30 minutes of reading per
day. See Mrs. Moy if you need any book suggestions- she has wonderful
suggestions.
Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by
deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm
wrinkles the soul. -- Samuel Ullman