Principal’s Message

HORACE MANN EDUCATOR

APRIL 2015 Horace Mann Elementary School

1215 West Clifton Boulevard Lakewood, Ohio 44107

(216) 529-4257 Attendance line (216) 529-4307 Merritt F. Waters, Ph. D., Principal

http://lakewoodcityschools.org/

1 Market Day Pick-up, 5-6 pm, Gym

2 Jungle Terry Assembly, 9:30 am

3-12 Spring Break, NO SCHOOL

13 School resumes, 8:45 am

14 PTA Meeting, 7 pm, Library

15 All Pro Dad breakfast, 7:45 am, Art Room

15 Fire Safety House - Grade 3

16 Report Cards Home

18 DARE Basketball Tournament, 9 am, Garfield Middle

22—May 11 PARCC/AIR Testing—Grades 3-5

28 3rd Grade Reading Assessment (OAA)

29 Market Day Pick-up, 5-6 pm, Gym

8 Father-Daughter Dance by PTA Council, Garfield School

15 Spring Concert

22 HMES Field Day & Book Fair

25 Memorial Day—NO SCHOOL

“Every addition to true knowledge is an addition to human power.” Horace Mann

Although we like to think the students at Horace Mann are too young for us to be concerned about their internet usage, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that we must monitor their use and help them build safe habits. Social media, in particular, has become an area of significant concern. Clearly, social media has some positive attributes: increased com-munication, access to information, and developing a sense of self. However, there are also associated risks: exposure to cyberbullying and inappropriate content, and too much time being spent online.

Talking with your child about and monitoring his/her social media use are the most important things a parent can do. In order to raise awareness about internet and social media safety, our DARE Officer, Dave Acklin, did a class presenta-tion for the 4th grade on March 25th. Students shared anecdotes about trouble they and their friends/family have en-countered online and asked questions that showed they were truly interested in the topic. Officer Acklin also teaches about internet safety as part of the 5th Grade DARE curriculum each year.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, social media tips for parents include:

*Educate yourself about the social media apps *Emphasize that anything posted is out there forever

*Ask specific questions about what your child did online today *Set time limits and monitor consistently

*Share how you used social media today *Check your child’s posts and be transparent about it

*Be a good role model—multitasking with devices is dangerous *Talk with other parents about kids’ social media use

*Insist that tablets be used in common spaces of your home

If you need guidance talking with your child about social media, please feel free to contact his/her teacher, our Family Resource Coordinator or me. Educating children about this aspect of our world certainly needs a team effort.

A Message from the Superintendent: The first round of the new standardized tests is now in the books. It was a challenging time for both stu-dents and staff, and I want to commend everyone on working together and making the best of a new situa-tion. We learned a great deal by administering these first tests, and will now be better prepared to handle the next round coming later this month. Outside the classroom, much is happening at our construction sites. We recently held a groundbreaking ceremony at Lincoln Elementary and will be holding similar ceremonies at Grant and Roosevelt elemen-taries this month, once the buildings are finished being razed. Grant’s ceremony will be on April 21 and Roosevelt’s on April 23, both at 4 pm. There will also be one last elementary school brick sale on April 18 from 11-2 pm at the Grant site. I hope you can join us for one of these exciting and historic moments!

Jeffrey W. Patterson Superintendent

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Lakewood Board of Education

Emma Petrie Barcelona, President Tom Einhouse, Vice President

Linda Beebe Edward Favre

Betsy Bergen Shaughnessy

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT The National PTA has published standards for parent involvement programs. These standards are based on more than 85 research studies. When parents are in-volved, students achieve more, regardless of so-cioeconomic status, ethnic background, or the parents’ education level.

The more extensive the parent involvement, the higher the student achievement. When parents are involved in their students’ education, those students have higher grades and test scores, better attendance, and complete homework more consistently. When parents are involved, stu-dents exhibit more positive attitudes and behav-ior. Students whose parents are involved in their lives have higher graduation rates and greater enrollment rates in post-secondary education. Educators hold higher expectations of students whose parents collaborate with the teacher.

All of our efforts at school can’t take the place of your support and help at home. You are an integral part of your child’s success. Thanks for all you do for your child as his or her first and most important teacher!

April Rain Song Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk. The rain makes running pools in the gutter. The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night -- And I love the rain. LANGSTON HUGHES

Emergency Evacuation Location Horace Mann staff recently participated in an annual crisis response seminar to review pro-cedures. One item that was updated was the emergency evacuation location. Because McKinley School has been removed, the new evacuation location is St James School, 17514 Detroit Avenue.

Don’t forget to check out all the great events and activities your Lakewood Council of PTAs has planned this month. See the Newsletter tab on our website and click on April 2015 Lakewood Council of PTA activities.

Spring is finally here! Thank you to all who attended our Spring Party & Book Fair on March 13th. The kids had a blast dancing, eating, and buying books! A huge thank

you to Wendy Hoppel, Sandy Twardesky, and Beth Kiraly-Bratko for planning the event! Also thank you to all the volunteers who helped that day and everyone who donated items for the raffle baskets and the cake walk. The 3rd Quarter PBIS Reward is coming soon! Families are invited to join the students for an all school assembly with Jungle Terry on April 2nd at 9:30 a.m. in the gym. News of the assembly has gotten out and the kids are so excited! Parents are also invited to stop by the PTA membership table for refreshments and to visit with friends during the assembly. We will be set up in the gym hallway. The Nominating Committee presented the following slate of Officers for the 2015-2016 school year at the March PTA meeting. PTA will vote these Officers into position at the PTA meeting on April 14th. If you are interested in the Council Delegate Alternate position, please email me facaros@att.net. *President - Nora Katzenberger *1st Vice President, Programs - Carla Adamov *2nd Vice President, Fundraising - Team - Debbie Baker, Federica Pasquali, Kirsten Craciun *Treasurer - Kristen Humphreys *Recording Secretary - Laura George * Council Delegate - Sandy Najarian *Council Delegate Alternate - Open

Upcoming Events: 4/14 PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m. (Babysitting is provided!) 4/15 All Pro Dad's Breakfast 7:45 a.m. 4/29 Market Day Pick up 5:00-6:00 p.m.

