Home of the Fabulous Falcons
2013-2014
Back to School Night
Parent Information Meeting
Teachers…
• Pre-K/Kinder~
– Ms. Aarons, Integrated Pre-K
– Ms. Lack, Pre-K/Kinder
• Transitional Kindergarten Team~
– Ms. Merian
– Ms. Cordova
• Kindergarten Team~
– Mr. Garverick
– Ms. Johnson
– Ms. Smith
• 1st Grade Team~
– Mrs. Fargo
– Ms. Munoz
– Mrs. Schubert
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Teachers…
2nd Grade Team~
– Mrs. Compton
– Ms. Giberson
– Ms. Sandoval
– Mrs. Smith
3rd Grade Team~
– Mrs. Easley
– Ms. Fowler
– Ms. Prince
4th Grade Team~
– Mr. Coronado
– Ms. Garcia
– Mr. Holbrook
– Ms. Lyon
– Ms. Weller (3rd/4th combo)
Teachers…
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5th Grade Team~
– Mr. Fritzsche
– Mr. Roeser
– Ms. Thompson
6th Grade Team~
– Dr. Anderson
– Mrs. Gutierrez
– Mrs. Guzman-Turner
– Ms. Soto
Computer/ P.E. Resource~
– Mr. Taylor
Learning Center Team~
– Ms. Heilig
– Ms. Smith
– Ms. Silva
Additional Staff…
• Yard Supervisor Team~
– Ms. Mabel
– TBD
• Lunchroom Team~
– Ms. Peggy
– Ms. Michelle
• Office Team~
– Ms. Rueda
– Mrs. Bias
– Mrs. Whooper
– Ms. Miller
• Nurse~
– Ms. Lebon
Additional Staff…
• Custodial Team~
– Mr. Singh
– Mr. Carbajal
– Mr. Huang
Fite by the Numbers
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New Staff- 12
Over 700 Students
144 ELL Students
2 New Programs
3 Special Education Classrooms
9 “Grade Levels”
Expectations…
• Three Keys to Success
– Be Responsible
– Be Respectful
– Be Safe
Good to know…
• Staff
• Students
• Programs
– Spirit Wear Fridays
• Spirit Flags- 100% attendance
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Monday Assemblies
Notebook Patrol
Principal’s Writing Club
Falcon Funds & Student Store
Accelerated Reader
Math Club (K-6th) & First in Math (3rd-6th)
WatchDOGS
PTO
PTO (parent Teacher Organization)News
• Co-Presidents– Kelley Gregg and Karen Bides
• Membership Drive
• Fundraisers
– 2012-13 funds raised
• Meetings
• HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE…BE A PART OF IT!!
Reasons to Join Fite PTO
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Benefits your child(ren)
Connect with other parents from the school
Network
Opportunity to share and learn new ideas
Direct connection to the making great things happen
Be a role model for other parents, students and staff
It’s fun!
Ayp
• Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)- Under NCLB schools
must make “AYP” in several areas, based primarily on:
– Performance: Percentage of students in each
subgroup scoring proficient and above in ELA and
Math. Fite’s subgroups: Asian, Hispanic or Latino,
White, Socio-Econ. Disadvant., English Learners
– Participation: Percentage of students in each
subgroup taking the tests.
• Subgroups- numerically significant~ must be 100
pupils or 15% of total enrollment with at least 50
pupils with valid test scores.
API
• Academic Performance Index (API)- A state
accountability measure in which schools are
assigned an API based on results from STAR
testing (200- 1000). API is also used to evaluate
schools for AYP.
• Parents should expect to receive their student’s
test scores in the mail the last week in August.
• Fite’s 2012 API- 814
• *Spring 2013- 3rd- 6th Grade will take STAR Test
Next Steps…
We are in the final stages of CST (STAR)…
EGUSD is in the second year of transitioning to
Common Core State Standards….
What’s CCSS??
