(Non)Taxing times!

Clarification:  Per our Mixed Bag Designs rep, we don't have to collect tax for this fundraiser, so please disregard that misinformation posted yesterday.

Our fundraising is almost in the bag!

Have you checked out the Mixed Bag Designs catalogue and shared it with friends and family yet?  There is a nice variety of products at many different price points.  Think Mother's Day, birthdays, Swim team or beach outings, graduation gifts (the  Hold Everything tote would be a great laundry bag for a college bound graduate!).

One nice feature of the bags is that they do not contain vinyl or PVCs, so you can breathe easier knowing that these bags, made of partially recycled polywoven material, are truly greener products.

A few reminders: When you take orders, remember to add in tax (7.75%) and  (Sorry for this wrong info!) have checks made out to you personally.  When you turn in your orders, submit ONE check made out to Sunview PTA that includes all of the amounts of the orders you've collected.

Orders need to be in by Friday March 9th and will be delivered after we return from Spring Break.

Talking to kids about Chardon

Wondering how to talk to your kids about what happened yesterday in Chardon?  Personally, I wasn't going to say anything to my 1st grader specifically, but he mentioned that he had been told at school, so a (short) conversation ensued.

Unfortunately, tragic events like the one that played out yesterday happen all to frequently and its good to arm yourself with knowldge about how best to discuss this issue with your kids.  Check out this article provided by Sunview's own Dr. Boyle about how to talk to your kids about not only this tragic event, but also other violent events that may occur.

Also, here is some guidance from Dr. Shelly Senders, area pediatrician:

Within minutes, the shooting at Chardon High School was broadcast on Twitter and Facebook.  We all saw the pictures of the alleged shooter and his victims.  We saw the pictures of the guns and read the note on Wikipedia.  And throughout the day, students and parents all over the country but particularly here in the Greater Cleveland area, tried to make sense of what can only be described as a senseless act. 

 There will be a lot of emotions spent over what exactly happened at Chardon High School.  We may not really know the truth for months or years.  So how do we use this tragedy as a springboard for learning more about the causes of school violence and how do we prevent similar such tragedies in the future? Part of the answer can be culled from looking at what scientific research has uncovered about such incidents in the past.  The first, a book, is directed at what we as parents and loved ones, can do to identify problems in our own children.  The second, a scholarly article, helps teachers and school administrators figure out when things are going wrong.  The data is not sensational, it is not emotionally driven but it will give us a lot of insight about what we can really do to prevent school massacres down the road.

In his book, Why Kids Kill (MacMillan, 2009), author Peter Langman details the 10 lessons that can be learned from studying school massacres over the past two decades. 

1) There are limits to privacy - Parents of teenagers are usually very respectful of their privacy.  But if you discover bombs or disturbing notes or links to The Anarchist's Cookbook in your child's room, privacy rules no longer apply.  Parents of angry children often don't know how far to go to explore the depths of their child's rage.  The answer is that professional help should be sought for such children from us, your pediatricians or from competent mental health authorities. 

2) Don't lie to protect your child.  Don't deny a family history of mental illness if there is a strong history.  Don't lie to authorities about guns in the house or about the depth of your child's anger.  And don't let a potential family scandal color your view of your child's activities. 

3) Follow through with due process no matter who is involved.  In many previous massacres, the perpetrator was treated differently because his parents were teachers or because he came from a family of privilege.  It is imperative for parents and school officials to follow the rules, no matter whose child is involved. 

4)  If the school is concerned about your child, pay attention.  In the months before Columbine, Dylan Klebold wrote a story about a mass murder that so disturbed the teacher that she called the family in to discuss the story.  Teachers read thousands of essays, many of which are very disturbing.  If they call you about something that is an outlier even for them, listen carefully and take them seriously. 

5) Eliminate easy access to guns.  This is not a Bill of Rights issue.  It is plain and simple, a safety issue.  If your child knows how to get at a gun or a cache of guns, then you have just as well placed them in his or her hands. 

6) Assume threats are serious until proven otherwise.  In 2007, Asa Coon, a name known to all of us in Cleveland, threatened to come to school and kill everyone.  Many of his friends heard him.  A few days later, he came to school and went on a rampage.  Empower your child to report threats.  We live in a world of social networking and kids are often on the cutting edge of death threats.  If they see bizarre things posted on Facebook, Twitter or any other platform, empower them to tell a responsible adult. 

