ROOSEVELT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Parent Newsletter
April 2, 2014
Nola Starling-Ratliff, Principal
262-359-6097
The mission of Roosevelt Elementary School is to create a community of thinkers and learners who strive for
excellence by developing the knowledge and attitudes of productive, global citizens.
April 1, 2014
April 3, 2014
April 4, 2014
April 4, 2014
April 5, 2014
April 6, 2014
April 7, 2014
April 9, 2014
April10, 2014
April 11, 2014
April 14, 2014
April 15, 2014
April 16, 2014
April 17, 2014
April 18, 2014
April 28, 2014
April 30, 2014
Autism Awareness Month, Popcorn Day .25
5th Grade Youth Symphony Concert 11:00 A.M.
Early Dismissal 12:00 P.M.
Battle of the Books-Nash Elementary
Drug Awareness Breakfast 8:00 A.M.
85th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 2:00-5:00 P.M.-ALL ARE WELCOME
PTO meeting- 6:00 P.M.
Market Day- 4:45-5:30 P.M.
Discovery World Fieldtrip for 3rd Grade
Early Dismissal 12:00 P.M., Movie Night 6:00 P.M., BOB-Nash
MAP TESTING BEGINS GRADES 2-5
Lance Middle School Choir Will Perform 10:00 A.M.
Seal-A-Smile
Pajama Day, Club Bake Sale
Spring Vacation Begins.
School Resumes, Roller Skating Begins
Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
Lance Middle School Orchestra 10:30 A.M.
*See attached calendar for other dates/events
SAFETY TIPS
Be sure to talk openly about strangers with your child. Don’t assume they know what the word “stranger”
means. Instruct your child to never go anywhere, get in a car, answer questions, or accept anything from a
stranger. However, it is important to let your child know that not all strangers are bad. If your child ever
needs help because they are lost, hurt or in danger they may need the help of a stranger. Therefore it is
important to identify safe strangers such as police, firefighters, store clerks, teachers, etc. who can help if your
child needs assistance.
Talk to your child (ren) about how they should handle dangerous situations such as “No, Go, Tell”. If in a
dangerous situation kids should say no, run away, yell as loud as they can and then tell a trusted adult what
happened as soon as possible. Role play and practice various scenarios with your child (ren) so they feel
comfortable being assertive saying no and yelling. Even if your child can verbally tell you what they should do
it is important for them to actually practice and periodically review this information with you.
Now that spring is finally here more students are starting to walk to school on their own. Therefore, we
wanted to send home a few safety tips for you to review with your child(ren). First and foremost, please have
your child walk with a friend or sibling if possible and teach them to never take rides from people not arranged
by you. Second, walk the route with your child and instruct them to always walk the same route every day.
Remind your children not to let their friends talk them in to taking a shortcut that may be more dangerous.
Also take the time to point out a safe house (homes of family or friends) or a business that they can go to if an
emergency should happen. Make sure your child knows his/her phone number and address and understands
how to dial for emergency help. Last, review traffic rules and how to look left, right, left and behind you when
crossing the street and please stress the importance of not pushing or chasing each other when near the street.
Children should not be listening to electronic devices when crossing streets and should always obey traffic
signs, signals and crossing guards.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BEE SEMIFINALIST
Congratulations! Elijah Rawn has been named a semi-finalist in the National Geographic Bee. He is now eligible to
compete in the 2014 Wisconsin National Geographic Bee in Madison on April 4.
PTO
We are in need of PTO officers for next school year. If you are willing to serve please call Julie Blair, our PTO
president at 262-344-0912 or julie.mommyof2@gmail.com.
TARDY ARRIVALS
State law identifies a student as a “habitual truant” after missing part or all of 5 unexcused days in one semester. We
have some students who are tardy on a regular basis. We will be following up with ALL families who have students
tardy five or more times. Please work with your student, if necessary, to create the habit promptness.
SAFETY-DROP OFF CONCERN!
Parents who drop off on the west side of Roosevelt: There have been numerous parents who drop off their children on
the opposite side (west side) of the street and have been allowing their children to cross the street in the middle of
some heavy traffic. This is a very dangerous practice! If you need to drop off on the opposite side (west side) of the
street, then please have your children walk to the corner and safely cross with the safety patrol. Reminder, the best
situation for your child is to always use the drop off area on the school side (east side) of the street.
PARENTS, PLEASE DO NOT DROP OFF OR PICK UP STUDENTS IN THE EAST PARKING LOT. That area is
designated for teacher parking only. Let’s keep our children SAFE.
EXTENDED FRIDAYS IN MAY
The early release Friday dismissal time will extend by 75 minutes on the following days (5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30,
6/6, 6/12. For Roosevelt, the dismissal time will be at 1:15 P.M.
SAFETY ACTIVITIES
We will be holding a tornado drill during April so that we can practice this procedure in the event we experience
dangerous weather conditions. As you are probably aware, Tornado Safety month activities occur in April each year.