The Common Core State Standards
at Robert J. Fite Elementary School
Information for Parents
August, 2013
Adapted from CCSS for Elementary Parents 2013
EGUSD Department of Curriculum & Professional Learning, A. Zeman
In this presentation:
1. New Academic Standards In The Elk Grove
Unified School District (EGUSD)
2. What Are The Common Core State Standards?
3. Why Is EGUSD Changing To Common Core
State Standards?
4. How Will This Affect My Child?
5. What Should I Expect In The Future?
6. How Can I Help My Child To Do
Well In School?
New in EGUSD
Beginning this year, elementary students in all
EGUSD schools will be taught and will learn
new curriculum in both English/language arts
and mathematics.
This new curriculum prepares students to meet
the expectations of the Common Core State
Standards (CCSS).
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Let’s watch this introduction to the
Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
From the Hunt Institute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player
_embedded&v=9IGD9oLofks
From the Council of Great City Schools:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player
_embedded&v=5s0rRk9sER0
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What Are the Common Core State Standards?
•Standards define the academic goals for student
learning.
• Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are
new, adopted by California in August 2010.
•CCSS have been adopted in 46 states.
• Students will be assessed on CCSS beginning in 2014-15.
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What Are the Common Core State Standards?
These K-12 standards…
Are aligned with college and career expectations.
Are the new standards for academic performance.
• Are the concepts and skills
that all students will learn.
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Common Core State Standards:
• Have some similarities to the previous standards;
• Contain some important differences:
– Emphasis on clear thinking and clearly
communicating one’s thinking to others
– Emphasis on mathematical reasoning,
expressing ideas in writing, and reading both stories
and informational text
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How Do Common Core State Standards
Improve Learning?
Prepare our students to be competitive with students
from top-performing countries
Communicate clearly what is expected at each grade
level
Create cohesion across states
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Why Is EGUSD Changing to Common Core State
Standards Now?
• Gradual transition allows teachers & students
time to adjust before testing begins.
• Students & teachers make the transition to
CCSS in one subject per year.
• Students & teachers need time
in order to be prepared for the
new testing which begins in 2014-15.
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Transition to Common Core State Standards
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Grades K - 2
CCSS Math
CCSS English
/Language Arts
CCSS continues…
Grades 3 - 6
CCSS English
/Language Arts
CCSS Math
CCSS State Testing
Begins.
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How Will This Affect My Child in Kindergarten
Through 2nd Grade?
Most important goals:
Learning to read
Learning to write
Becoming competent and
confident in working with
numbers
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How Will This Affect My Child in Grades 3 – 6?
Greater percentage of reading of
informational text as opposed to
narrative or “stories”
• Greater emphasis on writing: narrative, informational, and persuasive
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How Will This Affect My Child in Grades 3 – 6?
• Students will use the new Go
Math textbooks this year.
• Students will be asked to
explain their mathematical
reasoning.
• Students will learn to solve problems using multiple
methods.
• Students’ math lessons will reflect a balance of
conceptual understanding, procedural proficiency,
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and application.
What Should I Expect in the Future?
California’s standardized testing system is in
transition.
• 2013-14 is the last year of California’s STAR
(California Standards Test or CST) program.
Students in grades 3-6 will be tested.
• The CST is not aligned with the Common Core.
However, students who meet CCSS expectations
will also do well on the CST.
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How Can I Help My Child to Do Well in School?
Young students, Kindergarten and 1st Grade:
• Read to your child often! Vary what you read, choosing
both stories and informational selections. Read
material that your child cannot yet read for himself or
herself.
• Hold conversations with your child daily.
Select topics that help your child to build
an understanding of our world: nature, weather,
age-appropriate news stories, etc.
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How Can I Help My Child to Do Well in School?
Young Students, Kindergarten and 1st Grade:
• Give your child opportunities to count and to compare
numbers. (“Would you please count the number of
slices of bread in each package
and tell me which has a greater number?”)
• Ask your child about “real-life” addition and
subtraction problems. (“Here’s a carton of a
dozen eggs. If I use three, how many will be left?”)