7) It just takes one person to stop a school shooting.  There are many examples of arms dealers, friends and even people who found a disturbing notebook in a parking lot who were successfully able to prevent a shooting.  There is a beautiful Jewish story about why there was only one person created first.  The reason offered is that each person should view him or herself as the person for whom the world was created. Each person has the power to change the world by him or herself and the life and death of each person is equivalent to the life and death of all of creation.

8) Recognize possible rehearsals of attacks.  In some ways, this is easier to notice today because of YouTube and Facebook. Everyone posts videos, including potential mass murders.  If you see lots of guns and lots of shooting, tell someone in a position to do something about it and encourage your children to do so as well. 

9) Punishment is not prevention.  In fact, suspension from school often makes things worse for people already on shaky ground.  Langman details the story of Kip Kinkel who was suspended from school for carrying a gun.  Later that day, he killed his parents and the next day, he came back to school and killed another 27 people.  The point is not that suspension is not an appropriate response.  But suspension without monitoring or treatment often makes things worse for kids who are in crisis. 

10) There are limits to physical security.  Often the response to a shooting is to increase means of identification and install metal detectors.  In Columbine, there were cameras and in Red Lake, there were cameras and metal detectors.  Most school massacres are perpetrated by students, not outsiders so ID badges are not helpful.  And most are bent on inflicting the greatest amount of harm so they will shoot guards and blow out cameras.  By the time a student is walking up the driveway, it is too late.

So how about teachers and school administrators?  What can they do to prevent an attack?  The answer is to know as much as possible about the profiles of school homicides.  An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December, 2001, tells us what to look for.  It reviewed 220 events resulting in 253 deaths.  202 involved a single death while 18 involved multiple deaths.  Students accounted for 68% of the deaths and the vast majority were homicides.  50% occurred while official school activities were in progress with 17.8% occurring near the start of school, 17.8% during lunchtime and 21.3% occurring near the end of the school day.  Over half were preceded by some action that indicated potential for such an event (like a suicide note, a video posting or a poem).  Homicide perpetrators were nearly 7 times more likely to have expressed suicidal thoughts, 3 times more likely to have had a history of criminal charges, 3 times more likely to have been a gang member, twice as likely to have associated with high-risk peers, or been considered a loner and twice as likely to have used alcohol or drugs on a weekly basis.  Finally, homicide perpetrators were twice as likely to have been bullied by peers, more likely to have been reported to the principal's office for disobeying an authority figure and less likely to have participated in extracurricular affairs.

The study revealed a number of findings that should guide violence prevention activities in the future. 

1) Since most events occurred during transitions, it is essential to reduce crowding, increase supervision and have protocols for handling disputes that occur during such transition times (school entry or close and lunchtime). 

2) Since over half were preceded by a note, threat or journal entry, it is important to empower students to report such threats and to encourage school officials to take such threats seriously.  

3) Since suicidal thinking is so common amongst perpetrators and suicidal thinking may be occurring in up to 20% of all high school students, it is important to focus on risk factors for suicidal behavior in our schools. 

4) Finally, since so many perpetrators have been described as having been bullied by their peers, it is important to develop programs that sensitize teachers to recognize and respond to bullying incidents between students.

Finally, here is a site recommended by Dr. Boyle with links to many good resources on this topic.

Carnival 2012- WOW!

This year's Carnival was a HUGE success!  So many families came for fun and fun was had.  We're still sorting out receipts, but it looks like this year's efforts raised five times as much as last year!  That's incredible!

Thank you to not only to the families who came and "volunteered" their wallets, but also to the parents, students and staff who also gave of their time to pull this fantastic day off!  There are lots of pictures to share, so enjoy the first round!

Sunview Stars: February 23rd

Blogger was uncooperative, so the Sunview Star for February 23rd had to be posted separately, so here they are!

