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Timy Baranoff Elementary

12009 Buckingham Gate Road

Austin, TX 78748

www.baranoffschool.org

Follow us on Twitter

@BaranoffSchool

Baranoff Buffalo Newsletter October 2016 “Trail Blazers of the Future”

FROM THE

PRINCIPAL

Ø Oct. 5th-2nd turn in date for

Principal Fundraiser

Ø Oct. 7th – last turn in date for

Principal Fundraiser

Ø Oct. 10th – NO SCHOOL

Parent/Teacher Conference day

Ø Oct. 17th-20th Book Fair

Ø Oct. 19th- PTA Book SWAP

Ø Oct. 24th- CAC meeting in library

Ø Oct. 28th- Fall Family Dance

Night

Special Points of Interest:

Inside this issue: CAFETERIA NEWS p 2 ARTFUL ACTION p 3

WELLNESS INFO p 2 MUSIC ‘DA CAPO’ p 4

FROM THE AP’S p 2 CHOIR NOTES p 5

LIBRARY NEWS p 3 COUNSELOR’S p 5

CORNER

Dear Buffalo Parents,

October is when we have our parent/teacher conferences. Kinder

through 2nd grade teachers will share progress observed in reading,

writing and math skills. They also will share ISIP (Istation Indicators

of Progress) and TEMI (Texas Early Mathematics Indicator) reading

and math assessments. Ask how your child is progressing in gaining independence as a learner and how they are handling the social aspects of school. These are important skills to learn for future school success.

3-5 grade teachers will discuss progress observed in core content

areas. They will share the ISIP assessment and a math classroom

assessment to help identify individual student strengths and areas to

grow. 4th grade teachers will also share initial writing assessments and

examples of student writing. This is a critical component of 4th grade

and a challenging one for our children. Emphasize for your child that every time they write for school – homework or class work-that the product should be written with complete quality sentences using correct capitalization and punctuation. Remember we encourage parents to ask questions so

you are a knowledgeable and active participant in your child’s

learning. We look forward to seeing you at your parent/teacher

conference, as our goal is 100% participation!

PRINCIPAL’S FUNDRAISER

This year our fundraiser sale will benefit our literacy program. Our

goal is to raise at least $15,000. This will purchase 10 hours weekly for

staff literacy support and will purchase resources/books for staff and

students. We appreciate you supporting our students on their literacy

journey as they learn to love to read all different kinds of books!

Megan Counihan ~ Proud Principal of Timy Baranoff

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Issue #: [Date] Dolor Sit Amet

This month’s salad bar theme is

Asian, which runs on Tuesday & Wednesdays

and is a big hit with the kids. If your child buys

lunch in the cafeteria they are allowed to buy

"extra" food and/or snacks. A parent has the

right to over-ride this by adding a notation to

their child's account. For example, “no snacks”

or “snacks only on Friday’s”. If you use

Myschoolbucks.com account then you have the

ability to see exactly what your child is

buying. Also, when sending in lunch money

with your child, please include the following:

his/her full name, four-digit bar code, teacher's

name and the amount enclosed. Only cash is

accepted.

Sharon Stevens, Cafeteria Manager

(512) 841-7154 or email: baranoffcafe@austinisd.org

Once again, AISD has been selected as the only

district in the United States to receive the Marathon

Kids running program for free. What does this mean?

Daily W.O.W. time is now restructured to include

ten minutes every day dedicated to increasing

cardiovascular fitness on our track by running or

jogging. First through fifth grade students will track

these miles at school to earn incentives. (Kinder

students work toward 1 marathon.) The goal will be

the completion of the equivalent of up to four

marathons over the course of the year! In order for

your child to be successful with this program please

help them remember to wear or bring athletic footwear to school every day.

If you are interested in signing up to support your

student(s) go to marathonkids.org to complete the

paid registration so you can participate and track

your family’s mileage at home if you would like.

In Wellness class we are working on Throwing &

Catching as well as cardiovascular fitness at all

grade levels.

