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TRAILBLAZER TRIBUNE November 2009 edition
November 2009
Dear Trailblazer Families,
Thank you for attending Parent/Teacher Conferences. It was a great opportunity in our effort to build a stronger link between our staff and parent community. We will continue to work together to ensure that all of our students are successful, independent, and able to apply their learning daily. Thank you for playing such a vital part in your child’s education.
Teachers are important members of your child’s instructional team. There are times other than Parent/Teacher Conferences when you need to quickly communicate or ask your child’s teacher a question. Planners are good for back and forth communication as is email. Contacting Mrs. Critchlow in the front office to schedule a meeting (even if it is a single question) with your child’s teacher is the preferable method of planning face-to-face communication. Please know that even though most teachers are masters of multitasking, it is hard to give 100% of their attention when teaching, planning, or supervising students. So, I encourage you to schedule a meeting with your child’s teacher beforehand if you have questions or concerns. This actually benefits you because teachers can concentrate
A very special thanks to our PTA and parent volunteers who made our twelfth annual Halloween Hop such a huge success! Storybook characters had a chance to create new adventures and get to know each other. Hopefully, your little character was able to get their picture taken with one of our staff volunteers (thank you so much!) to commemorate the event.
Parents, we are in need of your help in making sure your child is on time to school. Tardiness has become a disruption to the delivery of instruction, and it is important that students be here on time. We have supervision starting at 7:45 a.m.; with a number of adults supervising students are encouraged to be at school at 7:45 a.m. Our first bell rings at 7:55 a.m. and our tardy bell rings at 8:00 a.m. Students need to line up at their outside doors no later than 7:55 a.m. Tardy students miss valuable organizational time, announcements, and the daily agenda/plan. We appreciate your assistance in this policy and procedure.
Just a reminder: there is no school on Wednesday, November 11 in observance of Veterans Day. Our Thanksgiving break will be November 25 – 27.
We wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends.
Sincerely,
David Morris
Principal
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KINDERGARTEN
We look forward to seeing you all at conferences. We enjoy sharing your child’s growth both academically and socially!
Please continue reading with your child at home and discussing the characters, setting, and sequence of events in the story!
Remember to practice your sight words that your child is currently working on; your help at home will make a huge difference in your child’s reading and writing. We will continue our weekly focus on our letters and sounds through this semester. The kids will begin blending two to three sounds together to make words. Please continue to practice writing 1 or 2 sentences that are about the same topic; be sure your child is writing a 4-star sentence with capital letter first, spaces between words, punctuation at the end, and lowercase letters throughout the sentence.
We would like to recognize our parent volunteers; we appreciate your time and energy that you give to our students! Thank you! This month we are getting ready for our Friendship Feast; more news to come in our weekly newsletters.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!
Ms. Caldwell, Miss Dickson, & Mrs. Vasquez
FIRST
GRADE & FIRST/SECOND MULTIAGE
It’s a month to think of giving thanks for all our blessings. We are proud of all of our first and second graders…think how much they have learned already! Every day is a special day of learning, fun, kindness, and caring!
We’ve started centers in the pod, thanks to the help of many great parent (and grandparent) volunteers. At the end of September, the pod smelled wonderful, with applesauce simmering to celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday. Please get involved and call your child’s teacher if you could spare one morning a month to help with centers. It’s a great way to get to know the children in the class!
We’re doing lots of reading groups, and practicing skills for sounding out words and writing them. Continue practicing nonsense words with your child. The goal is to be able to read those nonsense words quickly, as whole words! Keep practicing from the sight word flash cards and common word list too.
We’re participating in Book-It this year from October to March. It’s a reading program sponsored by Pizza Hut. If your child meets the goal of 400 minutes in the month, he or she will earn a coupon for a personal pan pizza. So read every day with your child! It’s worth every minute!
We will continue our fall theme, and learn more about Christopher Columbus. We will also continue our study of Solids and Liquids for Science. We plan to do lots of writing and observations in our science notebooks.
Mark your calendar for our next “No School” day, Veterans Day, on Wednesday, November 11, in honor of our veterans.
