Skinner Road School Newsletter - Vernon Public Schools

Skinner Road School Newsletter
December 2012
Volume 1, Issue 4
Kristie Bourdoulous, Principal
Principal’s News
Upcoming Events
Grade 3 Cardio Club
December 17, 3:20-4:00
Grade 1 Games Galore
December 18, 3:20-4:00
Walk to School Day
December 19, AM
RHS Carolers at SRS
December 19, 9:00
December Dash
December 20, 3:15-4:00
PBIS Student Assembly
Students Wear SRS T-shirts
December 21
Full Day of School
Friday, December 21
Winter Break
December 24 - January 1
School Resumes
Wednesday, January 2
Helmets Make a
Great Gift!
Skinner Road School has
bike helmets for sale
for $8.00! We have
helmets for young
children, elementary
students, and adults.
Mrs. Manfre keeps them
in the Nurse's Office.
Skinner Road School has been a very
busy place over the past weeks. Each
day, I observe students actively engaged
in learning, showing STAR behavior, and
attending one of our many after school
events or activities hosted here at SRS.
It is hard to believe, but we have
already closed our first trimester,
distributed report cards, and met with
parents during conference dates. We
enjoyed seeing so many of you at our
most recent events and appreciate your
show of support for our students.
This month, our PBIS Assembly will
focus on being TRUTHFUL. Being
truthful is an important character trait
and is the foundation of being a good
citizen. Being truthful, as an
elementary school student, is not
always as easy as it seems. Daily,
students are faced with situations that
require them to decide if they will tell
the truth, stretch the truth, or even tell
a white lie. We work to encourage
students to tell the truth in all
Skinner Road School Gives Back!
I continue to be impressed by the
generosity and kindness of students
and staff at SRS! During the month
of November, we were able to
collect enough perishable and nonperishable
food items to donate 10
complete Thanksgiving Food Baskets
to local families.
Looking forward, if you and your
family are in need of breakfast or
lunch food items for the winter
break, please contact Mrs. Manfre or
Miss Bonacci at 860-870-6180 as
soon as possible.
situations and reward students for
adhering to the concept that honesty
is the best policy. We look forward
to the presentation on truthfulness
currently being prepared by our
fourth grade students and teachers.
Our assembly is scheduled for Friday,
December 21, 2012. Please remind
your children to wear their SRS t-
shirts.
Winter break will provide
students and teachers with the time
they need to refresh, rejuvenate,
and re-invigorate. During this time
off, we encourage students to stay
active, enjoy their down time, and
read, read, read. All students can
benefit from reading daily - and this
will help them stay on track for the
important work they will conquer in
January!
Sincerely,
Kristie Bourdoulous

SRS Page Newsletter 2
SRS Newsletter Page 2
Superintendent's Awards...
Each year, Dr. Mary Conway honors two students from
each school for the Connecticut Association of Public
School Superintendents (CAPSS) Awards. Student
candidates exemplified academic prowess, student
leadership, and have been actively involved in
community service. Students and their families were
honored by Dr. Conway at Rockville High School on
Tuesday, November 13, 2012. This year, Jordan
Aeschlimann and Joe Chatterton, grade 5, were
recognized for their achievements. Congratulations to
Jordan, Joe, and their families!
Autism Speaks...
On October 13, 2012, forty-two Skinner Road
School students ran the Hartford Marathon as part
of a relay with their teachers, families, friends, and
SRS alumni. In addition to putting in a lot of time
and energy into training for the race, students also
raised money to help their community. This year,
the SRS Marathoners raised $1,345 for Autism
Speaks. This organization funds research into the
causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for
autism; works to increase awareness of autism
spectrum disorders; and advocates for the needs
of individuals with autism and their families. Thank
you to all of the runners and their families for
making this great event possible!
SRS Dental Clinic...
Keeping teeth healthy - helps keep kids healthy. We
were so fortunate to have the Dental Hygienist from
East Hartford Community Healthcare spend a week
at SRS in November. She examined and cleaned the
teeth of 29 students. She taught each of the
students how to take care of their teeth as she
worked with them. They loved their new
toothbrushes, toothpaste and pencils! If you would
like your child to be checked when they return in
May, please contact me, Judi Manfre, R.N. at 860
870-6185
SRS Fall Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessment Results
Please note, teachers are now using word-per-minute reading rate to help determine proficiency. This
new criteria provides our staff with information regarding your child’s reading fluency. Please remember
to have your child read at home each night and we will continue to fine tune our reading instructional
practices. We look forward to seeing an increase in reading achievement scores in the winter!
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
% At/Above Grade Level
% Below Grade Level

