Timberwolf Tribune

Trailblazer Elementary School

*A John Irwin School of Excellence*

2015 Wickes Road

Colorado Springs, CO  80919

Phone: (719) 328-6300  Fax: (719) 260-1049

www.d11.org/trailblazer

Mr. David Morris, Principal

October 2009

October 2009

Dear Trailblazer Families,     

    Time truly waits for no one!  We are fast approaching the end of the first quarter.  Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30.  Students will not have school on either of these days.  In your student’s Thursday Folder this month will be information that is more specific regarding scheduling your conference.  The purpose for the conferences is to allow parents and staff to have an informative dialog regarding their students’ academic progress.  We look forward to visiting with all of our parents.   

    Also, please mark your calendar for our 12^th annual PTA-sponsored Halloween Hop on Friday, October 23, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  For the safety of all in attendance, parents must accompany their children throughout the event, and students are asked not to wear scary costumes, masks, or carry toy weapons.

    Our staff finished writing the first quarter School Improvement Plan (SIP) for this school year.  We will update our plan quarterly.  Due to our CSAP scores and other data, Trailblazer will focus on literacy and higher-level thinking skills throughout the curriculum.  We will, of course, continue to work on math, reading, social studies, and science.  We appreciate and welcome parent involvement in order to make sure all of our students are successful.

    A truly grateful thank you to all of the parent volunteers who assisted with Open House, Safety Town, the ABC Fundraiser, The Scholastic Book Fair, and our Vision and Hearing screening and rescreening – we could not have done these activities without you!   

Sincerely,

David Morris

Principal

******************************************************************************

KINDERGARTEN

Our kindergartners have settled into a routine and are finding success in following Trailblazer Traits.   The kids are earning PAWS for Celebration tickets in their classrooms to reinforce their positive behavior.  If you would like to purchase Successory Cards for your child, you may do so in the office and your child will be recognized in the morning announcements. We will be keeping track of the PAWs in our Data Folders that you’ll see at Parent/Teacher Conferences.

We will be walking to Fire Station 18 on October 9 during Fire Prevention week!  Please chat with your child about fire safety and get a plan in place for your family in case of emergency.  We will be practicing fire drills at school.

The kids are learning the Center rotations and expectations which will help our Centers run more smoothly.  Because of our large kinder class sizes, any extra help with Center rotations would be greatly appreciated.  Please notify your child’s teacher if you might be able to come in to help out, even if it is at the last minute.  We never turn down helping hands!

       We would like to see all of you at Parent/ Teacher Conferences on Thursday and Friday, October 29 and October 30!  Please make every effort to attend this important meeting with your child’s teacher.  We will be reviewing their first report card, behavior expectations, and any of your questions or concerns.  We look forward to seeing you! 

Enjoy this beautiful fall month!

Ms. Caldwell, Miss Dickson, & Mrs. Vasquez  

 FIRST GRADE

            FIRST GRADE IS A LEARNING PLACE!

            We’ve started centers in the pod, thanks to the help of many great parent volunteers. At the end of September, the pod smelled wonderful, with applesauce simmering to celebrate Johnny Appleseed’s birthday on September 26!  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! Centers this year are from 9:20 – 11:15 a.m.  Lunch follows, so you could even eat with your first grader!

            We’re looking forward to a walking field trip to Fire Station #18 to learn about Fire Prevention on Tuesday, October 6.  On Monday morning, October 12, we will take a trip to the Venetucci Pumpkin Farm, to pick our very own pumpkins!

            We’re doing lots of reading groups, and practicing skills for sounding out words and writing them. Coming home this month will be flash cards for the Nonsense Word Fluency skill on DIBELS. Cut them out and practice to help your child become more fluent with that skill! 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.  Please read every day with your child!  It’s worth every minute!

            We will continue our Fall/Autumn theme, and learn more about Christopher Columbus. We will also continue our study of pebbles, sand, and silt for Science, and plan to do lots of writing and observations in our science notebooks.

We’ll look forward to seeing you at the end of the month for Parent/Teacher Conferences, on Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30. 

            Enjoy the beginning of fall! 

Ms. Harper & Mrs. Mahler

FIRST/SECOND MULTIAGE 

Multiage has been busy! We have spent lots of time building a sense of community in our room. It is important for us to feel like a family.

