NEWS FOR DECEMBER 2016 Winter is upon us and the holiday season is near. Teachers and support staff are planning special activities to enhance standards based lessons as we anticipate spring testing. The children are looking forward to their winter break and the excitement the holidays bring. As you make holiday plans it is a good idea to include a few academic activities. A visit to your local library for holiday books and periodicals is just one of many ways to incorporate reading. It is also a good time to organize and clean out school bags and homework areas. It’s a good time to discuss schedules and how to plan for the New Year. Consider the best way to budget time between school assignments and studying with extracurricular activities such as dance, playground sports, choir and youth groups. On page two of our newsletter you will see a copy of the Schneckenburger School Report Card issued by the Louisiana Department of Education. You will see our school performance is rated as a B again this year. During the 2013-2014 school year our school earned an A rating with a score of 105.5. Over the last two years the School Performance Score (SPS) dropped from 105.5 to 92.9 during the 2014-2015 school year and now to 87.2 for a loss of 18.3 points. While it is difficult to receive this information the news is not all bad. Schneckenburger was one of the 17 JPPSS high poverty schools that outperformed the state average. The Louisiana Dept. of Education defines high poverty schools as a school where 75% or more of the student population is economically disadvantaged. Our staff is committed to educating all students and to raising the SPS score. We continue to work daily to help each child reach their full academic potential. Efforts to help students maximize their instructional time include the use of Title 1 funds to provide our children with a computer lab and part time computer lab teacher in addition to three part time reading interventionists. The Jefferson Parish Public School System invested in programs such as I-Ready, Lexia, and Reading A to Z . Such programs provide students additional instructional time in math and language arts working at their individual level moving forward at their own pace. The JPPSS also invested in the Professional Learning Communities Model for all schools. This model supports teachers and paraeducators by providing job embedded staff development in an effort to better assess student progress and improve instruction. We continue to appreciate your support as we educate your children.

Dates to Remember . . . *Dec. 8 Second Grade Trip

*Dec. 9 Schneckettes at Rivertown, 7pm

*Dec. 10 Schneckettes at Lafreniere Park 6pm

*Dec. 13 & 14 Holiday Shop for students 9-1:00

*Dec. 15 Last day for Holiday Shopping 9-11AM

*Dec. 14 K-Kids Outing 9-12:30

*Dec. 20 PJ Day for Staff and Students

*Dec. 21 Last day of 2nd marking period, Red and Green Day, Winter Program 9:30 and class celebrations.

In this issue… P B I S

Spotlight Grade Level

News Dates to

Remember School

Performance Report Card

United Way

Please Vote December 10, 2016The Jefferson Parish Public School System will have a 4-mill property tax renewal on the December 10, 2016 ballot. This is a renewal only and will not increase the current tax rate. All funds are dedicated and must be used for Technology, Maintenance, and Capital Improvements. Please encourage family, friends, and coworkers to vote on Saturday, December 10. Early voting is November 26 to December 3. Along with our millage, the ballot will also include important Jefferson Parish government renewals for drainage infrastructure, road repairs, and recreational programs. Facts About This Renewal 4 mills will generate approximately $14.6 million per year for schools. (1 mill to

technology; 2 mills to capital projects; 1 mill to maintenance and improvements of existing facilities) This 4-mill renewal will not increase tax rates.

This covers only a portion of the budget for these three categories and must be supplemented with funds from additional sources. More than half of the budgets for the technology department and facility maintenance comes from other revenue streams or grants.

These funds are used to pay for technology purposes within the schools, including technical support for teachers, maintenance for laptop computers, telecommunications,

GRADE LEVEL ITEMSPre-K . . .December is a very exciting month for PreK. We are beginning our zoo unit and will be going on our annual zoo field trip on Friday, December 9, 2016. On December 20th, we will have a visit from Santa. Students will be allowed to wear pajamas. December 21st is our annual winter program. The children will be performing and would love to have family members come and watch the performance. Please make sure to check your child's folder for details about all of these activities. We are learning about the numeral 5 and the letters Jj, Kk, and Ll. We will end the month with a gingerbread man theme and lots of holiday crafts.

