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PARKSIDE ELEMENTARY

APRIL 2015

What’s your superpower?

3/30 – 4/3 Spring Recess 4/6 No School for Students In-Service Day 4/7 Kindergarten Field Trip 4/8 Grade 1 Field Trip 4/13-4/24 PSSA English Language Arts/Math Testing Window 4/14 Grade 1 Field Trip PSSA Breakfast Grades 3-5 4/15 School Board Study Session 7:30 pm 4/16 PSSA Breakfast Grades 3-5 4/20 PSSA Breakfast Grades 3-5 4/21 2015-16 Kindergarten Orientation @ Aston Gym 7:00 pm 4/22 2015-16 Kindergarten Orientation @

Coebourn Library 9:30 am PSSA Breakfast Grades 3-5 School Board Meeting 7:30 pm 4/27 Reading Olympics Competition @Springton Lake Middle School 4/27-5/1 PSSA Science Window Grade 4 4/29 Progress Reports Mailed

April Calendar

Dear Parents,

I hope everyone had an opportunity to spend extra time with

family and friends over the break. It is hard to believe we are

in the final trimester of the school year. Please be sure to

contact your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns

you may have regarding progress. Over the next several

months there is still much to be accomplished as we continue

to forge ahead at Parkside Elementary.

Throughout the month of April, Parkside Elementary

students in grades 3, 4 and 5 will participate in PSSA Math

and PSSA ELA as required by the Pennsylvania Department

of Education. Grade 4 will also participate in PSSA Science

testing at the end of the month. Please see the testing

windows on the April calendar and visit the Parkside web

page to view the testing schedule and parent information.

The tests are scheduled first thing in the morning - thank you

for assuring your child is well rested and has a nutritious

breakfast. Please see the April calendar for dates of PSSA

breakfast (4/14, 4/16, 4/20, 4/22) provided by the Parkside

PTL for students in grades 3, 4 and 5. The PTL breakfast has

been a Parkside tradition for many years and is great way for

our testing students to start the day!

As we head into warmer weather please be reminded of the following safety guidelines:

Students are required to wear closed shoes with a back strap. Flip-flops or backless sandals are not permitted.

Students are required to wear shirts with sleeves. Tank tops are not permitted.

Pets are not permitted on school grounds before, during or after school.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best,

Teresa Ford

Principal

Build-a-Book Family Night Parkside families enjoyed a fun-filled evening of literacy and imagination at Build-a-Book Family Night.

This event allowed students and their parents to write and build a very special one-of-a-kind book all while

promoting writing and reading. Families worked together using their writing skills, imagination and craft

materials to create a keepsake book to read at home.

Thank you to the Parkside faculty and staff who organized and facilitated this wonderful event.

Rock Your Socks

Parkside Elementary students and staff participated in the district wide “Rock Your Socks” event for

World Down Syndrome Day; everyone wore mismatched or crazy socks to show their support.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this event for World Down Syndrome Day!

dsd

A New Kind of Hero Parkside Elementary students enjoyed an assembly hosted by Sadeky’s puppets. The focus of the

assembly was on everyday heroes who stand up for others, which is in alignment with Parkside’s school

wide theme. The students were spellbound by the puppetry and able to ask questions of the puppeteers

after the show. Parkside’s very own puppet friend, Peter of Parkside, was on hand to welcome his fellow

puppets and to speak about the importance of good character at Parkside Elementary.

Everyday heroes are kind, honest, respectful, helpful, thoughtful…

Men, Women and K9 in Blue Police officers from the Parkside, Upland and Aston Police Departments recently visited Parkside Elementary.

Officer Lou Scaperotto from the Parkside Police Department and Officer Samantha Wilding from the Upland

Police Department presented to second grade students on Career Day and spoke about the training and job

of a police officer. Officer Mikell Jones and K9 Officer Jax from the Aston Police Department presented to

third grade students who recently learned about service dogs. Officer Jones spoke about the training and job

of K9 Officer Jax. Both visits were exciting and engaging for students who had many questions.

Thank you to all of our police officers who protect and serve every day!

Read Across America Parkside Elementary celebrated Read Across America with breakfast and a book! Students and

staff enjoyed lounging in pajamas while reading Dr. Seuss books and munching on healthy

breakfast snacks. Guest readers, including Assistant Superintendent Mr. Gregg, visited various

classrooms to wrap up a wonderful day of literacy at Parkside Elementary.

The more that you read, the more you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.

- - Dr. Seuss

Spotlight on the Curriculum

The Right Time to Write Well…

Regardless of a student’s chosen profession, the need to write well in the workplace has never been greater. Employers

across the U.S. agree that one of the greatest reasons for not contacting prospective candidates for an interview include

poorly written cover letters and résumés. For many potential employees, the door closes even before it opens. Writing

matters!

Across the state, the upcoming Science, Reading and Writing, and Math PSSAs in the middle and elementary schools will

measure the effectiveness of students’ writing. In preparation, teachers have been rigorously preparing students to

meet the challenges of these assessments. At Sun Valley High School, seniors recently completed a round of mock

interviews where they were interviewed by members of the Aston Business Association. Students presented their

prospective employers with cover letters and résumés they prepared in their English classes. Following this activity,

students received written feedback from the interviewers that they can later use to prepare for the day when the

interview is real. At Northley Middle School, students participated in a symposium that featured college and career

topics that emphasized the need for basic communication skills. Guess what skill was at the top of the list? And at the

elementary level, students participate in a district writing assessment to monitor growth in writing. Again, writing

matters!

