Dear Stallions,

Thank you for an incredible start to the school year. On the first day of school, we met as a campus to review our campus wide expectations for positive behavior and our student body has definitely risen to meet those expectations.

As you know, we are now a Leader in Me school and in addition to academics we continue to spend time each week focusing on our students’ leadership skills. We have focused on a single habit each week. The first habit was “Be Proactive,” then “Begin With the End in Mind,” followed by this week’s focus, “Put First Things First.” Our habit focus will continue through September. Up next are “Think Win-Win,” “Seek First to Understand Then Be Understood,” and finally “Sharpen the Saw.”

One of our goals this year is for every student to hold a leadership position on campus. In early September students will attend an assembly to hear about several campus-level leadership opportunities our teachers and staff are offering. Students will be encouraged to apply for any of the positions presented during the assembly.

This year the district has moved Parent/Teacher Conferences from after the first quarter grading period to during the current grading period. This change of date allows you as parents to receive feedback on your student’s progress before the grading period has concluded. Conferences will be held on September 17th and 18th. We will be using Sign Up Genius to schedule conferences this year, so please watch your inbox.

On a closing note, I wanted to thank you for choosing Simonton Elementary School. Our mission is to LEAD- Learn, Empower, Achieve, and Dream.

Best regards,

Bradley Shepstead, Principal

A Word from Our Principal

The Simonton

Star

S E P T E M B E R , 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 1

At Simonton we LEAD Learn, Empower, Achieve, Dream

Kathryn Sue Simonton 40300 N Simonton Blvd. San Tan Valley, AZ 85140 Attendance Line: 480-987-5331 www.simonton.jocombs.org

Each day as part of our morning announcements, student leaders recite

the Pledge of Allegiance, the Character Pledge and the preamble to The

Declaration of Independence for all the students to hear and participate

within each classroom. Our Journalism Club provides a leadership

quote of the day including a lesson on how the students can use the 7

habits in their daily routine.

Great things are happening here

Aug. 31 Garden Club meeting 3:05-4:00pm in the garden

Sept. 1

Sept. 2 Grades K-6th 8:15a-1:35p Love & Logic for Parents 6:00pm-7:30pm

Sept. 3 Sept. 4 STUCO Meeting—Officers only 7:45am Habit Hero Lunch

Sept. 7 Labor Day-No School

Sept. 8 Sept. 9 Grades K-6th 8:15a-1:35p Progress Reports go home Love & Logic for Parents 6:00pm-7:30pm

Sept. 10 Site Council Meeting 3:30pm

Sept. 11 PTO Event Grandparents Breakfast 7:00am-8:00am STUCO Meeting—Officers and Reps 7:45am

Sept. 14 Garden Club meeting 3:05pm-4:00pm in the garden

Sept. 15 PTO General Meeting 3:30pm PTO Executive Meeting 4:45pm

Sept. 16 Grades K-6th 8:15a-1:35p Love & Logic for Parents 6:00pm-7:30pm

Sept. 17 Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:15am dismissal

Sept. 18 STUCO Meeting—Officers only 7:45am Parent/Teacher Conferences 11:15am dismissal

Sept. 21 Garden Club meeting 3:05pm-4:00pm in the garden

Sept. 22 Sept. 23 SpEd Bus Evacuation Drill 8:15am Love & Logic for Parents 6:00pm-7:30pm

Sept. 24 Bus Evacuation Drill Grades K-6th 9:00-9:30am

Sept. 25 STUCO Meeting—Officers and Reps 7:45am

Sept. 28 Garden Club meeting 3:05pm-4:00pm in the garden Title 1 Information Night 5:00pm in the MPR

Sept. 29 5th grade Biz Town

Sept. 30 Grades K-6th 8:15a-1:35p Love & Logic for Parents 6:00pm-7:30pm

Congratulation Haley Gonzales!

You have been caught shining with

character! You are the student of the month

for September’s character trait of

Responsibility.

Great Job!

Read-A-Thon Sept. 8th-Sept. 22

Fall Book Fair in the Library Sept. 14-Sept. 18

Kindergarten News

Kindergarten Families, We have had so many wonderful donations and support in kindergarten. We want to do a big shout out to all our families! We are working hard on learning all the routines and expectations of school. Students have been enjoying learning all about letters and numbers. We have focused on identifying, counting, and comparing numbers 1-5. We have also worked with shapes such as squares, rectangles, and circles. We have also learned all about the letters t, b, f, n, m, u, and i. Students are working on creating personal narratives through drawings. We are learning so much and growing each and every day, and having a fun time while doing it. Thank you, your Kindergarten Team, Mrs. Booth and Mrs. Tschoepe

equations, story problems, and unknown partners. In Language, we will be tapping out and writing our CVC words. We will also be learn-ing trick words and diagraphs. We look forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child’s progress at Parent Teacher Conferences.

