November 6, 2015
In This Issue
McCulloch Families,

Thank you for your attendance at parent teacher conferences!  Partnering with you is the best way to ensure that your child has a successful school experience.

Please take a moment to read the updates below so that you can stay up-to-date on everything going on in our building.

Principal's Post
Updates from Mrs. Golmen

Playground Renovation Updates

As many of you have seen, a lot of the work on our playground has been completed!  We are so happy with the new look that this has provided, and we know that our students are excited to get out and play.  

As a reminder, it will most likely be spring before we will have full use of the playground.  This will ensure that the sod has adequate time to take root and stabilize so that we can enjoy the playground for many years to come.  Throughout this process, students will be able to continue to use the new green space, blacktop, and our largest piece of playground equipment. 

Below you will find a list of items that have been completed and will be completed during the upcoming months.  

Completed:
  • Fencing altered to expand playground over to grassy area on the south side of the building.
  • Gates added to close off expanded playground to vehicle traffic.
  • Majority of rock/gravel removed
  • Sidewalk installed around perimeter of playground to serve as a walking trail
  • Topsoil and sod in areas previously covered with gravel
  • installation of temporary fencing to block off areas of the playground to allow sod to take root
Planned for installation in the coming months:
  • Installation of two canopies to create shaded areas 
  • replacement of basketball backboards
As we move forward, and the movement of the transportation facility is completed, we will also be relocating our parent drop-off/pick-up lanes to the back of the building.  This transition will take place immediately following winter break.  We will provide detailed information as we approach the month of December.  

We will continue to provide updates throughout the process.  Be sure to check us out on Facebook where we will be posting pictures of progress as it is made.  Again, thank you for your patience and understanding as we move forward in meeting the needs of our students. 

Nurse's Notes
Updates from Nurse Nancy

Winter Illness and Seasonal Flu Guidelines
       
We must all work together to prevent the spread of illness. Here are some tips to model and to teach children:
 
* Wash your hands frequently - still the best all-around infection control!
* Avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth - germs spread this way.
* When coughing, use the inside of your arm, or turn your head and cough       or sneeze into a disposable tissue and promptly dispose of the used 
    tissue. Wash your hands.
* Clean shared spaces, surfaces, desktops, keyboards, doorknobs.
* Avoid sharing things that go into the mouth, such as food, drinking cups,
    straws, utensils.
* Clean and sanitize or replace your child's water bottle every day.
* Replace toothbrushes frequently, especially after illness.
* Consider getting a flu shot - it is not too late!
* Practice healthy habits - get enough sleep, exercise, water and nutritious food.
* Avoid close contact with anyone who has a cold or the flu.
* Stay home from school or work if you are ill.
 
We urge you to keep children with symptoms of cold or flu at home to help prevent the spread of illness to others. You will find guidance below to help you decide if you should keep your children home from school.

Keep at home for rest and care if they have:
* Fever greater than 100 degrees. * Chills.
Frequent chest congestion - wet or croup-sounding cough.
* Excessive nasal congestion with frequent nose blowing.
PBIS
McCulloch is a PBIS School!  

PBIS Big Event!  
Our students worked hard during first quarter to earn their PBIS Big Event!  The theme for our first quarter event was Human Board Games!  Students participated in human sized games including Jenga and Hungry, Hungry Hippos.  It was a lot of fun!  Remember, students earn the Big Event by showing excellent R.O.A.R. Behavior and avoiding office referrals.  

Big Event Criteria:
  • 1st Quarter: Meets Classroom and Building Expectations and does not exceed 2 office discipline referrals.  
  • 2nd Quarter:  Meets Classroom and Building Expectations and does not exceed 1 office discipline referral.  
  • 3rd Quarter:  Meets Classroom and Building Expectations and does not exceed 1 office discipline referral.  
  • 4th Quarter:  Meets Classroom and Building Expectations and does not exceed 1 office discipline referral.  
Students meet classroom and building expectations by being Respectful, Outstanding Learners, Always Safe, and Responsible.  Our theme for the 2nd Quarter Big Event is "Winter Camp in Theater"!  


