SEPTEMBER 2012

VOLUME 1.1

Principals Corner
Welcome Back to Columbus Elementary School! I hope that by now you have had an opportunity to become more familiar with who I am and how I came to be in Medford, either in person or online. I am so excited to be here and to get to know you more deeply as a community. Please do reach out at one of our many upcoming events and introduce yourself. You will find that all event dates for September are listed on the calendar on page 2 in this newsletter. The staff and I have worked hard all summer long to bring you a smooth and exciting new school year. Hopefully the beautiful summer weather we shared will help you easily swing back into studying and learning what our teachers have planned to explore. Be sure to share the wonderful details of the stories you read over the vacation and check out the Columbus website and calendar for the monthly list of events we have planned for the year ahead! Families, please carefully read the following important information. It is vital to a childs learning and to the development of good work habits that families adhere to the school time schedule. Arrival begins at 8:30am. Students should not arrive before 8:15am and playing on the playground before school is not permitted for reasons of safety. We ask that all parents remain outside during BOTH arrival and dismissal. The tardy bell rings at 8:40pm. Please note that any child arriving after 8:40am must enter through the front door with an adult to sign the child in. Dismissal begins at 2:35pm and children will not be dismissed after 2:20pm. EVERY Wednesday, dismissal is at 1:30pm. Please help us ensure the safety for all by waiting outside for your child at dismissal time. If your child will arrive by car each morning, please have him/her ready to leave your car once you are in the arri-

WWW.MEDFORD.K12.MA.US PLEASE NOTE THAT DISMISSAL IS AT 1:30 EVERY WEDNESDAY

Columbus News

COLUMBUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 37 HICKS AVENUE, MEDFORD, MA 02155

val lane. Hugs and kisses should be completed before this time. Being ready to unload quickly enables a smooth arrival for all in the morning. Children who will be dismissed by car on a regular basis will receive a yellow card with a car imprint. Please follow the instructions on its use and assist us by using it daily. It will aid in the assurance of a smooth dismissal and that each child is returned to the car intended. When this card is passed to another family member (or friend) who will pick your child up, it signals us that this new person has your permission to take your child home on that day. Please remember that ONLY written notes will allow a child to change his/her dismissal routine on any given day. If there is no note requesting a change to the normal schedule the child will be asked to follow his/her normal dismissal routine. Please be sure to inform your childs teacher about the daily dismissal routine for your child. Thank you for helping us keep all of Columbuss children safe. There will be many important documents coming home over the next few weeks. These will require your completion and return to school. We apologize for the extra work, but this information is needed at the beginning of each year as often vital information changes. However, this year for some issues, we will only send home one set of notices... to the child YOU designate. Watch for the note explaining our Oldest/Only Program so that you can designate your Family Messenger! Each month a newsletter such as this one will be used to communication with you. I hope you find it as interesting as I do to create. Have a super year! ~

Kathleen Kay

IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS * TELEPHONE : 781.393.2177 * FAX : 781.393.2187 * NURSE : 781.393.2175 * ABSENCE LINE: 781.393.3503

September 4 Columbus Open House September 5 First Day of School -

5:30pm 7:30-pm, Cafetorium Grades1-12 . Dismissal-1:30 9:00 - 10:30am

September 7 Kindergarten Orientation September 12 September 19 September 26 September 27

First Day of School for KINDERGARTEN. Dismissal for ALL-1:30 PTO Coffee - 9:00am - 10:00am, Cafetorium 1:30pm Dismissal Back to School/Curriculum Night, 5:30pm-7:00pm 1:30pm Dismissal Ice Cream Social/Get to Know You BINGO 5:30pm - 7:30pm, Cafetorium

WORTH QUOTING Life doesnt require that we be the best, only that we try our best. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

School Council ~ The Columbus Elementary School needs new parent members for our School Council. We could use more community membership as well, if you know anyone interested in sitting in this team. School Council is a representative, school-based committee composed of the principal, parents, teachers, and community members. School Councils expand the participation of the school community in its schools decision making. Interested people can send a short biographical sketch to me by September 12th at my email address: kkay@medford.k12.ma.us. This sketch will be used to create a voting ballot, if a vote is necessary. Such a vote will be conducted with the help of the PTO and will take place at the Ice Cream Social/Get to Know You BINGO Event on September 27th.
S E PT E M B E R 20 1 2 Page 2

BOOK

REVIEWS

Back to School (Its a Kids World) by Maya Ajmera, John D. Ivanko and Global Fund for Children. Grades Kindergrten and up. Clear, colorful photographs capture the day-to-day life of schoolchildren around the globe. The book has minimal text, with one or two captioned photos per page. Various types of schools and classrooms are pictured including a group of students studying outdoors in Mali and a homeschooling situation in France. How children get to class is described and illustrated with examples ranging from a horse-drawn wagon in Bolivia and a boat in Peru to a school bus in the U.S. What children wear and what they do once they get there are also explored. A great back-to-school title to share with students. Christina F. Renaud, Millis Public Schools, MA. Reed Business Information, Inc.

