News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming This Week
Monday, 9/30
Tuesday, 10/1  5th Grade, Houston Food Bank; NTB Reading Day; Progress Reports Go Home
Wednesday, 10/2  Magnet Tour, 9:00 am
Thursday, 10/3  Fall Picture Day
Friday, 10/4  PTO Meeting, 8:10 am; NTB Reading Day

Monday, 10/7
Tuesday, 10/8  NTB Reading Day
Wednesday, 10/9
Thursday, 10/10
Friday, 10/11  NTB Reading Day; Family Camp Out (ticketed event)


eBooks
Has your child utilized our new eBook resources?  To access the eBook collection, use The Launching Pad link on the Roberts website, www.houstonisd.org/robertselem.  Use the eSEBCO link under Research.

ID: hisdroberts
PW: password
Student ID Number/Employee Number

How Does Attendance Impact School Funding?

Regular school attendance is critical.  Missing just 10% of a school year may make it more difficult to learn read.  I don’t want any child to miss important instruction.  But, as the State continues to reduce school funding, I wanted to take a minute to offer a quick explanation of how attendance impacts budget. 

The state sets a per pupil funding amount.  School funding is determined by multiplying the number of students by the average daily attendance, and the product is multiplied by the per pupil allocation.  Simply, we only get 97% of the funding we are entitled to, if we only have 97% in average daily attendance. 

So how much is each percentage point of average daily attendance worth?  One percentage point of the per pupil allocation is worth about $26,137.    Everyday counts in keeping every dollar we are due.

I ask you to partner with me in ensuring we get every dollar possible to provide your children with the educational programs they deserve.  Our attendance goal this school year is 98%. 

1% = $26,137

Spotlight on IB
What is a Transdisciplinary Program?

An excerpt from The Primary Years Programme: A basis for practice...

The PYP acknowledges the importance of particular subject areas: language; mathematics; social studies; science; arts; personal, social and physical education.

...However, the PYP also recognizes that educating students in a set of isolated subject areas, while necessary, is not sufficient.  Of equal importance is the need to acquire skills in context, and to explore content that is relevant to students and transcends the boundaries of the traditional subjects. “To be truly educated, a student must also make connections across the disciplines, discover ways to integrate the separate subjects, ultimately relate what they learn to life” (Boyer 1995: 82).  Ernest Boyer proposed that students explore a set of themes representing shared human experiences such as “Response to the Aesthetic” and “Membership in Groups”.  He referred to these as “Core Commonalities”.  In the PYP, this idea of human commonalities shares the transdisciplinary themes.  Each transdisciplinary theme is accompanied by the extended description that explains what students will be inquiring into under this theme. 

An excerpt from Developing a Transdisciplinary Programme of Inquiry…

The programme of inquiry is a matrix made up of the six transdisciplinary themes running vertically, and the age groups running horizontally.  Organizing the curriculum around the six transdisciplinary themes contextualizes the learning for students.  It enables them to experience a balance of subject-specific knowledge, concepts and skills in order to develop an understanding of the transdisciplinary themes.

The Six Transdisciplinary Themes

Who we are—An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.

 

Where we are in place and time—An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.

How the world works—An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of the scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

How we express ourselves– An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

How we organize ourselves– An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.

Sharing the planet– An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.