And we're into the final stretch!!!

The month of May brings testing, Charter School Week, talent shows, celebrations, concerts and many other events to keep students busy, busy, busy. A reminder for testing---these tests (DCAS, NWEA) are not tests which can be studied for. The best approach is a good night's rest, a good breakfast and as little stress as possible. Our children have been working hard all year, these are just a few opportunities to show the outside world (and DOE) what they know!

Have you signed up for and purchased SCRIP yet ? If your family eats out occassionally, buys gas, groceries or clothing then you can help raise money for the school without spending a penny!!! Please check out the pto website http://www.motpto.com/Shop-with-Scrip/ and log on. With each family doing their little part, we can make a huge difference!

 

Congratulations Class of 2013! We are looking forward to the 8th grade Cape Henlopen trip, Semi-formal and graduation. It seems like yesterday when all of your smiling faces showed up for the first day of Kindergarten. We are so proud of all that you have accomplished and we know that you will go on to represent MOT Charter splendidly in all you do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end of the trimester brings final projects, final presentations, classroom assessments and parent/teacher conferences. I can't believe we are a third of the way through this school year.

Reminder that report cards are distributed at conferences. It is important, especially for the first report card, to have conversations with your child's teacher(s), celebrate their strengths and their growth and also to identify areas of need for them to focus on during the rest of the school year. Look for conference schedules in the coming days.

 

Congratulations to our 6th and 7th graders who just had their first middle school dance of the year. They were amazing!!! Such a group of enthusiastic dancers I haven't seen at MOT Charter in a few years. I think they danced the whole two hours! Great job and great behavior!

Our Prospective Student Open House is on Tuesday, November 13th at 6pm. If you have friends, relatives, neighbors who are looking for a quality school experience for their children, please let them know about this opportunity to check out MOT Charter and to  put in an application.  If you have a child who will be attending Kindergarten next year be sure to put in your application---even with sibling preference, you still need to complete and submit an application. They are available on line.

 

Get ready for SCRIP! Knowing that economic times are tough, but our families still want to give and help raise funds for our school, our PTO has initiated a SCRIP program for our school. In the next few weeks you will be hearing about how to sign up for the program which DOES NOT COST YOU ANYTHING EXTRA yet gives our school a monetary kick-back. Basically, if you know you shop at Walmart or Acme or buy gas at Exxon each month, you simply purchase SCRIP (like gift cards) on line for those businesses through our school account. You spend the same amount you always have, and the school gets a percentage of the purchase. It's a win-win! There are hundreds of vendors that offer us rebates so whether you do your regular shopping with SCRIP or your holiday shopping, there are plenty of businesses available from which to shop. Thank you Mrs. Dallas and Mrs. Lindia for getting this project rolling!

 

Thank you PTO for a great Fall Family Dance! It looked like everyone had a great time--the music, the food and the fun!

 

Attendance reminders-- Please be sure to make an early request (30 days) if you are planning on utilizing your "one time family obligation" for the school year. It is important to allow the office to review attendance records, check calendar conflicts and grades and allow teachers time to prepare materials for a student's extended absence. Just send an e-mail to the office making the request. Thanks!

On a daily basis, be sure to send in absence notes, e-mails are best and are much less likely to get stuck in the bottom of those backpacks!

Enjoy the chill in the air, the changing leaves---remember to update student wardrobes to include dress code sweaters, sweatshirts and long sleeve shirts. For the little ones, solid color tights only--no leggings (tights without feet) and no patterns. Lastly (one that shows up often) no long sleeves sticking out from under short sleeves. The layering of clothes (shirt/undershirt) should only be seen at the neckline, not the sleeves or the waist.  Thank you for your help in keeping your child's wardrobe in dress code.

 

 

 

 

School Wide Assessments---Round One---COMPLETE!!!

Last Friday marked the completion of all schoolwide Fall initial assessments. This Thursday you will be receiving your child's progress report, along with information concerning the outcomes of their assessments. Based on this information, students may be offered additional instruction in the areas of math and/or reading. This is part of our Response to Intervention (RTI) process. Should your child be offered this additional instruction, there will be information included with their progress report regarding when those instructional times will be offered.

Placement in an RTI group is simply extra help to help insure that a child will reach their grade level benchmarks by the end of the year. At this time it is NOT an indicator of the need for retention or other special services.

 

Welcome Back!! What a joy to have our hallways filled with happy, smiling faces and students ready to get back to learning.  Thank you to everyone for helping our children be well prepared and excited about school. It is the gift that keeps on giving!

 

This year you will be hearing & seeing a lot about RESPECT, KINDNESS and RESPONSIBILITY in the hallways, classrooms and discussions around MOT. These are 3 of our tenants directly related to character education and a positive learning environment. While the media is filled with bullying information, anti-bullying information, legislation, consequences and legal tactics, we feel strongly that teaching children to be respectful, kind and responsible, will greatly decrease the need for "anti-bullying" approaches. We want the best for our students and we want our students to BE their best, both in school and in life. This feels much more meaningful and long lasting than teaching them what "not" to be.

 The fourth tenant (or "leg" of our Mustang "standing on all four") is Believe in Yourself. If our school is always a place of respect, kindness and responsibility, we will have the best learning environment in which children can be successful, take learning risks and truly believe in themselves.

Of course, bullying is unfortunately quite prevalent in our society, and can rear its ugly head at school. We will continue to respond to any concerns, complaints and incidences swiftly and with full investigation. We will also continue to educate our students on the necessity of reporting events so that we can help. Parents can help by letting us know immediately---please do not encourage your child to ignore it or let it go. We are only able to diminish and stop any bullying when we know it is happening. The sooner the better. Thank you for supporting us in those efforts.

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POSSE- Parents Offering Support Services in Education

Thank you to all of our POSSE members from last year and to those of you who have already volunteered to join us this year. In just a few weeks I will have a complete schedule of classroom needs as well as training dates/times. If you have not already contacted me and you are interested in learning how to be part of our Reading POSSE, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll get you on the list. You will be contacted as we move along, set up trainings and fill in volunteer time slots.

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Topics for discussion- If you have ever had those moments when you've thought " I'd like to know more about _______." or " I'm not sure how best to approach _______ with my child." please send me your needs. I will be setting up some parent education opportunities this year and would like to make sure they are the most helpful and most needed. I appreciate your ideas and feedback.

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"Mrs. Elston--I'm so sorry to bother you" are words I hear too often. Parents are never a bother. My job is to make sure that students, and their parents, are informed, well taken care of and happy here at MOT Charter. If you have a question, concern (I even take compliments!) please stop in, call, send me an e-mail. Whenever possible, I try to meet with parents right in the moment. If that's not possible Mrs. Harrigan will gladly set up a time that is mutually available. I look forward to meeting with many of you this year for all the right reasons!

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Enjoy the school year. Stay communicative. Appreciate your child at the age they are---the good times and the struggles. It is what makes every child unique, makes their schooling experiences memorable and it's a learning process for all of us! We're all in it together!