On Thursday, November 30th, students enjoyed the rewards their families helped them earn by fundraising for the Literacy Walk. The top fundraiser from each grade shared a pizza lunch and played the game Jenga with Mrs. Metzger. Thirty-nine students had fun building and eating ice cream sundaes with Mrs. Artman and Mrs. Jones. These “Superstar

Fundraisers” collected $100 or more that will go towards buying new book sets and reading materials for our school!

Mrs. Artman visits with the “Superstars” while they enjoy ice cream.

Mrs. Jones is a top-notch sundae-maker!

Alan enjoys eating his ice cream with his mom, who is also an instructional aide and helped with the celebration.

Reading Rockets is a great website with information for both teachers and parents.

Today I’m highlighting an article from Reading Rockets that suggests ways to help young children with phonemes, which are the sounds that letters make. Knowing the sounds that letters make an important step in learning to read:

Reading Rockets – Ways to help children learn letter sounds

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/tips-teaching-your-child-about-phonemes

Jan Richardson is a well known early literacy expert and author. She is a former reading specialist and Reading Recovery teacher who is now a national consultant. Dr. Barbara Chuby, reading specialist at Arno, Steve Zielinkski, Arno’s principal and I had the opportunity to spend a day at Wayne RESA learning some of the most recent research and strategies for targeting the specific needs of the youngest readers and for helping struggling kindergarten and first graders acquire letter names and sounds more quickly. Letter and Sound knowledge are important early indicators of future reading success.

By this time of year, kindergarteners should already know most of the letter names and their sounds. Children who don’t benefit from direct instruction and specific interventions. Help your child learn the letters/sounds they don’t know by using letter books and magnetic letters. They can practice writing letters on white boards, and you can mix it up using apps and computer games. The key is consistency. Even a few minutes of daily practice can result in big gains!

Dr. Jan Richardson presenting at Wayne RESA

Jan Richardson discusses what early readers need to learn.

Assess-Decide-Guide It is important to select teaching points based upon each student’s individual needs as demonstrated in formative assessments.

Have a great break! Remember this is the perfect opportunity to have children share a book….or a few….with extended family and friends. Let your child pick out a few books ahead that they would like to read to/with grandparents, aunts and uncles or whoever you’ll be seeing over Thanksgiving break. Or, perhaps encourage them to select a favorite poem or two to share.

Practice writing with a purpose by having your children write a little note for each family member they will see on Thanksgiving that finishes the sentence…… I am thankful for ______ (insert name)______because____________.  What a treat it would be for relatives to see why the kids appreciate them!

Check out this resource for some great kids’ apps related to all areas of literacy:

Reading Rockets – Apps for Kids

Pizza Lunch and P.J. Day – Lower el and Upper el Classes that Raised the Most Funds for the Literacy Walk

Lunch With Mrs. Metzger Winners (top fundraiser in each grade):   Thursday, November 30th

Mrs. Kelly Paffhausen is resigning in order to work at home on a new family business. We will miss her, but wish her the best in her new endeavor. Her instructional aide position has been posted. We will let you know who is hired to work with the kindergarten and first graders that Mrs. Paffhausen currently sees.

We appreciate and thank the parents who were able to come to the Parent Advisory Team meeting this week. The parents reviewed the School Compact and decided not to make any changes for next year. We also discussed the differences between the federally funded Title I program and state funded 31a and 35a Early Literacy Programs. All of these programs provide academic support for students who need it at our school, even though the funding comes from different sources. We are glad to have the extra help and materials provided by these funds. Parents who attended were also able to discuss and ask questions about program design and about the new third grade reading law. They were reminded to visit the Parent Resources section of this blog to find useful web links and suggestions. Parent Educational Workshops are being planned for after winter break. Math consultants from WRESA will present one of them. A Reading Workshop is also being planned. More information will follow soon.

There will be another Parent Advisory Team Meeting in February.

You’re Invited!

Parents whose children receive Title I and other Reading Support Services are invited to attend a meeting at 8:40 a.m. on Thursday, November 16th in Room 208 at Bennie School. Parents who attend this advisory meeting will help review and edit the School Compact. They will also have an opportunity to learn more about and discuss program design. If you are attending the meeting, please stop at the office to sign in first!

The final donations have been counted and a fundraising record was set with this year’s Literacy Walk! $11,138.17 was raised through student/family fundraising, and staff and business donations to this great cause. Bennie readers will be able to enjoy reading new book sets from the Literacy Library as well as other literacy materials as the result of the generosity of parents, friends and relatives from the Allen Park Community, across Michigan, and 11 other states.

The great success of this endeavor was possible through the first-time use of the fundraising site The GetMovin’ Crew. The site allowed the fundraiser to be shared broadly through social media sites and email. It also enabled donors to use credit cards as well as make check and cash donations.

The entire Bennie Staff and parent volunteers really worked together to make the 2017 Literacy Walk event fun and successful. As a result of the team effort, Bennie students will be able to use and enjoy the new reading materials for years to come. A committee of teachers will begin the process of ordering the new books in shortly!