December 2019

Roosevelt Ravens Review

December 2019

 

Let’s Celebrate Reading!

 

Reading to your children at home or having them read to themselves every single day is critically important to their development as readers.  A recent study coming out of the University of Ohio found that young children whose parents read them 5 books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words that children who are not read to at all.  This exposure to books increases their vocabulary and prepares them to learn to read in school at faster rates.

 

Our staff has been thinking a lot about homework and the things we ask families to do at home to help our efforts at school.  This work has helped us streamline the homework expectations around reading.  At this time, every grade level has a reading slip (pink in color) that goes home every Monday and comes back to school every Friday.  The expectation is that students are spending at least 30 minutes engaged in reading at home every single day.  

 

Beginning in January, we are going to be emphasizing the pink slips and incentivizing reading at home.  Every Friday, we will collect the pink slips at school and enter them into a drawing.  On Monday morning, I will draw slips out of the bins.  Students who have their names drawn will get to pick out a brand-new book to read!  Additionally, we are going to keep track of our school-wide percentage for pink slips that are turned in every week.  At the end of every month, we will have a school-wide read-in if students meet the school-wide goal that we select.  In January, we will earn our school-wide read-in if we have 75% of our students turn in pink slips every week through the month.

 

Please help us with at-home reading and pink slips.  Not only will you help your child earn fun things at school, but you will be improving their basic reading skills.  Fluent reading is essential for success in school.  More information will come along in January. 

 

Winter Concert for Grades 3 – 4 – 5

 

Please join us on Monday, December 9th at 1:20 PM in the Roosevelt Multi-Purpose room for our annual winter concert.  This year, we will have the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade choir sing a variety of songs.  Our 4th and 5th grade band and orchestra will also perform.  This is a great opportunity for students to practice performing in front of an audience and a great chance for parents to see all the great things the kids have been learning in music so far this year.  The concert will conclude near the end of the day.

 

For this performance on the 11th, we will not have a student audience.  This will allow parents to get closer to the performance.  Students in preschool through second grades will have a chance to see the performance during a rehearsal on the 10th.  The younger students will also have a performance of their own in the late winter or early spring.   Each group has one big performance a year.

 

Parking for this event will be really challenging.  Arrive early and give plenty of time to get situated in the multi-purpose room. 

 

No School and Late Start Days in November

 

No School                                        December 23rd – January 3rd

 

Early Release @ 2:42                       December 4th, 11th, and 18th

 

Winter Weather and Clothing Request

 

As the weather turns wet and cold, I ask two favors. 

  1. Please write your child’s name in all clothing that might be removed (coats, hats, gloves, etc.).

  2. Also, please put a change of clothes in your child’s backpack (underwear, socks, shirt, pants).Keep it all in a Ziploc bag at the bottom of the backpack. 

 

Additionally, as the winter weather gets colder, we have support to offer.

 

  1. If you need winter clothing for your student(s) that attend Roosevelt, please contact Kevin Oiseau (our school counselor) for assistance.He can also be reached by calling the main office at 360-596-6700.We have the ability to help.

 

Roosevelt Equity Council

 

The Roosevelt Equity Council will meet at 6:30 PM in the Roosevelt Library on Monday, January 9th.  During our time together this month, we will talk about ways the council can help our school community remove barriers.  We will also discuss the possibility of guest speakers in the future, along with potential book study novels.  All are welcome to attend.

 

January Assessment Dates

 

In January, we will complete a second round of assessment using the Measure of Academic Testing (MAP) assessment.  The purpose of this assessment is to track academic progress for each of our students since the beginning of the year.   As you begin to schedule appointments for January, please avoid the following days:

 

  • January 22nd (2nd), 23rd (1st), 24th (3rd,4th,5th) (Reading MAP)
  • January 28th (3rd, 4th, 5th), 29th (2nd), 30th (1st) (Math MAP)

 

Upcoming Events

                                                                       

November 27, 28, 29                                 No School-Thanksgiving Break

December 3rd                                             Vision and Hearing Screening (During school)

December 6th                                              PTA Movie Night @ 6:15 PM

December 9th                                              Equity Council Mtg. @ 6:30 PM

December 10th                                            PTA Mtg. @ 6:30 PM in Roosevelt Library

December 11th                                            Grades 3 – 5 Choir, Band, Orchestra Concert

December 11th                                            Walk and Roll @ 8:35 AM

December 12th                                            Fire Drill @ 11:00 AM

December 23rd – January 3rd                       No School-Winter Break

January 6th                                                  School Resumes @ 9:10 AM

 

LIBRARY NEWS

 

Our Scholastic Book Fair was a smashing success! Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped and the parents and students who purchased books, our book fair had record-setting sales! All profits will go right back into our library to purchase more books for our students.