Lunch Money by Andrew Clements. Grades 4-6. Sixth-grader Greg Kenton has always had a talent for making money. His latest scheme, creating and selling miniature comic books, looks to be a success. However, problems arise when his classmate and longtime nemesis, Maura, competes with him by making her own mini-stories. Even worse, the principal, who believes that comic books are nasty and violent, bans their sale at school. Clements has created another clever, enterprising young protagonist in Greg, who, like Nick in Frindle, also finds inconsistencies in his school's regulations and works toward change. While his intentions at the beginning are purely entrepreneurial, his outlook on money transforms to the philanthropic as he fights for the right to sell his Chunky Comics to his fellow students. Also, his relationship with Maura takes a new turn as the two enemies pool their talents and find a way to get along. The characters are rich with interesting quirks and motivations, including Mr. Z, a blood-phobic math teacher. Along with providing a fast-paced and humorous story line, the author examines concepts of true wealth, teamwork, community mindedness, and the value of creative expression. Selznick's pencil sketches add comic touches throughout.Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, Canada Copyright Reed Business Information.

Be there! Regular attendance in elementary school sets up a good pattern for your childs entire school career. Show him/her that school comes first by trying to

keep days off for illness and family emergencies. Also, schedule routine doctor and dentist appointments for after school or over school breaks.
Page 3

After School Chats

Whats in your backpack? Greet your child with this question, and youll discover a lot about what he/she does in class. comment about something done. For instance, if your child shows you a picture drawn in art class, you might say, The gray sky and big waves look just like our rainy Set aside time each day to go through your childs papers. Try day at the beach. to do it first thing after school Have him/her talk through math when the day is fresh in your problems or science experiments to show you what he/she has childs mind. learned. Your child might exLook over your youngsters plain how he/she finds the pework together. Help him/her rimeter of a triangle or why ants feel proud by making a specific dig tunnels, for example. These chats are a sure way to help reinforce what has been learned during the school day.

How important is sleep for learning? Sleep is not just for beauty, as our grandparents thought, more importantly it is for learning! Your brain is very active during sleep, cycling through REM and non-REM stages, processing skills learned that day, and revitalizing neurons to maintain homeostasis. We do not need to review research to know that our little ones are affected by how much sleep they receive. The rested child plays well with other children, responds to the daily demands more easily, and is learner friendly. They are more focused, attentive, happier, and pleasant. However we do need to look at research that states sleep is vital to learning. The old notion that sleep is to give our brains a rest is not true. In fact the amount and quality of sleep will impact your childs ability to learn and continue to learn. More specifically the skills your child learns that day will need to be preceded and followed by a good nights sleep. Memory is activated and information is sent to be processed in different parts of the brain during the various stages of sleep. Dr. Robert Stickgold addresses this on a video clip: http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/video/ sleep07_stickgold_learning/wm-hi When you put your little ones to bed, know that you are providing them with one of their three basic needs: proper sleep, proper nutrition, and exercise. The duration and consistency of sleep is essential to their learning experience. Refer to the chart for guidance at: http://www.parents.com/baby/sleep/basics/age-byage-guide/ . The 5-12 year old child will need at least ten to eleven hours of sleep a night. These tips will help as well: No matter what the age, stick to a bedtime routine and sleep schedule, make sure your kids understand the rules and be consistent about enforcing them; Using a nightlight or lovey can comfort kids who tend to be scared of the dark or have nightmares; Eliminate soda or other caffeine-packed foods, as well as reduce TV-watching right before bed. Children with sleep-friendly bedrooms - dark, cool, and quiet, with no TV or computer - tend to sleep better than those with lots of distractions. Find other sleep tips and recommendations at: http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/sleep/sleep.html# or http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory. The video at http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/video/sleep07_kirstenstory/wm-lo shows a single mom explaining bedtime routines for her two small children. She speaks to the struggles, while Dr. Ferber addresses that children should fall asleep under the same circumstances each evening and in same place that he/she wakes in. There should be a time limitation with clear end points. He understands that although a regular schedule should be maintained, things do come up. However, most children can cope and get back on schedule. Dr. Ferber states if children sleep better, then parents will sleep better, and they will be better parents. So say good night to your little angels knowing they will be strengthening their neural connections and optimizing their learning experiences. Pleasant Dreams! Please consult your school nurse with any concerns or questions.

Notes from Our Nurse

~ Mrs. Roberto, RN, BSN, NCSN