Student	Nominated by	Reason
Carley W.	Mrs. Bell	Always taking the time to help a classmate tie his or her shoes
Sam B.	Mrs. Ambrose	Strong problem solving
Madison H.	Mrs. Ambrose	Asking a classmae to join game
Mason A.	Mrs. Ambrose	On task and focused
Kylie G.	Ms. Meyer	Working quietly at centers
Bryan G.	Ms. Meyer	Working quietly at centers
Antonio I.	Ms. Meyer	Working quietly at centers
Anthony C.	Ms. Meyer	Working quietly at centers
Aidan B.	Ms. Meyer	Working quietly at centers
Lawrence H.	Mrs. Pollack	Having a great two days in class
Mia T.	Mrs. Pompeani	Good participation and effort
AJ K.	Mrs. Pompeani	Good participation and effort
Kailey G.	Mrs. Argo	Following directions
Makenzie J.	Mrs. Argo	Following directions
Nasie T.	Mrs. Argo	Good cooperation
Dominic O.	Mrs. Argo	Multiplication master
Pj T.	Mrs. Erwin	Always giving 110%
Terrell R.	Mrs. Erwin	Working hard in all subjects
Rown B.	Mrs. Erwin	Working hard in class
Noah M.	Ms. Johnson	Studying so very hard and doing an excellent jon on his science assessment
Ashley W.	Ms. Johnson	Working hard all week long
Paul M.	Ms. Johnson	Helping Ms. Johnson put up chairs a the end of the day
Brittni B.	Mr. Stahl	Helpful to guest teacher
Isy H.	Mr. Stahl	Working hard to resolve a problem
Mason H.	Ms. Wilson	Being a great listener
Charlie G.	Ms. Wilson	Getting all green on his behavior chart
Mimi L.	Ms. Jordan	Bus line role model
Lawrence H.	Ms. Jordan	Bus line role model
Nick D.	Ms. Jordan	Bus line role model
Tim D.	Ms. Jordan	Helping a younger student find something she lost and returning it to her
Iyan T.	Ms. Jordan	Helping a younger student find something she lost and returning it to her

Sunview Stars: February 16th

Today's a two-fer for announcing who the most recent Sunview Stars for the past two weeks!  We've been busy getting ready for Saturday's Carnival (which is going to be so much fun!), so here are the Sunview Stars from not only February 16th, but also February 23rd!

February 16th:

Student	Nominated by	Reason
Alex C.	Mrs. Groudle	Participating so much in class
Ben H.	Mrs. Groudle	Helping to clean out the wooden cubbies
Vincent C.	Mrs. Groudle	Helping Team 2 stay focused
Bryce G.	Mrs. Groudle	Helping another student with her morning work
Kaye F.	Ms. Jordan	Peer role model for all in bus line
Heather L.	Ms. Jordan	Always willing to help others
Natalie S.	Mrs. Pollack	Working so hard
Jeovanni M.	Mrs. Pollack	Improved reading
Angelo F.	Mrs. Pollack	Improved class participation
Antonya S.	Mrs. Argo	Giving a compliment
Chris C.	Mrs. Argo	Following traffic rules
Catelyn C.	Mrs. Argo	Following traffic rules
Heather L.	Mrs. Argo	Following traffic rules
Kaley J.	Mrs. Argo	Following traffic rules
Valerie B.	Mrs. Pomeani	Remembering to raise her hands during class discussions
Alfred M.	Mrs. Pomeani	Shwoing kindness and respect to his classmates and teachers
Monti Y.	Mrs. Pomeani	Good self control
Noah G.	Ms. Meyer	Completing centerwork quietly
Taylar L.	Ms. Meyer	Completing centerwork quietly
Gabby P.	Ms. Meyer	Completing centerwork quietly
Zoey L.	Ms. Meyer	Completing centerwork quietly
Antonio M.	Ms. Meyer	Completing centerwork quietly
Dominick C.	Mrs. Zawacki	Always doing the right thing
Mu'Tazz L.	Mrs. Zawacki	Always saying than you and being polite
Caleb T.	Mrs. Burkholder	Putting forth best effort in reading
Julius J.	Mrs. Burkholder	Always willing to help out friends and in the classroom
Kara S.	Mrs. Burkholder	Gives helpful reminders in order to help teacher and friends
Allison D.	Mrs. Burkholder	Always on task to get work done
Rebecca S.	Mrs. Burkholder	Coming in every morning and getting right to work
Victor F.	Mrs. Tierney	Good cooperation during the terrarium lesson
Hannah D.	Mrs. Tierney	Good cooperation during the terrarium lesson
Jayden W.	Mrs. Tierney	Good cooperation during the terrarium lesson
John D.	Mrs. Tierney	Good cooperation during the terrarium lesson
Kendall T.	Mrs. Tierney	Good cooperation during the terrarium lesson
Cidney W.	Mrs. Tierney	Good cooperation during the terrarium lesson
Rebecca S.	Ms. Jordan	Student role model
Kendall T.	Ms. Jordan	Student role model
Braydon C.	Mrs. Bell	Being excellent role models in the classroom
Asonte S.	Mrs. Bell	Being excellent role models in the classroom
Natalie S.	Ms. Jordan	School hallway role model, every day and always!
Connor B.	Mrs. Grist	Always raising his hand and waiting for the teacher to call on him
Gianna S.	Ms. Johnson	Exemplary behaviour during weekly restroom breaks and for helping to keep our restrooms clean
Ashely W.	Ms. Johnson	Exemplary behaviour during weekly restroom breaks and for helping to keep our restrooms clean
Ja'Dyn H.	Ms. Johnson	Exemplary behaviour during weekly restroom breaks and for helping to keep our restrooms clean
Kyle L.	Ms. Johnson	Exemplary behaviour during weekly restroom breaks and for helping to keep our restrooms clean

