Silver Gate Elementary

UPCOMING EVENTS
 
Silent Auction Meeting (All are invited! Please come! It’s Fun! It’s like a party! Meet new friends!) – Find out what ‘Hot Rods and Hogs’ is all about! Thursday, January 12 at 3028 Calypso Place, San Diego, CA 92106 at 6:30 p.m.
 
Lomapalooza Benefit Concert at Humphrey’s onSaturday, January 14.
 
Jog-A-Thon– Coming up Thursday, January 19. Need volunteers for set-up to clean-up.
 
Corvette Diner Dinner Night January 24 from 5:30 to8:30 p.m. 15% Goes back to Silver Gate. YOU MUST BRING YOUR FLYER!
 
Pow-Wow Cow Fundraiser on campus after school onJanuary 24th.
 
Pigtails and Crewcuts fundraiser will be January 30 to February 12
 
Parent Institute with Hilde Gross: How to Avoid Everyday Power Struggles on January 31
 
Chili’s dinner fundraiser is February 7th. YOU MUST BRING YOUR FLYER!
 
Dad’s and Donuts: Bring your Dad (or other male role model) to school on Friday February 10 at 7:15 a.m.
 
Stay tuned for Cup o’ Yo fundraiser week!
 
January18, 2012 - Dr. Nicholas Colangelo
Educators: 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Underachievement and Acceleration: What Does One Have to do With the Other?
Parents: 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Family Matters
All Distinguished Lecture Series presentations are held in the Eugene Brucker Education Center Auditorium (4100 Normal Street, San Diego, CA  92103).
Teacher lectures are from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Parent Lectures are 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. There will be a question and answer period following the lecture.
 
The2011/2012 Distinguished Lectures Series brings experts from all over the United States, in the field of gifted and talented education, to the San Diego Unified School district to share with parents and educators the latest in research and classroom practice for gifted students. These stimulating professional development opportunities meet the California GATE standards for GATE education.
 
 
Friendsof Silver Gate Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday,December 7, 2011
 
The regular meeting of the Friends of Silver Gate was called to order by the President, Nathalie Humphry, at  6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7, 2011at the Silver Gate Elementary School Auditorium. Heather Harris, secretary, was present.
 
Board Members in Attendance:  Principal McClure, Bridget Schoeffel, Nathalie Humphry, Erin Ellis, Debbie Ybarra, Marcie Templin, Lisa Ahlstrom, and Arielle Sykes.
 
Approval of Minutes: December 7 Meeting Minutes were approved.
 
President’s Report:  We are currently trying to find out who will and will not be on the slate next year. If you are a chairperson, please let the presidents know if you will be holding the position again next year, if you need a shadow, or if you are returning. We definitely know that the chair positions for Harvest Festival, Silent Auction, Secretary, and Web Communications need to be filled.
 
Debbie Farmer needs an assistant to pick upenvelopes for Annual Giving Fund. Please help us spread the word about these available positions.
 
Principal’s Report: Principal McClure has put in purchase orders for the following to use up the supply budget before it is taken away by the district to help close budget cuts: New stage risers, new stage skirt, new display case to replace the one on the auditorium, 6-7 new computers for special ed. Principal McClure has also purchased a new software program and printing system for volunteers checking in at the front office. This is a program that is available for $200, but if we are willing to host the Ident-a-Kid program at the school,then they will give it to us for free and provide more permanent hard copy badges for frequent volunteers. This program should help us reduce waste. Ident-a-Kid would come to the school and take a photo of your child for $10/student for two ID cards per student plus a digital copy. It would takeplace during school hours (probably in mid-February) and it works like schoolpictures but much faster. McClure will announce it at Monday morning assembly to see if there are any concerns. Please see their information here: http://www.ident-a-kid.com/and here’s their information about privacy: http://www.ident-a-kid.com/PrivacyPolicy
 
Treasurer’sReport:  Erin provided the shortened version of the finances (attached).The report shows the income less the cost of goods sold. We are about 60% togoal for Annual Fund. The book fair grossed almost $7400. Coffee sales made 3times more than we had budgeted. Box tops should be coming in at about $900 which was submitted in November. Yearbook should make money this year which usually it just breaks even. Please sign up for Target Red Card – it is a very easy and successful fundraiser (find out more here: https://redcard.target.com/redcard/rc_main.jsp).Yearbook and Art to Remember checks were deposited at the end of the December.There is a delay due to the checks being turned in when the fundraiser is over and then waiting to be processed. Tree sales netted approximately $1,500!
 
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Winter Newsletter – Please submit articles ASAP – Deadline is this Friday, January 6.It will be posted in the bulletin for Staff as to when the newsletter will be printed on the copiers.
 
FSG Silent Auction: Rev Your Engines for a Happening Night with “Hot Rods and Hogs!” coming up SATURDAY April 21, 2012 SAVE THE DATE!
 
