Fostoria Intermediate

1202 H.L. Ford Drive Phone: 419-436-4125 Fax: 419-436-4169

September 2013 Volume 1, Issue 1

Fostoria City Schools

Tera Matz - Principal

Email: tmatz@fostoriaschools.org

From the desk of Mrs Matz:

The Intermediate staff has truly enjoyed these past couple of weeks welcoming students back to school and preparing to provide them with the promise of a quality education. We recognize that in order to realize our vision of Connecting students, families, and the community to prepare for life within a global society, we need to attract and retain the very best teachers and support staff something I truly believe we have here at Fostoria Intermediate School. I would like to celebrate one major change in the area of curriculum and instruction we have made for the 2013-2014 school year our district adopted the McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders language arts series for all students K-6. This new series is based on the new Common Core standards and will truly increase the rigor of our language arts curriculum! We also recognize the important role that parents play in the education of their children and the need for an active partnership between home and school. Your help in educating your child is immensely important. Please be involved by talking about and examining your childs school work daily, staying in contact with teachers, joining our Elementary P.T.O., and volunteering whenever possible. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at 419-436-4125 or tmatz@fostoriaschools.org.

Like us on Facebook! Get the most recent reminders, photos and classroom updates. Fostoria Intermediate School now has a Facebook page!

Dates to Remember:
September 2 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL September 4 1 Hour Delay September 4 - PTO 6 p.m. September 11 1 Hour Delay September 13 Fundraiser begins 9:15 a.m. September 16 - BOE Meeting - 6:00 p.m. September 18 1 Hour Delay September 18 Family Literacy Night - 5:30-7:00 p.m. September 20 - midterm sent home September 25 1 Hour Delay September 25 Fund-raiser Ends September 27 Fall Picture Day

Together We Make aDifference...

I dreamed I stood in a studio and watched two sculptors there.The clay they used was a young childs mind, and they fashioned it with care. One was a teacher who used such tools as books and music and art. One was a parent with a guiding hand and a gentle, loving heart.And when at last their work was done they were proud of what they wrought, for the things they worked into the child could never be sold or bought. And they both agreed they would have failed if each had worked alone, for behind the parent stood the school, and behind the teacher the home.

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September 2013

Welcome Back! My name is Bethany Sanford, and I am the guidance counselor at Fostoria Intermediate Elementary School. I have been a guidance counselor with the district for eight years, and this is my third year at the Intermediate Building. Before becoming a guidance counselor, I taught English. I am married, and I am a mother of four. I have a ten year old daughter and five year old triplets. My daughter is in the fifth grade, and my triplets just started Kindergarten Readiness. I love to spend time with my family and friends, and I especially enjoy camping. I am excited to be here, and I look forward to continuing to work with students and their families. I will be meeting with students one-on-one through self-referral, parent-referral, teacherreferral, or administrator referral. I will be visiting classrooms and sharing lessons and activities that will include the following topics: responsibility, respect, citizenship, cooperation, attitude, selfcontrol, caring, honesty, and courage. I also hope to work with students in a small group setting, and I will be sending out more information regarding group themes, as well as permission slips. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at 419-436-4125 ext. 3226, email me at bsanford@fostoriaschools.org, or stop in for a visit. It has been a wonderful start to the year, and I look forward to whats ahead!

Mrs. Sanford

PROJECT MORE
My name is Mrs. Pam Berrier. Currently, I am the Project MORE Coordinator. This is my 17th year with Fostoria Schools. I spent the first 15 years teaching third grade. Project MORE is a reading intervention program for students who are not reading on grade level. This intervention is done within the school day. My job is to recruit and train volunteers, create lesson plans, schedule students and volunteers, and tutor students at FIES. Students in Project MORE are identified from testing we do here at school. If your son or daughter is behind in Reading based on testing, our goal is get them into Project MORE. You will receive a letter or phone call from me once we have your son/daughter ready to start Project MORE. In order for Project MORE to be successful, we need volunteers to work with students at least once a week for thirty minutes. Volunteers work with students on specific reading skills. Lessons and materials are prepared for you. If you, or someone you know, are interested in volunteering during the school day, please contact me at 419-436-4125. We will meet to discuss the program and determine if being a Project MORE volunteer is for you. Being a volunteer is a great opportunity to get involved at the Intermediate building. Paperwork must be completed and passing a FBI/ BCI background check, which we will pay for, must be done before you begin.

