1. Art and Diseño

January 2015
8259 S. Lavergne
Burbank, IL 60459
Principal’s Notes
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year! I hope that 2015 is a joyous and prosperous New Year for you and your family.
Be assured, that the teachers and staff at Byrd School will do their very best to help make your
child’s year here at Byrd School a successful one. I am so thankful for the staff that we have at
Byrd School. It truly is a joy to work with such a committed and caring staff. We are very fortunate to have them here at Byrd School.
Children in District #111 participated in the second of three MAP assessments in December. Every
grade level had improved scores! Your children benefit from their teachers' dedication. The teachers are working very hard to prepare students for the future, and it shows in the results achieved on
the MAP assessment. Your support at home is greatly appreciated. If we continue to work together, the success of our students is limitless.
In addition to taking the MAP assessment, the students took part in many holiday events during
December. Our dedicated parent volunteers sponsored a Movie Day in which the students watched
"How to Train Your Dragon 2". The teachers also worked with their classes to prepare them for
the Holiday Sing-a-Long which was a tremendous success. The parent organization at Byrd also
purchased key chains to Wendy’s for each student. It is good for a free child size Frosty each time
they go to Wendy's for the entire 2015 calendar year. A special thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson
for researching, contacting the right people, and picking up the key chains. Please be sure to thank
the management of Wendy’s for their generous donations when in their store.
The students had an in-school field trip that was presented by the Center for Mathematics, Science
and Technology of Illinois State University. This hands-on, interactive exhibit gave the students
the opportunity to view how power is converted into electricity, and which appliances in the home
use the most electricity. A special thank you to Mr. Fialek for finding the exhibit and for sponsoring the event. The students learned a lot and enjoyed working with the scaled models to see how
electricity is created and utilized in everyday life.
The ELL teachers sponsored three parent workshops at Byrd School. The teachers helped the parents navigate through the McGraw-Hill Wonders Reading Series during this time. More future
parent workshops are expected to take place to go over the computer programs Tumble Books and
RAZ Kids. You will be notified of the dates and times.
Finally, the parent-sponsored Holiday Shop was a huge success due to the efforts of many dedicated parents and staff volunteers. In addition to items purchased from Fun Services, many staff,
parents, and teachers donated handmade items that were displayed on the craft table. Mrs. Johnson donated hand-crafted pins that she personally made and she also made the raffle baskets for
the parent volunteers. The shop was so successful, that many items quickly sold out. Every student was given the opportunity to view the merchandise prior to deciding on what to purchase.
Many thanks to Mrs. Munoz for chairing the event, and to Mrs. Carroll, our art teacher, for giving
up her art room for the Holiday Shop. Also, thank you to Mrs. Sanchez and to Mrs. Salamanca
for the beautiful decorations for the Holiday sing-a-long.
In looking forward to January, we have another busy month ahead of us. Teachers are sponsoring
new after-school programs and getting prepared for the upcoming PARCC assessment. In addition, teachers recently held their classroom spelling bees, and the winners will compete on January 13th for the chance to participate in the District #111 Spelling Bee, held on January 22nd.
The ELL teachers will be conducting the ACCESS test for most of January for those students who
are in the ELL program. This means that ELL services will be suspended during this time. On
January 15th, the same week that ACCESS testing begins, Byrd School will be going on an allschool field trip to Stagg High School to see the play You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown performed by the Spotlight Youth Theater.
Please mark your calendar for the following dates as well. There will be no school on January 19th
in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The second quarter will end on January 21st.
Report cards will go home on the 23rd. On the final week of the month, there will be a Board
Meeting which will take place on the 28th.
In addition to our two Spirit Wear dress down days, which always take place on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month, we will be having “Dress Warm for Winter Day” on the 16th,. Students are encouraged to wear their warmest sweater, hat, mittens or gloves. The last
Friday of the month is Super Bowl Day since the Super Bowl will take
place on that following Sunday. Students are encouraged to wear their
favorite football team’s jersey, shirt or colors on that day.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful January and a great 2015!
Sincerely,
Mr. Martin
Principal
Spelling Bee
Winners
Students of the
Month
T h e f o l lo w i n g st u d e n t s
worked hard during the
m o nt h o f D e c e m b e r a n d w e r e
c h o se n a s S t u d e nt s o f t h e
M o nt h . T h e y h a v e p r o v e n t o
b e r o le m o d e l s f o r a l l
st u d e nt s a t B y r d S c h o o l .