So how do we convince students to take writing seriously? Some students naturally gravitate toward writing and seem

to enjoy it, much like reading. In fact, the two often go hand-in-hand. Students who enjoy reading typically enjoy

writing. But what about those reluctant writers—those students who just do not like to write? How do we motivate

them? Like anything in life, writing takes a great deal of practice and patience. It is difficult to say if one ever really

masters the craft in life. A great many authors say that they would revise their books after print if they could. To that

end, students need to know that writing is a process that consists of brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and

publishing. There are specific expectations for each step of the process and skipping any one of those steps could

undermine its integrity. Writing is important.

Penn-Delco teachers strive to provide students with the essential lessons and support to be successful writers. Writing

across the curriculum shows students that writing does not simply reside in the English classroom. An extension of

teaching young writers to write well could involve something as simple as parents or guardians taking time to read their

students writing. Celebrate the good aspects of the piece, but also point out areas of weakness and some suggestions to

help make it better. Ask the writer two important questions about the writing: Who is your audience? and What is your

purpose for writing? Focused writers know the audience and purpose of their writing. Finally, ask the writer to read his

work aloud—either to himself or to you. The ear is often as sharp as the eye. Whether it be for a state assessment, a

résumé for employment, or simply a pastime activity, the need to write right is always important! Celebrate the process

by encouraging young writers to write more often. The following links are to some great writing resources for parents

and teachers. Check them out!

http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/doc/resources/encourage_writing.csp

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/writing-activities/6-ways-to-encourage-young-writers

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/

By Rosemary Fowler and Chris Mazzino,

Elementary and Secondary Curriculum Supervisors

Peter’s Picks for Character

As part of an ongoing positive behavior program at Parkside Elementary, Core Essential character

traits are introduced to students each month at Parkside Elementary during school wide

classroom meetings. The purpose of Core Essentials and other positive behavior initiatives at

Parkside is to ensure a positive school climate for all. The students listed below were selected by

Peter for exhibiting the Core Essential trait of PATIENCE throughout the previous month. Thank

you to our guidance counselor, Ms. Talbot, for this and other positive behavior projects at

Parkside Elementary.

Bryce Jenkins ~ Katie McPeak

Samuil Fedelesh ~ Juliana Ferraiolo

Jaeden Cosme ~ Aviyahna Bencosme

Gianna Drais ~ Hailee Sipps

Sophia Hernandez ~ Jaden Comisiak

Ava Shanahan ~ Abby Gawne ~ Melody Powers

John DeOrio ~ Hannah Wissinger

Jason Johnson ~ Sophia Holt ~ Zionna Alston

Gianna Tumolo ~ Maya Harris

Joshua Lillis ~ Lucas Rowley

Roman Glikman ~ Emily Bartholf

Ava Schrader ~ Michelenea Caruso-Drennen

Allison Walters ~ Brian Richardson

Alyssa Hansel ~ Joseph Celentino

Nate Preston ~ Francis Sweeney

Cyrus Rich ~ Savanna Hackett

Ryan Burke ~ Dahki Neal

Leeana Hunt ~ Evan Burns

This month Peter will be on the prowl for students exhibiting PEACE!

Reading Counts The Reading Counts program is a tool used to support independent reading at Parkside Elementary that

allows students to self-select books of interest on their independent reading level and monitor progress.

The amount of independent reading a child does has a direct correlation to vocabulary growth, reading

comprehension, verbal fluency, content knowledge and higher levels of achievement. Independent

reading happens daily at school and is assigned nightly. Reinforcement of reading at home will help to

increase your child’s achievement levels.

Victoria Adeniyi 2,769,868

Alaina Cummings 2,632,701

Jamira Glynn 1,514,013

Rhyuhn Green 1,484,558

Gelsey Maina 1,480,311

Samuel Dykes 1,432,100

Andrew Kmett 1,385,328

Sarah Shanahan 1,226,811

Alyssa Hansel 1,202,165

Kimberly Oxendine 1,046,882

Emily Woznicki 1,002,875

Layla Fagone 952,612

Nathan Preston 904,428

Relm Spencer 854,556

Allison Walters 821,953

Nathaniel Sweigart 748,562

Ikon Jones 740,401

Maya Harris 650,787

Emily Bartholf 630,200

Connor Timmons 626,751

Sophia Coleman 575,272

Dorothy Farrell 517,511

Abigail Doyle 496,657

Roman Glikman 487,481

Lacie Gilpin 486,760

Emma Wood 483,558

John O'Donnell 474,906

Amelia Schrader 462,492

Oliver Preston 448,723

Peyton Woznicki 445,490

Braden Kmett 445,289

Reading Counts at Parkside Elementary!

Thomas Hayden 429,963

James Guy 412,942

Justin Wassel 405,379

Patrick Brees 404,117

Jonathan Sandoval 400,162

Michelenea Caruso-Drennen 385,709

Cierra Fornwalt 366,691

Juliette Cummings 363,540

Joshua Hines 361,614

Reaksa Hun 359,559

Elise Butler 358,296

Rylee Mrozowski 352,646

Sonia Sok 351,010

Emily Swallow 336,882

Hayden Brownhill 334,165

Ava Schrader 331,593

Sophia Lukes 318,486

Emiliana Voloshinov 317,776

MacKenzie Lorenski 314,908

Gianna Maina 307,817

Rachel Reeves 287,317

Lucas Rowley 265,619

Sarah Powers 253,064

Theodore Podberesky 248,994

Emily Laird 235,745

Gary Kind 229,182

Jacob Putt 227,421

Kira Buddenhagen 223,276

Dorian Melrath 213,708

Jaden Dorsey 210,477

Jacob D'Andreamatteo 210,361

Helen Adeniyi 209,869

Jeremy Palmore 209,378

Kimora Williams 204,351

CONGRATULATIONS

200,000+ Word Readers