Sunview Stars, for Feb. 9th

Better a little late, than never, right?  Here are the February 9, 2012 Sunview Stars:

Student	Nominated by	Nominated for
Nasie T.	Mrs. Argo	Getting right to work
Nick D.	Mrs. Argo	Getting right to work
Dominic A.	Mrs. Argo	Getting right to work
Nathan M.	Mrs. Zawacki	Nice job with behaviour yesterday
Blake B.	Mrs. Zelinka	Trying your best and working hard in reading club
Jaya C.	Mrs. Zelinka	Trying your best and working hard in reading club
Johnnie E.	Mrs. Zelinka	Trying your best and working hard in reading club
Parker L.	Mrs. Zelinka	Trying your best and working hard in reading club
Alexander D.	Mrs. Zelinka	Trying your best and working hard in reading club
Annabel M.	Mrs. Burkholder	Excellent use of dialogue and narration in your writing
Olivia H.	Mrs. Burkholder	Extra effort in math and reading- lead to great test scores
Sean P.	Mrs. Burkholder	Helping organize homework every morning and still getting his work done
Kara S.	Mrs. Burkholder	Being such a kind friend to everyone, especially those with special needs
Rebeca S.	Mrs. Burkholder	Coming in all week and getting started rigth away on morning work
Chase A.	Mrs. Bell	Working very hard every morning in his writing journal
Justin B	Ms. Jordan	Great team work
Jack P.	Ms. Jordan	Great team work
Tammy C.	Ms. Jordan	Great team work
Brandon H.	Ms. Jordan	Great team work
Michael F.	Ms. Jordan	Great team work
Rowarn B.	Ms. Jordan	Great team work
Amaya L.	Ms. Jordan	Great team work
Heather L.	Mrs. Nord	Being a friend to other students on the playground
Charlie L.	Mrs. Groudle	Trying to use better handwriting this week
Justin C.	Mrs. Groudle	Helping a friend find a page in the practice book
Alijah M.	Mrs. Groudle	Keeping his glasses on all week
Hailey I.	Mrs. Groudle	Reading directions loud and clear in reading
Makayla P.	Mrs. Groudle	Reading directions loud and clear in reading
Savannah S.	Mrs. Groudle	Picking up winter coats in the halway
Lexy R.	Mrs. Groudle	Picking up winter coats in the halway
Betsy W.	Mrs. Groudle	Picking up winter coats in the halway
Ashley C.	Mrs. Groudle	Completed missed schoolwork from an absence very quickly
Lexi K.	Mrs. Erwin	Always being a great example
Monica D.	Mrs. Erwin	Always being a great example
Matt K.	Ms. Brzuski	Completing his Zero Hour Pedometer Power Log.  Great job getting 10,000 steps daily.
Brittni B.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Brooklyn B.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Brune B.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Carolyn H.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Cassie M.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Frannie R.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Hana N.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Iris M.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Jake A.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Leroy M.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Olivia M.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Paul M.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Valerie B.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Zachary K.	Mrs. Spackey	Fabulous Music Club performance
Grace Y.	Mrs. Ambrose	Being focused and on task during reading
Brandon M.	Mrs. Ambrose	Giving a correct answer in phonics
Mia O.	Mrs. Ambrose	Writing 3 complete correct sentences to retell a story
Marneice J.	Mrs. Morhe	Practiced their reading "take home" books to build fluency
McKenzye W.	Mrs. Morhe	Practiced their reading "take home" books to build fluency
Julian M.	Mrs. Morhe	Practiced their reading "take home" books to build fluency
Kayli R.	Mrs. Young	Helping a student joyfully
Emma B.	Mrs. Young	Always having a smile
Jimmera M.	Mrs. Young	Trying extra hard in math
Hunter C.	Mr. Stahl	Showing what he knows during a Jeopardy game
Logan T.	Mr. Stahl	Showing what he knows during a Jeopardy game
Sam O.	Mr. Stahl	Practicing cursive on his own
Kamryn T.	Ms. Meyer	Setting a good exmaple on the carpet
Comenic C.	Ms. Meyer	Setting a good exmaple on the carpet
Alex D.	Ms. Meyer	Setting a good exmaple on the carpet
Alijah L.	Ms. Meyer	Setting a good exmaple on the carpet
Jocelyn M.	Mrs. Tierney	Good class participation
Ethan G.	Mrs. Tierney	Good job aling on Sunview stripes
Cory L.	Mrs. Grist	Nice focus during large group activities
Max B.	Mrs. Grist	Wonderful passion for books

