February 2010 Parent Newsletter

Melissa Chavez, Principal/Head of School

Noticias de enero para Padres de Familia

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Parent/Teacher Conference Day

Parent/Teacher Conference Day is Monday, February 15th. There will be no school for students this day. All parents are required to sign up and meet with your child’s teacher.

Parent Forum Meeting

Please join us for the next Parent Forum meeting on Tuesday, February 9th beginning at 6:30. The parent forum needs volunteers to sign up for school-wide events such as our school carnival Fiesta and the book fair. Please come learn more about ways you can help. All parents are encouraged to attend. Second graders will perform on Tuesday night.

Valentine’s Parties

Classes will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with parties in the classrooms the afternoon of February 12th. This is another opportunity for you to come up to school and assist your child’s teacher or donate an item to the class party. Details on class parties will be sent home by individual teachers. I encourage parents to remember your child’s teacher on Valentine’s Day. We remind parents to try to send nutritional snacks for parties.

Registration for 2010-2011

Registration packets for next school year will go home on March 22 for all students currently enrolled at U.T. Elementary School. Parents will have over a month to fill out necessary forms and declare their intent for next year. These forms are due on Monday, April 19, 2010. This will also be the time to declare if you would like to enroll a sibling of a current student. Siblings will have priority in placement for next year. It is important that you fill out registration information when it is received so that we can determine the number of spaces available for new students. All returning families will be required to provide a proof of residence to re-enroll each year.

We will have applications available to the public on March 22nd for anyone interested in attending U.T.E.S. next year. If there are more applications than spaces available then a lottery will be held on June 2nd at 6:00 p.m. to select students to register. PK will have spaces available next year that will have eligibility requirements which require filling out a home language survey and free/reduced meal program application. All students who owe money for library books, textbooks or breakfast or lunch expenses will be restricted from registration until balances are cleared. Students who currently have excessive absences or tardies will be expected to show improvement in this area before pre-registering. Please call Emily at 495-9705 if you have any questions regarding registration for next school year.

Explore UT

The University of Texas will hold their annual campus open house on Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. All students from U.T. Elementary have been invited to attend. A bus will be available at our school transport parents and students to U.T. Our school booth will be located on Speedway, east of the U.T. Tower, on that day. Students are asked to wear their uniforms. An art show of UTES student art will be on display. Please join us at Explore UT.

UTES Book Fair

The annual book fair will be March 8th – 12th. On March 9th we will have our Little Longhorn Reading Party from 5:30-7:00 p.m. along with our monthly Parent Forum Meeting. Also, Mrs. Evans is in need of volunteers for this event. If you are interested, please contact Mrs. Evans.

Homework Policy

At UT Elementary School students are expected to follow through with homework assigned by the classroom teacher. Each student is expected to practice their reading at home daily and record their efforts in a reading log, as well as complete assignments in the core content areas. Failure to complete homework will result in a homework referral to the child’s parent from the homeroom teacher. The child’s teacher will call the parent on the third homework referral. The student will receive a discipline referral to the office on the 4th homework referral. Thank you for making sure your child comes prepared for school everyday!

Dismissal

Our school begins the transition home or to an alternative after-school care setting starting at 3:25 p.m. This is a very busy part of the day. Our staff is overwhelmed with parents calling at the last minute to inform the staff of special pick-up arrangements or change of plans. In order to have clear communication and to maintain safety, I ask that you inform our staff and your child’s teacher of a pick-up change first thing in the morning. If your child will have an alternative way of getting home, please inform our staff in writing at morning drop-off.

Principal’s Coffee

I encourage parents to join me for an informal discussion about our school at our next principal’s coffee which will be at 8:30 a.m. on February 26th.

TAKS Testing!

Every spring, students in the 3rd through the 5th grade must take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in several content areas such as reading, math, writing, and science. Our 4th graders will be taking the writing portion on March 3, 2010. Our 5th graders will be taking the math section on April 6th and the reading section on April 7th. Our 3rd and 4th grade math section will be on April 27th and the reading section on April 28th. Finally, our 5th grade science section will be on April 29th. Please make sure you speak to your children about the importance of doing their BEST on these assessments and showing us what they know. We encourage you to support on that day by providing a snack, a bottle of water, and tons of encouragement. More information will be coming your way!

March 3 - 4th Grade Writing

April 6 - 5th Grade Math

April 7 - 5th Grade Reading

April 27 - 3rd & 4th Grade Math

April 28 - 3rd & 4th Grade Reading

April 29 - 5th Grade Science

Upcoming Dates:

February 2 Parent Forum Executive Board Meeting

February 4 Progress Reports go home

February 5 Kinder Field Trip to WAYA

February 9 Parent Forum Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

February 11 Disaster Drill, 2:00 p.m.

February 12 Valentine's Day Parties

February 12 Early Release 12:30 p.m.

February 15 Parent-Teacher Conference Day-No School

February19 Spring Photos (NO Uniform Required)

February 26 Class Photos (Uniform Required)

February 29 Principal’s Coffee

March 3 4th Grade TAKS Writing Test

March 7 Explore UT, 11:00-5:00, U.T. Campus

March 9 Little Longhorn Reading Party & Book Fair, 6 p.m.

March 22 Pre-Registration packets sent home

April 6 5th Grade TAKS Math Test

April 7 5th Grade TAKS Reading Test

April 27 3rd & 4th Grade TAKS Math Test

April 28 3rd & 4th Grade TAKS Reading Test

April 29 5th Grade TAKS Science Test

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