December 8, 2015
In This Issue
Principal's Post
Attendance
PBIS & Leader in Me
Reading and Writing at Home
Counselor's Corner
Specials Classes
PTO Plans
Improvement Plan Information
Nurse Mandie's News
Upcoming Dates

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Sweeny Families,

December is here and that means that our school year is almost half way over! We are spending our days at Sweeny learning and leading!

Please read the information in the newsletter so that you can stay up-to-date on the latest Sweeny happenings!

Principal's Post
Updates from Dr. Engelhart 
 

 

 

The last month has been an exciting month at Sweeny Elementary! We have been able to celebrate students and staff! Here are a few highlights from our month:

 

  • Spirit Winner: Mrs. Embretson's Class with 69% participation
  • Teacher of the Month: Mrs. Logsdon
  • Support Staff Member of the Month: Miss Kathryn Blakey
  • Top Attendance Class: Mrs. Taylor's Class 98.36%
  • Sweeny's Year to Date attendance is 95.94% just .06% short of our goal
  • Fifth grade students high the highest attendance for the month with 96.60%
  • 240 students participated in our Great 98 Party for November of Human Hungry Hippo
  • We named our new assistant principal...Mr. Chris Lockmiller
Thank you so much for sharing your children with me each day! It is such an honor to serve as elementary principal at Sweeny Elementary. Our families are the best in the area. I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season!

 
Attendance

Below is a breakdown of our grade level attendance for the month of November:
 
Kindergarten:  96.51%
First Grade:  95.73%
Second Grade:  95.89%
Third Grade:  95.18%
Fourth Grade:  95.72%
Fifth Grade 96.60%
Building YTD: 95.94%
 
Our December Great 98 Party will be a holiday craft. Please remember that this time of year our classroom teachers can always use hand sanitizer, Clorox Wipes, and Kleenex as they work to keep everyone healthy.

PBIS & Leader in Me

What is Leader in Me?

It is part of our school's vision to instill in our students high standards for leadership and responsible citizenship.  As we work to teach our students high expectations for learning behavior, we are also teaching students Stephen Covey's 7 Habits!  The Leader in Me is an approach to developing a culture of leadership in our schools and is based on the 7 Habits.  Developing a culture of leadership in our schools is about helping children be leaders of their own lives.  It helps them identify their unique talents and abilities and encourages them to make a positive difference in the world. Each month we focus on a different habit and students who show outstanding understanding and practice in that habit are recognized at our monthly assembly.  By teaching our students the 7 habits, we are fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility for their actions.  This goes right along with our PBIS R.O.A.R. Expectations!  

So far our students have learned the first 4 habits.  Please ask your students to tell you what they know!  
Habit 1:  Be Proactive
Habit 2:  Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3:  Put First Things First
Habit 4: Think Win-Win

 


 
               
Ideas for Reading and Writing at Home
Have you ever wondered why it's so important to find time for your child to read at home nightly? It's amazing what 20 minutes of reading a night will do! Click HERE to read more amazing tips on reading and writing at home from our amazing Reading Specialist Mrs. Hamilton and Mrs. Green.
 

Counselor's Corner
Presented by Mrs. Scott and Mrs. Gerwel

This month the Sweeny counselors have conducted classroom lessons on career exploration. All K-5 students have done some activities with thinking about what they will do when they grow up. 4th and 5th grade students took a personality test and explored the careers that fit with their personality!
In K-2, Mrs. Scott is finishing up her small groups and will start new ones after the holidays. In 3-5, Mrs. Gerwel will continue to work with her groups after the holidays for a few more weeks. 

After the holidays, the Sweeny students will be taking the middle of the year English-language Arts and Math Acuity test. K-2 students will be taking it January 5-15, and 3rd-5th grade students will take it Feb.8-19. 5th grade students will take the Science Acuity test Jan. 19-29.
 