New Business – We still need Parents on the playground during recess! If anyone is interested in volunteering to help out and initiate some playground games, please feel free to check in at the office during recess hours, grab an orange vest (Kathy Darnell at the front desk can direct you to them), and head over tothe playground equipment closet and start some fun games – there’s bowling, jump rope, four square balls, etc. The schedule is as follows:
10:25-10:45a.m.              Recess: Kindergarten
10:30-10:45a.m.              Recess: Grades 1-4
11:45-12:25p.m.              Lunch/recess
11:55-12:35p.m.              Lunch/recess
 
Notice:No Dogs are allowed on Campus! Please DO NOT bring your dogs on campus (the campus includes the sidewalk out in front of the school!)
 
Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 7:49 p.m.
 
 
Principal’s Chat Notes - November 2011
 
School Closures Follow-Up: All schools in the Peninsula area will no longer close with the exception of Barnard whose Mandarin Magnet’s program will move to a betterand larger facility.
 
What next? They still need to make cuts. These cuts could include: shorter schoolyear (this year possibly by one week), transportation, Visual and PerformingArts (4th Grade Music Program), OCILE (4th Grade Old Town Program). Write letters to the state.
 
What to expect for Kinder and 1st Grade. Report Cards cover the state standards andthe children are rated on that. The most pervasive piece in this is reading (in Kinder and 1st).
 
English/LanguageArts
 
McClure covered the DRA – the Diagnostic Reading Assessment. This is a number rating system for books in the program and it can be used for lots of children’s booksfound in the library and at the bookstore. The alphabetical rating system ofthe DRA is also used by RAZ Kids (the web software reading program offered to Silver Gate Students – if you don’t have a login for this great program, talkto your teacher!). http://www.raz-kids.com/
 
Here is a list of books by DRA: http://wces.ucps.k12.nc.us/php/DRA_list.htm\
Here is a conversion table of ROUGHLY where the student should be and thecorresponding DRAs:
 
The CA Standards and what we expect at Silver Gate is higher than this chart. For example, before entering 1st grade the student should be at level 12 or G. End of 1st grade students should be at level 18, 2nd = 28, 3rd = 38. 4th and beyond we don’t track using the DRA.
 
Thesebooks follow the DRA exactly: http://www.fountasandpinnellleveledbooks.com/
High frequency words (Dolch words): http://www.mrsperkins.com/what_are_dolch_words.html
 
Science
Here is a list of the themes for the Eco-Lab program by grade:
Science for each grade always covers physical, earth and life science in that order.
Kindergarten curriculum is very hands-on.
 
Behavior
Kindergarteners can stay focused on a task (like at a center/rotation) for about 10 minutes.
Kindergarten emphasizes more learning with play. There is a lot of partner work (exchange ofconversation) in the kindergarten.
NoTouching is a rule at the school so there are no blurred lines.
Kindergarten emphasizes more play and social instruction. There is usually some sort of playbuilt-in to the activities. There is also lots of partner work so there is an exchange of conversation.
 
1st Grade they can do more independent tasks and can handle up to 20 minutes. These tasks will be more writing and reading focused versus cutting and pasting in Kindergarten.
 
Principal McClure mentioned Gate – a child tests into Gate by taking a ‘Raven Exam’ inthe spring of their second grade year. There are no words on the test, each question is set up like a puzzle. There is a pattern and one piece is missing.The child has to pick the answer by figuring out the missing piece. Depending on their score
 
Principal’sChat 12/2/11
 
The District’s Budget has about a $50 million shortfall for this year. Possiblecuts could include central office staff, classified staff (these are notteachers, an example would be the staff that maintain and fix the prometheanboards), a 7 Day furlough (which is shortening the school year from 6/12 to6/5). The unions would have to agree on the furloughs. Next school year’s cutscould include increased class sizes. All the major school districts in CA arein the same situation – LA, SF, Fresno, etc. Here is the best place to get thelatest on state budget cuts in education:
 
Write to your legislators to ask for support for education. Make your voice heard,contact the decision-makers today! (Contact info is at the end of this e-mail)
 
Our Navy Partnership with the 3rd Command has been amazing. We often get 8 to 20 volunteers who come in and read with the students and volunteer for events.
 
Benchmarks are in – Scores are up from the last school year in 2nd and 3rd Grades. 4thGrade Language Arts was down by 7% and only 2% down in math. It sort ofcompares apples to oranges (for example it’s comparing the 4th grade class thatgraduated with the new 4th grade class now). But if you look at the samestudents from 2nd to 3rd grade and 3rd to 4th grade, their benchmarks are up.The other two grade levels are also up.
 
The benchmarks are tests that show us how the students are doing throughout theyear. The Benchmark tests are based upon the curriculum. Principals have accessto all the data and can analyze the data with a program called Data Director which disaggregates all the information. McClure can break the data down anywhich way, from the whole school, or by grade level, class, or all the way downto the individual scores.
 