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September 2013

I am very excited to share with all of you a little about me and my role as the School Counselor, as well as Ginger our School Therapy Dog. I began my journey with Fostoria City Schools 6 years ago and have been proud to be in this district ever since. I have a Masters Degree in School Counseling and Clinical Counseling from Heidelberg College. My beginning years as a school counselor began at Field Elementary. I then transitioned to Riley Elementary 2 years later when it was decided to close Field School. I am beginning my fourth year as the School Counselor at Riley Elementary. Starting this year, I will be providing services to the third graders on Tuesdays at the Intermediate building as well. I feel this will be beneficial for them to have another familiar face as they transition buildings. During my time at the Intermediate School, Ginger and I will be facilitating classroom lessons, conducting small group counseling and also working with students on an individual level. One of the greatest things about my job as a school counselor are the many roles that I have throughout each day. Feel free to contact me if you see a need for your child to receive any of these services or want more information on how I can help your child be more successful at school and/or home. I am also excited to introduce Ginger, the School Therapy Dog. Ginger is a 2 year old Golden Retriever. She received her training from Assistance Dogs of Achieving Independence (ADAI) in Sylvania. She was placed with Fostoria City Schools, Riley Elementary in the Spring of 2013. I am her primary handler and utilize her throughout the school day. Ginger has many roles as the school therapy dog as well and her ability to connect with students is amazing. The benefits of having a therapy dog in our district are endless. We are fortunate to have Ginger available for our students and staff whenever she is needed. I hope everyone has an opportunity to meet her and see firsthand the exact reason she was chosen for our school and her job as a therapy dog. If you would like more information on Ginger, feel free to contact me by phone: 419-436-4145 or email: adunn@fostoriaschools.org. Remember, Ginger is in our schools for EVERYONE!

Mrs. Dunn & Ginger

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September 2013

My name is Mr. Renz and this is my fourth year as the Assistant Principal at Fostoria Intermediate Elementary. Among my responsibilities, I have been leading our Safe Schools Committee and the Olweus AntiBullying Committee. I wanted to give you a brief explanation of what these two areas are doing for our school. Safe Schools is a committee that is constantly updating as it looks at what will make our students and staff safer throughout the school year. We have looked at issues such as changing the drop off/pick up side which has made it much safer for our students to be picked up, without crossing in front of lines of traffic. The transition has been smooth and is now working efficiently to allow for a safe, but timely, way to drop off and pick up your children. Our committee is also working with the Police Department to insure our building has the most updated and efficient evacuation plans, fire drills, and tornado drills. We also are making sure our building and grounds is a safe and secure environment. There will be more changes in the future and we always ask for your patience as we know change can be inconvenient but, our focus is student safety, and that is always the most important factor in making decisions. The Olweus committee implemented the Anti-Bullying Program last year with a Kick Off assembly for all students. This program involves weekly class meetings to discuss bullying, talk about problems individual students may be facing, promotes including children who have been left out, stopping others from bullying, and reporting incidents to school officials and parents. Since implementation we have seen a decrease in the number of reported cases and a much better school atmosphere. Our staff is excited about the new school year and we will keep working to make sure our school is a safe, enjoyable environment for your child to learn and grow!

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO KNOW TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS

Parents/Guardians have the right to know about the teaching qualifications of their childs classroom teacher in a school receiving Title I funds. Longfellow Elementary, Riley Elementary, and Fostoria Intermediate Elementary receive Title I funds. The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that any local school district receiving Title I funds must notify parents that they may ask about the professional qualifications of their childs classroom teacher. These qualifications include: 1. Whether the teacher has met the Ohio teacher licensing criteria for the grade level and subject areas in which the teacher provides your child instruction. 2. Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or temporary status that waives state licensing requirements. 3. The undergraduate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate degree or certification (such as National Board Certification) held by the teacher and the field of discipline of certification or degree. 4. Whether your child is provided services by instructional paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications. Parents should contact the school offices for this information.

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September 2013

ANNUAL FUNDRAISER
Our annual fundraiser will kickoff with an assembly on Sept. 13. Please remember that this should NOT be a door-to-door sale. Students should ask friends and family to support our school. This is a pre-pay sale. Checks should be made payable to Fostoria PTO. ALL MONEY MUST BE RETURNED WITH THE ORDER FORM. Orders are due in the school office no later than September 25. Please help us to raise funds for programs and field trips for our students!