DECEMBER
K-Ms. Valentino - Luis Camargo
K-Mrs. Motola - Quetzalli Pichardo-Aich
1st-Mrs. Erbs - Mashia Yasin
1st-Mrs. Vallianatos - Benson Jiang
2nd-Mrs. Sevedge - Gabriel Patino
2nd-Mrs. Amin - Priscilla Luna
3rd-Mrs. Turner - Joey Lawson
3rd-Mrs. O’Riordan - Samantha Paul
3rd-Mrs. Paulson - Alex Cahue
4th-Miss Russell - Kathryn Zawora
4th-Mrs. Abeja - Elizabeth Lunar
5th-Ms. Kijak - Julia Budz
5th-Ms. Shannon - Ashley Cano
5th/6th-Mrs. McCormick - Sofia Fuerte
6th-Mrs. Hammad - Nomar Carrillo
6th-Mr. Fialek - Valeria Sazo
Mrs. Catizone - Mateusz Kulach
Ms. Hernandez - Samuel Davalos
All Stars Dips Fundraiser
We would like to thank the Byrd students, parents, and staff that participated in the All Stars Dips fundraiser. We sold 337 dips giving us a total sales of $1,685.00. After expenses we had a profit of $802.00.
Every student, teacher, and staff member who participated received a raffle ticket for each dip package
sold or bought. Listed below are our top 11 raffle prize winners!
Chicago Bulls Basket #1: J azmin Ayala
Chicago Bulls Basket #2: Har on Abuelhija
Chicago Bears Basket: Amber Kasper
Chicago White Sox/Blackhawks Basket : Har on Abuelhija
Princess Collection – A Treasure of Tales book: Kaja Kesek
White Sox jersey – Youth medium: Peter Kolb
Blackhawks Duncan Keith bobble head and poster: Mr s. Skoda
Star Wars fleece blanket and pillow: Peter Kolb
Disney Frozen twin/full comforter: Isabela Jimenez
Blackhawks #88 Patrick Kane jersey – Youth X-Large: Cooper Munoz
8 week ice-staking classes at Southwest Ice Arena: Lucana Villanueva
Congratulations to all our winners. Thank you again for your support!
March 18th @ LJH 6:30-8:30 PM
Our fundraising shirts will be on sale soon, we are still waiting on a proof from our printer, but once it is finalized we will send out order forms and details.
If you haven’t done so yet, please register for our event and create your building team online at
https://www.stbaldricks.org/login/participate/11035/2015/ .
Click “I need to create an account” create a user name and fill in your personal information on the next
page. The last step is to choose your level of participation (Shavee, Volunteer or Barber) and click “I want to
create my own team and add it to this event” Please name your team after your building. All other volunteers and shavees from your building should click on the “I want to join and existing team button”
If you know of any businesses or individuals who would like to sponsor our event, please email John Gawel
([email protected]) with their contact information. We are offering a few levels of sponsorship, including
space for their logos on the back of our fundraising shirt.
For more information, please contact Mr. Walsh or Ms. Kijak.
V. I. P. s
VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Here are three ladies that most Byrd School families have already personally met or spoken with
on a regular basis. They are an important part of the daily comings and goings at our school, and
each adds her own personal touch to all that transpires.
Mrs. Johnson is our secretary who performs the normal secretarial duties of filing, answering the phone, greeting all parents,
staff, and children. Just imagine the memory she must have to
remember all those names! She also helps our school with numerous fundraisers by putting her multiple talents to use. In
addition to everything else, she acts like a banker when she
checks all the money that is collected from our three hundred
and thirty-eight children for field trips, parties etc.
Mrs. Noto is one of our office assistants. For the past fourteen
years, she has worked at Byrd School, and for nine of those
years, she has worked in the office. Besides being an enormous
help to Mrs. Johnson when she is busy with her duties, Mrs. Noto
takes care of the attendance for every child in this school. By the
way, please do not forget to call 708-499-3049 if your child will
be out for the day or she will be calling you. She also tallies and
collects money for school lunches or applies what has been deposited online for children’s lunches.
Mrs. Skoda is a new office helper that helps the other two ladies
with any of the above-mentioned duties when their responsibilities
call for assistance. She also compiles this newsletter every month,
works with after school activities, and posts the students of the
month from all classes.