Baby, its cold outside!

Don't forget to dress your kiddos in a hat, gloves, snow pants and boots now through April (well, at least until the snow stops flying!).  Kids without boots are not allowed off of the blacktop during recess and that's no fun, so don't forget.  My solution is to send the snow pants and shoes in a separate bag each day and my kiddo changes into shoes at the start of the day and then he's set for recess if the weather is good enough to go out.

Plus, because he had all of his winter gear, he was able to go sledding during recess earlier this week.    Kids in all grade levels were able to go sledding twice this week.  Kudos to Ms. Brzuski for making sledding an option for a recess zone!

Star Helper Update: Food Drive and Senior Basket Update

SENIOR BASKET UPDATE

            Thanks to all the students and parents, our Sunview Star Helpers, for bringing in donations for our Senior Basket drive.  Last year, Sunview students donated 10 baskets worth of goodies.  This year we blew that number out of the water and had 16 FULL baskets to give!   

 

 The baskets will be distributed around Valentine’s Day.  If you are interested in delivering a basket please contact Beth Lydic.

Our senior neighbors greatly appreciate your gifts! 

FOOD DRIVE WEEK ONE

Congratulations to Mrs. Bell’s Kindergarten class who brought in the most food donations this week.  They donated a whopping 13 items!! 

Don’t forget to bring in your non-perishable food items every Friday this month to help your “adopted family”.

Thank you for your help in teaching our students to respect and care for others!

If you have questions please contact Beth Lydic.

Motivating Kids to Read

Motivating children to read is one of those agony-ecstasy tasks every parent and teacher faces sooner or later. When the desire to read is planted, nurtured, and grows—ecstasy; but when an appreciation of reading fails to take root—agony...for the parent, teacher, and child. There are myriad reasons children don’t like to read, and the following selection of articles will explain why and what parents and teachers can do about it; provide valuable tips on what won’t work (nagging, bribing, criticizing); and offer practical advice on reading activities that will keep the entire family engaged during summer months and holiday breaks. As one article says: “The most effective way to encourage your children to love books and reading is to read aloud to them, and the earlier you start, the better. Even a baby of a few months can see pictures, listen to your voice, and turn cardboard pages.”

Go to www.rif.org for more information and other great articles like this one.

February 2 Sunview Stars!

