News From Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Tuesday, 5/28   STAAR Scores home in folders
Thursday, 5/30  3rd gr Business Fair, 8:30-9:30; Understanding STAAR Score Reports, 5:30 pm Cafe; 2nd gr Performance, 6:30 pm
Friday, 5/31  PTO Meeting in CFI, 8:10; 3rd gr Business Fair, 8:30-9:30; 3rd gr Field Trip, 10:15; Last Day of Afterschool Events

Monday, 6/3  5th gr Regal Ranch
Tuesday, 6/4  5th gr Promotion Ceremony, Pershing Auditorium, 6:30 pm
Wednesday, 6/5  5th gr Fun Day; Zoe's Kitchen Art Show, 6:00-8:00 pm
Thursday, 6/6  Last Day of School, Dismissal at 3:15 pm


STAAR Scores
On Tuesday you will receive STAAR reading and math scores for 3rd and 4th graders, along with results for writing and science STAAR.  If your child retested in reading or math as a 5th graders, we do not have those scores yet, but expect them later this week.

I am so proud of the gains we made this year in STAAR performance, in both passing and advanced level performance.  If you are not sure how to read your STAAR scores, I will host a very short meeting on Thursday, 5/30 at 5:30 pm in the Cafe to help you understand what you are seeing.  This is not a time for specific questions about your child's individual scores.  Please schedule a meeting with your child's teacher for individual concerns.

Summer School
We will offer a summer program for students who have not met promotion standards set by the district and/or the state.  If your child qualifies for the program, you will receive a letter in the Tuesday folder tomorrow with the details.  Children who have not met promotion standards are required to successfully complete the summer program to be promoted to the next grade level, unless the ARD committee determined a different course of action. 

If you receive test scores, or summer program information that you don't understand, and have questions please contact your child's teacher to set up a time to meet and discuss your child's progress.

Zoe's Kitchen Art Show
Who has time to cook dinner this close to the end of school?
We were recently invited to display and sell art work at Zoe's Kitchen in the Village.  You are invited to the Roberts Art evening at Zoe's on Wednesday, June 5th between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm.  A portion of food sales that evening will go back to Roberts, so come have dinner as a community, or order take out, and take a look at the art on display that evening.

Thank you
Every year I am amazed by the number of parents who volunteer their time and talents to Roberts Elementary.  Some parents choose to tackle one or two events a year as a worker bee, and others take on the responsibility of major projects.  All gifts of time and talent are incredibly valuable, and make Roberts the wonderful place it is for your children.

The one volunteer post that really is a tremendous sacrifice is that of PTO President.  Every year I find myself just wonderstruck by the time and energy our PTO presidents give to our community.  Jennifer Thornton has given so much to this community this past year.  Please take time to thank her, give her a pat on the back, and encourage her to put her feet up this summer and smile about all she has accomplished this year.  Thank you Jennifer!

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Wednesday, 5/22  Portfolio Picnic, lunch or 5:30-7:00
Thursday, 5/23  Portfolio Picnic, lunch
Friday, 5/24  Kindergarten Promotion and Performance, 9:30 am; Portfolio Picnic, lunch

Monday, 5/27  Memorial Day Holiday
Thursday, 5/30  3rd Gr Business Fair, 9-10:00 am; 2nd gr Performance, 6:30 pm
Friday, 5/31  3rd gr Business Fair, 9-10:00 am; 3rd gr Field Trip, 10:15 am

What a Wonderful Week!

Teacher Appreciation Week was absolutely wonderful!  Thank you for the many treats and thoughtful words.  The teachers and I are always overwhelmed by the ways you show appreciation.

Specialties
I hope you had the opportunity to learn more about our after school offerings during our Art in the Park Fine Arts Night.  Did you have a chance to check out our robotics demonstration or watch the short films created by our students? 

We are always interested in your feedback on our specialty programs.  One of the things we have heard from students, parents and providers is that semester-long programs may be too long.  We are re-organizing our specialties into three sessions, each approximately 10 weeks long.  This change will allow us to offer more classes within unique areas.  We will continue to balance our offerings so that children have choices between academics, arts and athletics. 

You will have an opportunity to learn more about the offerings at Meet the Teacher during the Opportunity Fair.  You will not be able to register your child for classes that day.  You will find the registration form in the First Day Packet, and may return it completed on the first day of school.  All forms received during the registration period will be accepted.  We WILL NOT utilize first-come, first-served.  If a class has more interest than space, we will use a lottery to determine who will be registered. 