Ms. Pareti and Ms. Bonadio

Thank you so much for all your generous donations and a fantas-tic start to a new year! We have had a busy month in our first grade classes. Everyone is doing a great job at learning classroom rules and procedures. Students have been focusing on the 7 habits through modeled instruction, practice, and leader-ship opportunities. For the month of September, we will begin science exploration on apples and learn about early civi-lization. We will also be work-ing on addition and subtraction

encouraged to attend and share their leadership notebooks with parents.

nouns. We are doing science experiments. We are practicing thinking maps and living the 7 Habits. We are showing what we know in many different ways! Mrs. Schimel and Mrs. Burkhead are excited to see everyone at conferences. Students are

T H E S I M O N T O N

2nd graders are working hard in September! We are working on different types of word problems and solving them multiple ways. We are writing narrative stories. We are reading narrative and informational texts. We are learning about plural

2nd Grade News

1st Grade News

V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 1 P A G E 3

At Simonton

we

LEAD

Learn

Empower

Achieve

Dream

5th & 6th Grade News

P A G E 4 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 1

5th Grade: Dear Parents, September is already here! This month in math we will finish working with fractions and then work

our way into decimals. In Social Studies this month we will be working on the curriculum for our upcoming field trip to JA BizTown. Please look for the flyer that were recently sent home. In reading we will finish up our Natural Disaster unit and then start reading Is-land of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. Please continue to make sure students are reading nightly for 30 minutes and filling out their reading logs. Have a great month!

6th Grade: What a great start to the school year! In September, sixth graders will learn all about Biz Town to prepare for our

upcoming field trip on October 20th. Even though they went last year, this trip is a whole new experience since they get to visit

the other town! Please be sure to fill out all paperwork that comes home, and send in $15 cash to cover the trip. In math, we'll learn about proportions and the area of polygons. In reading and science, we'll learn about natural disasters. And, in writing, we will wrap up

What a great first month for the Fourth Grade Stallions! This month, students will continue to practice the scientific method through science experiments. In math, students will revisit their multiplication facts and extend it into division. In reading, we will continue to research the genre of Folktales. Students will explore the Tall Tale of both Paul Bunyan and John Henry.

4th Grade News

3rd Grade News We are off to a great start! In reading we have been studying character traits. When you read a book at home, have your student identify some of the character’s traits. In math we have been working hard to learn our multiplication facts. Our goal for the year is that 100% of the students in third grade will know their multiplication facts through 12. The students have learned songs to help them remember their count-by facts. Have your student sing you the songs that they have learned. Make sure that you are practicing facts at home too! Thank you for everything you do at home to support your child. It does make a big difference!

News from the Library

The Book Fair is coming! The Book Fair is coming! Please be on the lookout for our fall

Scholastic “Monster Reading” Book Fair coming this month! It will be located in the

Simonton library starting Monday, Sept. 14th to Friday, Sept. 18th. Please be watching

for the flyer and schedule, coming home Sept. 11th. We will also have a Simonton online

book fair through Scholastic that will be open for shopping Sept. 11th to Sept. 25th at:

http://tinyurl.com/qhj9k7v . Additionally, our book fair will be offering the oppor-

tunity to preorder the new “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” book, Old School,

not due to be released until November 3rd.Thank You so much for such

great kids to work with! Welcome back and I hope to see you all at

our Fall Book Fair! Mrs. Soto Simonton Library/Media Center

V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 1 P A G E 5

We want to thank all the families that came to Meet Your Teacher Night. It was wonderful to meet all the new and returning families with excitement for a promising year.

During the month of September we have many exciting activities to look forward to here at Simonton.

Our first Simonton night out will be on Tuesday the 8th at Little Caesars pizza. Our school will receive $1 of every pizza sold. Show your Stallion pride. Watch for a flyer to come home with your child as the evening ap-proaches.

Our annual Fall Fundraiser starts on Friday the 8th. We will be having a Read-a-thon. Letters have been sent home to all families explaining this amazing fundraiser.

On Friday the 11th at 7am is Grandparents Breakfast in the multipurpose room. Information will be sent home in your child’s folder. Please be sure to RSVP. We look forward to seeing all of our wonderful grandparents enjoying breakfast and having pictures taken with their grandchildren.

The Book fair will be from the 14-18th. Informational flyers will be sent home with all students. If you are in-terested in volunteering please be sure to email us and let us know.

