Dover School News

January 2006 Calendar

Message from Mr. Wayne, Principal

Dear Parents/Guardians,
It’s hard to believe that we’re already 4 months into the school year. As you know, Dover’s goal is that all Dover students achieve ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE in English by the 5th grade. The cornerstone to academic excellence is reading. Dover has a big focus on reading and we need your support at home. On this page I’ve included some helpful tips on how you can help your child become better readers.
To find out more about what your child is learning about reading for his or her grade level, attend our Academic Excellence Parent Workshop on January 5. We will discuss the monthly reading and writing goals for each grade level. I look forward to seeing you there!

Queridos Padres/Guardianes:
Es difícil de creer que ya ha transcurrido 4 meses del año escolar. Como usted sabe, que la meta de Dover es que todos sus estudiantes alcancen la EXCELENCIA ACADÉMICA en inglés para el 5to grado. La llave para la Excelencia Académica es la lectura. Dover tiene un gran enfoque en la lectura y necesitamos su apoyo en casa. He incluido en esta pagina algunas maneras en las cuales usted puede ayudar a sus hijos a ser mejores lectores.
Para descubrir más acerca de lo que hijo está aprendiendo como la lectura en su nivel de grado, asista a nuestro Taller para Padres de Excelencia Académica el 5 de enero. Hablamos acerca de la meta mensual en escritura y lectura para cada nivel de grado. ¡Espero verlos por ahí!!
ass the week before break to look at your room environment. We visited some - we'll visit the remaining rooms next year. Also, Eileen and I will be in K-3 classrooms on Thursday from 9:00-10:10 from now on as our weekly Reading First visit.

Parenting Grade School Children
by Doug Spangler (Parent Invovlement Expert)

This is the time of year when many children receive gifts from family and friends. Teaching our children to say “Thank you” when they receive a gift is important etiquette. And etiquette is, after all, something that’s important in today’s world. Parents can encourage children to say thank you through writing “Thank you” notes. Here are some ideas:
· Have note cards, plain paper, envelopes, and stamps always on hand.
· For a younger child who doesn’t write yet, have him dictate what he wants to say in the note.
· For the child who may not know what to say, prompt her with, “What do you like about the gift?”, “Where will you store it?”, “How will you use it?”, “What will it help you do?”, etc.
· Make sure your child reflects on the giver as well as the gift: the thoughtfulness, the time it took to order, the way it was wrapped, etc.
· With older children, have them send their own drawings, pictures, or photos of them and the gift-giver. (Grandparents love this.)
· Later, you can create hand-made thank you notes.

In this way, your child is not only learning valuable etiquette, but also learning to write. This is a bonus for your child and the note’s receiver.

Enseñando a niños de primaria
por Doug Spangler (experto en la involucración de padres)

Esta temporada es cuando muchos niños reciben regalos de familia y de amigos. Enseñando a nuestros niños a decir “Gracías” cuando reciben un regalo es etiqueta importante. Y etiqueta es, después de todo, una destreza importante en el mundo de hoy. Los padres pueden apoyar a sus niños a escribir notas de gracias. Aquí están algunas ideas:
· Tenga tarjetas de papel grueso (como cartulina), sobres y estampillas a la mano todo el tiempo.
· Para un niño que por su edad no sabe escribir todavía, haga que le dicte lo que el quiere escribir en la nota.
· Para el niño que quizá no sabe que decir en la nota, ayúdele a preguntar cosas tales ¿Qué fue lo que te gusto del regalo?, ¿Dónde lo guardaras? ¿Cómo lo usaras? ¿Para qué te va servir? etc.
· Asegure que su hijo piense tanto en la persona que le dio el regalo como en el regalo, la amabilidad de la persona, el tiempo que se tomo esa persona en comprarlo, como lo envolvieron.
· Con niños más grandes, hágalos que manden sus propios dibujos, fotos o pinturas de ellos y su regalo (a los abuelitos les encanta esto).
· En el futuro pueden crear sus propias tarjetas a mano.

De este modo, su hijo no solo está aprendiendo buenos modales, sino que también estará practicando la lectura y escritura. Esto es algo extra de que se alegrará a todos.

Dover’s Winter Festival

On December 15th Dover held its Winter Festival. The Parents’ Club planned an exciting afternoon and evening for the students and school community. I have never seen so many people in the cafeteria at Dover! Their successes included:
· Organizing piñatas for ever grade level.
· Running a raffle and giving away over 15 prizes.
· Decorating the stage on the cafeteria.
· Soliciting and collecting food donations.
· Serving hundreds of children and families during the festival.
· Raising money to buy every child in the school a gift.
· Going to each classroom on Friday with Mr. and Mrs. Claus to distribute the gifts.