Teacher Requests 

As you may know, one of the District's core initiatives within the Strategic Direction is to ensure a highly effective teacher is in every classroom.  The Roberts Community is so incredibly lucky to have a campus full of highly effective teachers.  There is no teacher on our campus that struggles to offer sound instruction, and a well-developed structure of support exists for teachers new to our campus. 

With that in mind, please let me share with you my thoughts on the often pursued “teacher request”.  I strongly believe requesting teachers builds a culture of favored and disfavored teachers that is toxic to a school community.   Often these impressions of teacher effectiveness are anchored by false opinions and rumors.  We do not accept teacher requests.  I will continue to stand firm on that and request that you honor it as well.

So, how will we make class assignments?  The teachers and administration will work to build strong groups of children that make sense together.  We will consider personality, behavior, academics and social development.  After groups have been formed, I will assign those groups to teachers. 

If you would like to share special characteristics that should be considered, you are welcome to submit that in writing to me.  You may do that by email or by leaving a letter in the office for me to review.

Please let me thank you in advance for working within the system.  Your trust in our faculty is greatly appreciated.

Have a great week!

  

New From Mrs. Graves

Happy Mother's Day!

Upcoming This Week
Monday, 5/13 
Tuesday, 5/14  STAAR Retest; Kinder fieldtrips (Warner, Punch, Barnes and Miller)
Wednesday, 5/15  STAAR Retest; 2nd gr Field Trip; Baylor College of Medicine Academy Parent Info Meeting; 6:00 pm
Thursday, 5/16  Fine Arts Night, piano (6:00) and 4th gr performances (and more), 6:30 pm
Friday, 5/17  Kinder field trip (Bowman and Waterman)
Sunday, 5/19  Class of 2013 Reunion, Cafe, 2:00 pm

Monday, 5/20 
Tuesday, 5/21  Roberts Idol Tryouts, 3:30
Wednesday, 5/22  Portfolio Picnic, lunches & 5:30-7:00 pm;
Thursday, 5/23  Portfolio Picnic, lunches; Roberts Idol Try-Outs, 3:30 pm
Friday, 5/24  Kinder Promotion and Portfolio Picnic, 9:30-10:30; Portfolio Picnic, lunches

Teacher Appreciation Week
Your PTO does a tremendous job of planning so many wonderful surprises for our faculty and staff.  Teacher Appreciation Week is such a treat for all of us.  Please help me by taking a moment to share a few words of thanks with your child's teachers for everything they do for your child each day. 


Parent Information Meeting:
Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan
Wednesday, May 15, 6:00 pm Roberts Cafe
Want to learn more about the new middle school?  Meet the newly appointed principal, and find out why so many people are talking about this great new option affiliated with the Medical Center. 

Important Dates for 2013-14 School Year
Ready for summer or already planning for the return to school?  Either way, you will want to save the date for these important events as we kick off the new school year.

Thursday, August 22, 3:00 pm  Meet the Teacher and PTO Ice Cream Social
This is a great way to reconnect with friends after a long, fun summer.  Come by and meet your teacher and take care of all the details to get school started on the right foot.  You will be able to register as a volunteer, find out about our after school specialties, pay for lunches and much more...

Saturday, August 24, 9am-11am: Kindergarten Playdate
Help your little ones become acclamated with the campus, and maybe make a friend or two from their class before school even starts.  PTO reps, Kinder teachers and administrators will be on hand to answer any last minute questions that will make Monday go smoothly.

Monday, August 26, 8am
1st Day of School,and PTO parent welcome back coffee 8am-9:15am

Tuesday, September 10, 6:30 pm  Kinder-Grade 2 Curriculum Information Night
Wednesday, September 11, 6:30 pm  Grade 3-5 Curriculum Information Night
Undoubtedly one of the most important events for you to attend each year!  You will learn about the curriculum goals for the school year and so much more, including how to monitor your child's grades and how to access the class blog to stay in touch with what your child is learning.

