Walters Junior High’s Newsletter for EL Parents & Students
4th Quarter: April – June 2010
http://www.fremont.k12.ca.us/walters/
Vinh Lam, Principal
vlam@fremont.k12.ca.us
Julie Dana, Vice Principal
jdana@fremont.k12.ca.us
Jacyln McClintock, Teacher & EL Liaison
jmcclintock@fremont.k12.ca.us
EL Liaison’s Message…….
Got spring fever? As I am writing
this newsletter we are just returning from
Spring Break and are completing our last
week of the 3rd quarter. Report cards will be
mailed home towards the end of April. This
month is packed with school activities like
Open House, the Talent Show, Spirit Week,
Earth Day and the lunchtime soccer
tournament. Additionally, all students and
staff are busy preparing for the upcoming
STAR tests in May.
To recap the last quarter, Horner
Junior High hosted another successful
annual Family Institute in late February.
Families of EL, Migrant, SDI, Native
American and district Pre-K programs were
invited to participate in a variety of
workshops, information tables and eat
lunch! If you missed the event this year, be
sure to plan for the next institute in 2011!
I hope that you’ve had a chance to
take a look at our school’s newly updated
website. If not, please take a moment to
visit the Walters school homepage at
http://www.fremont.k12.ca.us/walters. Click
on the “Information” tab in the main menu
bar. Then click the link called “EL (English
Learner) Parent Information.” Please know
that we strive to improve communication
between home and school. Your comments
and suggestions for development of the site
and this newsletter are always welcome!
Jacyln McClintock
Spanish Teacher/EL Liaison
SSC/ELAC
The last meeting was held on Wednesday,
February 10th. Included in the agenda were
details about DELAC, a professional
development strategy called GLAD (Guided
Language Acquisition Design) and the
SELAS mentoring program. First, at the last
DELAC meeting Vinh Lam and Jacyln
McClintock presented information to the
district highlighting our site EL programs.
You can view the PowerPoint presentation
on the school website. Second, Walters
hosted the GLAD demonstrations for
secondary teachers across the district. Ms.
Yuen’s ELD classes served as the model for
the demonstrations. Presenters modeled a
variety of techniques, tools and ideas
focused on how to teach EL students.
Third, the SELAS team had their first 1-on-1
meetings with 40 EL students whose GPA is
below a 2.0. We set goals, talked about
grades, homework help and intervention. All
six mentors felt the day was productive and
look forward to the next meetings in April.
DELAC
Walters is still looking for a parent
representative to attend DELAC meetings.
The last DELAC is on Wednesday, May 19th
at 6:30 p.m. Brier Elementary School. Your
sole responsibility as the Walters rep is to
attend the meeting! Please call the office at
(510) 656-7211 if you’re interested in
representing Walters!
So much testing, what does it mean?
The 2010 CELDT (California English
Language Development Test) results were
released and reports sent to parents in
February.
With the California STAR
(Standardized Testing and Reporting) in
May it is important to discuss these results
with your students because it is the goal of
every EL student to demonstrate English
proficiency and be reclassified from EL to
RFEP. Once students are reclassified it
signals to school personnel that they no
longer need to be placed in ELD classes or
require special instruction to meet their
language needs. They can perform at the
same level as a native speaker of English.
In order to be reclassified, the student must
score proficient on both the CELDT and
CST – ELA (California Standards Test –
English/Language Arts) portion of the
STAR. Typically it takes an EL student 4-5
years to reach proficiency. Students are
particularly affected if they do not pass both
the CELDT and CST by high school
because they may have to take additional
English classes instead of an elective or
other course.
This in turn can affect
graduation credits and admission to
colleges and universities.
All EL students will meet with Jacyln
McClintock to discuss CELDT and CST test
score history prior to the testing week in
May.
We want to be sure students
understand why they have to take so many
tests and what the big picture really looks
like.
Students are accountable for the
meeting state standards so they also need
to be educated about the purpose and
potential outcomes of their test results.
EL Mentoring Program
Our six staff members who form the site
SELAS (Secondary English Language
Advisory Support) team conducted the first
set of mentoring meetings in March. Our
goal was to establish a rapport with the
students, talk about their needs, set goals
and help them make good decisions for
their learning. We all felt the day was a
success and absolutely worthwhile. We
found that overall, these struggling students
wanted to improve, do well in school and
make their parents proud but didn’t have the
tools or motivation to do so. Our team will
have a second round of meetings in mid
April and then a final meeting in May to
conclude the year.
After School Clubs
There are two clubs that take place after
school. All EL students are welcome and
encouraged to attend. The EL Computer
Club meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays in
Room 12 with Ms. Yuen. Students with
beginning level English proficiency (EL 1 &
2) do a variety of communicative activities in
the computer lab to help them develop their
language skills. The EL Book Club meets
on Wednesdays in Room 11 with Ms.
Hayward. Students with intermediate or
higher level English proficiency (EL 3, 4 & 5)
read books aloud, discuss themes and do
activities in a relaxed setting small group
setting. If you are interested in having your
student participate in either club you can
contact the front office for more information.
EVENT CALENDAR
Event/Meeting
Date
Time
Place
SSC/ELAC Meeting
4/14/10
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Walters JHS, library
3rd Quarter Ends
SELAS Mentor Meetings
Open House
STAR Testing
SSC/ELAC Meeting
4th Quarter Progress Reports
SELAS Mentor Meetings
DELAC Meeting
Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL
Last day of school
4/16/10
4/20/10
4/21/10
5/3 – 5/7/10
5/12/10
5/17/10
5/18/10
5/19/10
5/31/10
6/17/10
During school
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
During school
2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Walters JHS
Walters JHS
Walters JHS
Walters JHS, library
Mailed home
Walters JHS
Brier School
During school
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.