Hurray to the following students for being recognized as Sunview Stars February 2, 2012:

Student	Teacher	Reason
Tyler G.	Mrs. Bell	Being helpful and carrying a heavy bag for a classmate
Connor A.	Mrs. Ambrose	Getting 100% on a math test
Maddie P.	Mrs. Ambrose	Getting 100% on a math test
Ben D.	Mrs. Ambrose	Getting 100% on a math test
Sophie F.	Mrs. Erwin	Working hard on math
Matt. S.	Ms. Jordan	Good role models and leaders
Hailey B.	Ms. Jordan	Good role models and leaders
Kaye F.	Ms. Jordan	Good role models and leaders
Michael D.	Ms. Jordan	Good role models and leaders
Dylan S.	Ms. Jordan	Good citizen in Mrs. Zawacki's class
Brandon M.	Ms. Jordan	Excellent effort in small group
Brady D.	Ms. Jordan	Bus leader
Bryce T.	Mr. Stahl	Saying please and thank you
Julian M.	Mr. Stahl	Having a big smile and working hard
Michael D.	Mr. Stahl	Concentrating durng cursive lessons
Maddie C.	Mr. Stahl	Being a good friend
Mark T.	Mr. Stahl	Turning a bad day into a good one
Jonathan B.	Mrs. Pompeani	Having great self control
Stell	Mrs. Pompeani	Being kind to her peers
Natalie B.	Ms. Meyer	Keeping coat rack clean
Nixk O.	Ms. Meyer	Finishing his work
Hailey S.	Ms. Meyer	Practicing her sight words
Kamryn T.	Ms. Meyer	Sitting quietly during carpet time
Chinedu O.	Mrs. Helmet	Working hard to complete his classwork
Jack D.	Mrs. Burkholder	Excellen job on putting effort into tests.  Got all As on last 3 tests!
Aidan F.	Mrs. Burkholder	Great job on participating for Grammar on carpet
Jathan D.	Mrs. Burkholder	Turning all homework in all week
Megan M.	Mrs. Burkholder	Continues to be a great role model in line, groups, and for making good choices
Michael F.	Mrs. Burkholder	Trying hard to participate at the carpet and in groups.  Excellent focus on getting work done!
Tyler G.	Mrs. Zelinka	Great work on rhyming words
Summerlin P.	Mrs. Zelinka	Doing your best in Reading Club
Marissa B.	Mrs. Zelinka	Practicing you sight wwords
Mia T.	Mrs. Zelinka	Impriving in Reading Club
Isaiah W.	Mrs. Zelinka	Improving in Reading Club
Nicholas G.	Ms. Wilson	Not talking during the fire drill
Hayden H.	Ms. Wilson	Working hard on reading skills
Sammie L.	Mrs. Zawacki	Getting her work done in a timely manner
Brenna S.	Mrs. Zawacki	Doing better at being focused at carpet time
Ferhat G.	Ms. Johnson	Accepting responsibility for his actions, even though it was hard
Danielle B.	Ms. Johnson	Working so very hard to make-up and complete her work after being absent for almost a week!
Holden S.	Mrs. Grist	Superstar effort in reading
Sophia D.	Mrs. Grist	Great job completing all her work to the best of her ability
Stephanie R.	Mrs. Tierney	Finding the spelling of words in the reading passage
Angela H.	Mrs. Tierney	Writing details from reading passage
India J.	Mrs. Tierney	Completing morning on Wednesday
Danny S.	Mrs. Tierney	Completing morning on Wednesday
Antonya S.	Mrs. Argo	Making good choices
Nick D.	Mrs. Argo	Amazing Treasures test scores
Michael C.	Mrs. Argo	Amazing Treasures test scores
Nathan E.	Mrs. Argo	Amazing Treasures test scores
Jared W.	Mrs. Argo	Huge improvement in reading
Alexis E.	Mrs. Bell	Always helping to keep the classroom clean
Christopher R.	Mrs. Bell	Always putting forth his best effort in everything he does
Charlie L.	Mrs. Groudle	Being so kind to Betsy
Vincent Crenshaw	Mrs. Groudle	Always raising his hand before he speaks
Benjamin H.	Mrs. Groudle	Listening to Mrs. Groudel when she asks him to make a better choice- he does!
Lexy R.	Mrs. Groudle	Always thinking "outside the box"
Gio T.	Mrs. Groudle	Helping Mrs. Groudle realize she made a mistake, but being very kind about it
Betsy W.	Mrs. Groudle	Helping Mrs. Groudle realize she made a mistake, but being very kind about it

5 Reasons to Get Involved

Higher grades and better behavior are just a few of the  benefits of parent involvement.

by Emily Graham- Article from www.schoolfamily.com

What if you could help your child enjoy school more, get better grades, and reduce behavior problems at the same time? Reams of research has shown that regardless of parents’ income and educational background, their involvement in education helps their kids do better in and out of school.