A very special thank you to our parent volunteers who help keep our classrooms going. We love having you in our classes and appreciate your time and expertise!
Enjoy the rest of the fall! We are looking forward to seeing you at Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30. It is great to have a partnership with you in helping your child have a positive and successful educational experience.
Mrs. Harper, Mrs. Mahler, & Mrs. York
SECOND GRADE
We would like to thank all 2nd grade families for attending Parent/Teacher Conferences. It was a pleasure to meet with each of you and discuss your child’s individual growth.
Please continue to read with your child at least 20 minutes per night and sign the new “reading minutes” slip as discussed at Conferences. This should be turned in every Friday along with your child’s literacy packet.
We recently finished our study of Air and Weather. Students are very excited to start our new Balance and Motion science kit. After studying the concepts of balance, weight, and counterweight, your child will attempt to apply these concepts to balance a pencil on its tip!
Mrs. Luehring & Mrs. Pevoteaux
THIRD GRADE
Hello Third Grade Parents,
Thank you so much for your time and participation in your child’s conferences! We are pleased with the progress of the third grade classes. As you may know, your child may have different teachers for math and literacy this quarter. It works well for everyone when we can ability group the students. Generally, the classes are more focused and should be able to meet each child’s needs more efficiently. Your continued help in reading and practicing math facts with your child is crucial. Thanks for your support.
Congratulations to each student for their fantastic rock and mineral collections! Each student was able to share their collection and view the entire third grade group’s rocks and minerals. We will conclude the geology unit with a trip to The Garden of the Gods on Thursday, November 5. Watch for information coming in Purple Folders. Of course we never stop learning and you will have countless opportunities to continue to share in your child’s geologic journey. Have fun helping them create their own rock garden and build a better collection of rocks and minerals!
It has been a fast and fun quarter, and we realize this year is going to fly by as fast as…well, have your child make up their own simile like they did for Artsmart! Thanks to the volunteers who make learning through art possible.
As usual, you can contact us by phone, e-mail, or by visiting before or after school. We’re enjoying our journey with your children!
Sincerely,
Mr. Bowles, Ms. Rafferty, & Mrs. Smith
FOURTH GRADE
During the month of November, we will be giving thanks that we made it through October!
We will roam the plains with the Native Americans and explore the mountains of our state with Zebulon Pike and John C. Fremont in Colorado History.
Literacy classes will focus on editing writing samples for conventions, building our words-per-minute when reading aloud, connecting comprehension strategies to other areas of the curriculum, and identifying main idea and related details.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!
FIFTH GRADE
FUNDRAISER for Golden Bell!!
Students will be gift-wrapping at Barnes and Noble. Sign up today with Mrs. Birringer for your shift to help. Event is November 19th from 4-7 at the North Academy Barnes and Noble.
PARENT CONNECT!! Visit the office to obtain a PIN # and password to access your child’s latest grades, in real time.
The beginning of Second Quarter is going amazingly smooth! We are enjoying our adventurous days of learning!
LITERACY BLOCK:
WRITING: The American Colony Unit is underway! November due dates are the 6th and 20th. Check with your student about their progress or go to Parent Connect for the latest grade.
READING: November is Thankful Month. We are diving into novels which focus on being thankful.
MATH BLOCK:
MATH: Standards are being explored in Math through a variety of strategies, including science experiments!!
SCIENCE: The kids are excited to be playing with the Variables Kit. Soon to come is “LANDFORMS”. Then the real fun begins…
Mrs. Birringer & Mr. Potter
The All-District Hispanic Heritage Art Show is coming up! The reception is Wednesday, November 18 at Tesla from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. The following Trailblazer students’ art will be entered in the show:
Victoria Hamblin, Tessa Krager, Lauren Strabala, Chris Bumpus, Justin Atencio, Julia Lewis, James Atencio, Robert Harvey, Ariana Sablad, Brian Smith, Haley Scott, Abby Huerta, Cordairo Serna, Abby Timmins, Zeth Maughan, Libby Aragon, Kirsten Kinder, Lance Georgios, Lindsey Murray, and Nicole Wilking.
