Board of Trustees Clay Ross Superintendent Penny Steiner, President Walter Albert, Clerk Linda Johnson James Luna Charles Van Hoosen 10140 Old Oregon Trail, Redding, California, 96003 530-223-1915 FAX 530-223-4168 Dear Parents, Students and Staff, I want to thank you all for an outstanding turn out and performance by our teachers at Back to School Night! I briefly visited each class room and found myself wanting to stay longer and listen to the excitement and enthusiasm our teachers had about their programs and teaching your children. Parents, I know you appreciate the hard work and dedication of our professional staff and teachers. We are off to a great start to making this another fantastic year at Columbia School. During my discussion at CES, I mentioned that we are looking for a Columbia Elementary parent to take a seat on Site Council. If you are interested in this position or nominating someone for it, please stop by the Columbia office. I also spoke about the new math programs K-6. K-5 now has a new math curriculum called Go Math. During the teacher training, teachers were very excited about the new program and the resources available to students at home online; more information will be provided by your child’s teacher. In 6th grade, we are piloting a new program. Many middle schools in the area have already adopted CPM, but we wanted to be sure it was the right choice for us prior to purchasing. Mrs. Bandell attended workshops over the summer to be well trained in the instruction methods of this curriculum. I am also pleased to announce that we still have our very own counselor to share between the two schools and Mrs. Porter is working again this year with Steve Weathersbee and Simpson University to provide even greater access to counseling. Along those lines, you should have been introduced to Robert Kehoe during BTS Night. He works for Family Dynamics and is bringing Triple P (positive parenting program) to both schools; see Mrs. Porter’s article for more information. Also new this year are some minimum days near the end of the quarter or trimester depending on which school you attend. When one school is on minimum day, the other is not so I want to be sure you are aware of these days and the intent behind them. With standards and expectations for student learning getting more specific and applicable to the real world, along with the higher emphasis on technology skills, our assessments in some ways are easier to administer, yet more difficult to grade. Our mission is to ensure that every student learns and to do this, teachers must use the results of assessments to drive and change their instruction. These minimum days are for teachers to grade assessments and be prepared to discuss with their teams or departments on the next day in order to best meet the needs of our students. Finally, I spoke a little about Measure E which is a school bond measure on the ballot for November. I would like to direct you to www.columbiasd.com for factual information about the bond and what we are looking to improve for our students. It’s been a great start to the school year and I look forward to continually improving your child’s elementary school experience. Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts and suggestions. Always Thinking! Thanks for reading and remember…GO LIONS and PANTHERS!!! Clay Ross Counseling Corner September 2014 Lisa Porter, School Counselor lporter@columbiasd.com CES: 223-4070 ext. 203 M-F Mornings MVMS: 221-5224 ext. 703 M-F Afternoons “Today is the best day yet.” Recently I heard this statement and I am using it as my personal reminder of the opportunities I have each day to be the change I want to see in the world and make the choice to do all I can to contribute and not take away from the opportunity for myself and those around me to make it the ‘best day yet!’ That leads me to share some great opportunities we have to offer again and some new programs we have on both of our campuses this year. I would like to give a brief description of these programs plus contact information for each. I will also be writing one newsletter for both schools since we have so many overlapping families at the elementary and middle school. Now you only have to read one newsletter from me. TRIED AND TRUE: (Continued Services) Stephen Weathersbee: We have Stephen Weathersbee and his counseling trainees starting mid-September to work with our students. This is a wonderful opportunity to receive services from a professional therapist and his counseling trainees. They will focus on any behavioral concerns by helping to provide parents, students, and teachers with more skills for improvement. It is a bonus that this opportunity is also provided at the school site, and it is free. Our school district has worked with Stephen Weathersbee for many years and I feel very confident in his services and dedication to the families in our school district. Your child may be referred by staff, parent or even self-referral to me and I will make contact with the parent/guardian and Mr. Weathersbee to make arrangements to start services. SECOND STEP: Second Step: www.secondstep.org Please access the Second Step site using the following info. This will get you into the Second Step website with all kinds of information about the program and all of the home links available. www.secondstep.org Sign in: Username: lporter@columbiasd.com Password: Gabriel16 (it is Gabriel, then the # 16) Choose the grade level of your child Go to the tab Families Look through this site and see what your child is learning then reinforce those skills at home. