September Student of the Month- Hassen Berry

October Student of the Month- Mayar Algohani

Dear families,

Our first data meeting of the school year will be on Friday, October 20 at 12:15 p.m. I will be sharing your child’s Fall NWEA scores in math and reading, and how those scores compare to the rest of our class. I will also share their reading and counting assessment scores. I highly encourage you to come to this meeting and look forward to seeing you.

Where: Your child’s classroom (Room 106)

Miss Abulhassan

Geer Park is hosting a Detroit Pistons fundraiser! The Pistons will donate $5 for every ticket sold back to our school. All order forms are due back to Geer Park by November 1. Tickets will be given to students at a later time, and they will be responsible to deliver them to the individuals who purchased them. Please encourage your friends, family and co-workers to support Geer Park Elementary by enjoying a night of NBA action with the families of our school. Please be sure to include the date of the game you are selling tickets for on the order form. Please be sure to make checks payable to: Detroit Pistons. Tickets may be purchased for the following games:

Pistons VS. Cavaliers:         Monday, November 20 @ 7pm

Pistons VS Celtics:              Sunday, December 10 @ 4pm

Pistons VS Nuggets:           Tuesday, December 12 @ 7pm

Ticket Options:

100-LEVEL: $45

200-LEVEL: $20

Prizes (BY TICKETS SOLD):

1 Ticket: Entered into a drawing to have Hooper come to your birthday party

5 Tickets: Personal welcome on Pistons scoreboard

10 Tickets: Free-throw shot on Pistons court

15 Tickets: Exclusive Pistons item

20-Tickets: Autographed picture

40 Tickets: Personalized Pistons jersey

The top 10 sellers at each school will be invited to participate in an on-court experience before a Pistons home game.

The top selling school will be visited by a Pistons player!

Students have each received or will receive a reading bag this week. Please ensure that your child is reading his/her word cards OR letter cards as well as any books in the reading bag every day. The reading bag is to be brought back to school every morning. I talked to them about responsibility and about being very careful with their word/letter cards and books. Please reinforce this at home. Thanks in advance for your support!

Specials Schedule

Letters are going home today asking for parents who are interested in becoming a classroom mom or dad. Here’s some information if you are interested:

Research shows that students who have a strong support system at home and school are those who are the most well-equipped to achieve success. Schools with strong parent-teacher relationships provide even more opportunities for our students’ success and often outperform other schools in academic achievement and growth. In an effort to strengthen our parent-teacher relationships, we are seeking to assign a “Classroom Mom or Dad” to each of our classrooms.

What is a “Classroom Mom or Dad”?

A Classroom Mom or Dad is the parent or legal guardian of a child in a classroom. Classroom Moms or Dads are volunteers who take a lead role in facilitating communication between other parents and the teacher, the PTA, and occasionally school administration. This can vary a little from class to class, teacher to teacher depending on the grade level and the time of year. For the most part, as a Classroom Mom or Dad you will communicate with the teacher on a schedule that works for both of you to organize, plan, and coordinate special events, celebrations, parties, or field trips. Additionally, Classroom Moms or Dads act as liaisons for their school’s PTA, encouraging participation in their events from the classroom you are supporting.

At this time we are seeking to assign one Classroom Mom or Dad per classroom. If this is something you are interested in, please fill out the information below. Please understand that this is a year-long physical and social commitment that will require your energy, patience, and time. By filling this out, you are demonstrating an understanding of the importance of this commitment and your name will be taken into consideration when selecting a Classroom Mom or Dad.

Please complete the bottom portion of the letter sent home by Monday, September 25. Thank you!

Reminder- There will be no school for all kindergarten students on the Friday the 22nd.

Open house will be today, Thursday, September 14, 2017 from 6-7:30. Our kindergarten parent meeting will be on Friday, September  15, 2017 from 12:15-1:50. I look forward to seeing you at both events. There is a lot of important information to share and discuss reagrding classroom and school policies. Conference sheets will also be available to sign up for November parent-teacher conferences. Hope to see you all there!

Parents: Please read the important information below!

Assessments and Study Guides

The Geer Park faculty studied the subject of assessments, retakes, and how students need to learn to be successful future learners. The rationale is based on best practice, classroom observations and the demands of standardized assessment requirements.  More and more, transferring concepts learned into application opportunities is how mastery is measured.  Rote memory, for example, does not support sustained learning.  Furthermore, holding students accountable for their learning is a necessity.  When teachers facilitate lessons, formative assessments are given throughout the course of a unit, concepts are taught multiple times, and activities are designed to help cement learning.  Expecting active listening and total engagement is key to understanding concepts, questioning misunderstandings, and building the blocks of prior learning. The Geer Park faculty is encouraging teaching for transfer, rather than memorizing for the test. Please read through the following thoroughly as these are agreed upon building policies and norms:

• Students will not have the option to retake assessments.  
• In the case of emergencies and illness, parents will contact the teacher prior to the administration of the assessment to discuss the situation.
• Students can have an extended window to take the test, within 24-48 hours, but before the completed assessments are returned to the other students.
• If the majority of the students struggle with an assessment, then key concepts will be retaught.
• In extenuating circumstances, accommodations can be made.  These circumstances would include prolonged illness or trauma, but does not include travel.  However, the teacher will make these decisions based on the severity of the situation.
• Study guides will not be provided for grades K-2.
• Assessment Focus Overview will be provided for families.
• These AFO’s will share with families concepts that are a part of the unit.  Resources, references, and a unit overview will be provided on teacher blogs to assist families in supporting their children.
• All assessments will have performance tasks.
  • These tasks require students to use what they know and apply this knowledge in new ways.  This requires higher order thinking and, at times, have more than one right answer.