Parent involvement can be as simple as helping with math homework or reading a book together at bedtime. Going to parent-teacher conferences is important, but taking the family to the school spaghetti supper makes a difference, too. More involvement is better, but you don’t have to be president of the PTO or run the school carnival. As long as your actions show that you value education, your child is likely to respond. Here are just a few of the reasons you should get involved in your child’s education:

Higher grades. Kids whose parents are involved in their education get better grades and have higher test scores. And the more parents are involved, the more their children seem to benefit. A study of parents highly involved in the educational process showed that their children were more likely to improve in reading and math.

Better behavior. Kids develop better social skills and show improved behavior when their parents are involved at school. Studies have also shown that kids are less likely to skip school, less disruptive in class, and more likely to do their homework when their parents are involved. One study showed that when dads are highly involved in schools, their children enjoy school more and are less likely to be suspended, expelled, or required to repeat a grade.

Improved education. Research shows that parent involvement can help improve the quality of schools, raise teacher morale, and improve a school’s reputation in the community. Involved parents gain the respect of teachers; as a result, teachers have higher expectations of their children. Involvement pays off in the long term, too: Children stay in school longer and are more likely to continue their education after high school.

Increased confidence. When students feel supported at home and school, they develop more positive attitudes about school, have more self-confidence, and place a higher priority on academic achievement. Children of involved parents are more likely to feel that they’re accepted, included, and respected and at school.

Parents benefit, too. When parents become involved in their children’s education, they become more comfortable in the school building, gain confidence in their parenting skills, and feel more capable of helping their children learn. They’re also more likely to continue their own education.

Involvement is easy. You don’t have to log hundreds of volunteer hours for your child to benefit. Even if you can only volunteer a few hours a year, every little bit counts. If you’re ready to do more, your school’s parent-teacher group can help you find ways to get involved that fit both your schedule and your interests.

What are those Box Tops used for anyway?

Why the heck do we ask for those little pink "box tops'?  We send them in for CASH redemption a few times a year.  Each little box top is worth $.10.  Not much individually, but think a bout the amount of money its possible to "raise" without very much effort at all!  You're buying products featuring the pink labels anyway, so make sure to send them in, and while you're at it, why not encourage friends and family to save them for you?

In fact, ALL of the money we "raise" with box top collection goes to fund teacher and staff grants.  In December, the following grants were given:

• 2 iPads- one for use by Ms. Brzuski  and one for use by Ms. Bougambouz who will use it with some of our kids who are on the autism spectrum.  As a total aside, if you haven't seen the 60 Minute segment on this subject, check it out.  It is truly amazing to provide kids with this technology that can give them a voice when they otherwise may not have one.
• A one year school subscription to Brainpop.  The subscription is for school use only, but check out the site and see if it might be a tool to use at home.  They have family subscriptions available too.  There is also a Brainpop App for iPods and iPads, so check it out.
• Books for use by Dr. Boyle as she teaches change through reading books to kids individually and as groups rather than "lecturing."

In all, we gave more than $2100 away for these "mini" grants that will really make for great additions to Sunview.  So keep those little pink labels coming!

As if those weren't reasons enough to send in the Box Tops, we sweetened the pot with a Pizza Party Contest.  Here are the current class totals since the contest started in November:

Groudle         528

Tierney          388

Pompeani      368

Johnson        307

Grist             207

Argo             177

Wilson          169

Meyer           127

Stahl             125

Erwin            118

Pollack          114

Burkholder     108

Young           107

Ambrose       107

Steiner          104

Bell               100

Zawacki         93

Helmet/Treer 10

                       2943 Total (That's $294.30 already!)

One month to go!  Check your pantry for those pink labels and send them in by 2/29 to count towards contest totals.