Elementary Update

October 2019

Early Childhood Center Update

We are looking forward to our visit from the Warren Fire Department. The students love seeing the truck and are fascinated with the lights. The Early Childhood Center is looking forward to working with Henry Ford for the LANA Program (Learning About Nutrition through Activities). The goal of the program is to help the students learn to taste, eat and enjoy more fruits and vegetables each day. A Registered Dietitian will teach the program one time a week for 30 minutes. The lessons introduce new fruits/vegetables, allow students to try new fruits/vegetables through cooking and tasting activities and teach general nutrition around the importance of eating fruits/vegetables.

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Briarwood Update

Briarwood Elementary students are now official taste testers! Briarwood Elementary School teamed up with Henry Ford Macomb Hospital and Action for Healthy Kids to host a school-wide taste testing of dried apricots. 252 samples were given during all 3 lunches. Of the 236 students surveyed, 173 said they would eat apricots again at home! The students loved the chewy, sweet snack! Parents, talk to your student about how they liked the tasting and consider trying dried apricots at home for snacks and as part of your student’s lunches.

There will be 5 more tastings happening throughout the next several months. Stay tuned!

Individualized Reading Intervention Plans (IRIP)

Now that NWEA and DRA testing (running reading records) are completed we will be using the data to determine students that may need an official Individualized Reading Intervention Plan (IRIP). The plans take into account a student's strengths, what a student is almost able to do as a reader, and what they need to be taught (strategic skills). The plans will be shared with parents during parent teacher conferences and updated throughout the year. IRIP plans are put in place to guide intervention support and classroom instruction. The goal of each plan is to close any achievement gaps that are present in our early readers. All plans typically focus on the five areas of literacy -phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.

Sample of IRIP Plan for 2019-2020 below.

Pinewood Update

Our Pinewood Panthers are excited to be wrapping up an extremely busy month. Our students are looking forward to two half days next week. We have conferences, Halloween and our first Panther Pride Celebration all happening next week!! We are very excited to celebrate our successful start to the school year with our students and look forward to sharing your child’s educational progress with you at conferences.

Classroom Instruction

Now that we have finished our testing and students are well aware of classroom and school expectations, the classrooms are transforming into engaged learning centers for our students. Our Panthers love taking advantage of flexible seating arrangements and our new collaborative space. Our book room project is progressing nicely and students and staff now have organized access to numerous additional leveled text titles to support guided reading groups. We are thankful for the volunteer who has dedicated countless hours to completely transform this resource for our students!

Today marked the end of the writing unit for Mrs. Rutledge's writers, so what did they do? Celebrate of course! Today's writing celebration offered students a chance to share their final copies with their classmates and enjoy some tasty treats!

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2nd grade writing celebration

Westwood Update

Literacy

Our elementary teams have hit the ground running! We are excited to continue our learning with Dr. Taylor. Over the past few weeks, K-5 teams had the opportunity to revisit and review our literacy initiatives and best practice strategies. Intervention groups have been identified and students are excited to grow as readers.

Currently, we are preparing for Fall conferences on Tuesday, October 29th. We are excited to share the progress of students and smooth transition of the school year.

Homecoming 2019

It was a beautiful day for a Homecoming Parade! Our wildcats enjoyed being part of the parade. This year, our 5th grade safeties and PBIS student representatives participated in this awesome tradition.