How can parents support their children?

• It is critical to…
  • Review and discuss daily lessons and work
  • Review and discuss formative assessments, including exit slips, mini quizzes, projects, and other graded work. Success or struggles on formative assessments is a strong indicator of students’ level of comprehension.
  • Remind children to ask questions and be actively engaged.
  • Remember, if there isn’t some struggle or challenge, higher order learning isn’t happening.  Students must anticipate a challenge, work through it and build on their learning.

التقييمات ودليل الدراسة

مدرسة جير بارك درسو موضوع التقييمات، ريتاكيس، وكيف الطلاب بحاجة إلى أن يتعلم أن يكون نجاح المتعلمين مستقبلا. الأساس المنطقي يستند إلى أفضل الممارسات، وملاحظات الفصل الدراسي والمطالب لمتطلبات تقييم موحد. أكثر وأكثر، نقل المفاهيم المستفادة إلى فرص التطبيق كيف يتم قياس اتقانها. على سبيل المثال، لا تدعم الذاكرة عن ظهر قلب، والتعلم المستمر. وعلاوة على ذلك، محاسبة الطلاب لتعليمهم أمر ضروري. عند المعلمين تسهيل الدروس، يتم إعطاء تقييمات التكوينية طيلة مسار واحدة ويتم تدريس المفاهيم عدة مرات، وأنشطة مصممة لمساعدة التعلم الأسمنت. أتوقع الاستماع النشط والمشاركة المجموع مفتاح لفهم المفاهيم، التشكيك في سوء الفهم، وبناء كتل التعلم المسبق. مدرسة جير بارك هو تشجيع التدريس لنقل، بدلاً من الحفظ للاختبار. الرجاء قراءة من خلال ما يلي جيدا هذه هي المتفق عليها بناء السياسات والقواعد:

• الطلاب لن يكون الخيار لاستعاد الاختبارات.
  • في حالة الطوارئ، والمرض، سيتصل الآباء المعلم قبل إدارة التقييم لبحث الوضع.
  • الطلاب يمكن أن يكون إطار موسع إجراء الاختبار، في غضون 24-48 ساعة، ولكن قبل أن يتم إرجاع هذه التقييمات المنجزة لغيرهم من الطلاب.
  • إذا كانت أغلبية الطلاب مع تقييم النضال، سوف تكون تدرس مرة أخرى المفاهيم الأساسية.
  • في الظروف المخففة، ويمكن إجراء الإقامة. هذه الظروف سوف تشمل مرض طال أمده أو الصدمة،
  • ولكن لا تشمل السفر. ومع ذلك، سيجعل المعلم هذه القرارات استناداً إلى مدى خطورة الحالة.
• لا ستقدم أدلة الدراسة رياض الأطفال – للصف الثاني.
  • نظرة عامة على تركيز التقييم سوف تتاح للأسر.
  • سوف تتقاسم هذه الاستعراضات مع مفاهيم الأسر التي جزء من الوحدة.
  • وسوف تتاح نظرة واحدة والمراجع والموارد على مدونات المعلم لمساعدة الأسر في دعم أطفالهم.
• وسيكون جميع تقييمات أداء المهام.
  • هذه المهام تتطلب من الطلاب لاستخدام ما يعرف، وتطبيق هذه المعرفة في طرق جديدة.
  • وهذا يتطلب أعلى ترتيب التفكير، وفي بعض الأحيان، يكون الجواب الصحيح أكثر من واحد
• كيف يمكن دعم الآباء أطفالهم؟
  • من الأهمية بمكان…
    • استعراض ومناقشة الدروس اليومية والعمل باستعراض ومناقشة التقييمات التكوينية، بما في ذلك كشوف خروج ومسابقات مصغرة ومشاريع وأعمال أخرى متدرج.
    • النجاح أو صراعات على التقييمات التكوينية مؤشر قوي لمستوى الطلاب للفهم.
    • تذكير الأطفال لطرح الأسئلة والمشاركة بنشاط. تذكر، إذا لم يكن هناك بعض النضال أو التحدي، لا يحدث أعلى أمر التعلم.
    • يجب على الطلاب توقع تحديا، والعمل من خلال ذلك وبناء على تعلمهم.

If your child is packing a lunch to school, please place his/her name on the outside of his/her lunch box so we know who it’s for in case it gets lost. Thank you!