There are many other numerous duties that these three women handle whenever they arise. Needless to say, they wear many hats and work as a team to make our school a pleasant and successful
place to learn. Enormous thanks to all three of them.
January Kindergarten News
Welcome back and Happy 2015! We hope everyone had a relaxing winter break with family
and friends.
We have been hard at work in Kindergarten; our word wall has grown quite large! We are
practicing by blending the letter sounds together in order to read the words. Keep on reviewing all upper and lowercase letters and letter sounds. We are continuing to work on identifying “Popcorn Words” (Sight Words). They are called “Popcorn Words” because they keep
“popping up” in stories that we are reading. We have been working on writing sentences too.
Remember, it is important to start a sentence with a capital letter, add spaces between our
words, and add correct punctuation at the end of the sentence.
In Math, we will continue to work on Addition. Our counting goal for our 3rd quarter mid-term and report card is
to count to 75. Remember to practice identifying and writing numbers to 20. Our end of the year counting goal is
to count to 100. Speaking of 100, our 100th Day of School is approaching. You will be receiving information
about this special day as it draws near. To help prepare your child, practice counting objects at home such as buttons, cheerios, and goldfish crackers to 100.
Please check your child’s folder each night for homework and remember to read at least 20 minutes
each day with your child. Now that we have cold winter weather, please make sure your child is
dressed appropriately for the weather. In addition, please make sure your child knows how to dress
him/herself properly. It takes a long time to venture out into the cold. When your child knows how
to get dressed on their own, it makes dismissal time go much faster and smoother. Please practice zipping coats, putting on gloves, mittens, hats, and scarves. If
your child wears boots to school, please make sure they have a regular pair of
gym shoes to change into too.
Congratulations to our December Students of the Month!
Luis Camargo for Ms. Valentino & Quetzalli Pichardo-Aich for Mrs. Motola.
Literacy
WELOME BACK! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday break. Up until now, all
literacy classes have been working on fiction stories and skills. They have also been
working very hard in the computer lab. The upper grades have been practicing their typing skills, and the lower grades have been practicing logging in and out of the computer
and learning to type. Starting in January, and continuing to the end of the year, all literacy classes will be focusing on reading informational text and non-fiction text features.
With the PARCC test right around the corner, they will also continue with practicing
their typing skills. In January, kindergarten through third grade will begin analyzing,
matching, and labeling informational text features. Fourth through sixth grade will focus on sequencing and summarizing informational text and learning about IT features. All grades will continue to work on computer and typing skills.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Catizone
Literacy Teacher -Byrd/Kennedy Schools
What’s New in First Grade?
Welcome back and a happy 2015 to you all. We are looking forward to the second half of the school year,
and improving (or progressing forward) in areas of math, such as addition and subtraction. We will also work on
word problem solving, where students should be circling important numbers, drawing pictures, and writing a number sentence in order to solve the word problem. Our “timed tests” are helping, but continue to review old timed
tests at home.
Our reading should be progressing as well. We should be sounding out words, and recalling high frequency
words which come from our reading series. Please continually talk to your child about what they are reading, and
ask questions such as character, setting, and plot, as this will help with story comprehension. It will also benefit
them to have them retell a story in parts using first, next, then, last. The semantic maps that come home weekly
can help you with these tasks as well.
There are many lists that go home weekly that can help assist your child with spelling. We are going to try
to send one of those lists home every Friday to give you a weekend jump-start! Thank you to those who are completing the monthly “Speller’s Choice” activities with your child. This is intended to assist all students on spelling
tests, and to make studying a bit more exciting on a daily basis prior to the Friday tests.
Thank you for all the support at home that you are doing with your child in order to progress their learning!
Student of the Month: Mashia Yasin (Mrs. Erbs) and Benson Jiang (Mrs. Vallianatos)
Miss Steele & Mrs. Vallianatos
Second Grade News
Happy New Year to all of our students and their families. We hope the winter break gave ample opportunities for
rest, relaxation and time with family. The New Year is a good time to replenish much needed school supplies.
New pencils and erasers are especially important to have on hand to ensure that your children are prepared for class
every day.
We would like to stress the importance of daily practice of addition and subtraction facts at home. These facts
must be mastered by the end of the school year. Please take time to help your child practice their math facts and
complete the “Math Fact Log” each month.