All District 11 schools will be participating.
Permission slips must be turned in to the office by Wednesday, November 4.
I have been enjoying this year with all of the talented artists! Keep up the great work everyone!
Miss Katie Robinson
My how time flies! The 1st quarter is over and two of our after-school programs are already done as well. Cup stacking is up next; Floor Hockey when we get back in January.
The 1st Grade Team Building class is now in full swing, and the team is really pulling together to have success in our activities. Great job team!!!
The 5th grade teachers have handed out the applications for Ski Passes. We’ll be putting together some trips for pass holders in December, so look for information on these trips, and let’s hit the slopes.
Coach Gioia
November Music Notes
We have moved into our 2nd quarter and the music room is buzzing! Our fourth graders will be presenting the musical “A Kid’s Life” on Tuesday, November 10 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Come and witness what happens to a technology dependant group of children when the electricity goes out. This one promises to be a load of fun.
Our Trailblazer choir will be singing a few songs at the Briargate Barnes and Noble on Thursday, November 19 approximately at 6:00 p.m. This will be in conjunction with our Book Fair there.
A big thanks to parents who have been sending in treats for choir. It really helps to get the morning started right. Mrs. Spann will be in contact with you for your week.
Coming Soon: Band and Strings Program - Tuesday, December 1 – 1:30 & 6:30 p.m. - Gym; Holiday Choir Program - Tuesday, December 8 - 1:30 & 6:30 p.m. - Gym
Enjoy your Thanksgiving Break!
Mrs. Johnson
The Trailblazer Media Center would like to thank all of our volunteers and Trailblazer staff for their support during the Scholastic Book Fair. The book fair is a great opportunity to get books into the hands of students and for classroom to receive extra resources. This year we earned over $1800 in Scholastic book credit for the library. Thank you for your support.
We would also like to congratulate the new members of the Trailblazer Birthday Book Club: Jake Haas, Shay Anderson, Byron Yeakley, Ryan Kricker, Trevor Johnson, Dakota Kinder, Corban Yeakley, Isaac Brown, Kristen Kinder, Rachael Saghi, Regan VanWhye, Aleksandra Olesiak, Mallory Hajek, Nathan Haas, Finn Smith, Rachel Hettiarachchy and Grace Trahey. These students have provided $255.00 in new books to our library. To date, Birthday Club members have donated over $800 worth of books to our school library.
This fall the library will be partnering with Barnes and Noble to raise money for our school library. Join us at the Barnes & Noble at Briargate on Thursday, November 19 for guest readers, choir presentations, and class participation contests, in addition to gift-wrapping coordinated by the Trailblazer fifth grade team. A percentage of all purchases from the store or café on that day will go to the Trailblazer Media Center. (See the Trailblazer/Barnes & Noble voucher on the last page of this Newsletter.) Look for more information in Thursday Folders or visit our website: www.d11.org/trailblazer.
Mrs. Pratt & Mrs. Tessier
This fall, our principal, Mr. Morris, has raised the bar, as our drop in CSAP composite scores was unacceptable for such a stellar student body. We are targeting vocabulary, critical thinking, and math number sense, and are eager to help students do their personal best. We believe that this requires a close relationship with parents and families.
Please feel free to keep in touch with your student’s teacher. Our Specials teachers (Coach Gioia, Mrs. Johnson, and Miss Robinson), Library Technology Educator (Mrs. Pratt), Gifted & Talented teacher (Ms. Cyndi Gallup), the SPED Team, and I (Mrs. Thompson) work closely with the classroom teachers daily and, therefore, the students. We would love to hear from you as well.
Trailblazer is very focused on reading and writing this year, as it has consistently been our lowest area of achievement. You can help by looking at your student’s writing to be sure that correct homonyms (homophones) are used, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are accurate and most of all….does it make sense?
