CALENDAR
MARCH 2
MARCH 2
MARCH 6
MARCH 8
MARCH 10
March 10-19
MARCH 20
MARCH 23
MARCH 19 & 24
MARCH 25 & 27
MARCH 31
PARENTS AND PASTRIES @ 7:00 A.M. (Library)
FAMILY LITERACY NIGHT @ 4:30 P.M.
ALL SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEETING @ 2:00 P.M.
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS…TURN CLOCK AHEAD
PTO MEETING @ 5:30 P.M. (Library)
PARCC TEST (Performance base assessment-grades 3-5)
END OF QUARTER
NO SCHOOL…TEACHERS ONLY
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES 3:00-7:00 P.M.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE @5:30
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL 7
APRIL 27-MAY 1
AUTHOR VISIT
BOOKFAIR (Buy one, get one free)
PRINCIPAL NEWS
Happy March Red Hill Community!!! Spring is almost upon us, and
with it always comes a flurry of activity around school. But first, I
would like to thank Vail Resorts for hosting our students for two AMAZING Learn to
Ski days, and to the Vail Valley Foundation/Youth Foundation for inviting and
transporting our 3rd through 5th graders to the World Cup Ski Championships in
Beaver Creek. We live in a wonderful valley with incredible opportunities for our
students. A big thanks to all the parent volunteers who also made these events
possible.
Our first big event of the month is our Read Across America Day and Family
Literacy Night on March 2nd. Building off the success of last year’s event, we will
be spending the day celebrating literacy, reading, and Dr. Suess’ birthday. We
invite parents to come in and read their favorite book to a class during the day. We
also look forward to seeing everybody from 4:30-6:00 pm for our Literacy Night full
of fun activities, and a chance to win a Kindle Fire. Please plan on attending this
great night.
That day will also serve as the kickoff to the Gypsum Reading Challenge. Gypsum
Elementary has challenged us to read as much as possible throughout the month of
March. We will have an overall goal for both schools, grade level competitions, and
prizes for the class that reads the most. Please encourage your student to read a lot
during March.
March also marks the beginning of standardized assessments for our students. This
year will be the first year that students in Colorado will be taking the PARCC
(Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career) exam. This
new test is very rigorous and assesses higher-level thinking skills than were
previously assessed through TCAP. Students in grades 3-5 will be taking the
Performance Based Assessments in March and then the End of Year Assessment in
May. Students in 4th and 5th grade will also be taking the CMAS (Colorado Measure
of Academic Success) Social Studies (4th) and Science (5th) exams in April.
In the following page I have include a couple of examples of questions found on the
PARCC exam to give you a sense of what your students will be asked to do. You will
notice the increase in complexity from the type of questions that were previously
asked.
Additionally, these new assessments are completely computer-based. Fortunately,
through the purchase of 72 Google Chrome Books this year, our students have had
greatly increased exposure to technology and should be comfortable using
computers for the tests.
PARCC scores are one of several indicators of student and school performance that
we use to guide our instructional decision-making at Red Hill. As such, we
encourage all students to take it seriously and do their absolute best. However, we
do not want students to stress-out about the test or for the assessment to be our
primary focus. We hope to strike a serious, yet relaxed, balance that enables
students to perform at their highest capacity. We appreciate your support in this
effort, and for helping your child get a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast
before testing.
We look forward to seeing you at Parent/Teacher Conferences on March 19th and
24th. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Respectfully,
Eric M. Olsen
ATTENDANCE DURING PARCC
(Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College Career)
We ask for your support with attendance. We want your child at school each and
every day that he/she is healthy. Please arrange vacations, appointments, or other
absences at other times such as after school, weekends, etc. Please note in the
calendar section the testing dates for PARCC.
FAMILY LITERACY NIGHT
Tuesday, March 2nd is Family Literacy Night at Red Hill. Please join us
anytime from 4:30-6:00. There will be activities for all grade levels
and families.
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Family Reading Zone in the Library
Chrome Book Activities
Student readings in the Cafeteria
Grade level games
Book-Walk
Create your own bookmark
Kindle Fire and book giveaway to be drawn in school on Wednesday
See you there!
