Dear Lakeridge Families,
Happy Fall! It is hard to believe September has already come
and gone. We have had a very busy month here at Lakeridge
and I would like to thank you all for your support in making it a
smooth start to the school year and to our PTA and volunteers
for all of their work organizing events (Bike Rodeo, Fall Family
Picnic), and volunteers. The staff and I feel very fortunate to
have such wonderful support!
This month I wanted to focus on some new things that are
happening this year at Lakeridge.
Safety and Security:
As many of you know, we have added additional supervision in
the “Kiss and Go” lane to help expedite traffic flow and keep
students safe. The addition of Denise Hopkins(AM) and Katie
Knowles(PM) was made possible with the financial support of
our PTA. Please continue to help insure student safety by
having students enter and exit the vehicle curb-side.
With 200-300 kids on the playground this year at any given
time, we have added an additional monitor so that we have six
adults on the playground at each recess. They are also wearing
bright yellow vests so that they are easily spotted by our
students should they need support. Jon Davis is taking the lead
on helping manage behavior and friendship issues on the
playground with support from Julie Mattson and from Kathy
Morrsion and me.
Finally, as many of you have experienced, we have new kiosk
for our volunteers and visitors to use to sign in when they are
in the building. The “Lobby Guard” is an electronic way for us
to track volunteer hours and visitors and in the event of an
emergency can give us an accurate report on who is in the
building. More information about how to use the machine will
be coming out soon as well as “frequent visitor key fobs” that
will be issued to volunteers who have undergone background
checks and are in volunteering more than three hours a month.
As of this Monday, October 6, the plastic badges we will no
longer use the plastic badges.
Curriculum:
Mondo Bookshop: This year our K-2 classrooms are utilizing
the new ELA curriculum, Mondo Bookshop. This program is a
research based, Common Core reading program that
emphasizes a comprehensive approach to teaching reading
through daily instruction in phonics, oral language,
comprehension and strategy instruction through a gradual
release framework. Students engage daily in whole group
teacher lead activities such as shared reading or read aloud
and phonics/word work where teachers provide specific
guided instruction (I do). Additionally, through leveled guided
reading groups and small group tasks phonics/word work,
students have the opportunity to practice skills with the
support of the teacher(We do). Finally, through independent
reading, leveled classroom libraries, and specifically chosen
practice activities, students are able to hone their skills and
demonstrate their progress toward mastery (You do). The
program also has a series of benchmark assessments that
teachers are utilizing to monitor student progress in all
instructional areas.
The staff has undergone a full day of training this past August,
with an additional two day grade level lead training that took
place last week. These grade level leads will work with their
grade level peers to model lessons, help with planning, and
support teachers throughout the year. Next week, trainers
from Mondo will be our building on October 8, to provide
another day of professional development to all K-2 staff.
Finally, this year we are very fortunate to have Amanda
Higgins as our District Literacy Coach whose full time job is to
work with and support K-2 teachers with this program.
Fred Rundle, Director of Learning Services and Amanda
Higgins will be putting on two informational sessions for
parents who want to learn more about the new program and
how they can support their children. Both sessions are being
held on October 16. A morning session will be held at the PEAK
(Boys and Girls Club) at 9:30 a.m. and an evening session is
being held at IMS in the Library at 7:00 p.m. We hope to see
you there!
Math Expressions Common Core: This year all students in
grades 3-5 will be using the newly adopted Common Core State
Standards version of Math Expressions. Last year, all third
grade students used the program and this year it has been
expanded to fourth and fifth grade. The teachers have
undergone trainings and are working collaboratively in grade
level teams on the implementation of this program.
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting: This year the district has adopted
Zaner–Bloser Handwriting. Students will experience four units
of instruction at each grade level as outlined below. Each
lesson is designed to take roughly 20-25 minutes including
instruction and practice.
K: Introduction to Basic Strokes and Letters
1: Introduction to Manuscript Writing
2: Mastery of Manuscript Writing
3: Maintenance of Manuscript and Introduction to Cursive
4: Mastery of Cursive
5: Maintenance of Manuscript and Cursive
Second Step: This year the school is implementing a program
called “Second Step” in all K-5 classrooms. “Second Step” is a
program designed to help students succeed in class, connect
with peers and staff, and develop/promote a safe and
respectful school climate. The program consists of four main
units at each grade level (Skills for Learning, Empathy,
Emotion Management, and Problem Solving) that will be
taught across the school year by various staff members
including administrators, our counselor and psychologist, our
librarian, and support teachers. For more information visit
http://www.cfchildren.org/Portals/0/SS_K5/K-5_DOC/K5_Visual_Review_Research_SS.pdf
As you can imagine, this is a lot of new learning for the
teachers. We are utilizing early release Wednesdays and an
additional hour every Thursday morning (8-9 a.m.) to provide
staff with ongoing professional development, time to discuss
and analyze student data, and time to develop lessons and
supports for students.
Coming up this month….
 10/8
Walk to School Day
 10/10-12
5th Grade to Camp Orkila
 10/13
Book It Theatre Assembly
 10/31
Halloween Parade 9:30 with parties to
follow
 11/6
PTA Island Book Night
 11/7
Veteran’s Day Assembly 10:00 a.m.