morello park elementary school elementary - Martinez Unified ...

ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS
EAGLE READING PROGRAM
Eagle Reading is a school-wide reading incentive program. It is coordinated by parent volunteers and
sponsored by the PTA. Students and their parents keep track of the amount of time they read at home
and record it on a monthly calendar. Every grade level is expected to read at least four nights a week as
a regular part of the daily homework. When the monthly calendars are turned in at the end of the month,
students are recognized and they earn free books. Reading is the most important homework students do
and we expect each child to read or to be read to by a parent, at least 20 minutes a night.
MATH CHALLENGE PROGRAM
Math Challenge is a school-wide math enrichment program. There are six levels that students progress
through as they learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers. It is intended that students
master all six levels by the time they exit Morello Park in fifth grade. All six levels in the program are tied
to California mathematics content standards for each grade level. Each level has an animal name and
consists of four tests with corresponding time limits. Teachers administer the tests every two weeks and
parent volunteers correct and track student progress. Students must achieve 100% in order to move on
to the next test. There are practice tests on our school website
(http://www.martinez.k12.ca.us/schools/mpe/). When a student passes all four tests in a level, they
receive a certificate and move on to the next animal level. The final test in the Math Challenge is the
Eagle. It is a comprehensive test that includes several problems from each level. Students who pass the
Eagle test will be rewarded for their achievement in math with a commemorative Morello Park eagle!
600 WORD CHALLENGE PROGRAM
This program is intended to help students learn sight words and vocabulary words from our Language
Arts program. The goal of the 600 word challenge program is to reward your child’s success in the area
of reading. Students must memorize the 600 words, 100 at a time. They are given a list of 100 words to
study and memorize. When ready, they are tested by their teacher on the list they are working on.
Memorizing these words will improve your child’s speed, accuracy and comprehension in all areas of
reading. We believe all students can master the 600 words by the time they have completed the fifth
grade. The list of words can be found on our school website
(http://www.martinez.k12.ca.us/schools/mpe/) and are available to download for practice at home.
BUDDY DAY PROGRAM
This program addresses many of the social barriers that exist because of grade-level grouping. Students
typically have few opportunities to interact and develop caring friendships with older or younger children.
When they do interact, older children are not always kind and helpful to those who are younger and
smaller. Our Buddy program helps older children feel that it’s not only respectful but “cool” to be kind and
caring rather than tough and bossy to younger children.
Students are given a buddy partner in a different grade level. Several times throughout the year classes
“buddy up” and activities are planned for buddy partners to do together. The program lets children know
they are capable of showing care and building relationships with their buddy partner. It provides the
motivation for the students to create similar relationships with other children, family members, and adults
throughout the school community.
RUNNING CLUB
This is a PTA sponsored program designed to promote health and wellness in our students. Parent
volunteers supervise the grass field during the lunch period. Students are encouraged to walk or run laps
during lunch recess. They earn sticks each time they complete a lap and these are transferred into
miles. They earn plastic feet to put on a key chain as incentives to accumulate miles.
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