News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Monday, 5/26  Inclement Weather Make-up Day (Required Attendance); Roberts Idol Practice, 1:30 pm
Tuesday, 5/27  5th gr Promotion Ceremony, 6:30 p.m. Pershing Middle School Auditorium;
Wednesday, 5/28  5th gr Regal Ranch Trip; 4th gr Greek Festival; Kinder Piano Recital, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, 5/29  LAST DAY OF SCHOOL; Roberts Idol, 8:15 a.m.; Year End Class Parties


Save the Dates!
Thursday, 8/21
2:30  New Parent Orientation
3:00 - 4:00  Meet the Teacher
4:00 - 5:00  Ice Cream Social and Opportunity Fair

Monday, 8/25  First Day of School!

It's a Big List of Aladdin THANK YOUs...

• 5th graders, who put so much hard work and passion into preparing for the show;
• Esther Pastore, Anjum Khan, Chandra De, Debra Balthazar, Tanya Zeiger, Ms. Savarese, Mary Murrey, PJ Oran and countless other moms who helped make costumes;
• PADRES, who moved us into and out of Hamman Hall; 
• Lamar HS Theatre Department, who served as technical advisors, as we began planning for the show;
• Lamar HS Photography and Journalism students who created our show program;
• Mr. Campbell, our master of sound;
• Our 5th grade teachers;
• Ms. Ballard, who painted sets, helped with costumes, managed shopping lists, arranged and rearranged schedules for rehearsal, and too many other things to mention;
• Ms. Walton, who kept EVERYTHING ELSE afloat on campus; 
• Pat Corte, Corte Enterprises, our Corporate Partner, for designing and building our set; and last but not least,
• Young Audiences Houston, our Arts Partner, who secures experts in the field who not only cherish the arts, but who also know the value of providing top notch arts education for children.

STAAR Scores
Student score reports from recent STAAR administrations will be in this week's Tuesday folder.  The score report will provide information about performance and growth from your child's STAAR score last year.  Please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher if you have questions after receiving your child's report.  (They will not be available before Tuesday.)


Thank you, Courtney Tardy!
Please join me in thanking Courtney Tardy for serving as our PTO President this past year.  You can't imagine the number of emails, phone calls, text messages, meetings and events our PTO Presidents manage, and Courtney has done that with grace.  She has given a tremendous amount of time and talent to align our resources to make Roberts great! Make sure you say thank you when you see her.


Have a great summer!  Stay safe, and make time for reading!

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Monday, May 19-Thursday, May 22  Aladdin, Jr. Tech Week
Monday, May 19  Portfolio Picnic gr 1-5 (lunch times); Aladdin Rehearsal
Tuesday, May 20  Portfolio Picnic gr 1-5 (lunch times and 5:30-6:30 p.m.); Aladdin Rehearsal
Wednesday, May 21  Portfolio Picnic gr 1-5 (lunch times); 3rd gr Business Fair, 8:30-9:30 a.m.; Aladdin Rehearsal
Thursday, May 22  Aladdin Dress Rehearsal School Show, gr 2-4, 1:30 p.m.; Aladdin, Jr., 6:30, Hamman Hall at Rice University (tickets required); LAST DAY FOR AFTER SCHOOL CARE & SPECIALTIES
Friday, May 23  Memorial Day Flag Ceremony, 7:45 a.m.; 3rd gr Business Fair, 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Monday, May 26  Inclement Weather Make-up Day (Please make every effort to attend school)

Portfolio Picnic

We look forward to having you join us for a student-led conference with your child.  You may choose to come for lunch on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, or if it is more convenient, come for dinner on Tuesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m.  Bring a picnic blanket and a meal to share while your child shares his or her portfolio.  If you have not let your child's teacher know when you are coming, please do so immediately.  Teachers and students have been preparing for this and are so excited to share this year's learning.

Memorial Day

Please remember that Monday, May 26 is a required school day. Students who are not in attendance on 5/26 will receive an unexcused absence.  The school will be be held accountable for attendance on that day, and our budget for the 2014-15 school year will be reduced if our attendance rate drops.