PTO News
Thank you to all of the families that joined us in the SRS Family Scavenger Hunt on
November 17th. This was a fun event to promote family togetherness and exercise.
Each participating family brought non perishable food items for the local food bank.
A HUGE thank you goes out to the local merchants who graciously donated prizes to
the top winning families! Jumping Jonnies donated a punch card for 6 free jumps.
Jessica Foster, owner of Beyond Dance, donated 6 free Zumba classes. Stop and Shop
donated a $20 gift card. The Indian Valley Family YMCA donated a free session of
swim lessons, worth a value of $99. Fun was had by all who attended!!
Family Craft Night by SRS PTO was a big success. This event
was well attended and the children were able to create many
works of art. These hand- made crafts make for great gifts and
lasting memories. Thank you to Kristin McCauley and Dawn Prucker
for hosting this popular event!
PTO Meeting!
Skinner Road School
Thursday,
January 10th at
6:30pm in the
Library
The Scholastic Book Fair was visited by each class on December 11th and 12th. The
children enjoy looking around and selecting books to purchase. It is great to see their
enthusiasm for reading!! Thank you to the many volunteers that it takes to host such
an event at the school. A special thank you goes out to Mrs. Palozej for setting up the
books and displays. Another special thank you goes out to Jen Anderson for being the
Chair person for this event and SRS fundraiser!
SRS PTO would like to wish all families and staff a very happy and healthy holiday
season. We look forward to a fun filled 2013!!
The current Box Top collection total since the beginning of September is over $750!!
This is outstanding!!
Please remember to ask your friends and family to save their Box Tops for SRS.
Also, your friends, family and yourself can log onto www.boxtops4education.com and
earn money for our school in October by watching a short video from Progresso,
completing a short survey or playing the cool games!!

In Motion - News from Mr. Uthgenannt
December Dash
On Thursday, December 20 from 3:15 to 4:00PM December Dash will keep students in Grades
1 and 2 in motion. This program will include the famous magic paper race, 5 minute jogging
challenge, and relays. Stay tuned for more details.
Jump Rope for Heart
A reminder to parents that students will "jump on the scene" at our annual Jump Rope For
Heart event. Grades 3-5 will jump on Tuesday January 29 from 3:20 to 4:30PM and Grades K-
2 will jump on Wednesday January 30 from 3:20 to 4:15PM. Details will be handed out to
students the first week of January.
News from the Art Room – Mrs. Gottier
Behavior Expectations in Art- The behavior expectations in Art are consistent with the STAR
rules used throughout the school. In addition, each class earns a score for their behavior when
they come to Art. The goal for your child is that he or she should act in a way that will help
his or her class earn a “5”. At the end of each Art period the class’ score is written on a chart
by the door and reported to the classroom teacher. This scoring system helps students to
know whether or not their class is meeting behavior expectations.
For Trimester 1 we congratulate Mrs. Clark’s Grade 3 class and Miss Everett’s Grade 5 class
for having the highest average score for behavior in Art. We also congratulate the following
classes for coming in second place: Mrs. Brown’s class (Grade 1), Mrs. Vega’s class (Grade 4),
Mrs. Gryzysiewicz’s class (Grade 2), Mrs. Spencer’s class (Grade 5), Mrs. Carlson’s class (Grade
2), and Mrs. Duell’s class (Grade 4). Encourage your child to earn a “5” in Art. As I tell my
students, they need to be meeting my behavior expectations so that I can trust them with fun
but messy materials like paint and clay.
This month students in first grade are learning about different lines. They are able to identify
and use lines such as zigzag, curved, spiral, dotted, dashed, looped, and straight. Second
grade is studying color families. They are learning to sort colors into groups such as warm,
cool, neutral, primary, secondary, neon, and pastel. After creating two abstract paintings
that use two different color families they will weave their paintings into one artwork. Third
grade students are creating expressive self-portraits. After looking at different artworks that
use color to show mood the students will paint their self-portrait with expressive colors.
Fourth grade has begun the second lesson in their Mexican Folk Art unit. They are learning
about Tinware and will be using aluminum to create a metal carving in that Mexican style.
Fifth grade has just begun mask making. They will be making three-dimensional masks using
plaster gauze. Each student will choose a theme and expression for their work. I hope you
enjoy the winter break; it would be a great time for your children to make some art at home!
Regards,
Mrs. Gottier

Hurricane Sandy Relief...
Skinner Road School
90 Skinner Road
Vernon, CT 06066
Office Phone:
(860) 870-6180
Nurse Phone:
(860) 870-6185
Fax:
(860) 870-6187
E-mail:
Kristie.Bourdoulous@vernonct.org
Last month, the Skinner Road School
Student Council collected clothes, books,
and toys to be given to families who
were affected by Hurricane Sandy. This
idea was generated by our students and
we are proud of their dedication to the
project. The students collected so many
items that the Salvation Army had to
send a box truck to collect the items!
Fifth graders Amy Nguyen and Jenna
Rice were the Captains of this project!
Lost & Found
Since September, we have found many
articles of clothing that have been left
behind. There are beautiful items in our
bins. The Lost and Found tables will be
set up across from the office during
conferences and through December.
Please remember to check the table
when you are here.
Visit our new
website:
www.vernonpublicschools.org
Vernon Public Schools Mission Statement
The Vernon Public Schools, in partnership with family and community, is
committed to provide a quality education, with high expectations, in a
safe environment where all students can become independent learners
and productive contributors to society.
Superintendent of Schools - Dr. Mary Conway
Assistant Superintendent - Deborah Murasso
Director of Pupil Personnel - Patricia Buell
Vernon Public Schools
Central Administration Office
30 Park Street, PO Box 600
Vernon, CT 06066
(860) 870-6000
www.vernonpublicschools.org