Please remember that Prairie Trails Public Library is a great resource for children’s books. If you notice that your
child is reading the same books repeatedly for a long period of time or if they have grown out of books at home,
please do not hesitate to take them to the library to expose them to a variety of new literature.
As always, thank you for your cooperation at home. It helps your child to be more successful in the classroom!
Student of the Month: Gabriel Patino (Mrs. Sevedge) and Priscilla Luna (Mrs. Amin)
Mrs. Sevedge
Mrs. Amin
THIRD GRADE NEWS
Welcome back students! Happy New Year and we hope all are staying warm!
This would be a great time to replenish school supplies. We have many students
asking to borrow pencils and crayons. Please ask your child if they need new
supplies!
Please continue to work with us by helping your child memorize their multiplication facts at home. Some students have mastered their facts through 9, and we are very proud of their hard work! Each child is tracking their progress on their “Dive Into
Multiplication” sheet located in the back of the classroom.
The end of Quarter 2 is Friday, January 16th and Report Cards will be coming home with your child the following Friday, January 23rd!
Our 2nd A.R. Reading Goal will also end on January 16th. Your child has been independently reading and taking A.R. Tests on
the computer in order to reach their goal. Please spend some time in the evening and read with your child!
In Math, we are currently working on perimeter and area. The students are working hard on measuring shapes and adding up
the sides to determine the perimeter. Keep working on those multiplication skills., they will be vital as we move into area.
In Reading, we continue to sharpen our fluency, comprehension and vocabulary skills with all the great stories in our Wonders
Series.
Before Winter Break, we completed our Economics Unit in Social Studies. The students worked very hard determining the
difference between wants and needs. The students also created a great Economics Picture Book!
In Science, we have just begun our Solar System Unit. We will begin our focus with learning some new vocabulary and the
planet order, then we will begin our Planet Study.
Stay warm,
Student of the Month:
Mrs. Paulson and Mrs. O’Riordan
3A: Alex Cahue and 3B: Samantha Paul
Room 8 January News
Welcome back everyone! I wish we could have come back to school with nicer weather, but the students still seem refreshed
and ready to work.
We will be getting back into the swing of things with a focus on preparation for the upcoming PARCC assessment this spring.
The students will continue with their usual routines; however, we will be adding in some time to focus on skills needed to
make the testing process run smoothly.
In Writing, we are beginning a new unit on writing instructional texts. The students will be creating a book with “how-to”
directions on topics they are familiar with. They are making such amazing progress with their writing skills and we are so
proud of their efforts.
In Science, we will begin a habitat unit studying various climates, locations, and ways of living throughout the world. The
students will take part in hands-on activities and lessons that will help build their knowledge and understanding of places outside of their environment.
Be warm, stay safe, and remember you can always reach me via email at
[email protected] or through the classroom Dojo site.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Turner, Mrs. Barrett, and Mrs. Perkins
Happy 2015 to our Byrd family from the 4th Grade!
We have been ringing in 2015 in fourth grade by setting goals and gearing up to prepare for the PARRC test. We
are ready to learn and continue mastering concepts and skills.
In Reading, we have been talking about how to make predictions before reading by using background knowledge
and through book walks. We have been focusing on cause and effect, story elements and characterization. We
have learned to identify genres, and understand the purpose for each one.
In Social Studies, we have been studying the Northeast region and have been learning about important landmarks,
geographical features and famous people of the region. We have learned about the Iroquois Confederacy and have
introduced our shared reading based on this topic to reinforce the information.
In Science, we have been learning about the water cycle and how it works and how it is unique!
In Math, we are learning about order of operations. Also, we are continuously using, practicing and incorporating
multiplication facts daily. It is so important to be reviewing facts each and every day as part of daily homework.
We are also continuing to add and subtract decimals as well.
Lastly, it’s that time of year to replenish any supplies that are needed at school. Also, please be sure your child
follows the uniform policy, with the cold weather we know they want to wear sweaters and sweatshirts. However,
the students must follow the uniform procedures. Start this New Year off on the right foot by reading nightly and
reviewing the content learned during the school day at home each night. Reinforcement is so beneficial. We wish
you a happy and healthy 2015!