 

This year Roosevelt is again participating in the Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award (WCCPBA). In library classes, students will be read 20 books nominated for the award. After hearing all of the books, the kids will vote on their favorites. Students from all around the state will vote and the winner will be announced in the spring of 2020. This is a great chance for the kids to hear a number of books read aloud to them, think critically about the writing and illustration, and have a chance to have their voice heard. Ask your child about the books they hear each week as we work through the nominees.

 

The Battle of the Books (BOB) will be coming once again to Roosevelt! BOB is a competition for all 4th and 5th graders. Our list of 12 books for this year’s BOB will be revealed in January, shortly after the kids return from Winter Break. Teachers will create teams (all 4th and 5th grade students participate) and the kids will make a plan for who will read which books. We will have check-ins and reading lessons in library classes. As spring approaches, classes will have elimination battles in the library before the final battle (date is yet to be determined) which is held in the gym. Parents and third graders will be invited to attend this final battle. BOB encourages the kids to work hard, read a lot, and gain exposure to authors and genres they might not otherwise choose. It promises to be a fun and exciting experience. 

 

 

Roosevelt PTA

 

Movie Night:

 

Join us at PTA Family Movie Night on Friday, December 6th, 2019 to see "Frozen." Doors open at 6:15 and the movie begins at 6:30. This free event is sponsored by the PTA. Bring cushions or blankets to sit on and enjoy free popcorn! Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the movie. Please confirm that this movie is appropriate for your child. There are many good resources including commonsensemedia.org. Questions? Contact [email protected].

 

PTA Auction

 

The auction committee would again like to send a huge thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered to help, and attended the auction. It couldn’t have been as successful as it was without you! We are excited to announce that we made over $30,000 for our school and kids because of your generosity!

 

Winterfest

 

Winterfest is being held in the Roosevelt Gym on Saturday January 25, from 1-3pm. It’s a fun afternoon of games and crafts for the students, plus a free hot cocoa bar! We hope to see you there! We’ll also be doing a coloring contest again this year so look for those pages to come home in Blue Folders after Winter Break. 

 

If you would like to help volunteer the day of or help set up the night before please contact Katie Douglas at [email protected]

 

Walk N Roll

 

It’s time to Walk N Roll to School! Intercity Transit’s Walk N Roll program invites all students and families to get some outdoor activity before getting cozy inside for the holidays with a fun morning on December 11th.

 

Choose from two meeting locations:

8:35 A.M at Bigelow Park

8:35 A.M. at Olympia Little Theater

Cispus Wreaths

 

From all of our fifth graders, THANK YOU for buying a wreath this year! Your purchase of a wreath is helping to keep the cost of attending Cispus low and provide scholarships for those in need. The opportunity to go on the Cispus Outdoor Learning trip is such a wonderful experience for our fifth graders. This year, with all of your support, our fifth graders nearly doubled the donations and sales from last year! This, in turn, contributed to the entire district reaching our goal of $25,000 raised. Amazing! So thank you, thank you, thank you, and please continue to support the Cispus Outdoor Learning Program in years to come by buying wreaths every year!

 

Yearbook

 

Yearbook online sales are live!  Now's the time to order your yearbook! Yearbooks cost $15 and are available for online order through April 30th 2020.  Flyers were sent home in blue folders with instructions on how to order, but if you don't have yours, you can also find instructions on how to order on our website at myrooseveltpta.org

 

New this year, you can now sponsor a yearbook to go to our scholarship yearbooks!  When ordering your yearbook, you should see a sponsor option as well as the standard yearbook option.  If you would like to sponsor a yearbook this year, just click "sponsor" and purchase as you would a standard yearbook.  You will need to make a separate order to place an order for a Sponsor Yearbook.  Please note that while the sponsor name and child fields are required, that information will not be included at the end of the year when yearbooks are passed out.  You will need to make a separate order to place an order for a Sponsor Yearbook.  

 

If you have questions, please contact Aniysa Zuchowski at [email protected]