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
Monday, May 12  Rising 5th gr Parent Mtg, 8:10 a.m.; Aladdin Jr General Tickets Sales begins at 8:30 a.m.; Roberts Idol Auditions - Performers (5th gr only)
Tuesday, May 13  5th gr STAAR Math Re-Test; 3rd gr Field Trip; 2nd gr Field Trip; Zoe's Kitchen Art Show & Dinner, 5:30-8:00
Wednesday, May 14  5th gr STAAR Reading Re-Test;
Thursday, May 15  Student Coalition Meeting, 11:15 a.m.; SDMC Meeting, 3:30 p.m.; Kinder Portfolio Picnic, 5:00; Kinder Performance and Promotion Ceremony, 6:00 p.m.
Friday, May 16  Roberts Idol Final Call Backs
Saturday, May 17  Arty Party School Carnival, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Monday, May 19-Thursday, May 22  Aladdin, Jr. Tech Week
Monday, May 19  Portfolio Picnic gr 1-5 (lunch times); Aladdin Rehearsal
Tuesday, May 20  Portfolio Picnic gr 1-5 (lunch times and 5:30-6:30 p.m.); Aladdin Rehearsal
Wednesday, May 21  Portfolio Picnic gr 1-5 (lunch times); 3rd gr Business Fair, 8:30-9:30 a.m.; Aladdin Rehearsal
Thursday, May 22  Aladdin Dress Rehearsal School Show, gr 2-4, 1:30 p.m.; Aladdin, Jr., 6:30, Hamman Hall at Rice University (tickets required); LAST DAY FOR AFTER SCHOOL CARE & SPECIALTIES
Friday, May 23  Memorial Day Flag Ceremony, 7:45 a.m.; 3rd gr Business Fair, 8:30-9:30 a.m.

Monday, May 26  Inclement Weather Make-up Day (Please make every effort to attend school)

Aladdin Ticket Sales

Beginning tomorrow morning, Monday, 5/12, tickets for the 5th grade production of Aladdin, Jr. will go on sale to the full community.  You may purchase tickets to the show at the Reception Office beginning at 8:30 a.m.  We expect this show to sell out, and will not have tickets available at the door.  

Arty Party Carnival Volunteers

Have you signed up yet to help at the school carnival on Saturday?  We still need help at classroom booths, so when you hear from your room parent, a grand ole "YES!" will be music to the ears.  

Big Thanks!

Thank you for taking time last week to show your appreciation for our faculty, staff and administration. Our work is quite rewarding, but the little extras sure are nice!


Your Voice Survey
Don't forget to complete the District-wide school survey.  We need your help to increase our participation rate from last year!

News from Mrs. Graves

Upcoming Events
May 5-9  Stanford Testing; Teacher Appreciation Week

Monday, May 5  Stanford Testing; Roberts Idol Host Auditions (5th gr only)
Tuesday, May 6  Stanford Testing
Wednesday, May 7  Stanford Testing; Roberts Idol Auditions - Performers (5th gr only)
Thursday, May 8   Stanford Testing; Fine Arts Night
Friday, May 9  Stanford Testing; Kinder Field Trip (Bowman, Waterman, Shum & May)

Monday, May 12  Rising 5th gr Parent Mtg; Aladdin Jr General Tickets Sales begins at 8:30 a.m.; Roberts Idol Auditions - Performers (5th gr only)
Tuesday, May 13  5th gr STAAR Math Re-Test; 3rd gr Field Trip; 2nd gr Field Trip; Zoe's Kitchen Art Show & Dinner
Wednesday, May 14  5th gr STAAR Reading Re-Test;
Thursday, May 15  Student Coalition Meeting; SDMC Meeting, 3:30 p.m.; Kinder Portfolio Picnic, 5:00; Kinder Performance and Promotion Ceremony, 6:00 p.m.
Friday, May 16  Roberts Idol Final Call Backs
Saturday, May 17  Arty Party School Carnival, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Monday, May 19-Thursday, May 22  Aladdin, Jr. Tech Week


Stanford Testing
Testing begins Monday and continues all week for grades 1-5.  It is important that children get a good night sleep and have a good breakfast each morning.  Time for make-ups is extremely limited.  Please make sure your child arrives at school on time each day, and remains at school throughout the day.  Children arriving after announcements will not be allowed to enter the classroom until testing is completed for the day.  We will not be able to offer make-ups for missed subtests.

Your Voice Survey
You will find information in this week's Tuesday folder about the District-wide Your Voice survey.  Please take the time to offer your feedback on the work we are doing at Roberts.  Participation rate is one way the District measures our effectiveness, so please make you voice heard!

You will receive one survey for each school you have a child enrolled in this current school year.  The one you receive in the Tuesday folder is only related to Roberts Elementary.  Each survey has a code that can be used to complete the survey online, or you may complete the paper survey provided.  The unique code is to ensure you complete the survey only once for Roberts Elementary.  Please do not return the paper survey to school.  To maintain the integrity of the survey, we cannot accept it.

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 between now and the last day of school.  

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