Looking ahead to October, we are excited for the Simonton Spooktacular. Watch for information to come home this month as we are still in the planning stages. Any and all volunteers would be greatly appreciated.

Again this year we are excited to be partnering with a truly hassle-free fundraiser called Shoparoo! Shoparoo is fundraising made easy: turn pictures of your everyday shopping receipts into cash donations and sweep-stakes entries for our school with this free app. Yep, it’s that simple. No more cutting labels, selling door to door, or time-consuming coordinating. Just shop, snap, earn. Get started today:

1. Use this code http://app.shoparoo.com/r/mink9111 to download the free Shoparoo app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store

2. Select our school from the list and start taking pictures of your receipts - shop anywhere, buy anything.

3. Earn even more points by spreading the word and inviting others to join. There’s no limit to how much money we can raise with Shoparoo - the more supporters, the more we will raise for our school. Check out shoparoo.com to learn more about this awesome hassle-free program.

PTO meetings will be held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 3:30pm in the teacher’s lounge. The meetings are held to discuss both our upcoming events as well as our past events. This year, for each PTO meeting you attend you will receive a raffle ticket that will enter you into a drawing for your chance to win a gift card. The drawing will be held at the December meeting. Please plan on joining us and sharing your time, talents, sug-gestions, comments and concerns.

If at any time you have questions about any of our PTO activities or on how you can join the PTO don’t hesi-tate to contact us. All of our contact information can be found on our school website under PTO as well as on simontonpto.blogspot.com. You can also contact us by email at simontonpto@gmail.com or on our Facebook page- Simonton PTO and for any general school updates please check out the school Facebook page Simonton Elementary School. Thank You, Your 2015-2016 PTO Board Members: President: Traci Gilbert Secretary: Peggy Carter Vice-President: Michelle Kaechelein Treasurer: Betsy Roath

PTO News….

From your school social worker

Angela Albers, LMSW

Supporting The Leader in Me at home

I am sure you all are aware that Simonton Elementary is now a Leader in Me school. The staff spent 3 days this summer in training and now we are teaching the 7 habits to the students. As a parent, you may be curious how you can help support this initiative. The best thing that you can do is to use the 7 habits language at home. As the school year unfolds, the children are learning the language and mean-ing of the 7 Habits. By hearing the same language at home and at school, you send the children a strong message of what you believe is important and that we are all on the same team—the team that wants to help them to succeed. When parents and schools support one another, the sky is the limit! Below is a summary of each of the habits:

Habit 1: Be Proactive (You’re in Charge)

Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind (Have a Plan)

Habit 3: Put First Things First (Work First, Then Play)

Habit 4: Think Win-Win (Everyone Can Win)

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood ( Listen Before You Talk)

Habit 6: Synergize (Together Is Better)

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw (Balance Feels Best)

What we are doing in Technology:

Grades K thru 2 - We are working on rules, procedures, and learning how to log on to the computer.

Grades 3 thru 6 - We are working on rules, procedures, and learning how to use our individual Google accounts that the district has set up for each student. These accounts will be used to assign, complete, grade and store assignments using the Google Classroom application and students' Google Drives.

J.O. Combs Unified School District is committed to identifying students who qualify for placement in the gifted clus-ter classroom. The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is the assessment used to determine whether a child qualifies as gifted.

Listed below are testing dates for the 2015-2016 school year for students in kindergarten – 6th grade.

Fall Gifted Testing for Kindergarten – 6th Grade

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Combs Traditional Academy

Students arrive between 8:00 and 8:20 a.m.

Testing concludes between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. Permission to test is required

Student may only test one time in a 12-month period

Spring Gifted Testing for Kindergarten – 6th Grade

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Combs Traditional Academy

Students arrive between 8:00 and 8:20 a.m.

Testing concludes between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m.

Permission to test is required

Student may only test one time in a 12-month period

You can locate information about testing on the J.O. Combs Website under the Curriculum and Instruction tab: Testing letter containing details about the CogAT test and qualifying test scores for placement in the gifted cluster classroom

Permission to test form

Characteristics about the gifted child

Please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher with any additional questions, or you may contact Debbie Sant at 480-987-5300, extension 1050 or via e-mail at dsant@jocombs.org

Gifted Testing Opportunity

Orchestra Notes…. I want to thank all the parents for supplying our JO Combs Orchestra Students with instruments and supplies for the 2015-2016 school year. We could not be successful without you Parents! Another big thank you goes out to Orchestra Parents who attended Rental Night and Saturday Boot Camp. The most difficult part of playing an Orchestra Instrument is getting accustomed to properly holding the instrument and bow. As we accomplish this, we will be on our way to making beautiful music. We hope to make you proud at our Orchestra Concerts in November!