District 11’s approach to writing is “Writer’s Workshop”. In this approach, students choose a great deal of what they write about in a Writer’s Notebook so that the writing has more meaning to them. These pieces are at all stages of the writing process, so many will not have been revised or edited. We use prompts, as well to prepare them for testing, but many students LOVE to write when the workshop is used. We are getting some exciting writing!
Mrs. Thompson
It is important to have your child learn to spell without having to see the word. Visualizing the letters in their brain is actually the way we all learn to spell. Hence the reason, as we grow in skills, we say the spelling doesn't "look" right.
A quick way to study spelling is to put each word on a 3x5 card and have your child hold it up in front of their eyes. Have them spell the word and then have your child put the card down so they cannot see the word and spell it.
If they spell the word several times without looking at it, the picture of the word will form in their brain and they will be able to spell it forwards, backwards, and put letters in their exact place.
Have fun learning with your child!
The SPED Team
I.Q. Tests and your
Child
by Carolyn Callahan
and Howard Eichner
From:
http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=960
QUESTION
A reader
from Tampa, Florida writes "I think my child is very bright. Should I ask the
school district to give my child an IQ test?"
ANSWER
Before requesting that an IQ test be administered to your child, it is very
important to know why you wish to know your child's IQ. You have information
that leads you to conclude that your child has an exceptional capacity to learn.
Is that capacity recognized by the school? Is your child's current level of
achievement taken into account in the teacher's planning and instruction? Is
your child challenged by the learning environment in which he or she is
currently placed? If the answers to these questions are "yes", then there is
little reason for requesting further assessment of your child. The teachers in
the school are obviously responding to the characteristics you have recognized
and an IQ score will do little to enhance the education of your child.
On the other hand, if your child is bored or unchallenged by the classroom activities and his or her teachers do not recognize the level of achievement or the knowledge and skills your child has already mastered, there may be a need to provide documentation of your child's learning capacity. If you have attempted to provide evidence of your child's learning capacity and it has been denied by the educators in your child's life, then a request to have further evidence to use as argument of need for a more challenging curriculum may be warranted. Finally, if there are educational opportunities that are available only to students with a demonstrated level of aptitude (as in test score), and you believe that your child should be afforded these opportunities, then you may wish to request testing.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT AS A RESULT OF IQ TESTING?
Nearly all experts in the field of gifted and talented education today agree that:
* Intelligence is multi-faceted;
* Intelligence is displayed in many different ways;
* The assessment and identification of gifted students should focus on diverse talent or ability areas and include information from multiple sources and
* Educational programming should be based directly on the specific talents and needs that are defined and identified.
IQ scores only give the information about one specific facet of intelligence as displayed in children who excel in verbal and logical thinking in the most traditional sense. This type of ability is often called general intellectual ability. Of the 49 states that have policies on gifted education, every one includes general intelligence ability as one type of giftedness to be identified. IQ is the best overall predictor of school achievement and educational success; hence intelligence tests are often one of the assessments used to identify exceptional general intellectual ability in children.
TYPES OF IQ TESTS
Individualized intelligence tests take considerable time to administer and interpret, but they provide the most information about overall general aptitude. They must be administered by licensed psychologists or psychometricians. Group intelligence tests often underestimate the scores received on individual tests. If you are requesting that your child be assessed, request that a school psychologist administer an individualized test.
The most widely used individual IQ tests for school-aged youngsters, and the best, are the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-III) and the Stanford Binet Intelligence Test - Fourth Edition (SB-IV). These tests represent the latest version of each test.
WHAT ARE THESE TESTS
LIKE? WHAT WILL THE SCORES MEAN?
Individual IQ tests do not require reading or writing, and each consists of a series of subtests. Some are verbal subtests that are oral questions, usually without time limits. Other subtests are generally visual or spatial in nature, and usually are timed. The test takes about 1 to 2 hours to administer. The psychologist will use subtest scores to identify relatively weak or strong areas of performance (e.g., verbal ability as manifested by vocabulary or mathematical reasoning ability).
The "Full Scale" or "Composite" IQ score based on all or most of the subtests, is the number most people are referring to when discussing someone's IQ. (Unless otherwise specified, when "IQ" is mentioned in this column, it will mean Full Scale IQ.)