Kindergarten . . . December is here and Kindergarten is getting ready to travel the world. Our Schneckenberger kindergarten students will be traveling around the world to learn traditional holiday customs of many countries. We will visit Italy, Sweden, Holland, Mexico, Africa, and Israel. The students will explore how the people celebrate the holidays in their countries and what makes them unique to their country or how it relates to our holiday celebrations in the United States. We will begin to compare and contrast celebrations in different countries as well. The Kindergarten teachers would also like to send a huge “THANK YOU,” to all who helped with our Thanksgiving Feast. We could not have accomplished it without all of your support. Please be on the lookout for more information on

our Gingerbread House Craft Day. More information will be coming soon.

1st Grade . . .December is here and at the end of the month we will have reached the end of the 2nd nine weeks. This is the last month that we will be reading the all the tests aloud on test day. Special care will be taken to use words that the students have been given the skills to read. They should have mastered all the kindergarten sight words, short vowel words, long vowel patters with a “bossy” e, oo, ou, ow and the testing words like who, what, where, why, how. We will still read aloud the math assessments. This can be difficult for some students who rush through the tests so please remind your child to read carefully and raise their hand if they have questions. This month we will learn more decoding skills for reading such as vowel patterns oi and aw. We will continue to practice the writing process – brainstorming, draft, revise and edit, publish. They really understand the process and their ability to write complete sentences has greatly improved.

In Math, we will work on subtracting a single-digit numbers from a double-digit numbers. Before the winter break we will have our Grinch Day. This is one of the student’s favorite days of the year. If you can help on the 20th, please let your child’s teacher know. 2nd Grade . . . We trust everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It’s great to have some time to spend with family and reflect on the year so far. Here’s a look at what we’re up to for December. In math, students will complete their final unit on 2-digit computation. Students will be learning how to regroup in addition and decompose in subtraction. Both of these computation skills are key components to 2nd grade math success. In reading, we are continuing our unit about “A Drop Around the World.” Students will continue to read various literature about the United States and its geography. This unit also ties in with social studies. In Amplify, we will finish Unit 3: Kids Excel. Students are continuing to look at articles that teach about different kids and their accomplishments. Our grammar unit on verbs will also continue. Students will learn about past-tense verbs and the verb have. As we near the end of the month, students will take another look at combining sentences. We will also be doing opinion writing. Please continue to read nightly and practice math facts daily. We hope you all have a safe and fun Winter Break later this month.

3rd GradeThird grade hopes that everyone had a restful Thanksgiving holiday. The month of December is already here and we have so much to do. We will be finishing up our unit on trickster tales in reading and continue to practice writing opinion essays as well as work on essays where we compare and contrast. In math we have covered all of our multiplication facts through 12 and now we will use our knowledge of multiplication to help us find the area of regions. After working on area we will explore finding perimeter of regions. In social studies we will look at the Louisiana Purchase and reading timelines. We will also read about the different Native American tribes that once lived in Louisiana. In science we will explore static electricity. Please continue to monitor homework assignments and check folders for important notes and papers. Thank you for all that you do to help your child do their best each day.

4th Grade . . .4th grade hopes everyone enjoyed their break. We are back and ready to tackle the rest of the second nine weeks. The students were surprised with a visit from the Audubon ZOO Mobile which was an introduction to our animal life science unit. In science this unit will explore life cycles of animals, food chains and webs, ecosystems, and adaptations. In social studies the students will learn about the thirteen colonies and begin a unit on economics. Percy Jackson is a hit in reading class! Our unit on mythology will continue this month and the students will learn about expository writing in English. In math our goal is to dominate division. Students will learn the steps and strategies to solve long division equations, as well as solving division word problems. Please continue to study each study guide with your child and have them practice those math facts. We wish everyone a very happy holiday season!

5th Grade Prior to the Thanksgiving break, our 5th graders combined their literacy skills with their knowledge of Social Studies to conduct research, create a powerpoint slide show, and present information to their peers. We must say, they did a really impressive job. Students will continue to strengthen their literacy skills by working on a festive literary analysis project over the next few weeks. Science lessons have us examining living things and how they are classified while math lessons have our 5th graders continuing to practice skills with fractions. They have done a really great job learning to add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators, We were truly impressed by their progress. We are now moving on to learning how to multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers and we expect they will be just as successful. Please remember to check logs daily and make sure all assignments are completed.

Our Schneckettes are working very hard in preparation for our holiday performances. The girls will be performing in Kenner Heritage Park (Rivertown) at 7:00 pm on Friday, December 9th. Our second performance will be in Lafreniere Park at 6:00 pm on Saturday, December 10th

. We appreciate your support and hope to see you there!