Thanks to the Parents’ Club – and school staff and community – for leading such a wonderful event.

Festival de Invierno de Dover

El 15 de diciembre fue el Festival de Invierno. El club de padres planeo una tarde divertida para los estudiantes y la comunidad. ¡Nunca antes vi tantas personas en la cafetería de Dover! Su éxito incluyo:
· Organización de piñatas para cada nivel de grado.
· Una rifa y la entrega de más de 15 premios.
· Decoración del escenario de la cafetería.
· Pedir y colectar donaciones de comida.
· Servir a cientos de niños y familias durante el festival.
· Recondar fondos para comprar un regalo a cada niño de nuestra escuela.
· Ir a cada salón con el Sr. y la Sra. Claus a entregar los regalos.

Gracias al Club de Padres – y personal de Dover y la comunidad – por dirigir tan maravilloso evento.

Mr. A and Mr. Lawlor teach students how to make Latkes.

Parents and students enjoy a game of Loteria.

Mr. Lopez holds the piñata while 3rd graders rush to get candy from the piñata.

Jesus and Jose Ruiz serenade the school.

2nd Graders sing.

I’ve never seen so many people!

Dover’s 4th grade Technology Class

All five of Dover’s 4th grade classes have recently spent time learning about sharks. Students began researching sharks on the internet in early April. They wanted to know what they looked like, what they ate, where they lived and what their daily activities were.
The students worked through a research model called “Webquest”. A Webquest gives you an organized way to find what you need to know on the internet using a series of steps. It teaches you a specific process for finding information. This enables the students to use their time more efficiently.

After studying information retrieved about various sharks, the students used the Venn diagram model to compare and contrast one shark to another. Then, they had the choice to write a shark adventure story or a shark commercial.

Videos, shark jaws and teeth as well as many books were used to
strengthen the students’ knowledge base of sharks.

Dreamworks Pictures is debuting a new shark adventure movie called Shark Tale. It is the story of Oscar, a fast talking little hustler fish who has to restore his underwater reputation. The sharks and other creatures go on a hilarious adventure to help Oscar make his life right again.

Click Here to watch the movie preview.

Dover Teachers Launch Into Unit Planning With OCR and Foro Abierto

Dover teachers are meeting in grade level teams to plan the Open Court and Foro Abierto literacy units. As part of the unit planning, each team creates a unit opening activity that will introduce the theme and excite the students about the next topic they will be studying.

Kindergarten made classroom flags for their Red, White, and Blue unit. They also had a visit from Betsy Ross (Eileen Malone, the literacy coach in disguise) to launch the Concept/Question Board discussion of the theme and to close the unit with students reading what they learned about our nation’s symbols.

Read More

Dates to Remember

January 11 and 12 - Kristen visits

January 16 - No school MLK Jr. Holiday

Talk About Books
One of the most important ways to encourage your child to read is to talk with her about what she is reading. Ask:
What do you like about the book?
Did it remind you of anything else you’ve read?
What were your favorite parts?
Talk, but don’t ask so many questions that it feels like a test!

Play Letter Sounds Games
This game can help your child hear letter sounds. Have your child write the alphabet on a piece of paper. Then play a favorite children’s song. With your child, write each word near the letter it starts with.

Can You See It?
Readers who create an image of what they read often understand more. When you read with your child ….
stop and describe what you both imagine
let your child tell the story if it is a picture book
ask him to draw a picture that represents the story.

Hable acerca de libros
Una de las maneras más importantes maneras de alertar a su hijo a leer es hablar con el/ella sobre lo que está leyendo. Pregunte:
¿Qué le gusta acerca del libro?
¿Esto te recordó algo más que hayas leído?
¿Cuáles fueron tus partes favoritas?
¡Hable, pero no haga demasiadas preguntas como si tratara de un examen!

Haga uso de juegos con los sonidos de las letras
Estos juegos ayudan a su hijo a escuchar los sonidos de las letras. Haga que su hijo escriba las letras del alfabeto en piezas de papel. Después juegue con las canciones favoritas de su hijo. Con su hijo, escriban una palabra que comiencen con cada una de las letras.

¿Puedes verlo?

Los lectores quienes crean una imagen en sus mentes de lo que leen frecuentemente entienden más. Cuando lea con su hijo/hija
pare y describa lo que ambos imaginan
deje que su hijo cuente la historia si se trata de un libro con dibujos
pida a su hijo que haga dibujos que representen la historia.