Mrs. Abeja & Ms. Russell
Student of the month room 11- Elizabeth Lunar
Student of the month room 13- Kathryn Zawora
NEWS FROM FIFTH GRADE
Happy 2015! We hope everyone had a relaxing break! We are ready to kick off the New Year and dive right
into our work! We will start Unit 3 in our Reading series where we will be summarizing and identifying the
theme. We are very excited to begin D.A.R.E. this month! Detective Michelson will be visiting us on Thursdays
to educate us about drug prevention. It’s cold outside! Please send your students with proper winter gear! This
includes gloves and hat/hood/earmuffs. We will have our Spelling Bee the week we come back from break. The
All School Field Trip is Jan. 15. Remember to read for the Six Flags. Forms will go home first week in Jan.
Students of the month: (Shannon) Ashley Cano and (Kijak) Julia Budz
Ms. Shannon and Ms. Kijak
[email protected]
[email protected]
Just a quick note to let you know that as a result of the RED
t-shirt sales, the District donated a total of $879 to the USO.
Thank you to all you who placed an order from Byrd School.
Ms. Kijak
News from Room 17:
Congratulations to our December Student of the Month: Sofia
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In math, we are reviewing perimeter and area. The students will also be using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division to find missing factors, as well as, finding the rule for patterns and input/output charts.
In reading, our fifth graders have been reading expository texts. The sixth graders have been reading informational texts.
Both groups are working on context clues and author’s point of view.
In spelling this month, we will be working on Lessons 14- 17. Remember that students take a spelling test every Friday.
In grammar, we will be reviewing verbs and verb tenses. .
In writing, the students will be working on descriptive writing. The students are starting off by creating aliens and writing descriptive paragraphs to see if their classmate can create a similar alien based on their descriptions. The students
will then begin writing more lengthy and involved descriptive paragraphs.
We hope all of you had an enjoyable break. Hopefully, we are all well rested and rejuvenated to begin a successful new
year.
As always, please remember to check your child’s Take Home Folder and assignment books daily. Corrected papers should
be left at home. Also, it is important that your child is reading, studying spelling words, and practicing multiplication facts
every day.
Happy New Year and stay warm!
Mrs. McCormick and Ms. Affaneh
January 2015 Character Trait of the Month is: RESPECT
Q: What is RESPECT?
A: Respect is an important way of being kind and good to other people. Respect means not making fun of others. Respect means
thinking of how somebody else feels. Respect is treating another person the same way you’d want to be treated yourself!
Q: How do we show RESPECT?
A: There are lots of easy ways to show respect! You show respect when you are polite, saying things like “please”, “thank-you”,
“excuse me”, and “I’m sorry”. You show respect by appreciating people’s differences, like seeing someone as unique for the
outfits they wear, rather than thinking they’re weird for dressing differently. You also show respect by not making people feel
uncomfortable, like not pressuring another kid to play on the big slide if they say they’re scared of being so high up. You even
show respect when you lend a helping hand!
Q: Why is RESPECT important?
A: When we show respect towards others we help them to feel good about themselves; we also feel good about ourselves too!
Nobody likes to be disrespected (the opposite of respected), it hurts our feelings.
Q: Where can we show RESPECT towards others?
A: We can show respect for others EVERYWHERE! At home with out parents and siblings, at school with our teachers and
classmates, and in the community with our neighbors. Respect can be found and applied everywhere.
Q: Who can show RESPECT?
A: Everyone, especially YOU!
Some on-line games for primary (K-3rd grade students) on respecting the feelings of others:
http://pbskids.org/clifford/games/sweater.html
http://pbskids.org/games/feelings/
Some on-line games for intermediate (4th – 6th grade students) on respecting themselves and others:
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/games/index.html
Wishing all Byrd families a warm and *hopefully quick* winter season,
Ms. Hernandez
[email protected]
Sixth Grade! Happy 2015!
We hope everyone had an enjoyable winter break. Now, we have jumped into our typical Chicago winter; bitter cold and
snowy. Despite missing a couple of days to the weather, the learning goes on. Beginning the second half of 6th grade, your
child may feel excited and maybe a bit anxious to complete their final year at Byrd School. We have high expectations for
our 6th graders to show maturity and responsibility. We will be focusing on test taking skills and strategies that will assist
your child to score well on the PARCC test in March. PARCC is a test that is replacing the ISAT and it is computer generated. PARCC stand for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.