I hope you all enjoy the 1st month of Spring! Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time.

Heather Facaros, PTA President facaros@att.net

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SCHOOL FEES

Horace Mann School makes every attempt to work with families who have difficulty paying school fees in a timely manner. Please contact the office for the procedure on clearing up your child’s fees.

T-Shirts are being sold to help support Horace Mann 4th grader, Corey Kidd, and his family while he undergoes treatment. Please follow the link to place your order. http://sixthcityclothing.com/t/charity.

$5 per child's shirt and $8 per adult’s will go to the Kidd fami-ly. Please contact Ann Stratton with questions (216)403-0959 or anncreali@gmail.com or Brandy Bright at 330-461-4696. The t-shirts are provided by Brandy Bright's company, a fel-low Horace Mann family and PTA Member.

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Take a look at some of our wonderful student work! This month we feature 2nd grade.

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BIKE HELMETS $10.00 EACH!!! Bike Lakewood, Lakewood PTA, the Safe Kids Greater Cleveland Coalition and the Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital Injury Prevention Center are offer-ing True Fit bike helmets for sale at a reduced cost, $10 each. All helmets are made by Bell Sports, Inc. and are tested to exceed the stringent bicycle hel-met standards of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. In order to offer you this incredibly low price on Bell Sports helmets, you will not be able to choose graphics or colors. Helmets will be ordered by size and by general color/graphic based on gender. The exact helmet graphics and colors will vary, based on the inventory that Bell Sports has in stock. Child’s Name: _____________________________ Child’s Age: __________ Head Size (inches): ______ Gender: ______ Daytime phone: ____________

Toddler 19-20½” Child 19¾-21¼” Youth 21-22½” Adult S/M 21-22½” Adult M/L 22-23½”

Orders must be accompanied by payment. Make checks payable to: Lakewood PTA. Return order form and payment to the Horace Mann Health Center by April 17, 2015. We will distribute the hel-mets when we receive them. Please see the Newsletter portion on our website for important safety tips for safe riding. To be effective, helmets must fit correctly. Never buy a helmet that a child must "grow into." Each size helmet fits a range of head sizes. Use a tape meas-ure to measure your child's head one inch above the eyebrows and record the measurement below. The True Fit helmet has a self-adjusting system for a cor-rect fit every time.

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9-1-1: The Number to Know April is 9-1-1 Awareness Month, and Cuyahoga Emergency Communications System (CECOMS) and the

Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management (CCOEM) encourages residents to review the infor-

mation below on proper use of the emergency 9-1-1.

9-1-1 NEEDS TO KNOW WHERE TO GO

• When calling 9-1-1, one of the first things you’ll be asked to provide is the location of the emergency you

are reporting.

• The call taker may not automatically know your location or may ask you to confirm it.

• Make sure you provide as much detail on your location as possible, such as landmarks, cross streets and

mileposts.

• Cell phones may not automatically tell 9-1-1 where you are, so be prepared to provide

detailed information about your location.

KNOW YOUR CELL WELL

• The current 9-1-1 system is designed for voice communications only.

• Texting 9-1-1 is not an option in most locales; you must dial 9-1-1 and speak with a dispatcher.

• Pull over when driving, if possible. This reduces the chance of a dropped call.

• Lock your keypad when you’re not using your phone, so 9-1-1 isn’t dialed by mistake or pocket di-

aled. For the same reason, don’t put 9-1-1 on speed dial.

• Do not give old phones to children as toys. A wireless phone with no active service can still call 9-1-1.

• If you accidentally call 9-1-1, stay on the line and tell the call taker that you do not have an emergency.

• Calling 9-1-1 from a cell phone is free and you do not need to dial an area code.

9-1-1 IS FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY

• Call 9-1-1 for emergencies only. It is appropriate to call 9-1-1 when you need to save a

life, stop a crime or report a fire.

• 9-1-1 is the right number to call in an emergency when a prompt response is needed.

• If you are not sure you have an emergency to report, call 9-1-1 and let the call taker decide.

REMAIN CALM, BE PREPARED

• Try to stay calm, give information and follow all instructions.

• Dispatchers are trained to get information from you. Listen carefully and answer as concisely as possible.

• Remember that even if the dispatcher is still asking questions or giving instructions, help is on the way.

NEVER HANG UP!

• Follow all instructions the 9-1-1 call taker gives you, and don’t hang up until the call taker does. If you

get cut off, call back and explain that you were cut off.

Remember, the more you know what to expect when you call 9-1-1, the faster 9-1-1 can get you the help

you need. — For more information, contact the Cuyahoga Emergency Communications System at (216)

443-7597 or the Cuyahoga County Office of Emergency Management at 216-443-5700,

ema@cuyahogacounty.us, or visit our website at: ready.cuyahogacounty.us