Also during this month, we will hold a Safety Drill. The purpose of this drill is to clear the hallways of students and
ensure that they are in secured classrooms in the event of an emergency.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE-LEARNING PROFILE
Now that March is over it's time to turn in a learner profile nomination for children who are principled. Principled
students are fair and honest. They always try to do what's right. If your child has demonstrated these characteristics
this month and you'd like us to know about it, please complete a nomination form. If you need another form, contact
the school office. Our learner profile trait for April will be "balanced." Balanced students are organized and use their
time wisely. They keep their minds and bodies healthy. Look for the nomination forms to come home in the
Wednesday folders the first week of April.
MYON READING
Now through June 30, 2014 students are able to choose computer based books at their reading level and at their
interest level! The books can be read to them by the computer or students can read them on their own. There are
comprehension tests available and the program also tracks the number books that a student reads. Students have
access to these books anytime and anywhere! How cool is that? Please www.kusd.edu/MYON.
KENOSHA KINGFISH READING PROGRAM
The city of Kenosha will welcome the Kenosha Kingfish baseball team to the restored Simmons Field this Simmons
this summer! The baseball team has announced
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
Roosevelt’s Battle of the Books team will compete on April 4th and April 11. We’d like to wish them luck. A huge
thank you to the team’s coaches Mrs. Sampsel, Mrs. Wood, and Mrs. Aguilar.
STUDENT DRESS CODE
As the weather warms up, please ensure that your student comes to school appropriately dressed. Short shorts,
athletic shorts, flip-flops, sleeveless tops, midriff-baring shirts and halter tops are articles of clothing that are
considered inappropriate for school. Remember also, that “Heelies” are not allowed in the school building with the
wheels in place. Please, listen to the weather report before sending your child to school. DON’T FORGET WE LIVE
IN WISCONSIN (SMILE)
CHINESE TEACHER
Chinese April Newsletter
Spring is coming! 春天来了！Mrs. Chen survived through the cold cold winter and really enjoyed the snow. In March,
we had fun learning numbers and days of the week and body movement song. It is nice to see the students’ smiling
faces when we are playing games and singing days of the week and body movement song. In the future, we will have
a taste of traditional Chinese culture, like chopsticks and calligraphy. Maybe you can challenge yourself at home to
use chopsticks to pick up a bean. Don’t feel frustrated. Practices make perfect!
FROM OUR INSTRUCTIONAL COACH, MRS. AGUILAR
Please visit http://www.smarterbalanced.org/parents-students/ to learn more about the Smarter Balanced Assessment
that your 3rd-5th grade student will take next year (in place of WKCE reading and math traditional test). There are
many changes in this state assessment that our students will be experiencing during the 2014-2015 school year, and it
will take all of us working together to get them ready.
Camp Invention is coming to Kenosha Unified this summer! Look for flyers in your child's Wednesday folder to see
how you can save money by registering early for one of two Kenosha experiences (in June at Somers Elementary and
in July at Whittier). Questions? Please contact Mrs. Aguilar, Director of Camp Invention, Kenosha/Pleasant Prairie
or check out the website at www.campinvention.org.
Mark your calendars! Sunday, June 8th will be Roosevelt Elementary Family Day at the Kenosha Kingfish Baseball
Game! Look for more information coming home....we hope to see you there!
TAKE OUR DAUGHTERS AND SONS TO WORK DAY-APRIL 24
“Exposing girls and boys to what a parent or mentor does in the course of a work day is important, but showing them
the value of their education, helping them discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and
family life, and providing then an opportunity to share how they envision the future and begin steps toward their end
goal is the key to achieving success.” Carolyn McKecuen
Students are allowed to participate and be marked ‘present’ for the day. In order to track attendance, please have
participating students submit a ‘prearranged absence request’ form.
TEXT MESSAGE WEATHER ALERTS
Last spring, the district began using a free service for district-wide emergency and school closing text message alerts.
While this service worked well during the waterspout incidents this fall, the company has since decided to charge
KUSD for its services. Rather than pay another company, KUSD has decided to work with School Messenger to
utilize the texting services available to us through our emergency phone call plan with them. We apologize for the
inconvenience, but hope that all understand the cost savings aspect of this initiative. To register, please visit
http://www.kusd.edu/about/inclement-weather-procedures and click on the “Sign-up to Receive Text Alerts Today!”
button to fill out the online form. After submitting the form, you will receive a text within 24-48 hours that you must
reply Y to in order to be fully registered. Please do this well before any inclement weather because it takes 24-48
hours to process. DON’T FORGET TO VISIT OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE AT HTTP://ROOSEVELT.KUSD.EDU
AND SIGN UP FOR THE EMAIL BLASTS BY SUBSCRIBING.
PLEASE COME TO ROOSEVELT’S 85TH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION ON SUNDAY APRIL 6TH FROM
2:00 – 5:00 P.M.!