REMINDERS
School fees are $25.00 and are due now. You can pay the fees in the school office or send them with your child. House Bill 1 states that any student who receives free lunches will have their fees waived. Address changes need to be made with the school office. You will be required to complete the address verification form and provide proof of residency. We accept rental or mortgage agreements, pay stubs, utility bills, or insurance invoices that show your name and the new address. Once the address has been changed at the school, transportation will be notified and a bus pass can be issued if the new address qualifies. Please make sure we have current phone numbers as we will be utilizing the automated call system when we have delays, closings, and important information to give our parents. Our Fostoria City Schools district website is a great source of information. You can access the school calendar, building webpages, along with district and Board of Education information. Please be sure to check out www.fostoriaschools.org Our school collects BoxTops for Education, Campbells Labels for Education and aluminum pull tabs. Remember to send them to school with your child to turn in to their teacher.

FALL PICTURE DAY

Fall pictures will be taken on Friday, Sept. 27 starting at 9:00 a.m. All students will be photographed for school purposes. Only those students prepaying will receive a package of pictures. Students MUST wear CAMPUS WEAR for these photos.

WE NEED YOU- ELEMENTARY PTO

Please join us! We invite all PreK-6 parents to become involved in their childs Parent Teacher Organization. The first Elementary PTO meeting of the year will be held on September 4th in the Fostoria Intermediate Cafeteria. The meeting will begin at 6pm and usually lasts about an hour. We will be discussing officers, so please plan on attending !

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September 2013

LITERACY NEWS - MRS. SKORNICKA

Welcome Back! Its hard to believe summer is over and the first quarter is well under way. Ive had a wonderful time catching up with our returning 4th-6th graders, as well as, meeting our incoming third graders! I very much look forward to working with our students this year. During the seven years Ive been a Literacy Specialist in Fostoria I have worked at Longfellow, Field, Riley, and for the last three years, at FIES. This year I will be working with students in the areas of reading, writing, and math. I will also be assisting teachers with curriculum, assessment, and professional development. Prior to working in Fostoria I lived in California where I taught a combination of Kindergarten-3rd grade for nine years. During that time I received my Masters Degree in Reading/ Language Arts and then a Literacy Specialist Credential from California State University. I moved home to Ohio in 2006 to get married. My sixteen years in education have been full of exciting experiences. I hope my next sixteen are just as exciting. I look forward to working with you and your children over the course of this school year. If you should have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me. Happy Reading, Mrs. Dawn Skornicka

FIES INFORMATIONAL PARENT NIGHT

Why should parents and students attend?

To meet the teachers To learn more about our new WONDERS reading series To learn how you can help your child prepare for the OAA test To learn ways to help your child succeed in school To enjoy a delicious meal of pizza, pop, and a cookie FREE!

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 - 5:30 p.m. - Intermediate School cafeteria Forms will be sent home soon and reservations are required !

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September 2013

ONE HOUR DELAYS

There have been several questions regarding the one hour delays on Wednesdays that have been adopted districtwide for all of our students. The purpose of these delays is to allow teachers to meet as Teacher-Based Teams (TBTs) each week. Teachers discuss common assessments that have been given to all of the students and the results that have been attained. From this analysis of data, teachers then develop instruction that will meet the needs of the students whether it be enrichment for those who have mastered the standard, additional targeted practice for those who are close to mastery or more intense intervention for those who may need it. TBTs are part of our district improvement plan and are being supported enthusiastically by the Ohio Department of Education as a way to raise student achievement. Please pay special attention to the reminders about drop off times/procedures below: These delays will happen every Wednesday. In the event of a weather related 2-hour delay on a Wednesday morning, school will begin at 11:00am. It will NOT be delayed an additional hour. Buses will be following their normal schedule, meaning that children will be picked up at approximately the same time on Wednesday as they are on the other weekdays. There will be two drop-off times. The first will be the regular time- between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. The second will be between 9:45 and 10:00 AM. Students should not be dropped of between 9:00 and 9:45, as there is not an adult on duty outside. If there is a need to bring your child during this time, you will need to park on the North side of the building and walk them into the attendance office. Breakfast will be available for all students upon their arrival. Paraprofessionals will be supervising the students while the teachers are meeting as TBTs. Please bear with us as we work out the kinks in our procedures and routines for the one-hour delays that will be taking place each Wednesday for all students in PreSchool through 12th grade.

Project SUCCESS After-School Program

*Homework assistance *Expanded learning opportunities *Character Counts *Recreation *Prevention activities

The after school program will be held at: Riley Elementary School Program Hours: Monday-Friday After School Program 5:30p.m. Students in K 3rd grade are eligible. For more information on enrollment, please call Ali Root-Riley Elementary, 419-436-4145 The program will begin September 9, 2013