IMPORTANT:

Your child’s written assessment on cardiovascular

information will be 10/13 (A), 10/14 (B), or 10/17 (C).

In the month of October 3-5 graders will be

completing the pre tests for FitnessGram physical

assessments.

Wellness Education

FROM BETH CANTU, ASST. PRINCIPAL

Thank you to all of the dads, grandparents

and significant males who came to the

WATCHDOG Parent Information Night on

September 27th. We look forward to having

many WATCH DOGS on campus this year!

We are still in need of 2 lunchroom monitors. This is a paid position through

Austin ISD and the hours are from 10:30-1:30

pm. We can be flexible with days worked. If

you are interested, please contact Beth Cantu

at beth.cantu@austinisd.org

In the meantime, we are asking for parent

volunteers to help out until we are able to hire

new monitors. The sign up genius link is below:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0c44a8ae29a31-lunch

Page 2

CAFETERIA NEWS

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Issue #: [Date] Dolor Sit Amet

ART IN ACTION

Kinder students have finished their shape dinosaur & are beginning to work on a family portrait. We’ve worked on cutting, coloring & drawing skills, along with practice in listening & following directions. Our kinder students have a good start to their year in art! 1st grade students will create a collage, paying attention to geometric & freeform shapes. Our final product will be a fall tree with foliage made with colored concentric circles modeled after the Russian artist, Kandinsky. 2nd grade students will create a representation of a lava lamp using various materials, paying attention to geometric & freeform shapes. 3rd grade students are studying drawing, using hatching & cross-hatching to give the illusion of depth. Next, they’ll be studying geometric & freeform shapes & how they may be combined to make complex shapes, as in tessellations. 4th grade will complete an observation drawing, paying attention to contour & texture. We will then attempt using line to show action & movement. Our next 5th grade project will concentrate on skill building, incorporating line, value & movement to create a drawing. At the end of this month, the Baranoff Art Department will offer parents the option of having their child’s first competed artwork of the year printed on one or more of a selection of gift items. We have worked with this same company, Original Works, for several years, & they’ve always offered a quality selection, as well as a quality product. This fundraiser is timed such that purchased items will be delivered around the Thanksgiving break, well before the gift-giving season. A packet announcing this fundraiser, along with pertinent information & your child’s artwork, will be going home in an October Thursday folder. Participation in our school’s art fundraiser is optional but greatly appreciated.

What ARRGH you reading?

October has arrived which means our

Scholastic Book Fair is almost here! Our

theme this year is Bookaneer, Where Books

are Treasurers, & the library will be hosting the book fair October 17-20th. Thursday, October 20th will be our late night; we are

staying open until 8:30pm after the PTA’s

Book Swap. We will have books for all ages,

so stop by & shop for that perfect book

treasure. In preparation for our book fair,

students will participate in fun pirate lessons

that include books & creative projects.

We will close out the month of October with

an election unit & an opportunity for all

students to vote in the library. Kindergarten

& 1st grade will be reading the books Duck for President & Gracie for President. The books

will be used to determine beginning, middle,

& ending of the stories. 2nd grade will read

My Teacher for President & describe character

traits of the main character. 3rd-5th grade will

look into common characteristics of the

presidents & trivia regarding past

presidents.

Volunteers Needed

To make the book fair successful, we need

parent volunteers to help run the sales and

restocking of books. If you are able to

volunteer, please stop by the library or sign

up on the provided link

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0b45a8

a62b0-baranoff1.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE LIBRARY: Ø Oct 17-20-Scholastic Book Fair;

10/17-10/19-hours: 7:15 am-3: 30 pm 10/20-hours: 7:15am-8: 30 pm

Ø Nov. 11-Family Movie Night

LIBRARY NEWS

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Issue #: [Date] Dolor Sit Amet

This year we have adjusted how we approach teaching our various components in our lessons.

Daily we will begin with music listening, followed by review of previous knowledge &

move to expanding & growing with new vocal repertoire, which will in time lead us to new

musical understandings & creative gaming. Every class will be able to hear a variety of different

music to practice known elements & to discover new ideas. Since one of the primary ways we

teach is by listening it makes sense to start with listening, then experiencing.