In ELA and Reading, we have weekly themes along with essential focus questions. We are on Unit 3 Week 3. Students have
their log in username and password for them to access the website, connected.mcgraw-hill.com at anytime. We have weekly
spelling study words, weekly vocabulary words, and weekly grammar lessons which focuses on parts of speech. Fridays we
have assessments on these areas. In Reading, we focus on genres, reading strategies, and skills that will help students comprehend and analyze passages. Accelerated Reader program is still encouraged, because it is part of your child’s reading
grade. They need to read books at their reading level, take, and pass the computerized quiz on the book. Students need to
achieve 10 points at 85% .
In Math, we concluded the Ratio/Proportion/Percent unit with a two part assessment. Please review this with your child. We
learned real world skills that are essential in life. Ask your child to explain how to calculate tip, tax, and discounts. Hopefully, your child had the opportunity to practice these skills during the holiday break with the great sales that were going on, or
have them practice in the near future. Our next math unit is Rational Numbers and Integers. We have been recognizing Integers are all around us and didn’t even know it. Have your child describe some of the situations we discussed that involve Integers. We will also be calculating basic operations with Integers, and graphing Integers on a coordinate grid.
In Science, we are reviewing the scientific process. The students should be familiar with the process, posing questions, developing a hypothesis, designing an experiment, collecting and interpreting data, and drawing conclusions. We have delved into
each process to expand their knowledge. The students have also participated in the "Scientific Method song", a parody of the
Addams Family song. The students seemed to enjoy it. We have also compared the differences of scientific theories and scientific laws. We will also try to answer the question of, "Why study science?"
In Social Studies, We had just begun studying about ancient Greece. This mountainous country on the sea produced a strong
and long lasting influence on our present day world. Many of the students are familiar with some of the Greek gods and goddesses from their related book readings. This extended chapter should be an exciting, educational adventure.
Students of the Month: Valeria Sazo from Mr. F ialek’s class and Nomar Carrillo from Mrs. Hammad’s class
LIBRARY NEWS!
Welcome back from winter break. I hope everyone had an enjoyable time. January is bringing the usual cold and snowy
weather that we expect in the winter.
This weather is certainly a good time to read. An extra incentive for students is a chance to earn a
ticket to Six Flags. Students who have read 6 hours by the deadline of Friday, February 20th will earn
a free ticket to Six Flags. A parent newsletter and reading logs have been sent home.
Ms. Durrant
Byrd Library
News from the New District Nurse!
New Year
New You
New Nurse
Happy New Year! Let me start by introducing myself. I am Patrice Williams, the new District Nurse! I have
been here since early November and have seen lots of you throughout the school halls as I made rounds. Thank
you for making me feel welcomed in a new environment! I look forward to serving your school health needs
throughout the year!
As we make goals and resolutions for the New Year, let’s be sure to include some new (and not so new) habits to
stay healthy this coming year:
•
Make sure you are keeping your hands clean to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of
germs to others. Washing your hands with warm water and soap is the most effective way to remove germs.
Wet hands and rub in soap for at least 20 seconds (sing Happy Birthday or your ABCs to pass the time). If
soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly remove germs on hands in some situations, but sanitizers
do not eliminate all types of germs. When available, soap and water are much more effective at killing germs.
•
When you are sick, stay home. Remember when you have vomiting, diarrhea, a persistent cough and/or fever
(to name a few), it is important that you stay home to prevent the spread of germs to others. While home,
make sure you get plenty of rest and hydration.
•
Make healthy eating choices. Choose more fruits and vegetables and less sugary, processed foods. Choose
milk over soda, and never skip breakfast.
•
Get plenty of sleep! According to the CDC, school-aged children should get at least 10 hours of sleep per
night. Sufficient sleep is increasingly being recognized as an essential aspect of health promotion and chronic
disease prevention.
•
Be active! Children and adolescents need a total of 60 minutes of physical activity every day. When outside,
remember to dress for the weather. Always zip your coat and don’t forget your hats, gloves and boots. In
extreme temperatures frostbite can occur in 5 minutes or less on dry, exposed skin.
•
Buckle up every age, every seat, every trip!
These are just a few tips to stay safe and healthy in the New Year!
Patrice Williams RN
District Nurse
The Speech Therapy Department
On December 4th and 5th, many of the Speech/Language
Pathologists in the Burbank School District went to a Speech
Conference. Many of the sessions emphasized the importance
of developing VOCABULARY. Vocabulary plays a critical
part in learning to read. Development of vocabulary helps students make sense of the words they
see by comparing them to the words they have heard. So how do children learn vocabulary: 1.
having conversations with adults; 2. listening to stories read to them by adults; 3. reading extensively on their own; and 4. having wide-ranging experiences - family outings, trips to museums
and zoos, family vacations, playing card and board games with family, etc. The more words children hear, the more words they can read. So if you want your child to increase his or her vocabulary, read aloud to your child each day, and also encourage them to read independently, daily.
