September
2013
Independent School District 196
Rosemount Elementary School Newsletter
READING ROCKS
AROUND THE
WORLD
2013-14!
652 students came to school on Tuesday ready to learn and
meet new friends. We have had a great start to the new
school year. Here are a few updates for 2013-14.
Thank you for participating and/or contacting us about
summer literacy assessments. We were able to
assess 95% of our students prior to the start of
school. The information that we are able to gain is
very helpful in planning for instruction and student
learning.
This year we will not print and distribute school calendars and handbook. We are saving costs of printing, postage and personnel by placing our calendar
information on the homepage of website
www.district196.org/re
It's almost time for
Rosemount Elementary's Read-a-Thon,
Reading Rocks Around the World!
This is our primary PTO fundraiser;
we do not sell cookie dough or gift
wrap to raise funds for Rosemount
Elementary School. All students are
strongly encouraged to participate
in order to promote literacy and
make this a fun and profitable fundraiser for our school.
On behalf of our school district transportation department, I apologize for the inconvenience of not having bus information for your child. An error occurred for Rosemount Elementary families, and
bus stop information was not mailed for our students. Thank you for your patience and for contacting us about accurate information to assure
your child’s safety.
Please join me and members of our school community
on October 1st at 6:00 for a Parent Information
night about the School Levy Referendum Vote this
fall. I will present information and answer questions about the Levy Vote on November 5th. I encourage you to attend and to contact me directly if
you have any questions.
Thank you to the Rosemount Elementary Parent
Teacher Organization (PTO) for planning and
funding activities throughout the school year. The
PTO organizes a read-a-thon each fall. Please
watch for information about the Reading Rocks
Around The World read-a-thon kick-off on September 13th!
Thank you for your partnership in education,
Tom
The Read-a-Thon runs from September 16th to September 29th.
Be sure to join us for a fun-filled
Family Read-a-Thon Kick-off Celebration on Friday, September 13 at
6:30PM to learn more about it! We
will be serving international foods,
donated by local restaurants
(families with allergies, please be
aware!) and answering your questions about
Reading Rocks Around the World.
We hope to see you there!
~
District 196 does not engage in unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, status with regard
to public assistance, sexual orientation or age. The School District Attorney, 14445 Diamond Path West, Rosemount, MN 55068, (651) 423-7883, has been designated to respond to inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies, including inquiries under Title IX.
Rosemount Elementary School
Visit our Website - http://district196.org/re
Box Tops News
–
School Year
Goal of 90,000
Start sending in those Box Tops you
have been saving!
This year, we will be doing a weeklong
drive each month so classrooms and
students have more opportunities to
compete and receive rewards for their
efforts. Check your Friday Folder for
more specific date information, but the
collection this month is September 9 –
13.
Check out the PTO website or media
hallway for the recap and ongoing progress report posted the week after each
collection.
The 90,000 Box Tops goal can be
reached if each student brings in just 16
box tops each month!
Open Gym!
Open Gym for K/1st will be Tuesday, September
24, 6:30-8:00PM. Come hang out and play with
us! Bring your parents too! This is for K & 1st
graders only. Open Gym nights will be held for all
grades at different times throughout the year.
(Please make other arrangements for children not
in the specified grades.)
~~~
The first Wendy’s Night will be held
Wednesday, September 25, 5:00-7:00PM. Come
out and eat dinner with us or grab it at the drivethru! 10% of all proceeds go to Rosemount Elementary!
REPTO News
Hello Families –
As I start thinking about the upcoming school year – I
am filled with a nervous excitement. The Rosemount
Elementary PTO has many things planned to make
this a great school year. Some things will be familiar
and others will be new events, and we hope you’ll get
involved! The start time of our REPTO meetings is
changing to 6:30pm to make them easier for our families to get to. Meetings will be held to one hour so we
can all get home and get the kids to bed. Free childcare is provided by the High School National Honor
students, who take the kids to the playground, gym, or
they play games in a classroom.
I am excited that Amy Sutton will be creating a communication plan for the REPTO in addition to her role
as the Vice President. We are fortunate to have Sarah
Rothstein and Chuck Riehle performing the duties of
Treasurer. They provide monthly reports to the leadership committee as well as quarterly recaps at the
REPTO meetings. Jackie Lee Stone, will be serving as
our Secretary this year, publishing the minutes from
our REPTO meetings within one week of the meeting.