This month in:

Kinder- we are exploring Steady Beat, Loud/soft & the 5 different voices we are capable of

producing (speaking, singing, calling, whispering, Inner voice). All these concepts are interwoven

with games, songs & books that highlight musical objectives.

1st grade continues to review Kinder material while preparing for a greater understanding of Beat vs. Rhythm & becoming aware of new musical terms, such as quarter note & two-eighths.

2nd grade will begin its’ study on four sounds on a single beat while reviewing their knowledge of

quarter note, two eighths & quarter note rest. Melodically we are preparing for “Do” which is the

first scale degree of a diatonic scale.

3rd grade will find themselves surrounded by new canons & exploring how to create a vocal or

instrumental accompaniment to their song repertoire. This accompaniment is called an ostinato (I)

& teaches the students to be composers as well as singers of 2-3 part compositions.

4th grade will be delving into uneven rhythms & expanding melodic scales, along with an ever-

increasing song repertoire & listening experiences.

5th grade is reviewing known rhythmic & melodic concepts & will begin to practice reading,

writing & improvising with these known concepts. As we move further into October will be

learning new song material both seasonal and traditional in nature.

3rd-5th grade will be continuing their journey of music listening as they listen to, watch & analyze

various classical selections from different musical eras. October will bring “El Grillo” composed

by Josquin dez Pres & the Orchestral Suite #2: Badinerie, by J.S. Bach.

Many parents ask what our expectations are for student work in Music. Since Music is primarily a

performance based experience we have compiled several charts to help encourage, and further conversation

with your students, about our expectations as defined by the state and district. Starting October 10th we will

have a new Baranoff Music Website. On it will be announcements regarding testing, study guides, rubrics

for grading, and examples of what each grade level is discovery through singing, playing, and moving. The

site is “live” as of this writing, but will be updated even more in the next few weeks. You can access that

website at http://debkeenan.wixsite.com/baranoffmusic. This is a new venture for us, but one that is needed.

It is our hope that you will become even more aware of how musical your children are becoming.

Music “Da Capo”

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Issue #: [Date] Dolor Sit Amet

October is going to be a busy month in the counseling world at Baranoff Elementary.

*This fall semester, Mrs. Ornelas and Ms. Tackett will provide 3-5 grade classroom guidance

lessons, covering the following topics: bullying, personal safety, career planning, and accepting

others’ differences.

*Our small groups and the Bowie PALS program have also begun.

*Also during October, the students will be getting information on how to become a class

representative or a school officer in the Baranoff Student Council.

* And last, but certainly not least, we will end our busy month (Oct. 24-28) by celebrating National

Red Ribbon Drug Awareness Week. Look for an informational flier to come home that will outline

all the fun school activities planned, as well as how you can support the program at home.

COUNSELOR’S CORNER

Page 5

MUSIC CHOIR NOTES

We have started rehearsal and we are 110 strong this year between “Trailblazer Choir “and

“Buffalo Chorale”. That is very exciting. We already have two performances on the calendar.

Please be sure to let us know when you child will need to miss rehearsals on Monday afternoon.

Starting late in October we will be providing extra rehearsal times in the morning on Tuesdays

and Wednesday. We will use the Buffalo Chorale Shutterfly site to notify families when these

rehearsal times begin.

SAVE the DATES

Thursday, November 10th we will perform “Traditions: Past and Present” we will be singing folk

songs and patriotic songs with a twist and there will be an opportunity to audience participation!!

Please be sure if you student is a member of these two choirs that you sign up now to let us know

if you can participate.

Thursday, December 15th we will be singing many traditional melodies from a variety of cultures.

This concert is full of small group singing and some acting, so be sure to let us know that your

student will be in attendance for this concert as well on the Buffalo Chorale Shutterfly site.

This site is for both the Trailblazers Choir and Buffalo Chorale. It is the PRIMARY way we will communicate with our families.