News From Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Monday-Thursday, 5/6-5/9  Stanford Testing for Grades 1-5
Thursday, 5/9  SDMC Meeting, 3:30 pm
Saturday, 5/11  Name That Book 2014 List Announcement

Monday-Friday, 5/13-5/17  Teacher Appreciation Week
Tuesday, 5/14  5th Grade STAAR Math Retest
Wednesday, 5/15  5th Grade STAAR Reading Retest; 2nd Grade Fieldtrip
Thursday, 5/16  Art in the Park, Fine Arts Night featuring 4th grade recorders and various performance groups, 6:30 pm

Tuesday, 5/21  Roberts Idol Try-outs (5th gr only), 3:30 pm
Wednesday, 5/22  Portfolio Picnics, lunch period or 5:30-7:00 pm
Thursday, 5/23  Portfolio Picnic, lunch period; Roberts Idol Try-outs (5th gr only), 3:30 pm
Friday, 5/24  Kinder Promotion Ceremony, 9:30 am; Portfolio Picnic, lunch period; 5th gr Puberty Talk


Thanks for a great Carnival!
So many people turned out to set-up, run booths, enjoy the fun of carnival, and help with clean up!  Thank you so much for everyone's time and talents.  Big thanks go to Courtney Tardy, Kelly Wehrer and Anjum Khan. 


Stanford Testing
Stanford is a national, norm-referenced achievement test, measuring your child's performance relative to the performance of other children across the nation.  Stanford contains subtests on reading, math, science and social studies.  Testing will occur daily this week, from Monday through Thursday.  Most testing will conclude before lunch, but some classes will continue with a subtest after their scheduled lunch period.  Please check with your child's teacher if your child has an appointment scheduled this week.  We have only one day identified as a make-up day, and will not be able to make-up all sutests. 

Stanford is really not something that can be studied for in advance.  The content on the test is general knowledge and application of information.  Teachers have been working with your children to help them understand the format of testing.

Spotlight on IB:

What is Portfolio Picnic?

Parent-teacher conferences have been a standard practice, and the primary means of communication between school and home for decades.  Many educators, however, know the benefits of incorporating student-led conferences in that communication loop.  Student-led conferences are one way we can support students in developing ownership over their learning, and support the development of reflection as a learning practice. 

Teachers are preparing students for the student-led conferences that will be held through a Portfolio Picnic during the week of May 21st.  Each person has a role in the student-led conference.  For the student, the job is to lead the review and discussion of the work in their portfolio.  The parent’s role is to listen and review the work, and then participate in the reflection questions.  If you child gets stuck during the conference, here are a few questions that may help:

· Which pieces reflect one of your strengths?

· What challenges do you have in this subject?

· What are you most proud of?

This is also a time for students to set individualized learning goals for next year.  This is a time for parents to listen and coach, but not set goals for the student.

This year parents will have several options to accommodate your work schedule.  We are offering three days during the child’s lunch period, as well as Wednesday evening, May 22nd.  A special time has been set aside for Kinder students, just following the Kinder promotion ceremony on Friday, May 24th, allowing parents to attend the ceremony and the portfolio picnic at the same time. 

For both daytime and evening Portfolio Picnics, we invite you to bring a blanket and picnic meal to celebrate the conference.  It is a special time for your child, and I hope will be a special time for you.

  

Intent to Return

Every Spring we begin making plans for enrollment for the following school year.  Part of that process is asking you for information about your plans.  You should have received an Intent to Return through US mail just after Spring Break.  If you did not receive a form, or do not know where your form is, please contact Ms. Sones in the main office.

Please return the form as soon as possible.  If you plan on your child returning to Roberts for the 2013-14 school year, we must receive a new electric bill to verify your place of residence.  The guidelines for residency are included with the Intent to Return.  Please ensure you are providing accurate information.

Your Voice, Districtwide Survey

Last week you received a survey in your child's Tuesday folder.  That survey has a unique identifier number to ensure your survey is attributed to Roberts, and to ensure only one survey is completed for each family for each school.  If you have children that attend another HISD campus, you will also receive a survey for that campus. 

You are asked to complete the survey online with your assigned code, or complete the paper survey and return in the postage pad envelope.  We cannot accept your completed survey in the school office. 

Name That Book 2014 List Announcement

Saturday, May 11, 2013

10:00 a.m.

Barnes & Noble Westheimer Crossing -  7626 Westheimer

K-2 and 3-6,  Name That Book Lists for 2014 will be announced LIVE @ 10:00 AM

All students participating this year in Name That Book or Jr. Name That Book, or students interested in participating next year are invited to join Mrs. Graves on Saturday morning for the announcement.  All students who participated this year in reading days, book talks or after school team preparation are encouraged to wear your team shirt! 

Have a great week!