Fall Newsletter

STROUD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Challenge the Intellect and Witness the Exceptionalism
At Stroud Public Schools, we are proud of each of our buildings
and staffs. In this edition of Stroud Public School News we will
be focusing on Parkview Elementary.
Fall 2016
Parkview currently has three hundred eighty-seven students,
three custodians, seven paraprofessionals/teacher’s aids, nineteen
classroom teachers, seven specials teachers, four cafeteria
workers, and four in the administrative office. The
average class size is twenty students.
Contact Parkview at 119 W 10th Street * Stroud, OK 74079 *
Ph.: (918) 968-4711 * Fax: (918) 968-2622
The proposed new safe room at Parkview. This will also house the Pre-K classrooms.
Reading Specialist Jill McCracken works on a
DIBELS assessment.
DIBELS
The Dynamic Indicators of
Basic Early Literacy Skills,
or DIBELS, are a set of procedures
and measures designed
for use in identifying
those students with difficulty
in reading. These are short,
one minute checks on reading
levels that are scripted
and standardized. The State
of Oklahoma has mandated
that every student is to be
tested three times a year to
see if they are on the appropriate
reading level.
Parkview has chosen
DIBELS to check our students.

Page 2
STROUD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Phonics
Learning to read is one of the most fundamental parts of
education. At Parkview Elementary we use many different
tools to give our students a solid foundation for reading
success. Phonics are very important in learning how to understand
words and letter sounds.
Starting in Pre-K, our students use Zoo Phonics. Zoo
Phonics uses a whole brain approach to learning. Students
learn by hearing, seeing, speaking, moving, and touching.
Each lower case letter is represented by an animal. Each
animal/letter has a signal and a sound. It is very hands on
as each child does the signal/motion and sound when they
identify the animal. It is easily adaptable for different level
learners. Zoo Phonics also has nature cards about the different
animals also allows science instruction. We have the
entire Zoo Phonics Series for the Pre-K so we have lots of
different resources for our students.
The students that use Zoo Phonics are able to read simple
words by the end of Pre-K. Phonics are making a big difference
with our students’ reading skills. This year’s Third
Graders were the first in Stroud to use Zoo Phonics. Pre-K
teacher Amber Miller says, “I love the difference it is making
in our students and how it makes learning fun.”
Our First Grade students continue using Zoo Phonics, but
they also use Saxon Phonics. Our teachers felt that Zoo
Phonics just wasn’t in depth enough on the First Grade
level.
Saxon Phonics uses flash cards, signing, worksheets, and
SmartBoard activities. It is useful in spelling and reading.
It also aligns with our new reading series. First Grade
teacher Jenifer Dowdy said, “I wouldn’t teach this age
without it.” There has been a huge improvement in our students’
reading since we started using this.
Parents can help their children by reading to them and listening
to them read.

Page 3
ACCELERATED READER/STAR
Parkview parents may have noticed that your children
and their teachers are talking about AR instead
of Reading Counts this year. AR is a computer program
that helps students and teachers monitor student’s
independent reading practice. AR also goes
with our new reading series.
We are also using the related computer program
called STAR in both Reading and Math. STAR
starts each student on grade level. It is intuitive so if
a student is struggling with a question it will adjust
to an easier one. Likewise it knows if a question is
too easy for a student.
In Reading, STAR helps with book level suggestions.
In Math it helps to identify special deficiencies
so the teacher will know what they need to
work on with each student.
OTISS
OTISS, the Oklahoma Tiered Intervention System of
Support, is Oklahoma's intervention model for identifying
and addressing academic and behavioral difficulties
that interfere with PreK-12 student success.
Parkview Elementary is new to this process and is in
the beginning stages of getting everything set up.
The goal of OTISS is to provide help in Reading,
Math, Writing, and behavior. This is a program that
will address the needs of all students.
This year, Parkview is focusing on Reading in Grades
One through Three. This is the starting point.
Parkview’s interventions for each student are reviewed.
This is a data based decision, not emotion
based. For twenty minutes a day, regular school
stops. All students go to an intervention on missing
skills. If a student doesn’t have any missing skills,
they get to go to an enrichment.
OTISS is a process and Stroud Schools will be sharing
more information as we continue in this process.
Look for flyers to be sent home.
TUTORING
Tutoring is available at Parkview Elementary for all
at-risk students grades Kindergarten through Three.
It is offered to Grades Four and Five for those students
not proficient on the State Tests in Reading
and Math.
K-Three focuses on Reading and Parkview is working
on adding a Math program. Grades Four and
Five focus on Reading, Math, and homework. Tutoring
is offered to help these students come up to the
expected levels and to build confidence in Reading
and Math.
Tutoring is available to anyone interested by calling
or coming by Parkview Elementary.