The developers of IQ tests use mathematical calculations to find the mean or average score. An IQ score from 90 to 110 is generally considered average, corresponding to roughly the middle 50 percent of the population. If we just look at the scores at the high end, 2-3 percent of the population will have IQ scores above 130. An IQ score of 145 should occur 0.1 percent of the time or one time in a 1,000.
No IQ score should be considered an exact measure of intellectual ability. For example, good guesses may artificially increase an IQ estimate or having a bad day may decrease the estimate. There are many factors that might make an individual score vary a little from one occasion to another on any test. These include anxiety, motivation, rapport with the examiner, and guessing. Hence, psychologists will most often present a range of scores. A psychologist is likely to say "your child's IQ falls in the range 123-137. This is the exceptional range." This range takes into account the random error of testing.
A WISC IQ score will not be the same as a SB IQ because the test items are different, the children to whom your child is compared are different and the ideas which underlie the construction of the test differ. However, the scores are highly correlated. That is, children who earn higher scores on one test tend to earn higher scores on the other. Individuals with the same IQ are still very different people, with different strengths and weaknesses, behaviors, and personalities. A child's IQ score tells us about only one dimension of a person.
IQ is not the best measure or predictor for everyone or for all success measures. IQ tests do not measure creativity, leadership, initiative, curiosity, commitment, artistic skill, musical talent, social skills, emotional well-being, or physical prowess - all components which can be included in definitions of giftedness. There is considerable evidence that students who are economically disadvantaged, from ethnic minorities, and/or speak English as a second language generally receive a lower score on IQ tests. This is a fault in the tests, not the students.
Full-scale scores on an IQ test may be lower for a gifted student who also has a learning disability; however a trained psychologist will be likely to see discrepancies in performance on the sub-scales which indicate a learning disability.
HOW TO PROCEED
So we are back to the question of "Why ask for an IQ test?" and just as important "What should a parent do?" IQ testing and obtaining an IQ score should be viewed as a means, not an end in itself. IQ testing can be helpful if you suspect a problem in school. IQ scores can help determine if your child is underachieving or the pattern of strengths and weaknesses reflected on an IQ test may help to determine if your child has a specific learning disability. But remember, an IQ score alone does not determine a student's needs, an appropriate curriculum, or what program a district offers.
Having a high IQ does not mean that a child will reach his or her potential. If an intelligence test is used as part of a process for identifying gifted children it will provide only one piece of information. The full identification process should enhance understanding of the child. The patterns of strengths and weaknesses on an IQ test convey more individualized information than the Full-scale score; however, other data collected the process of screening for identification and placement may provide even more valuable information on educational needs. An IQ score should never be the sole basis used in determining giftedness, and minimum "cutoffs" should not be used.
Most importantly, assessments of children should provide additional information useful for educational planning or intervention, not just for labeling. Before requesting an IQ test you should be sure you have determined that the information you give will be used for that purpose.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dr. Carolyn M. Callahan is Professor in the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, and Associate Director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Dr. Callahan is a Past President of both the National Association for Gifted Children and the Association for the Gifted (TAG). She also sits on the editorial boards of Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, and Roeper Review.
Howard Eichner is a school psychologist at Vernon Center Middle School in Vernon, Connecticut. He is happily married and has three sons. He has been a school psychologist for the past 20 years.
Ms. Gallup
From Your Trailblazer Elementary School Nurse about the flu:
Trailblazer Elementary is working very hard, and has taken extra precautions, to keep our students – and YOU -- healthy during this flu season. Please know that we are sensitive to parents missing work to care for an ill child; however, we need your help!
Students with the flu usually miss 3-5 days of school. The CDC and local health department recommend that students who have a fever (temperature over 100 degrees) should STAY HOME until 24 hours AFTER the fever is gone WITHOUT the use of a fever-reducing medicine (e.g., Tylenol or Motrin). If students come back to school too soon, they are still contagious, can have a relapse, and be out of school even longer. Remember: A child with a fever that is brought down by medicine is still ill.
