LET’S READ!!

January 18, 2012

Dear Bollinger Community,

In addition to the quality education going on in the classroom, this is an incredibly busy learning community dedicated to the success of our students.  Several major events are highlighted in this newsletter.

The Read with SRVEF read-a-thon will begin in February.  Join us for this fun Challenge!”

 Read with SRVEF encourages children to read while helping our school raise much needed funds.  There are exciting prizes for your school and students.  Check it out at www.srvef.org/read.  The money raised from this event by our students will go directly to our school to help fund our Book of the Month.  Each month, our teachers share a chosen book with all students.  This book usually has a theme based on character or some other message we want to share school wide.  Some of the books we have shared this year are, One Smart Cookie, by Amy Rosenthal, Have you Filled a Bucket Today?, by Carol McCloud, and The Butterfly Who Didn’t Fit In, which was written last year by some of our own Bollinger students, Analise Hernandez, Zoe Mendoza, Alisa Leirmo, and Sara Leirmo.

With that in mind I want share some ideas on how you can help encourage your child to read.  When parents help their children learn to read, they open the door to a big, exciting world.  As a parent, you can begin an endless learning chain like this:  You read to your children, they develop a love of stories and poems; they want to read on their own, they practice reading, and finally, they read for their own information or pleasure.  When children become readers, their world is forever wider and richer.  Here are some things parents can do at home:

• Read aloud to your child: books, newspaper and magazine articles, the back of the cereal box, labels on cans, or directions.
• Read poems aloud together to learn about rhythm and repeated sounds in language.
• Listen to your child read homework or favorite stories to you everyday.
• Go to the library together and check out books.  Be sure to ask the librarian for good books or to help you find what you need.
• Have books, magazines, and papers around the house, and let your child see that you like to read, too.
• Encourage older children to read to younger children, and encourage younger children to read to older child to develop fluency and voice in their reading.
• Help experienced readers talk and write about what they read.
• Discuss the book with them.  Ask a question, what is the book about, what is the problem in the book, how is the problem resolved?

If your child has trouble reading words, you can help in several ways:

• Supply the word and keep reading: enjoyment is the main goal!
• Have your child skip over the word, read the rest of the sentence, and ask what word would make sense in the story; or
• Have your child use what they know about letters and the sounds they make to sound out the word.

Family Reading Night is February 29^th.  That evening there are many activities involving reading including story time from guest teachers and me.  The Read with SRVEF read-a-thon culminates on March 2 which is National Read Across America Day.  Teachers will have activities planned throughout the day with multiple opportunities for reading so keep an eye out for their newsletters. 

Our 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade teachers are prepping their students for our school wide spelling bee which is on February 9^th.  Two participants and an alternate will be selected from each class by January 27^th and they will be given study lists in preparation for the school wide bee.  The winner of that event will go on to participate in a county wide bee in April. 

Finally, I want to mention how much I appreciate the support of our Ed Fund and the critical programs that they provide for our school.  The annual Dinner Auction is coming up soon and I am looking forward to a fun evening and an opportunity to dress in our “Oscar” finery!  If you are interested in helping to support this event through donation of auction items and your time and energy prior to, during, or after, please attend the planning meeting on January 24 at 7:00 in our school staff room or contact Carol Peterson at peterson54@comcast. net and see how you can help.  Tickets for the event will be on sale soon and I know that this will be an evening to remember!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this letter and supporting our children in their love of reading and all of the programs you help support that make Bollinger a unique learning community.

Yours truly,

Shawn Wells

January 2012

Dear Parents,

We want to personally welcome you and your child to kindergarten at Bollinger Canyon Elementary.  The first year in school is a fantastic adventure away from home and is very important to future achievement.  We will strive to provide a successful experience for your child, not only this year but in the years ahead.

Children grow and develop at their own unique rates.  Chronological age does not necessarily determine a child’s readiness for certain experiences.  A child’s initial experience in school can lay the groundwork for future successes or challenges and we want to ensure your son/daughter’s experience is most successful. 

The kindergarten program is designed to help stimulate positive self-concept, providing each child with many experiences of achievement based on State Standards.  Kindergarten children will work independently, and well as learn to cooperate with others in a group.  The program will provide various opportunities for learning basic reading and math skills appropriate for this age range and include active stimulation to develop language, motor, and thinking skills.  Students will engage in integrated activities that incorporate science, social studies, art, music, and movement.

We encourage a strong and positive relationship between home and school.  Parents are welcome at school to help in your child’s classroom, to be active in school-wide functions, and to contact us with your feedback on a regular basis.  Before school starts you will receive further information on starting and ending times and our all school registration procedures.  A district general information meeting for prospective kindergarten parents is scheduled for Wednesday, February 8^th at 7-8:30 PM.  It will be held at John Baldwin School in their MPR.  Representatives from Bollinger Canyon Elementary School will be there.  We highly encourage all parents of new kindergarten students to attend.

If you have any questions or concerns now, please contact us at 925-242-3200.  Again, we are happy your child will be joining us soon.  We hope to make his/her school experience successful.

Sincerely,

Shawn Wells           

Principal

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Kindergarten Registration