Get involved!  Helping hands and new ideas are always needed.  If you would like to get involved but are not quite sure where to jump in, please contact PTA President Jody Tetlow, jodytetlow@gmail.com or 766-1695. 

How to Be an Effective Advocate

Advocate - the definition of "ad'vo'cate" (transitive verb and/or noun) is "somebody who acts or intercedes on behalf of another." In a general sense, teachers and staff advocate daily for students. They intercede as a teacher/coach to direct the student toward learning. They help students resolve conflicts that arise. The big difference between school and home is that we advocate for all children equally. We continually have to balance the needs of one student against the needs of another. Through this process, we develop the community that exists in each classroom.

Another way we advocate is in the area of academics. Teachers are always watching the progress of students, not just at testing time, but daily. We watch work completion, motivation, accuracy of information, ability to think and reason, and the students' ability to clearly communicate their understanding. Teachers use the observed behavior to differentiate instruction and adjust work requirements when necessary. We sometimes advocate for referrals for help outside the classroom when a student appears to need that intervention. You as parents are the #1 advocate for your child, and the teacher is right there alongside you as the #2 advocate.

Sometimes parents and teachers don't agree on what is best for your child. Communication is vital to sort out the needs and options for any interventions that might be needed, whether academic or social. In the PYP school, we use the Action Cycle, which leads us to Reflect (think about what is going on and what is currently happening) Choose (think of as many options as possible in coming to a resolution), and Act (decide on the best course of action). The Action Cycle can be used to resolve both simple and complex problems, and we welcome the conversation.

Finally, we also teach students to advocate for themselves, a very important learning and growing process. It is our goal to be a partner with you in developing self-directed life-long learners who have confidence in their ability as a student and a member of their community.

Part of PTA's primary mission is to act as a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child.Together we act as one of the largest voices comprised of more than five million members.We speak as parents, students, educators, school administrators, and community leaders with the vision of making every child's potential a reality.Along our path as advocates we need a few ingredients to achieve success. 

First, we need information.This means asking questions and staying up-to-date with the issues which affect our children.A few links are included below for your reference.Secondly, we need strong communication skills to articulate our questions and concerns on an ongoing basis.Our involvement and consistent communication at our schools and within our community helps us to build rapport.  By building relationships with those whose decisions directly impact our children we are able to deepen our sense of understanding along with our ability to communicate.Finally, we need perseverance.As parents we must not forget that we have the potential to be our child's strongest and greatest advocate.

To learn more about advocacy from a PTA Perspective visit:  http://scptamo.com/category/advocacy/

To learn more about Springfield Public Schools visit:  http://springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org/index.aspx

If you have not already done so, take a moment to sign up for the SPS newsletter. 

Legislator Look-Up:  http://www.house.mo.gov/default.aspx

Our legislators want to and need to hear from us.  They need to hear our personal experiences and our thoughtful insight.  Let them know your thoughts, questions, concerns, and celebrations.     

Important Photo Dates

We have made it to the Missouri PTA Honor Roll!  As of December 17^th Field PTA has 302 Members! 

Let's shoot for the gold and ensure that there is a PTA voice for each student at Field.  If you have not already joined PTA please do so today!  If you have any questions contact our Membership Chair, Jennifer Petty at (jencpetty@att.net ).  Individual memberships are 5.00 and business memberships are 8.00.  If you have already joined, consider signing up your business, friend, neighbor, or extended family member. 

Thank you Field for the outstanding work!

Feb. 7 - 3rd grade

Feb. 28 - 4th grade 

Barnes & Noble Book Fair

At our December 10 PTA General Membership meeting PTA allocated up to 1,000 to be spent for the purchase of new books for Field's library.  Ms. Davis our school librarian spent $921.16.  We made $917.16 from the event.  Therefore, we ended up spending $4.75 and now have over $900 worth of new books for Field students!

We have received our first Box Top check for 1,269.99!  Way to go Field!

Also, the results are in for the First Semester Box Tops and Campbell Labels Contest:

1st Place: Mrs. Wormington's 4th Grade Class (2,032)
2nd Place: Mrs. Brown's 4th Grade Class (2,019)
3rd Place: Kindergarten (525)

The individual Box Tops contest winner for the semester is Graham Mortimore of Mrs. Vann's third grade class.

The contest now starts over and every class has a shot at winning the class party for Box Tops and Campbell Soup labels so keep collecting! Also, please remember we give extra points to the class for neatly trimmed labels. Good Luck!  

The next collection will be Monday, February 7, 2011. 
 

Dawn Shields Photography, Metropolitan Bride Magazine,

and Sierra Moving/Sean Shields

heir support for the Field Backpack Program.
 
    

We greatly a

Correction: We would like to thank St. James Episcopalian Church for their support during Days of Sharing.