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much ‘user friendly’ information there is available. Don’t forget this is also helpful at home 4TH Grade Student Council Connect: I will be working with Mrs. Scatena and her Student Council students to develop ‘Connect.’ Our goal is to make sure everyone belongs. Our main focus for ‘Connect’ will be giving new students and families tours and helping new students make friends. Stay tuned for more information about ‘Connect.’ JR. CREW: We are up and running. Our students represent MVMS and will be helping out at school events, creating fun lunchtime activities on Fridays, Friendship Club, and campus beautification. They are excited about doing activities on MVMS campus. We meet twice per month during their lunch hour. JR. CREW members are selected in the spring before the next school year and are expected to attend meetings, be a positive role model on campus and help make our school the best! LINK CREW: We had a great LINK-UP DAY for our incoming 5th grade students, and will be planning for our Back to School Dance and some fun assemblies too! LINK CREW also represents MVMS and will be helping with activities, fundraisers, assemblies, new student tours, tutoring and friendship club. School Counseling at CES: If your child is recommended to participate in social skills building group with me I will be getting permission slips out next week. Please take time to read the consent form and return it to me in the office. If you have questions I am always happy to discuss them with you as well as visit regarding your child’s special needs. I will be using the Second Step curriculum, a game called Peace Town, and a variety of other games, and activities when I meet with the students. I meet once per week for 30 min. usually during their P.E. time. Group sizes vary, but usually we have between 2-6 students in a social skills group. If your child is in kindergarten I start meeting with them individually, then as time permits and their ability to work in a small group improves, I will join them together for small group work. Social skills involve learning to work with others, listen to others, respond to others and work together to solve problems that are very common with elementary students either in their classroom, or on the playground. Social skills groups also help resolve conflicts between friends and even siblings. It is my goal to provide a safe environment for students, while upholding the group standards and modeling appropriate behaviors for them. School Counseling at MVMS: I also meet with students at MVMS, more on an individual basis, but also in small groups depending on the needs of students. Please contact me if you have questions, concerns or would like to have me meet with your child. NEW ON BOTH CAMPUSES: Triple P: Positive Parenting Program: At both Back to School Nights we had Robert Kehoe present information on this program we are promoting at both Columbia Elementary, and MVMS. If you want to connect with him, you can contact me and I’ll help expedite the process, or you can contact him on your own. Robert’s contact information and the website for the program are below. Robert Kehoe (530) 949-6804 http://www.triplepshasta.com Dear Columbia Parents, Welcome back to all returning families and a big WELCOME to all new families. As the newly elected PAC president, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of you to the 2014-2015 school year. The purpose of PAC is to support the faculty, staff, parents and most especially our students at Columbia. Over the years, PAC has become one of the strongest voices in the educational process that directly supports our children and school. This year will be no different. We welcome you to join us as we work together with the teachers, school administrators and staff to enhance our children’s education experience. Parent involvement is essential as we coordinate the many activities, fun nights, fund-raisers and other events that we provide for the students, and we hope you find one that interests you. In order to be successful, we know that the support and involvement of parents, Columbia staff, and business leaders in our community will be of utmost importance. Your first opportunity to show your support will be to become a member of PAC(Parent Activity Committee). We encourage each of you to show your commitment by joining. The second way to show your support will be to participate in the numerous events and programs that we have planned throughout the year. Your participation might be that of committee member, volunteer, or merely as an attendee. Whatever level of participation you select, your time and involvement will certainly be appreciated. We at PAC for Columbia Elementary believe that it is of ultimate importance that we do everything we can to enhance the learning environment of our children as they truly are our future. It will take all of us working together to ensure that this happens. We look forward to working with you this year and hope to see you at our monthly meeting on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 5:30 pm in the Columbia school library. Thank you in advance for you support and help with PAC committees and our “fun”d-raising efforts. We look forward to seeing you throughout the school year. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me or one of our board members. Have wonderful school year. Kelli Stephens Kellisb499@yahoo.com Columbia Elementary PAC President
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