September 2004 Steele Filings

October 2009

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

OFFICIAL STUDENT COUNT DAY

Track & Field Day @ Colorado College

1^ST Grade Starsmore Field Trip

USED BOOK SALE - 2:30-5:00 pm

Daisies Mtg., Art Room – 2:45-3:30 pm

Cub Scouts, Art Room – 2:45-4:15 pm

Choir Practice, 2:45:3:30 pm

Columbus Day Observed

Kdg. Fieldtrip to Venetucci Farm

PTA Meeting 6:30 pm – Community Center

Brownie Mtg., Art Room – 2:45-4:00 pm

KIDPOWER – Gym - 6:00-8:00 pm

Teacher Work Day

End of 1^st Quarter

NO STUDENTS

Educational Support Professionals Week

BAAC Meeting 7:00 pm

Daisies Mtg., Art Room – 2:45-3:30 pm

GT Parent Meeting - Art Room, 2:00-2:30 pm

KIDPOWER – Gym – 6:00-8:00 pm

HEALTH SCREENING

2^nd Gr. Field Trip to Bug Museum

Pancake Breakfast & Costume Parade

Parent/Teacher Conferences

NO STUDENTS

Parent/Teacher Conferences

NO STUDENTS

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Principal’s Corner

Fall is definitely in the air as evidenced by the cooler weather, changing colors, and loss of daylight! Make sure your child is dressed appropriately because unless the wind chill drops drastically below fifteen degrees Fahrenheit, we will be outside for recess and before school. The change of scenery and fresh air are so beneficial for all of us, and especially children who need to expend their energy through play and interactions with other kids on the playground. What a difference even 10 minutes can make!

We all are aware that H1N1flu is here and the regular flu season is right around the corner. We are doing everything we can to make sure staff and students are staying home if they are ill with a fever, and would appreciate your assistance! Please do not send you child to school if he/she has a fever or had a fever. If a child has a fever and is taking medications for the fever and it has gone down, that does not mean they are not sick. Please do not send your child to school until he/she has been fever free for 24 hours. We will continue to do our part and disinfect areas regularly, have students cough in their sleeves, and make sure they often wash their hands. (Please see attached flyer for further information). Thank you for help!

All Steele students just completed taking district-wide tests for reading, language and math called MAP, Measures of Academic Progress. Students took their tests on computers and results are available to us within 24 hours, which is definitely an advantage over other assessments! This month during Parent-Teacher conferences (10/29 & 10/30) you will receive the results, and parents of 3^rd, 4^th, & 5^th grade students will also receive CSAP results. Please attend conferences; our goal is 100% participation!

We are busy planning the fifth annual Fall Pancake Breakfast and Costume Parade for Steele students October 28, 2009! This is a wonderful time to see Mr. Herr and I flip pancakes! See the attached flyer for more details! Students may wear a costume but please no blood, or plastic/pretend weapons, please!

I have seen vast improvements over the traffic, before and after school on Weber Street. Remember, it is illegal to park and leave your vehicle in the bus zone or cross-walk area on Weber Street or Del Norte at the turn-a-round. At Espanola Street, please be careful; drop students off and move along; do not double or triple park there; “Kiss and Go”; and move on so the next driver can do the same. You may have noticed, too, that there are “No Parking” signs on the west side of the building since it is illegal to park in the alley. Your cooperation and diligence in guaranteeing all Steele students are safe is appreciated by all staff, students, and other parents!

Thank you for sharing your children with all of us at Steele!

Georganne Barnes

Principal

Important Parent Reminders

If you have not returned the Student Emergency Information card, Emergency Dismissal Information/Inclement Weather Plan form, Generic Standard Permission Slip, or Health Information Form, please do so as soon as possible. These forms were included in your student’s first-day packet. It is very important that we have these forms on file should your student become injured or ill at school or if we have an emergency or early dismissal.

Please check the Lost & Found whenever you are in the building for items that may belong to your children. By checking on a regular basis we may be able to keep our Lost & Found closet from overflowing.

Visitors and Volunteers

We have a sign-in log in the office. If you are volunteering your time to help in some capacity, e.g., help in a classroom, the library, on a committee, or an event such as health screening, please sign in and log your volunteer hours on the blue volunteer log sheet. All hours will be entered into the District 11 Volunteer Management System.

If you are coming into the school to visit, e.g., bringing something to your child, eating lunch, meeting with a teacher, please sign the yellow visitor log sheet as you always have.

Please remember that if you will be volunteering to drive for a field trip, a Volunteer Drivers form must be completed and left on file in the office. A copy of your valid Colorado Driver’s License and your current proof of insurance will be made when you turn in this form. Also, it would be very helpful if you could come in before the day of a scheduled field trip to complete the form and have your documents copied. By planning ahead, we may be able to avoid a last minute rush.

Thank you for helping us to keep our records straight!

Entertainment & Gold C Book Sale

Our annual Entertainment/Gold C Book sale was a huge success! We made just over $2,000. Thank you for supporting our school!

Box Tops for Education

We are also collecting box tops as part of our school fundraising efforts. Thank you to.Christine Brett for collecting and organizing all those box tops, and to the entire Steele community for continuing to save and donate. Collecting box tops is an easy way to earn cash for our school at no additional cost to you. Please continue to send in your box tops; a collection bag is located in the hallway next to the office.