An important thing to remember is that new words need to be used over and over again, so that
students learn them. Here is a list of vocabulary words for the month of January that you can talk
about and read about: holidays - New Year's Day, Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday; making New
Year's Resolutions; weather - bitter cold, blizzards, wind chill factor, icy streets; and clothing to
wear - warm jackets, soft mittens, tall boots, wool scarves, and snow pants. Remember, new words
need to be used over and over again, so that students learn them! Try to stay warm in January!
Donna Dalton – Speech/Language Pathologist
Mr. Gamino’s P.E. Classes
With the winter season upon us and the snow beginning to fall, I understand why students are wearing boots to school; however, on days they have P.E. they do need gym
shoes in order to participate in class. Days they wear boots to school, they can bring
gym shoes in a bag and they are allowed to change into them before class. Thank you.
Before 2014 came to an end, our 4th-6th graders finished up their Speedaway tournament. Congratulations to the Diamond Warriors of Mrs. Abeja’s 4th grade class, the Burbank Stars of Ms.
Kijak’s 5th grade class, and the Mooshrooms of Mrs. Hammad’s 6th grade class on winning the Toilet Bowl,
which is the Speedaway Championship for their grade level.
To begin the new year, all class levels will participate in team building activities and games. The 4th6 graders will begin their hockey unit and will be picking teams for the season very soon. K-3rd will be
working on our scooter unit which includes many different activities.
th
January 2015
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
1 No School 2
4
5 CLASSES RESUME
Cadet & Intermediate Band
Lunch Rehearsal
6
7
Cadet Band Lunch Rehearsal
Faculty Meeting
Recycling Club
3-4 Club Enrichment
Writer’s Workshop
1st/2nd/4-6th
After School
Boys Volleyball
11 12
Access Testing Begins
Cadet & Intermediate Band
Lunch Rehearsal
Recycling Club
Writer’s Workshop
1st/2nd/4-6th
2:45-3:30 pm
No After-School
Activities
Academic Support
14
Cadet Band Lunch Rehearsal
Band Lunch Rehearsal
After School
Academic Support
3-4 Club Enrichment
Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. Day - Observed
25 26
Cadet Band Lunch Rehearsal
After School
Academic Support
Seeds of Knowledge
Academic Support
Girls Volleyball
5-6 Club Enrichment
Market Day Orders Due
After School
Academic Support
5-6 Club Enrichment
ALL School Field Trip
to Stagg High School
Faculty Meeting
2:45-3:30 pm
No After-School
Activities
3-4 Club Enrichment
16
2nd Quarter End
17
Byrd Spirit Wear/
”Dress Warm for Winter Day”
Beginner Band Lunch
Rehearsal
Seeds of Knowledge
Girls Volleyball
22
Concert Band
Lunch Rehearsal
After School
23
24
Byrd Spirit Wear
Academic Support
Beginner Band Lunch
Rehearsal
5-6 Club Enrichment
Seeds of Knowledge
District Spelling Bee
Girls Volleyball
Report Cards Sent Home
Cadet Band Lunch Rehearsal
Recycling Club
After School
Writer’s Workshop
1st/2nd/4-6th
Academic Support
Boys Volleyball
After School
Parent/Teacher
Involvement Mtg
21
27
Cadet & Intermediate Band
Lunch Rehearsal
Beginner Band Lunch
Rehearsal
6:00 PM
20
NO
SCHOOL
Concert Band Lunch
Rehearsal
Market Day Pick Up
Boys Volleyball
18 19
9 Byrd Spirit Wear 10
Concert Band
Lunch Rehearsal
Memory Book Club
3
8
15
13
No School
Sat
3-4 Club Enrichment
28 Board Mtg 7pm
29
30
Band Lunch Rehearsal
Concert Band Lunch
Rehearsal
Byrd Spirit Wear/
Memory Book Club
After School
Academic Support
5-6 Club Enrichment
31
Super Bowl Dress
Down Day
Beginner Band Lunch
Rehearsal
Seeds of Knowledge
Girls Volleyball