Back to School Night
August 20
6:30-7:30 p.m.
First Day of School Grades 1-5
August 27
Kindergarten testing August 27-31
First Day of Kindergarten September 4
July 31, 2018
Dear Parents and Students,
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!
As is always the case, the teachers and staff at your school have been working very hard to be prepared for this coming school year. As the newest member of the Garland team, I have been very impressed with the custodians and the attention to detail they put into this building. Our school secretary, Mrs. Sorensen, is also a gem. She seems to know everything! I have also met many of the teachers here and I look forward to getting to know them better. It is obvious how much they care about their students.
We are fortunate in that our staff has not changed too much for the coming year. We lost one teacher, Mrs. Mumford, from first grade. She has been replaced by Ms. Day from kindergarten. Ms. Day was a first year teacher last year and did an amazing job. We are very fortunate to have her stay. Filling the position in kindergarten will be Mrs. Barnett. Mrs. Barnett is an experienced teacher with a great record of student achievement. I am thrilled to have her join us at Garland!
Garland is also very fortunate in that the district has decided to give us more support in the form of an additional instructional coach and a full-time school counselor. Our new instructional coach is Andrea Nelson. Andrea is an experienced first grade teacher and an excellent reading instructor. Our new counselor will be Mrs. Wilson. Mrs. Wilson has worked in elementary schools in various capacities for several years now and is wonderful with children! She will be an amazing asset to our school.
As I mentioned in my previous letter, I am a firm believer in the importance of good, solid reading skills. As a principal, my primary academic focus will be to help all of our students become proficient, grade-level readers. There is no more important skill for an elementary age student to develop. If they are good readers, they will be more successful in secondary school and beyond. As a faculty, we will use data from various reading assessments to make adjustments to the instruction your child receives. We will set goals for student achievement in reading. Once our goals have been set, they will be posted on the web-site. Goals will not be set until baseline data has been established.
The DIBELS assessment will be a valuable tool as we determine the current performance of our students and then set goals. DIBELS helps to measure: fluency, accuracy and comprehension. Here are the scores our school achieved at the end of last year on the third and final DIBELS assessment. The percentage listed represents the percentage of our students who were reading on grade level:
2017-2018 results on DIBELS by grade level:
Kindergarten 84%
First grade 77%
Second grade 75%
Third grade 88%
Fourth grade 87%
Fifth grade 83%
I also want to remind you of your rights as a parent. If you ever have questions regarding your child’s educational performance or what they are being taught, please just drop in or send us an e-mail. We will be happy to answer your questions. Your child has a right to quality instruction that is centered on rigorous curriculum with high standards and relevance. The focus of this instruction is literacy and numeracy to promote economic prosperity, citizen participation, strong moral and social values, and commitment to constitutional government. We believe that educational success is most likely to be achieved when we develop a partnership. We hope to develop and nurture those relationships. Please keep us informed of your child’s needs or any impactful changes.
The district has provided us with information about supplemental health and accident insurance that is available for you to purchase. It is purely optional. For more information, visit our web-site.
An ongoing problem that we have noted is the poor attendance of many of our students. When students are absent, key instruction is missed and those students typically fall behind. PLEASE have your child here each day unless they are ill or there is a legitimate emergency. If your student is ill, please call to inform us that they will be absent.
It will continue to be mandatory for all visitors to the school to check in at the office and then wear a visitor’s badge.
We believe that an orderly, safe environment is essential for students to learn and achieve academically. To promote this type of environment, we will begin a new character education program this year. Students will be taught the following traits or attributes while here at school:
· Humility
· Forgiveness
· Kindness
· Compassion
· Empathy
· Optimism
· Patience
· Gratitude
ASBESTOS
By law, each year we need to inform you that we have asbestos in our school. We are in compliance with all EPA standards and regulations. The asbestos is under the school and has been covered to protect occupants of the school. District and state personnel monitor the asbestos levels, which has not been a problem.
LUNCH and BREAKFAST
If you had free or reduced price lunch last year, you will need to re-apply again this year at the district office. The regular lunch price this year is $1.90 and the reduced lunch price is $0.40. Adult lunches cost $3.75. Breakfast will be served each day from 7:30 to 8 a.m. Breakfast is free for all Garland students. Adults may purchase breakfast for $2.50.
REGISTRATION
The district has decided to do all student registrations on-line. All new and returning students in all schools within the Box Elder School District must be registered using the on-line process. Call the school or district for questions. A separate letter regarding this process has been included.
OTHER NOTES
1- The drop-off and pick-up procedures remain the same. Please follow these guidelines:
· Drive slowly
· Be attentive while in the school zone. Do not use your phone.
· Remember that the school drop-off zone is one-way.
· Do not park or leave your vehicle at the curb in the drop-off/pick-up lane. This area is for loading and unloading only. This lane of traffic must keep moving!
· Do not drop off away from the curb. Do not have them cross in front of other vehicles.
· Have your child exit from the passenger side of the vehicle.
2- The school schedule has not changed. School will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:50 p.m.
3- Regular Day Kindergarten Schedule. Morning kindergarten will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 11:30 a.m. PM kindergarten classes will attend from 11:45 a.m. - 2:50 p.m..
4- Early Release Wednesday—school will end at 1:50 p.m. each Wednesday. On Wednesdays, morning kindergarten students will attend 8:30 – 10:40 a.m. Afternoon kindergarten students will attend from 11:45 a.m. – 1:50 p.m.
5- The first day of school is August 27th for grades 1-5. Kindergarten students will not attend until September 4th. Kindergarten students will all be tested here at the school during the week of August 27th.
THANK YOU for all you do as parents. I am grateful to be able to work with you and I look forward to meeting you at our Back to School Event on August 20th. It will go from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Sincerely,
Mark Johnson, Principal
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