CAUTION:
CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN ASPIRIN BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF
REYE’S SYNDROME!
It is very important for you to:
· Have a plan for your children if they need to be home due to illness.
· Keep your phone numbers and contact information up to date with the school office. Ill children need to be picked up as soon as possible, and only persons on your contact list may do so.
· Remember that being ill at home means staying away from day care, church, and other public activities, such as going to the store, riding a bus, etc...
· Call your doctor before making a visit to the clinic, urgent care or emergency room. The wait in the emergency room can be hours. Most healthy people get better without medical care.
· Seek medical attention if you or your child are in one of the high risk groups:
o Children under 5 years old -- especially children under 2 years; adults older than 65 years; pregnant women; anyone who has an underlying health condition such as asthma, cancer, lung disease, weak immune system.
· Know the emergency warning signs in children that require immediate medical attention:
o Fast breathing or trouble breathing; bluish skin color; not drinking enough fluids (no urination); not waking up; being so irritable the child does not want to be held; flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and worse cough; fever with a rash.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping ALL OF US healthy.
Lola Lauricello, RN
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12/1 - Band/Orchestra Program – 1:30 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. – Gym
12/3 & 14 – All-School Chess – 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. – Media Center
12/3 – Family Craft Night – 6:30 – 8 p.m. - Gym
12/4 – Trailblazer Coffee – 8-9:30 a.m. – Community Room
- McTeacher’s Night – 4:30-7:30 p.m. – McDonald’s Garden of the Gods & I-25
- Box Tops due
12/5 Trailblazer Chess Tournament – 8:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. – Gym (Snow date: 12/12)
12/7 - PTA Meeting – 6:15-8:30 p.m. – Community Room
12/8 – Holiday Choir Program – 1:30 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.
12/11 – Battle of the Books Movie Night – 6-8 p.m. Media Center
12/21 – 1/5 - Winter Break – D11 Schools Closed
Inclement
Weather Delays/Closures
It’s that time of year. Unpredictable weather has arrived! You can check for delays or closures on the D-11 Web site at www.d11.org, Comcast Channel 16, or call 520-2000 or 520-2300 for a recorded message.
You can also sign up to receive an e-mail notification about delays or closures. Go to the District 11 home page at www.d11.org and click on D-11 Answers. When you get into D-11 Answers, click on "My Account”. If you already have an account, log in; if not, create a new account. Once logged in, you will see your “User Details”. Under “Notification Groups”, click “EDIT”. Enter your contact information and select which notifications you would like to receive. Click “Submit” to save your changes.
Please remember: You as a parent make the final decision concerning the safety of your child. If you think conditions are unsafe when the District keeps schools open, you may keep your child at home. Your child’s absence will be excused, and all work can be made up without penalty.
YELLOW FLAG PROCEDURE
Trailblazer will have a yellow flag procedure in place on days when the temperature is 20 degrees or below, or when there is heavy precipitation. At the front and side entry doors, there will be yellow flags to indicate to students that they may go into their classrooms at 7:45 a.m. Staff will be in their classrooms to supervise students.
CROSSWALK
INFORMATION
Just a reminder: CSPD states that when making turns, you must wait until the Crossing Guard is completely out of the crosswalk before you begin making your turns. For the safety of all, please be sure to follow this traffic rule.
The Board of Education recognizes CHOICE as an option for students to enroll in schools other than those of their assigned attendance area within District 11. This option can be exercised during the open enrollment period of November 2, 2009 to May 21, 2010 for the 2010-2011 school year. Parents who exercise this option must obtain a CHOICE permit from the school of their choice. Students who reside within an attendance area shall have enrollment priority.
NOTE: Prior to seeking a CHOICE permit, please call the school of your choice to determine if that school has reached its enrollment capacity. If you choose to complete a CHOICE permit form, your name will be placed on a waiting list for placement when and if space is determined to be available during the 2010-2011 school year.
CHOICE permits will be approved based on the following criteria:
· building is under enrollment;
· sufficient staff and services are available; and
· student applying for a permit does not have any violations relative to the safe school legislation.