Las noticias de español

September 15 was Mexico’s Independence Day. In kindergarten, first and second grades we studied the Mexican flag and discussed the emblem in the middle of the flag. In grades third through fifth, students learned some Mexican history. In 1810, Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla started the revolution. He made the shout “Viva México” the famous cry for Mexican independence. However, he was executed before he could see his dream realized. Mexico did not gain its independence until 1821.

November 1 and 2 El día de los muertos is celebrated in Mexico. Although this holiday comes after Halloween and often skeletons are used as decorations, it is not like Halloween. It is a time when families honor their loved ones who died. Loved ones are remembered by placing their photos out on a table along with their favorite toys, trinkets, or food. At the end of October, we will study this holiday.

Gracias,

Señora Eick

Target’s “Take Charge of Education Program”

Remember that when you use your Target® Visa® or Target® Card (REDcard), Steele will receive a percentage of the amount of each purchase in the form of a cash donation from Target through the Take Charge of Education® program. It's easy. Just visit target.com/tcoe, or call 1-800-316-6142 to designate our school. Our School ID# is 37273. Don’t have a REDcard? It’s easy to apply. Just pop into any Target store to apply in person or go to Target.com/apply and apply instantly online. So if you're going to Target anyway, please consider using your Target® Visa® or Target® Card. Big thanks to those who are already doing their part to make a great school even better.

· Grandparents, alumni, neighbors and friends are all welcome to participate in this program.

· Check out Target.com/tcoe to find out how much money our school has already received.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday and Friday, October 29th^th and 30^th. Your child’s teacher should contact you with the date and time for your conference. Each conference will last 20 minutes. This is a time for your child’s teacher to discuss your child’s progress with you and a time for you to discuss any concerns that you might have. If you think that you might need longer than 20 minutes, please schedule a conference for a different day, as we value each person’s time and hope to stay on schedule!

School Choice Window

The choice window for enrollment in District 11 will begin Monday, November 2, 2009, and close Monday, February 1, 2009. If your child is currently a student on permit at Steele and will be attending Steele next school year, please stop by the office as soon as possible on or after November 2, to fill out a permit for the 2010/2011 school year. All Steele neighborhood children are guaranteed enrollment at Steele. If you have friends who are interested in attending Steele, please tell them that they may come to the school office on or after November 2^nd to fill out a permit request and have their child’s name put on a waiting list. We are proud of the fact that Steele Elementary is a great place for children to learn!

Building Advisory Accountability Committee (BAAC)

DIBELS, MAP, CSAP, Adams 50, testing and more testing - what do they all mean? For some great answers by the experts please plan to join us for the next BAAC meeting on Tuesday, October 20 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in the Steele Community Room. Written descriptions of each test and the testing time period will be distributed and a more in-depth explanation of DIBELS and MAP will be presented by Steele staff. Please send your questions to Jessica Babbs (jessica.babbs@asd20.org) or Angela Sullivan (angelapaul32@msn.com).

Offers From Charitable Organizations

Throughout the year, a number of charitable organizations (Operation School Bell, Holy Apostles,’ Brown Bag. and Giving Tree Social Ministries, our own USW, and others) make offers to support families facing hardship. The schools are occasionally contacted regarding offerings such as children’s clothing, school supplies, holiday gifts &/or food, and more. If you are interested in getting information about these offers, please call Lori Sampson, School Psychologist, at 328-4738, or let the office staff know.. A confidential list will be kept and you will be contacted as opportunities arise.

USW/PTA Corner

The PTA has been busy! I hope you had a chance to get to the concert. The weather cooperated for a very fun and relaxing evening. Special thanks to Steve Weeks, and to our dads who helped with the refreshments: Greg Huesgen, Brent Urban, Randy Mimm (and Delma) and Carl Schuler.

Three Cheers to Becky Fuller and Bobby Grice for all of their hard work on the directory!

Christine Brett has been super busy accounting for all of our volunteer hours. As you know at Steele, we are not short of volunteer hours. It is a huge task, so thank you Christine!

The PTA fundraiser started the week of September 28. This year we are raising money to fund the following activities and more: Spanish-$4,000; PTA Focus Day-$1500;, Stipend to Teachers-$3400; Teacher Appreciation Week-$300; KidPower-$100; Benches/Tables for Playground-$3,000. Our budget equates to $50 per student. Please give to make sure that our kids receive what they need to succeed. Beverly Frisbie and Lila Wrubel have been working hard on raising those funds, way to go ladies!

The Used Book Sale is Friday, October 2 right after school in the gym. Come and restock your library with fabulous books for outstanding buys, hardbacks are $1 and paperbacks $.50. All the proceeds go directly to support our awesome library. Thank you Ann Dickey!

Attention All: The PTA October meeting will be held in the EVENING!! Parents who have had conflicts with our regular meeting schedule, here is your opportunity to come and find out about the PTA. The meeting is October 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Center. Hope to see you there, as we would love to hear your comments, suggestions, and concerns.

The PTA is looking for a few good volunteers. We need a Chairman for the PTA Focus Day to be held at the end of January. This year the day will be devoted to Cool Science. It promises to be a BLAST! Let Tina Horwitch know if you can help chair this event at 520-1646, or myself at 633-4610.

When you get a chance, thank a USW Volunteer, they work hard for your kids!.

Debbie Van Orden

USW President

STEELE STARS!

Steele Elementary School