If you are unable to attend the meetings, you can review the minutes and budget at www.repto.org. The
last member of the leadership committee is Annie Miga, our Volunteer Coordinator. You will hear from
her throughout the year with opportunities to help with
many different events and activities.
Thanks to the creativity of Veronica Browning, you
may have noticed the REPTO has a new logo! This
will be used to help standardize our communications,
and I also invite you to take a minute to visit the RE
PTO’s website (www.repto.org). We will be posting
forms, providing event information, and keeping you
updated throughout the year.
Finally, previous monthly newsletters would always
contain a letter from the REPTO president, but we will
be changing that some months to provide more informal tidbits about the various things happening at our
school. I invite you to contact me, or any of the RE
PTO officers, with any ideas or feedback you might
have. Let’s have a great year together!
Becky Pasch, REPTO President
Use of e-mail at Rosemount Elementary School:
We value effective communication at our school. The use of e-mail has increased over the last few years. Most of our staff members do not
have their e-mail accounts open during the school day while they are working with students. As stated in our handbook: The staff at RES
have an agreement to reply to e-mails within two school days. If your need to communicate with a staff member is urgent, please call the
school office (651-423-7690) and we will relay your message to the appropriate person.
Rosemount Elementary School
Visit our Website - http://district196.org/re
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK
SERVICES
Our school provides school social
work services to students and families. The purpose of these services is to help students overcome
barriers to learning, and to reach
their highest academic potential. In addition to facilitating classroom presentations, these services include
individual counseling to students, support groups, parent meetings and community resources/referrals.
Support Groups and Individual Social Work Services
may include a variety of concerns, including:
Family Change/Divorce
Grief and Loss
Social Skills/Anti-bullying Skills
Anxiety
If you would like your child referred for social work
services or want further information, please contact
our School Social Worker, Susan Piepgras, at (651)
423-7634 or Susan.Piepgras@district196.org.
Volunteer Corner
~~~
I am so thrilled to be back to school
and starting off a new and exciting
year! It will be a year filled with
changes because we have many
NEW events happening! This will offer more opportunities for families to
spend time together at school and get
to know staff, other parents and
friends even better. If you are interested in helping with our big events,
please email me or fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form and return it to
school. We will be utilizing SignUp
Genius again this year, so look for
emails from me as events come
up! I’m looking forward to meeting
and working with many of you!
Annie Miga, Volunteer Coordinator,
volunteer@repto.org
Rosemount Elementary School
Food Allergies
Food allergies are on the rise nationwide
and there are several students at Rosemount Elementary School in every grade
level with severe food allergies. Food allergies can cause mild symptoms (a few
hives, itching) or anaphylaxis.
Anaphylaxis is a serious and life-threatening allergic reaction. Symptoms of anaphylaxis can include trouble breathing, wheezing, dizziness, swelling in throat, pale or bluish
skin, stomachache, vomiting and swelling of eyes, lips and
tongue. These symptoms can progress quickly and lead to
death if not treated. Strict avoidance is the only way to prevent a reaction.
The most common foods children are allergic to are, peanuts,
peanut butter, tree nuts (almond, cashews, pecans, walnuts
and pistachios), eggs, milk, soy, shellfish and wheat. Even a
trace amount ingested can cause a severe reaction.
We are asking for everyone’s assistance in providing students
with severe allergies a safe learning environment at school.
Foods with these ingredients are allowed in our school but
should be eaten only in the lunchroom where the tables are
cleaned regularly. Some students with food allergies need to
sit with no one in close proximity with foods they are allergic
to during meals.
This is what you can do:
•
Discuss with your student they should never share food
with other students.
•
Discuss importance of finding an adult quickly to help if a
classmate becomes ill.
• Discuss with your student the importance of washing
hands after eating before returning to classroom. This will
prevent food and nut residue from being transferred to door
handles, library books, desks and playground equipment.
•
If asked to provide a snack for after school or a special
event a fresh fruit or vegetable will be allowed.
Parent volunteers should avoid eating while with students and
never give a student food or candy.
Maintaining a safe environment depends on increased awareness and attention to the factors that could trigger lifethreatening emergencies for students with severe allergies,
and we ask all who use our facilities and buses to be aware of
allergens and the risk they pose to students with severe allergies.
If you’d like more information about food allergies, go to
www.foodallergy.org.or contact Jeanne Fifield, RN, School
Nurse.
Visit our Website - http://district196.org/re