The Joy of Reading, Building Independence & The Trojan TrotHey IRE Families! A strong culture of reading is a big part of what makes IRE a spectacular place to be. At home, we invite you to talk about reading books, model reading books, and enjoy reading books together as a family. By partnering with us to build a joy and excitement for reading, we will undoubtedly continue to see our kids make great strides in their reading growth. Some questions you can discuss are:
Last, we have a few different exciting announcements about the week, some encouragement to say goodbye to the kiddos at the door to build independence, and would we are also excited to share about our annual Trojan Trot. This fundraiser helps to support out kids through enriching field trips and crucial school supplies. Hopefully we see some of you there next Friday and thank you in advance for your support. Let’s also celebrate that Trojan Pride by participating in the upcoming spirit week. Best,
As a leadership team, we’ve gone through the data and have a lot to celebrate about the growth of our learners when it comes to literacy data. A key component of creating that type of success is having a strong reading culture. To that end, our literacy experts in the building came together to create a set of criteria for what a strong, sacred independent reading block looks like in the classroom. A Sacred Independent Reading Block:
In our school, many of these criteria are particularly evident in Evelyn Brown’s class, who is one of our new 3rd teachers. Evelyn establishes strong routines by using anchor charts for the expectations during the independent reading block, and most importantly, she clearly addresses the why behind her way for each off those expectations. By doing this, she invests students more deeply into their work so that they are committed to their book and the thinking jobs that they are supposed to do.
Another important aspect of her routine is how much time she maximizes for reading by having everything within reach. Evelyn has set up a book bags for each student that contain “practice” books and “choice” books. She shares with students that “practice” books are for practicing a specific literacy skill, whereas “choice” books are selections driven by student interest. In the end, she holds the 30 minutes for reading sacred for each kid. This is a common practice across our school.
Strong independent reading blocks include setting the purpose for reading that day, conferencing or assessing during reading, and then closing the block with reflection on the original purpose of reading. Two claps and some love for Evelyn and her kids! 👏👏💖
The Trojan trot is this week! This event is the big fundraiser that the PTA puts on to fund our school year. On Friday, October 7th, students will get to run laps in our field, and gain donations from their friends and families to earn money for our school. Leading up to Trojan trot, the PTA is asking our families to collect donations from family, friends, neighbors, & businesses. This year the PTA aims to raise $25,000 toward field trips, enrichment programs, and more! Envelopes went home with students on Friday September 23rd. Please make sure that these are turned into your classroom teacher by the race day, October 7th, 2022. If you would like to volunteer on race day, there are still spots available! Please reach out to our PTA president, Erik Lane, to inquire more about this. His contact information is elane@meridian.wednet.edu. We have school wide prizes, classroom prizes, and individual prizes for students that will be going out as well! This week is also spirit week! Your students can participate in the following dress up days if they would like. Thank you! Let’s have a blast this week and raise some money for our school!
Hi families! We need volunteers for our Trojan Trot next Friday, October 7. This is a huge event, and our only fundraiser for the year, so it’s all hands on deck!
WHAT WE NEED:
-10 volunteers per grade-level time slot. Help with things like: lining up classes, putting racing bibs on kiddos, marking laps, handing out snacks. (Plan to arrive 10-15 min before your time slot.)
10:15-10:45 1st grade
10:50-11:20 4th grade
11:20- 11:50 Kinder/ Transitional Kinder
12:10-12:40 2nd grade
12:50-1:20 3rd grade
1:30- 2:00 5th grade
2:10- 2:30 Lower sensory run
-All-day volunteers (9am-3:35pm) For setup, cleanup, and filling in wherever you are needed.
TO SIGN UP
Supervised Volunteers are required to submit a completed W.A.T.C.H. Form to the Main Office of the building they will be volunteering in. Supervised Volunteers MUST be in visual sight of a Meridian Staff Member at all times. For this event, A WATCH Form must be completed and turned into the office by Tuesday, October 4th.
Through October 31, all Volunteers are also required to meet the requirements of Governor Jay Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.1 by providing proof of COVID-19 vaccination or receiving an approved accommodation or exemption from the Meridian District Office. If a Volunteer will not be entering the building, they do not have to meet this requirement.
ON THE DAY OF EVENT
Thank you for your your efforts with a smooth drop-off and pickup process. When families bring their bar codes and call in “change of pickup” plans early in the day, we are able to orchestrate a safe process for our kids to arrive and depart our school. As we move out of the first weeks of the year, we now request that all of our families to say their goodbyes at our front doors to help build up our kids’ independence. Our goal is to have 100% of families saying goodbye to their loved ones at our doors by the end of next week. When students navigate their school on their own, it builds a self-confidence that translates into other areas (academic, athletic, performing arts, etc.) Help us cultivate that confidence in our kids, it’ll pay off in the long run.
Meridian School District is hosting a districtwide food drive from Monday, Oct. 3 through Friday, Oct. 14 to support families in our community. Donation boxes will be available on all school buses, in school offices, the Meridian Family Support Center and at the District Office. Our school buses will collect food from each school and then deliver it to the Meridian Family Support Center, Ferndale Food Bank and Project Hope in Lynden.
We are collecting nonperishable and unexpired foods such as canned soup, canned vegetables or fruit, pastas, canned beans, cereals, rice, flour, cooking oils and shelf-stable milk.
Families may also choose to donate funds to the Meridian Family Support Center. The family center uses funds to stock the family center with food and to provide general assistance to families who qualify. Cash or check donations can be brought to or mailed to the District Office at 214 W. Laurel Rd. Bellingham, WA 98226.
Thank you for helping to support families in our community!
Our substitutes are a crucial part of our school community. They support our teachers when they need to step out due to illness or taking care of family. Having someone who kids know and trust is helpful in continuing a safe learning environment so kids can continue their important academic work.
If you are interested in becoming an emergency substitute, we would love to start that conversation. Feel free to visit our application process on our website https://www.meridian.wednet.edu/departments/human-resources/substitutes/ You can also email me directly at tdockins@meridian.wednet.edu if you have any questions.
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