The TattlerVolume 17, Issue 7 April 2014

Newsletter 1

Phone: (860)628-3370

Fax: (860)628-3308

website:

“Where Children Soar and Dreams Take Flight”

LUNCH PRICESSchool Lunch

ProgramStudent Lunch - $2.50Milk - 60 ¢Snacks - 75 ¢

REMINDER: BREAKFAST PROGRAMTIME: Begins at 8:20—8:35 a.m.

FULL PRICE: $1.75 REDUCED PRICE: $.30 (or if already approved free)

  

A P R I L 2 0 1 4March 31st – April 9th Book Fair

April 1 Picture Day2 Light It Up Blue Day – Hat Day $1.00 donation

- Math/Literature Night 5:30 p.m.4 BINGO8 Choral Concert9 Banking Day14-18 Vacation – No School18 Rock Cats Baseball Game21 PTO Meeting – 6:30 p.m.

April 23 – May 9 SBAC Testing (State Testing)

FROM THE DESK OF THE PRINCIPAL:Dear Thalberg Families,It is amazing how fast time is flying here at school. The changes in the State testing timeline have created new scheduling obstacles, but I can assure you the students will still have a robust end of the year with plenty of memory building moments with their classmates.Please pay special attention to the upcoming event dates. There are many activities and events that will be occurring in these upcoming months. These dates will be especially important for our fifth grade parents as we celebrate the final days at Thalberg School together.The month of April always seems to go by quickly because of April vacation. We will begin our testing shortly upon the return from April break. The students in grades three, four and five are practicing for the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC). The official start to the test is April 23rd and will conclude on May 7th. I have no doubt our students will do their best and show they are ready for the challenges of the Common Core State Standards. During the nice weather we do notice some outdoor opportunities occur at the school after hours. Students will want to be dropped off early at school to play on the playground. The students are not supervised before 8:20 a.m. and therefore should not be left unattended. For parents allowing their child(ren) to play on the playground after school dismissal, we do ask you remain outside of the gate until the dismissal procedures are complete. It should also be noted, vehicles should not be parked in the pick up circle for those occasions. With the snow melting, there will be more parking spots available and provide for smoother dismissal for students. A reminder, please do not reverse into the parent drop off/pick up circle. The first vehicle in the line should pull up to the stop sign in order to expedite the dismissal procedure for all of the parents. For drop off, parents should pull up to the sign at the light pole that indicates drop off start. Students should NEVER walk across the street without an adult accompanying them.I am personally looking forward to opening up the windows of the school in order to let in the spring air and watch as the snow disappears for the warmer weather. The amount of indoor recess hours this winter has not been as difficult this year due to the number of games provided by the PTO and the donations you have provided. Even with the added games and activities, we are welcoming the opportunity to go outside to play! Happy Spring!

Respectfully,Megan Bennett

Newsletter 2

SKATE WINNERS:Skate is our ongoing project at Thalberg School to encourage our students

to stretch their thinking, challenge themselves and move their learning beyond the wall of the classroom. Each month, Mrs. Krar and Mrs. Morach

coordinated the review of submissions and share the winners’ names at the Pep Rally.

January SKATE Winners:Math: Writing:

Dominic C. Luke P. & Michael Z.Ben H. Scott S.

March SKATE Winners:Math: Writing:Sammy T. Emily BAngelina P. Morgan L, Laney C., Jessie P., Natalie P.,

Sarah D.Sarah D.

REMINDERS:

No student should be dropped off at the school without supervision. Doors open at 8:20 for student entry. Any drop offs after 8:35, students need to be brought in the front entrance by parent or adult.

 Parents dropping off should NOT pass vehicles unloading students. This creates safety issues in the parent drop off circle. No backing into the circle. All visitors must sign-in at the main office AND sign out. This information is used during fire drills.

  

 

Newsletter 3GRADE 5 CLASSROOM NEWS

The fifth graders have been learning how to take a stand and make a claim either for or against a topic in writing.  Some topics have included

KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM NEWSKindergarten kids are itching to catch spring fever!  March will bring an end to our latest reading and writing units.  We have been learning so much about the

Newsletter 4

GRADE 5 CLASSROOM NEWSThe fifth graders have been learning how to take a stand and make a claim either for or against a topic in writing.  Some topics have included

KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM NEWSKindergarten kids are itching to catch spring fever!  March will bring an end to our latest reading and writing units.  We have been learning so much about the

GRADE 5 CHORAL CONCERT On Tuesday April 8, 2014 the fifth grade students, under the musical direction of Miss Baer will be “Reaching For The Stars”, as they perform their Spring Concert. Please join them in their celebration of songs. Performances will be at 2:15 and 7:00 P.M.