We are excited to show our parents everything we have been doing at our annual “Portfolio Picnic”, on Monday, October 19, from 11:00 to 11:40 a.m. Our parents will enjoy looking through our data folders, going on a gallery walk, and eating lunch together!

We have enjoyed studying the ocean, along with our science kit, “Solids and Liquids”.

We are also working hard to become fluent readers and creative writers!

October will be a very busy month with Fire Prevention Week, Red Ribbon Week, Parent/Teacher Conferences (Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30), and not to mention, the Halloween Hop!

We are so lucky to have such wonderful parents who are willing to donate their time to volunteer in our classroom. It is great to have so much help!

 Mrs. York

 SECOND GRADE

 Our current science unit is Air and Weather and we have been having fun exploring air. We will be observing weather this month and learning about the different types and effects of weather.

Thank you parents for helping your child with the Literacy Homework and signing it before you return it. It that comes home on Monday and it is due on Friday.  Please be sure your child is also reading and that you are recording the minutes in your child’s agenda.  Remember your child is expected to be reading 100 minutes per week.  If you have questions, refer to the homework section in your Parent Handbook.

We will be sending home notes about Parent-Teacher conferences, please look for those and send them back quickly. We look forward to seeing you at Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday and Friday, October 29 and 30. 

Mrs. Luehring & Mrs. Pevoteaux

THIRD GRADE

    …Fall Greetings from Third Grade

                Introducing the new and improved third grade team: Mr. Bowles, Ms. Rafferty, and Mrs. Smith!  We now have three third grade teachers with approximately 22 students in each class!  Thank you for your patience and understanding throughout the process.  We feel it is a win-win situation and will benefit everyone involved. 

This month we will be finishing our science geology kit.  A rock collection project will be due to finish the unit.  Watch for more information in the Thursday folders.

We will begin ability groups in Literacy and Math this month.  Each flexible group will be studying the same material, just at a different pace. 

With these changes comes more responsibility.  We are asking that you help your child complete homework on time and to the best of their ability.  Reading minutes are crucial at this point in your child’s education.  Please continue to read with them and sign their agenda daily confirming they read 100 minutes per week.   

We are looking forward to meeting with you during Parent Teacher Conferences this month!

With great appreciation,      

Mr. Bowles, Ms. Rafferty, & Mrs. Smith 

 

 FOURTH GRADE  
                         Fall has come to the purple pod!

We’re falling in love with our new teacher, Ms. Jean Wittich. Her arrival has lowered class sizes, streamlined our social studies and science instruction, and enabled us to regroup for more effective instruction in both math and literacy.

are falling back on their knowledge of bones and muscles to help them understand reflexes.

Math facts and reading minutes fall under the category of “nightly homework”.  Along with this, please help your child by checking homework assignments, signing agendas, and ensuring that everything gets back to school in folders and backpacks and nothing falls by the wayside!.

Now that our schedule is set, teachers will be calling parent helpers to arrange assistance during the day so that our instructional plans do not fall apart.  We are looking forward to sharing your child’s progress with you during conferences at the end of the month.

Is your child’s school life all it should be?  They won’t fall behind if they get involved in choir, band, orchestra, intramurals, chess club, battle of the books, or writing club.  It’s not too late to sign up for one of the wonderful opportunities!

We are so thankfall for the opportunity to teach your children, and for your patience and understanding this past month.  It looks to be a great Fall “where the wild things are!”

 Ms. Donnelly, Mrs. Duffy, & Ms. Wittich

 Fifth Grade

FUNDRAISER for Golden Bell!!

Students will be hosting a pizza dinner at the Halloween Hop. Please make plans to eat dinner with us. Students will work in shifts so all can enjoy the Hop.

We are all enjoying our new Literacy and Math Blocks. The kids are really getting a full day of academics and having so much fun they don’t even realize all they are learning!

WRITING: We are still in the Build-a-Story Workshop. We introduced ourselves with our signature characters in September and we are developing the character to become our main character for many writings this year. Ask your student about his/her character.  Students are working hard on all the elements of writing; from summaries to mysteries.

READING: October is Mystery Month. We are diving into a Mystery Novel within our groups and traveling thru the world of Literacy Circles.