Special Teachers' News

Physical Education: 
This month in Physical Education we have working on demonstrating cooperation with partners and small groups to accomplish a game objective.  We have been using scooters boards to play team games like Scooter Soccer.  Students have also been using the scooter boards to work on balance, coordination, and spatial awareness.  We now know several ways to ride the scooters and different exercises that can be performed on scooters to work on strengthening specific muscle groups.  Fifth grade students have continued to practice for their fitness tests and have been focusing on the Pacer, which tests cardiorespiratory endurance. 

Art:  Every class is currently making holiday ornaments. Additionally, we have a surprise in store. Shhhh....we have been making a gift for their teachers as well.    
  
Music: 
Thank you Sweeny community, faculty and staff for a wonderful concert!  Our 3rd-5th grade "Land of Opportunity" concert was a huge success thanks to everyone's support!  Be on the lookout for information about the Kindergarten-2nd grade concert coming up in May.  Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Library: 
During the month of November students had a wide range of activities in the library.  We began November discussing the Show Me Nominee - Macthbox Diary. The story was about a young girl and her grandfather's matchboxes full of tiny mementos from his past. Students were asked to think about something special in their lives and write about it. One fifth grade class create matchbox theaters. They were given supplies and watched a short video of a matchbox theater, but they had to figure out how to make it on their own.  Our second story was Memoirs of a Hamster. This story is written in the format of a diary. Students were asked to write a personal narrative about something special in their lives. The third week of November into Thanksgiving break, was a genius hour activity. Students were given a variety of activities to problem solve. One activity was a knot tying area. Students were given photos of knots and asked to create them. Another area was an electronic area. Here students were give electronic components and asked to make the light bulb light. Other areas included learning about the author's purpose, or reading informational texts. Students had a great time problem solving and lighting the light bulb. Hopefully we will have additional times in the future to problem solve some more and create new things. 



PTO Plans
What's happening with the Sweeny PTO?

Sweeny PTO partnered with Church 180 and was able to provide gifts for 14 Sweeny children this holiday season. We are very thankful for each of our staff and students who participated in this project and made this possible.

We are currently looking for families to assist with our Staff Appreciation Dinner on December 17th. If you are interested in helping, please contact us at the email address below.

 If you have questions, please contact [email protected].
Improvement Plan Information
How is Sweeny working to improve student achievement?

At Sweeny, we have been focusing on celebrating data at the classroom level. Here are some of our celebrations this month:
  • 100% of Mrs. Baker's Special Education learners are showing progress in ELA this quarter.
  • At the beginning of the year, 25% of Mrs. Buckner's Kindergarten students knew their letters (uppercase and lowercase). Currently 94% of Mrs. Buckner's Kindergarten students know their letters.
  • 100% of Mrs. Embretson's Kindergarten Class are able to write one simple sentence.
  • Mrs. Gilliland's 5th Grade Class had 78% growth on their pre-post Unit 4 Numeracy Test after RtI.
  • Mrs. Hunziker's 4th Grade Class had 25% growth on their pre-post numeracy test with a class average of 90%.
  • Mrs. Laub's 2nd Grade Class reached their attendance goal of ten days of perfect attendance for the entire class and was able to have their class celebration.
  • Mrs. Wilcox's 2nd grade class had 33% growth on their numeracy unit test. 
Nurse Mandie's News

Recess Reminders

Please remember to send coats, hats, and gloves to school with your child. Getting students up and moving in the fresh air can increase concentration and focus in the classroom, so if the windchill is 30 degrees or above, we will be going outside for recess.

Upcoming Dates

 

●        December 9-Sweeny Papa John's Night

●        December 10-Major Savor Pizza Celebration

●        December 18-Project Sweeny

●        December 22-2nd Quarter Ends

●        December 23-Winter Break Begins

●        January 4-Mr. Lockmiller begins at Sweeny

●        January 8- Grade cards go home

●        January 11-5:30 pm PTO Meeting
Thank you for sharing your child with us each day. Please contact us should you have any questions or concerns.
 
All for the Children,
 

Beth Engelhart, Ed.D
Sweeny Elementary Principal