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How Can I Help My Child to Do Well in School?
Students in Grades 2 – 3
• Read to your child! Vary what you read, choosing both
stories and informational selections. Read material
that your child cannot yet read for himself or herself.
• Provide a time for sustained reading every day.
Encourage your child to periodically read
selections that are a bit challenging.
Encourage him or her to keep at it and re-read
portions for understanding.
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How Can I Help My Child to Do Well in School?
Students in Grades 2 – 3
• Play games that assist your child in learning math facts.
• When at a store, ask your child to mentally calculate
total costs and amount of change.
• If your child asks for assistance with math
homework, first ask him or her to re-read the
directions, the problem, and the top portion of
the page. Ask him/her what ideas he has to
solve the problem.
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How Can I Help My Child to Do Well in School?
Students in Grades 4 – 6
• Provide a time for sustained reading every day.
Encourage your child to periodically read selections
that are a bit challenging. Encourage him or her to
keep at it and re-read portions for understanding.
• Encourage the use of precise vocabulary.
• When your child offers an opinion, ask him or
her to identify the information that supports the
opinion.
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How Can I Help My Child to Do Well in School?
Students in Grades 4 – 6
• Give your child opportunities to work with fractions
such as when cooking or measuring materials for
projects. Encourage him/her to talk about the
reasoning involved in thinking about fractions.
• Ask your child to assist in calculating everyday
problems such as tips, costs of gasoline for trips.
• Ask your child to explain his/her reasoning and how he
or she got the answer.
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How Can I Help My Child To Do Well In School?
ALL Students:
• Read, read, read! Encourage – and model – reading of
all sorts of materials: books of fiction; books that
provide information; informative internet sites;
magazines; sets of directions.
• Read for sustained periods of time daily.
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How Can I Help My Child To Do Well In School?
ALL Students:
Speak positively about math! If your own experiences
in mathematics were not positive, do not share that
with your child. Instead, tell your child,
“Math is the basis of technology and a lot
of science. Math is pretty cool.”
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How Can I Learn More About Common Core?
Find
more information about Common Core:
http://blogs.egusd.net/ccss
Talk to your child’s teacher.
 Find resources for math by logging into “Think
Central,” the website associated with our Go
Math textbooks. (Login provided by your child’s
teacher.)
 Refer to the information sheet provided to you
tonight.
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Common Core State Standards Are Here!
Teachers will
provide more
information in the
classroom
presentations.
Paper Drive starts thursday!
When: Thurs., Aug. 15th through Fri., Sept. 6th
What: For each ream donated, your student(s) will earn a
raffle ticket for a chance to win a $25 gift card from
Baskin Robbins, Subway or Jamba Juice. Drawings will
occur on Fridays: August 23rd, August 30th, and
September 6th (one prize will be awarded each week).
How: Please bring any donated reams of copy paper to the
school office to receive your raffle ticket.
Summer Reading Program
• Students who participated in the
Summer Reading Program over the
break need to return the top portion of the
reading contract (with the list of books
read) by this Friday, August 16th.
watchdogs
Dads of Great Students are back!!
Dads and Kids Pizza Night…
WatchDOGS Kick-Off Event!!
September date (TBD)
Invitations will be sent home with your child.
Annual Harvest Carnival
• Date: Friday, October 18th
• Volunteers needed!
• Information is available in classrooms
from your child’s teacher.
• Coordinator- Ms. Rueda
26.2 Club & Mara-FUN-Run
• Youth Fitness Program for the
maraFUNrun (through California
International Marathon)
• GOAL- Encourage children to establish life
long fitness habits.
• Coordinator- Todd Taylor
– Information to be sent home at a later date.
CDI- Child Development Centers
• Our CDI is now enrolling Kindergarten
through Sixth Grade
• Before and After School Child Care
• State funding available
CDI Staff available on campus tonight!
Every Day is
a Great Day to be A
Fite Falcon!!