UNITED WAY UPDATESYeah!!! We reached our goal of $1,500 and then some. Thanks for all of the support provided by our Schneckenburger

Safety Patrol NewsMany thanks to all the parents who help our morning arrival and afternoon dismissal run smoothly. Just a few reminders to help keep our students safe:

SCHNECKETTES

families. We earned the highest award given which is the Golden Apple Award. Most importantly we will help Louisiana families who are in need of United Way support. We hosted a variety of fundraising activities including pies in the face. Thanks to Mrs. Hightower - 2nd grade, Mrs. Howard -PreK, and Mrs. Dublin - 3rd grade for being good sports and receiving a pie in the face. We had a great deal of participation in Wild, Wacky, and Western Wear Day with the majority of students participating. We also sold lots of pickles and pretzels during the month of November. We also had an estimation jar fundraiser. Joseph Stovall in 4th grade submitted an estimate closest to the actual number of candy in the jar and took home the prize just before the Thanksgiving break. The final pickle andPretzel sale will take place Friday, Dec. 2. As always each item is sold for a cost of $1 each. Once again, thank for supporting United Way.By Ms. Dublin, United Way Facilitator

1. At arrival and dismissal, please pull forward to the first Safety Patrol member.

2. Parents should stay in their cars and let Safety Patrol members open and close car doors.

3. Safety Patrol members will carry snack bags to the kindergarten classrooms.

4. At 8:40 the tardy bell rings. All cars that arrive at or after 8:40 will be directed into the driveway. Parents of tardy students must sign them in at the office.

Thank you for all your cooperation.

Happy Holidays from Schneckenburger’s Safety Patrol and Coach Hall!

The Gift of Giving During these holiday times it is important to teach children the lesson of giving and generosity to others. Here are some ideas on how to develop that generosity in small children. Pre-school (ages 3-5) children are little sponges and watch everything we do. Developmentally, pre-schoolers are ready to understand the concept of sharing and are learning how to do things for themselves. Learning autonomy and initiative is key at this developmental stage. Look for ways to help your children practice becoming a cheerful giver on their own.

1. Model generosity by being kind and generous to those in need. For example, keep granola bars in your car or bag to give out to the homeless, or take a meal to a sick neighbor.

2. Talk about generosity and point out when you see others being generous. “Oh, look how Jennifer is sharing her toys. How generous of her.

3. Practice giving by having your child select, wrap, and give gifts when there is a party or celebration. 4. Practice hospitality by welcoming others into your home. Kids get to practice sharing their space and their

toys with others.5. Don’t force generosity or giving, which could backfire. Instead, give positive reinforcement when you see

your child sharing, giving, or being generous. Use “I statements” to help children build awareness about how their behavior impacts others. For example, “When I saw you sharing your favorite snack with your friend,

that made me feel so happy.” It can also work when addressing negative behavior. “When you hit your sister, that hurt my heart.”

School age (ages 5-11) children learn how to be generous by practicing in their home and community. 1. Encourage generosity by giving your child an allowance (or have them earn the allowance by doing chores)

and have them keep the money in labeled jars: save, spend, and give.2. During the holiday season, consider “adopting” a family or child through an angel tree charity. This way

your child can help shop for someone else, instead of just focusing on what they want to receive.3. Make it their own. Have your children go through their toys and set aside the ones they don’t want to keep.

You can then have the kids go with you to donate the toys to a charity.4. Sponsor a child in a developing country and keep the photo on the refrigerator. Involve your child in the

relationship by reading and writing letters together. Learning about what life is like for children in developing countries helps put things in perspective.

5. Find age-appropriate volunteer opportunities that you can do together as a family, such as collecting winter coats for homeless shelters, cleaning up trash at a local park, or helping an elderly neighbor with yard work. By: Ms. Whal, Early Intervention Specialist

Mr. Isaac Joseph, SuperintendentMrs. Sandy Denalopis-Borsarge, School Board Member District 9 Mrs. Karen Bucher, Exec. Director Principal Performance

P B I S Spotlight: Just as this program seeks to reward students who exhibit good behavior and citizenship, our students continue to share good news regarding the adults who stand out at our school. Students are encouraged to jot a note or message sharing something special about a teacher or staff member. This month we would like to spotlight one of our second grade teachers, Mrs. Coates.

"Mrs. Coates is my favorite teacher because she was my first teacher at Schneckenburger. She was always fair and it was easy to learn from her." By Jalen Reed