Literacy Lounge

TumbleBooks

TumbleBooks is a collection of animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they will love! TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.
http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/
Username:  republicschools
password:  books
Counselor's Corner
Updates from Mrs. Wilfong & Mrs. McClarnon, McCulloch Counselors

K-2nd Grade
For the month of November, K-2 counseling lessons will feature stories that introduce feelings, self-concept, preventing bullying behaviors, and discuss personal responsibility in relationships. Kindergarten and first grade will identify their own feelings and begin to work on identifying the feelings of others fostering discussion on how to interact with others in positive, respectful ways. Second grade will work on expressing a variety of feelings and understanding and empathizing with others. These skills are all related to the larger goals of understanding self as an individual and member of a diverse local community, as well as interacting with others in ways that respect individual and group differences. 

3rd-5th Grade
In counseling this month, 3rd-5th grade students will learn how to recognize and manage feelings to help foster friendships. Students will learn about "angry triggers" and how to find a healthy way to deal with them. We will also continue to build on some ideas to help prevent bullying in our school and community.
PTO Plans
What's happening with the McCulloch PTO?
 
Please utilize the PTO Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/mccullochrepublicpto to stay current on all of the upcoming events and support that they provide for our students! 

We want to thank PTO for the amazing fall parties!  Our students had a great time!  PTO is starting to plan for our spring parties.  If you would like to help in the planning, please contact our PTO at [email protected]


Upcoming PTO Events:
  • PTO General Meeting:  Monday, December 8th at 6pm
Please remember that PTO General Meetings will take place on the first Monday of each month unless school is not in session that day.  We hope to see you there!
Improvement Plan Information
How  is  McCulloch  working  to  improve  student  achievement?

Each quarter, we will share our progress towards our Building School Improvement Plan (BSIP) goals.  Progress towards our goals will be shared with our families during Parent Community Advisory team events, and quarterly through our building newsletter.  These goals and our progress will also be posted in the vestibule as you enter McCulloch.  

We have many 1st quarter celebrations to share!  

Literacy
Our teachers and students worked hard to achieve mastery of 1st quarter standards.  Through assessment, teachers have been able to identify opportunities for additional instruction to assist students in meeting and exceeding standards.  Our Friday early release time has been geared towards identifying strategies and planning lessons that will ensure that all students are receiving instruction catered to their specific learning needs.  

Numeracy
Again, our teachers and students have been working towards mastery of 1st quarter standards.  98% of our students showed growth throughout the quarter.  81% of our students met or exceeded 1st quarter standards.  We are working together during Friday early release time to continue to find ways to address individual student needs.

Attendance
Our attendance for 1st quarter was 96.96%!  This is a huge celebration as we exceeded our goal of 96%.  We want to thank you for your support in emphasizing the importance of attendance.  

Positive Behavior Support (PBIS)
During 1st quarter, we had a decrease of 65% in office referrals from this time last year!  Our teachers are working with each other and our students to emphasize leadership roles and our ROAR matrix!  This creates fewer disruptions to the learning environment leading to increased instructional time! 


Upcoming Dates
  • Nov. 4-11:     Major Saver Collection 
  • Nov. 11th:     Papa John's Night
  • Nov. 11th:     Veteran's Day Assembly 9:15am
  • Nov. 13th:     Breakfast with Books 7:30am
  • Nov. 20th:     Mid-quarter grades sent home
  • Nov. 25-27:   Thanksgiving Break-No School
  • Dec. 3rd:       McCulloch Music Program
Thank you for taking time to check out our building updates this month. Updates and events can also be found on our building web page at: http://www.republicschools.org/mcculloch

Please contact us with any questions, or if we can help you in any way.
 
Sincerely,
                           
Brigette Golmen                                    Alicia Floyd
McCulloch Elementary Principal             McCulloch Assistant Principal