LIGHT IT UP BLUE – April 2ndEach April 2, Autism Speaks celebrates Light It Up Blue along with the international autism community, in commemoration of the United Nations-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day.  Light It Up Blue is a unique global initiative that kicks-off Autism Awareness Month and helps raise awareness about autism. In honor of this historic day, many iconic landmarks, hotels, sporting venues, concert halls, museums, bridges and retail stores are among the hundreds of thousands of homes and communities that take part to Light It Up Blue.  The Thalberg staff will be having a dress down day. We are asking the student body to participate by wearing a hat that day and paying $1.00.

Newsletter 5

Pep Rally FunOur January Pep Rally was all about Role Models. Here is some of our staff members dressed as Celebrity Role Models!

TECH-SPERTSThalberg's Tech-sperts attended a workshop with a representative from Aldebaron Robotics. Students learned how NAO, a humanoid robot, can be programmed using Choregraphe software and the Python coding language.

CULTURAL ARTS SHOW

The Vernon Tornado Jump Rope Team joined our classes to perform their spectacular skills! This team traveled from Vernon, Vermont to show off for us. The students had a great time!

F R E E!8th Annual Literacy Essentials Conference

Community Engagement: Early Literacy InstituteSaturday, April 12, 2014, 10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Barnard Hall, CCSU

[Funded through a Grant from the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain]GOALS1. To support parents (or primary caregivers), particularly from Greater New Britain, in

providing meaningful and enjoyable essential early language and literacy strategies to their preschool children using developmentally appropriate settings, materials, experiences, and social support that encourage early forms of reading and writing to flourish and develop into conventional literacy;

2. To provide professional development to tutors of family resource centers in Greater New Britain serving children from ages 3 through 8 that can lead to a systematic change in their language and literacy programs.

WHO Parents (or primary caregivers) with preschool children, including second language speakers of English, and tutors of children, ages 3 through 8. Thirty-five (35) parents (or primary caregivers) and their children together as well as 15 tutors, a total of 50. Participants will be asked to sign a Participation Agreement, in which they agree to participate in all the workshop sessions and survey interviews; they also agree to apply the strategies and activities learned from the Institute at home with their children, and to participate in a follow up survey by phone or in writing, which will be conducted in May 2014.

WHATAt the registration, each participant will be given a “Passport to Literacy” which will be stamped at the end of each session to indicate having completed the workshop training. The Institute will consist of a series of 10-12-minute demonstration and modeling of high-quality language and literature-rich literacy strategies and activities that are meaningful, enjoyable, and developmentally appropriate for children ages 3 through 8. However, the literacy strategies and activities will be simple enough that parents can easily integrate them into their daily routine. Following the demonstration and modeling, participants will be coached while engaging in practice (15-20 minutes).Participants are invited to attend the Opening Program and Keynote Address at 8:20 a.m.–10:00 a.m. Light breakfast and lunch will be served.

HOWParents and their children together, and the tutors will be assigned into groups of no more than 10 participants in each group, a total of six groups. Each group will have a designated guide who will lead them from classroom to classroom. All six workshops will be running simultaneously throughout the day. Hence, each group will be at a different workshop session every 30 minutes. At the end of the day, all groups will have participated in all six workshops as follows:

10:00 a.m. REGISTRATION for INSTITUTE PARTICIPANTSWorkshop Sessions: A B C D E F10:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Groups: 1 2 3 4 5 611:05 a.m.-11:35 a.m. 6 1 2 3 4 511:40 a.m.-12:50 p.m. LUNCH1:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. Groups: 5 6 1 2 3 4 1:35 p.m.-2:05 p.m. 4 5 6 1 2 3

Newsletter 6

2:10 p.m.-2:40 p.m. 3 4 5 6 1 22:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m. 2 3 4 5 6 13:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. CLOSING CEREMONYA certificate of participation will be handed out to participating adults at the Closing Ceremony. Children will also receive a children’s book as token of appreciation for their participation in the Institute.

The following are examples of developmentally appropriate literacy strategies and activities that will engage participants throughout the Institute: Adult talk: How to engage children in rich conversations such as using rare words

that they are unlikely to encounter in everyday conversations or how to expand children’s comments into more descriptive, mature statements, or simply listening and scaffolding children’s language, or asking critical level questions.