YEARBOOK
Making new friends and making memories with old friends are
important parts of the school year. Help your child keep the fun and
memories alive for years to come with a yearbook, a time capsule of the events and
people that made this year unique. $20 by April 1, 2015. If you have any pictures of
your children that you would like to see in the yearbook, please email Connie
Melzer: constance.melzer@eagleschools.net Parents, you have the opportunity to
send a “Personal Message” to your child & have it printed in the Red Hill’s 2014-2015
Yearbook -Cost: $5.00 per message.
VOLUNTEERS
Red Hill Elementary would like to thank IRENE EMMA, DANI STEINER,
MIKE BOEKE, JENNIFER FRENCH, and WADE HILL for transporting
all the Learn to ski equipment to and from the mountains! And all the
parents who helped chaperone our visit to the World Cup Ski Championships. Your
time and effort are greatly appreciated!
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
If you are a parent of an incoming Kindergartener or know of a child who will be five
years old on or before October 1st, Kindergarten Registration is coming up on
March 25th and 27th at Red Hill Elementary School.
Please call the school at 328-8970, to schedule an appointment. You must live within
RHES boundaries; provide a legal birth certificate, proof of residency, and
immunization records. School registration is now done online
(www.eagleschools.net); you must have this completed before your scheduled
appointment.
We will hold three morning sessions per day. The parents are to bring their
kindergartner, drop off registration materials, and hear a short presentation about
our Kindergarten program and expectations. Parents will also complete any
additional paperwork while the children work with a kindergarten teacher.
As a convenience to parents, our session will start at 8:15 a.m. The others will start at
9:15 and 10:15 a.m. We will have a Spanish translator available as well.
All kindergarten classes in Eagle County Schools will operate as a full-time, five day
program. For families who elect not to attend full-time kindergarten, a half-time
option is still offered. Those students will attend each day, mornings only from 8:00
a.m. to 11:30 a.m. No transportation will be offered at the end of the half day so
parents will be responsible for picking up their children.
Five-day Kindergarten is a tuition-based program costing $250 per month for nine
months. Scholarship positions (at a cost of $55, $110 or $200 per month) are available
subject to proof of income.
For those families who plan to attend full-time kindergarten, you are required to
pay a $250 deposit at registration….that payment will be posted to your May 2015
tuition.
Please pass this information to friends and family who live in Red Hill boundaries.
CAFETERIA
Doris Giron, Cafeteria Manager, is asking that all lunch account balances be brought
up to date as soon as possible. If you owe money, your child will receive a cheese
sandwich at the same price as a regular lunch.
LIBRARY NEWS
Dr. Seuss’ birthday
Will soon be gone,
Parents and students will read
‘Till the bell goes gong,
A great day to read
A great day of fun,
The day will be over but
Reading is never done!
A special thank you to all the volunteer
Readers! You are greatly appreciated!
AUTHOR VISIT
On Thursday, April 7, Red Hill will host Colorado author, Justin Matott.
“ Justin Matott is a writer, author, speaker and anti-bullying advocate. Writing for all
ages, Matott has figured out how to keep his inner fourth grader alive and hopefully
your reader is benefiting from that! Common comments from moms and teachers
are that Matott has figured out the right mix of funny, gross and fun to keep even the
most reluctant male readers engaged.” http://justinmatott.com
More information to follow.
BOOKFAIR!
Mark your calendars for April 27 – May 1
The annual Buy-One-get-One free book fair will be here that week. April 30th the
Book Fair will be open late.
Check out our web page http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/redhillbookfair
Student Council Update:
Box top contest
Who: all RHES students PreK-5!
What: Collect Box Tops
When: March 2nd - 31st
Where: Box tops in the buckets outside your classrooms
Why: To raise money for RHES
Our goal is to get 3000 box tops
Winning grade gets an Ice cream party!!!
EVENING OF THE STARS ANNOUNCEMENT
Attention parents and students: Is your teacher outstanding?
Would you like to let someone know how much their work at
Red Hill Elementary means to you? Would you like to help
celebrate all the wonderful staff members and parent
volunteers that make our school so special?
Please consider submitting a nomination form for Evening of the Stars – the
annual event sponsored by Efec (The Education Foundation of Eagle
County). Nominations can be made in any or all of the following areas:
Outstanding Educator (Any certified teacher), Rookie of the Year, Stellar
Support Staff (Any staff member in the school who is not a certified
teacher), and Friend of Education (Parent or community volunteers).
Nomination forms for all categories are available in the front office and are
due no later than Thursday, March 26. Thank you for helping to honor all
the wonderful people in the Red Hill Community.