Mrs. Livingstone’s students use Oreos to compete in the O.R.E.O challenge. Students
across the country stacked Oreos to see how tall they could make their towers.
Then they took a class average and submitted it to see how they stacked up.
The Pre-K classes tour the Stroud Fire Station
Mrs. Godwin’s class

Grandparent’s Day
Mrs. Pennock’s Kindergarten Cladss
Parkview supports the Stroud Tigers!

Page 6
STROUD PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Mrs. Smart’s class learns about longitude and latitude with the world in lights.
Ben Franklin visits with Parkview Fourth and FIfth Graders
explaining what his life was like in the 1700’s.
Fourth graders in the halls at
Parkview.
Students learned about different landforms by creating their own islands.

Page 7
Reading Fluency
Parkview recently held their annual Book Fair in the library.
Reading fluency is being able to read quickly, accurately
and with expression. It allows the readers
mind to concentrate on the meaning of the text, rather
than figuring out the words. At Parkview, we
use a research based technique called 'repeated readings'.
With Repeated readings, a student reads a selection
on their independent reading level five times for one
minute each reading. It's important that the student
is able to read the selection with very few mistakes
to improve fluency. Since Parkview began the use of
'repeated readings', we have seen a dramatic difference
in our students' fluency scores when they do
their daily homework.
It is very important that parents do the 'repeated
readings' each evening to allow their child the practice
necessary to improve fluency. Some parents
express concern that comprehension is not part of
this exercise. Parkview teaches and practices lots of
comprehension skills and strategies. This is only one
small part of our entire reading program. It is just an
easy, quick way for parents to give their children a
big step towards fluent reading. An additional hint
for parents is to tell your child that fluent reading IS
NOT a reading race and it IS NOT robot reading.
Fluent reading IS like telling a story.
Families enjoyed shopping at the Book Fair along with having
Breakfast With Someone Special.

Page 8
WONDERS
LEXIA
Parkview Elementary adopted a new reading series
this year. It is called Wonders and is published by
McGraw Hill.
Wonders is more challenging than the previous reading
series. It is also more up to date. A lot of the series
is web-based with many on-line resources.
Every grade has three leveled readers, a workbook,
and a close reading companion. The two main reading
books are the Key and the Lock.
The Key stresses basic skills through vocabulary,
essential questions, comprehension strategy, comprehension
skill, and different types of genres. Writing
skills are also stressed. All of these skills are carried
through the unit.
The Lock provides more access to literature which
continues the skills from the Key with comprehension
being the major focus. All stories in the Lock
are Accelerated Reader testable.
Lexia is a Pre-K through Fifth Grade literacy program.
It is designed to be built around the individual
needs of each student. This is done by the students
working independently on-line. Teachers are able to
get real-time data on each of their students along
with a suggested lesson plan to help the student that
struggles.
Each Parkview student starts at their own appropriate
reading level, regardless of their grade level. For
example, if a Second Grader is proficient at reading
on a Fourth Grade level, that is where they will start.
Reading Specialist, Jill McCracken, says we have
noticed more students are able to take more words
into sentences.
Parents can help their students by reading aloud to
them and listening to their children read to them.
Lexia can be accessed at home with an Internet connection.