MATH: The kids are wheeling and dealing in the Stock Market. They are turning into quite the investors! Ask them for advice if you are interested in the market yourself!

SCIENCE: From the frozen tundra to the bottom of the ocean, students are able to research and explore our world full of ecosystems.  They are traveling through books, websites, and videos to explore their world.

Mrs. Birringer & Mr. Potter
 
*********************************************************************************************************

Parents, I want you to know that your child has been working very hard.  Art is almost up on the walls, so stop by and check out what these amazing and talented artists have been up to! 

Miss Robinson 

            The after school program has started in full swing with soccer as our first activity.  Table Games is next.

Cross Country Series

October 6          Don Wilson Run

October 13         Keller/King Invitational

Races start at 4:00 pm.  For more information, please call me on 328-6325.

10/01/09-Please note that, due to weather, Field Day is postponed until May 18, 2010.

Coach Gioia

                   October Music Notes

            September was an exciting month as we begin our school year singing patriotic songs.  We will continue singing and playing instruments as we concentrate on Music Standard 2.  Students will begin to read and write music.

            We have 59 students who joined and returned to the Trailblazer Choir.  They are a dynamic group who love to sing.  Look for a call from Mrs. Spann to help provide morning snacks for the year.

            The 4^th grade class is preparing for a musical titled “A Kid’s Life”. The performance date is Tuesday, November 10 at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m.  Parents, relatives, friends, and neighbors are always welcome to come and enjoy Trailblazer performances! 

Mrs. Johnson
 

            The Trailblazer Media Center would like to thank all of our volunteers and school 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 classrooms to receive extra resources.  As a result, make sure to look for new books in the Media Center.

            The next Book Fair is at the Briargate Barnes and Noble, on Thursday, November 19 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. 

            Birthday Club donations are due on Thursday, October 1.  For more information about the Birthday Club, visit our Website at: www.d11.org/trailblazer.           

Mrs. Pratt & Mrs. Tessier

 *****************************************************************************

It is great to be back for another year at Trailblazer Elementary School.  We are getting closer every day to working out all the kinks that Special Education has to offer.  We are thrilled that the District has approved Janet Ryan as a new Educational Assistant to our team! 

Each month, we will be adding a quick activity that you can do with your students to help strengthen their academic skills.  Check out this month’s idea…  

       Phonemic awareness in the car!

• Say a word that you see outside the car and see how many words your student can rhyme with it.se family member’s names and see if your student can segment the name into its sounds.Have the radio on and see who can hear the first word in a song that starts with a particular sound.

From the desk of…          LRT Report!

Barbara Thompson

Literacy Resource Teacher 

         We have started the year off again in our racing shoes! This year promises to be colder and wetter.  Our population is up and so is our excitement. Get out the pumpkins and harvest decorations and prepare with us for a year that will speed by.

            This promises to be a wonderful year of collaboration and community.  The staff is excited to be working with your students, and I am again amazed at the level of talent I see in these students. This year we have added a 4^th grade teacher, and we are flooding the 5^th grade with specialists due to the large student count. We do this to ensure student’s needs are met. 

We will be doing “Battle of the Books”, chess, Junior Great Books, and many fun new literacy activities.  Our new Accelerated Reader replaces Scholastic’s “Reading Counts”, and has thousands more tests online to give a greater selection.

            Our ACT (Advocates for Children at Trailblazer) team is quite busy and has been privileged to meet with many of our truly cooperative parents, and to accelerate several students.

            It is a joy to work at Trailblazer!

Mrs. Thompson 

Bemis is an accelerated art program for elementary students in grades 3-5.  Each semester building art teachers select students (using a checklist) who they believe are advanced in the visual arts and would benefit from the program.  

Students take art courses such as drawing, painting, printmaking and digital photography. The elementary Bemis Art Program addresses middle school art standards encouraging students to extend themselves.

The District Gifted and Talented department offers scholarships for students who need assistance. For more information about scholarships, call 520-2464.

Bemis will run from October 19, 2009 - January 25, 2010 for grades 3-5. The reception will be January 29, 2010.  Art teachers from each building will send home information about the program. 