Alphabet activities: How to engage children with materials available at home that promote identification of the letters of the alphabet, or how to use books and games to teach children letter names.

Emergent writing activities: How to encourage children to explore writing such as through scribble writing, labeling, drawing, copying, or invented spelling.

Literacy games: How to promote children’s love for reading or what to look for in objects or materials at home that can be used for literacy games to support children’s literacy skills development.

Oral language activities: How to develop children’s awareness of patterns of sounds in spoken English language or how to manipulate sounds in words or how to use educational programs, games, or videos to promote children’s understanding of the patterns of the oral English language.

Phonological awareness and memory activities: How to increase children’s awareness of the sounds of language through games and listening to stories, poems, and songs that involve rhyme, alliteration, and sound matching.

Storybook reading: How to choose and share enjoyable stories, poems, and information books with children such as picture walk or how to talk about a book or characters, setting, plot, or what to do before, during, and after reading.

Using electronic tablet: How to introduce children to using electronic tablet or how to use interactive storybook features in reading to the child.

Words their way: How to engage children in recognizing words and breaking them apart into smaller units or how to build vocabulary.

At each session, participants will receive supplemental materials and resources for further reinforcement of the strategies and activities.

ASSESSMENTDuring the coaching phase of each workshop session, facilitators will observe and document participants’ quality of implementation of the strategy or activity they have learned and also provide immediate feedback to participants. At the end of the session, facilitators will conduct a brief survey interview to invite participants’ response to the session.

A follow up survey (phone call or in writing) will be conducted in May 2014 to ascertain the extent to which the participants have implemented the strategies and activities at home. Additional support will be provided when necessary.

Newsletter 7

8th Annual Literacy Essentials ConferenceCommunity Engagement: Early Literacy Institute

PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT

In consideration of my being allowed to participate in the Early Literacy Institute funded by the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain to be held at Central Connecticut State University on April 12, 2014, I agree and abide by the following requirements and accept responsibility:

1. I will bring my preschool child/ren to also participate in the Institute.2. I will attend all sessions of the Institute from 10:00am to 4:00pm.3. I will use the literacy activities I learn from the Institute at home with my child/ren.4. I will participate in a follow up survey by phone or in writing that will be conducted

in May 2014.

Further I declare my commitment to participate fully in the Institute to benefit my preschool children’s literacy development. I am also aware that I can contact the CCSU Department of Reading and Language Arts Literacy Center at any time should I need additional help in supporting my child/ren’s literacy development.

I will make sure to immediately inform my FRC/school contact and the coordinator of the Institute if I need to withdraw my participation from the Institute.

_________________________________________ ________________________Signature of Participant Date

Printed Name: _____________________________Address: _________________________________Telephone #: ______________________________E-mail (optional): __________________________

_________________________________________ ________________________Signature of FRC/School Representative Date

_________________________________________FRC/School Affiliation

Printed Name: _____________________________Address: _________________________________Telephone #: ______________________________E-mail: __________________________________

Newsletter 8

Attention Savers!!The Next

Bank at School Day Will Be

Wednesday April 9th!

The Thalberg PTOAnd

TD Banklook forward to seeing all of our

Super Savers!

Newsletter 9

Newsletter 10

On Friday, May 9th, all fourth grade students and all Silver Star participants will go on a field trip to Derynoski School with his/her class to hear the Silver Star Band and Orchestra perform.  The Silver Star Band and Orchestra are honors level select groups of the most advanced instrumental music students in Southington elementary schools. 

 This year, for the first time ever, all fourth graders in Southington will have the opportunity to come to a day time presentation of this concert!   This is a wonderful opportunity for your child to be able to see and hear what can be accomplished by their peers who are just one grade ahead of them!   Permission slips for this field trip will be managed by your child’s school.  Silver Star Band and Orchestra members are already looking forward to sharing their music with your child on May 9th! 

Attention Parents/Guardians of 4th Graders

GRADE 5 PARENTS/GUARDIANSSixth grade school counselor for the 2014-2015 school year, Kaeley Steinnagel, will present a

Parent Orientation Program for PARENTS ONLY of grade 5 students on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the school auditorium. There will be NO student led tours during the renovations. The following topics will be covered:

1. Orientation to DePaolo Middle School2. DePaolo Administration3. DePaolo PTO4. Overview of grade 6 program and grade 6 schedule5. The transition process and school adjustment6. Introduction to team teaching

A question and answer period will take place with Miss Steinnagel the school counselor. Refreshments will be available after the presentation in the cafeteria.

J A DePaolo

Newsletter 11

The Tattler 12