Special Education placements will be considered individually.
Students from outside of District 11’s attendance boundaries may be considered under these same guidelines, and must complete the appropriate student permit form at their school of choice. In addition, within one month of moving to District 11, families will have a CHOICE of determining which school their child(ren) will attend. This allows for CHOICE outside of the established November 2 to May 21 window period.
NOTE: Approved applications for any permit shall be valid for attendance at the school for the applicable year only. All permits will be reconsidered annually by the building principal for the subsequent school year.
CHOICE permits may be revoked by the school for any of the following reasons:
· Lack of space or teaching staff within a particular program or grade level.
· The school requested no longer offers appropriate programs, or is not structured or equipped with the necessary facilities to meet special needs of the student, or does not offer a particular program (including age requirements, and required levels of performance.)
· False information is discovered after a student has been granted a permit.
If your child is missing articles of clothing or other possessions, please make sure to check the Lost & Found area located in the Auxiliary Gym. Items not claimed before our Winter Break will be donated to local charities.
Here at Trailblazer we are always committed to the safety and well-being of our students and staff. We ask that all parents or guardians not use the YMCA entrance to gain access to the rest of building. This will ensure the safest possible environment for our students and staff who stay after school for various activities. As always, thank you for your cooperation and support.
PARENTS, WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Please make sure that your student knows what he or she is supposed to do after school (i.e., ride the school bus, walk home, wait for a ride, etc.) before they leave home in the morning. We would greatly appreciate it if all changes in transportation are in writing.
Assist your student in arriving and leaving school on time. Having your student get ready for school the night before, and having backup plans for school or bus stop pickup is critical in the event you are delayed. Please make sure to notify your daycare provider’s transportation office if your child will not be riding their bus due to illness or early pickup from school.
A Successory Card contains your students’ name and space for a personal message from you. The message can be of a personal, academic, or social nature rewarding and praising your child for a job or deed well done. The principal will announce your child’s name during morning announcements, as being a “Successory Card” receiver, and then personally delivers the message you have written to your child.
The Cards are located in the office, and can be purchased for 50 cents apiece. The money collected helps support our school store, “The Nut Hut”. We purchase prizes for students who display our life skills and lifelong guidelines. Please stop by and fill out a card or two.
Thank you for participating in and supporting such a wonderful program designed to bolster confidence and reward successful events in your child’s life!
**********
Want to get your very own
Trailblazer Apparel – shirts, bags, hats, sweatshirts?
Go to the Trailblazer Website at:
www.d11.org/trailblazer
and click on Spirit Gear to get to this link!
**********
Congratulations to these students for being chosen by their peers to represent their classes on Student Council:
Julia Lewis, Molly Freudenberg, Hannah Vujcevic, Aliza Anderson, Dakota Miller, Kian Sablad, Rachael Saghi, Andrew Burton, Chloe Cassens, Jake Haas, Lindsay Holloway, Grace Harrison, Dylan Kleckner, Reyd Osborne, Lilliana Martinez, Connor Podoll, Olivia Halverson, Mariah Taylor, Emma Cawood, Christine Peterson, Brooklyn Cassens, Leggatt Kerek, Zoe Foster, Jaden Burkett, Hunter Fields, and Micaela Ortiz.
Thank you for being such great ambassadors for our school!
Also from Student Council:
· Harvest of Love food drive will be from November 2 – 20. Look for more information in the Thursday Folder.
· Trailblazer Mascot – any money that Student Council makes this year will be going towards buying an official mascot for our school.
· Family Craft Night – This is our annual craft night for families to come enjoy making crafts together for the holiday season that you can take home.
· Used Book Drive – during the month of December, we will be collecting used children’s books to send to a school in the country of Columbia. Start cleaning out your bookshelves!
Also
remember…
For the most up-to-date Trailblazer information regarding dates for classroom and school events, after-school activities, and other school news, visit our website at: www.d11.org/trailblazer.
Contact the office for “Parent Connection” information on how to access your child’s grades, attendance, health information, family/friend contacts, demographics, and much more!