Ms. Gallup

Gifted & Talented Teacher

To Trailblazer Parents/Guardians: 

Please help us minimize illnesses in our school setting.  These guidelines should be used to help you decide whether your child should come to school. We also ask that you:

•  the school office updated with current phone number and contact information
• Make arrangements in advance for home care of your child if he becomes ill at school

Illness Guidelines: When to Keep Your Child Home

ü  Children with severe cold symptoms should not attend school. 

Cold symptoms may include:

a constant runny nose, especially with abnormal color or consistency (this is especially important if your child is unable to use a Kleenex by him(her)self

·         nasal or lung/chest congestion

·         coughing that is constant or persistent

·         recurrent sneezing that is not allergy related

ü  Do not send a child to school with an abnormal temperature- any temperature over 100 degrees F.  Symptoms to watch for might be a flushed face, chills, paleness or skin abnormally warm to the touch.  One or all of these symptoms might be present.  If in doubt at all, please take your child’s temperature.  Please keep an obviously sick child at home.  A child with a temperature needs to stay home for at least 24 hours.  Remember, if you reduce your child’s fever with medication like Tylenol, your child is STILL ill.  Please do not medicate your child and send them to school. Children spread their illness most during the time they have a fever.

ü  Do not send a child to school that has been vomiting within the last 12 hours.

ü  Do not send a child to school that has had diarrhea in the last 12 hours.

ü  Flu symptoms: fever over 100 degrees (usually high) and one or more of the following: body aches, sore throat, cough, and headache. Do not send your child back to school until he has had no symptoms for at least 24 hours.

Guidelines on keeping your child healthy

a   Wash hands using soap and warm water for 15-20 seconds (sing the ABC song once)

      Wash before eating, after using the bathroom, after playing outside, after using a tissue.

a   Cover cough /sneeze into your sleeve. If a tissue is used, throw away tissue and wash hands.

a   Sleep 8+ hours per night

a   Healthy eating habits

You may obtain more detailed school illness guidelines and information at: www.cdphe.state.co.us/dc/Epidemiology/manual/School_Guidelines.pdf  

Lola Lauricello, RN

School Nurse

 *************************************************************************

11/2 – PTA Meeting – 6:15 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. –    Community Room

11/5 & 11/16 – All-School Chess – 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. – Media Center

11/6 – Trailblazer Coffee – 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. – Community Room

11/6 – Box Tops due

11/10 – 4^th Grade Musical Program – 1:30 & 6:30 p.m. - Gym

11/11 – Veterans Day – D11 schools closed

11/12 – Skate City – 6:00 -8:00 p.m.

11/19 – Barnes & Noble Book Fair – Briargate B&N

11/25-27 Thanksgiving Break – D11 schools closed

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.

Pedestrian Safety:

·         Always stop for any pedestrian crossing at corners or other crosswalks. Do not pass a car from behind that has stopped at a crosswalk. A pedestrian you can’t see may be crossing.

·         Do not drive on a sidewalk, except to cross it at a driveway or alley. When crossing, yield to any pedestrian.

·         Remember – if a pedestrian makes eye contact with you, he or she is ready to cross the street. Yield to the pedestrian.

·         Pedestrians have the right-of-way at corners, whether or not the crosswalks are marked by painted white lines.

Please yield to all of our pedestrians when entering or exiting our parking lot.

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.

however, with our limited supply of size/gender-appropriate extra clothing, we would like to ask you to provide an extra set of clothes (pants, shirts, underwear, socks) to remain in your child’s backpack or classroom.  Therefore, if or when that unavoidable “bathroom” accident, or spill (especially with our youngers!), should happen, we would not have to call you away from work or home to bring in a change of clothing for your child. Your cooperation and understanding is greatly appreciated.

Student Council News

Friday, October 2 is Pajama Day!

Student Council would like to invite

students to wear their pajamas to school.

Please be sure that they are appropriate for

school. (No spaghetti straps or shorts!)

Students still need sneakers for gym

and recess!

**********

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 this link!

**********

             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!

********** 

  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.

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.

 Also remember…For the most up-to-date Trailblazer information regarding dates for classroom and school events, after-school activities, and other school news, checkout 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!

         END of October 09 edition of the Trailblazer Tribune!

!