Silver Gate is focusing on Writing Strategies. (Here’s a definition taken from theweb: Writing Strategies: Most U.S. schools teach the writing process—auniversally recognized approach to writing. Students develop skills andstrategies in using all five stages of the writing process: prewriting,drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.) And another area we are focusingon is Written Conventions. (Defintion from the web: Written English LanguageConventions: Students learn and use the grammatical and mechanical conventionsof writing. These were taken from this site: http://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/writing-standards/)
 
A sa school we have come up with three writing prompts per grade level. Every student will take the same prompt and work with it. Then we’ll take the writing samples to compare and analyze how the students are doing. We believe writingreally shows what students know. We are very fortunate that the students aretruly doing their best at this age (no apathy) so when we give a prompt like these, the students are on their own to show us what they can do. It shows uswhat have we taught and what have you learned. And those prompts are doneaccording to the writing standards for each grade.
 
CURRICULUMGUIDES FOR EACH GRADE LEVEL: On a similar note, Principal McClure has created aresource for parents to understand what is expected of each student at the endof each grade level. With some thorough research we found and edited simple,clear, easy to understand parent packets that communicate what is expected ofevery student at every grade level. There is information for every grade, every subject including PE, plus information on developmental behaviors. You canaccess all of the documents on the Silver Gate website here:
 
http://www.sandi.net/domain/5623.  When you click on the grade link, it will download as a Word Document.
 
The guides will be revised over time to include pacing guides – when studentsshould be learning what (month by month), and they will also include writingsamples to show what students writing should look/be like at each level.
 
Someone suggested that it would be nice to know what to work on between grades and what books to read at different DRA levels.
 
Someone asked what the students are learning in terms of Writing. Principal McCluresaid they use ‘Writer’s Workshop’ philosophy/approach to writing. Here’s infoon it:
 
And http://www.slideshare.net/flowergurl/writers-workshop-an-introduction
The approach teaches kids to read like a writer. It teaches them to figure out whyand how a book is written.
 
If Principal McClure could give one book to recommend if parents want more information that follows the idea of the Writer’s Workshop, check out “CraftLessons”:
 
 
Don’t go out and buy the children’s books that they recommend in the book – we have them in the library – you could ask Deb to check them out. Writing is very complicated, it’s not like multiplication tables.
 
We have lots of amazing arts going on at Silver Gate despite the deep district budget cuts. We have World Music, 4th Grade Band, Plays put on by the teachers and their classes, and Lynn Grier art lessons.
 
Every year on the last day before the Winter Break the whole school heads into the auditorium for a holiday sing-along right before morning recess at 9:45-10:30,which includes a variety of Hanukah and Christmas songs.
 
 
Principal’s Chat
 
January6, 2012
 
StateBudget Cuts – no definitive news on cuts that are coming  but it would besurprising if there were no cuts. Paycuts would be the least intrusive tostudents – but with class size increase would be haror larger classes. Lookingat revenue loss from Kindergarteners that are Nov 2 – Dec 2 – allow you to cometo a school and join a 
FirstFive program.
Generatesrevenue ADA
Notnecessarily a law but government maneuvering.
Parentswould be in transitional Kinder for 2 years – no option to go to first grade,would go directly to Kinder.
2012= Nov 1
2013= Oct 1
2014= Sept 1
Budgetcuts – could shorten school year. June 12 to June 5.
Schoolbudgets can be taken by the district to help
Stockup on supplies, special ed got 6 or 7 new computers.
Weare getting iPads. Mr. Russell will pilot the program. Mrs. Donnelly is alreadyusing one in her classroom.  Mrs. Donnelly’s classroom is very different –it’s a paradigm shift. She never turns her back to the classroom – she can walkaround and interact with the Promethean Board with her iPad. Her iPad can do thingsher Tablet can’t.
Nextyear 1st grade will get Promethean boards. Right now 3rd and 4th grade havePromethean boards.
Mrs.Donnelly had her student’s journals, she took a picture of each paper with heriPad, graded them on the iPad, and is able to e-mail the paper and the feedbackto the parents.
TheiPads have come with Apple Care so the staff will be able to take advantage ofthe free classes.
Weare also looking to purchase new stage risers and a stage skirt.
Thereason the budget is being spent on these things is because the money willlikely go away. We were conservative in the beginning of the year, but now thatwe are stocked up, we need to spend this money before it goes away. If we werecut too short, the foundation can step in, but other times, like now, thefoundation can save their money.
 
Q:How does the budget work at the school – how do we know what to spend?
SSCis the School Site Council, which is an advisory board made up of FSGrepresentative, Parents, Teacher, and the Principal. We look at all thediscretionary funds (even though the funds that the SSC has control over are nolonger available) Principal McClure makes all the budget dollars transparentfor the council and they work with all the funds with an overview that alsoconsiders the Foundation’s budget to see where money can be spent most wisely.$55,000 is the approximate total budget for the school for supplies, lunchduty, etc.
Thereare notices that come out to the principals when other monies are available.
 
2ndReport Card period is coming up, we don’t automatically schedule every parentfor this Parent/Teacher conference period, but if you want to schedule aconference please let your teacher know.
 
Thecurriculum guides for each grade level are available on the school website.These are great reports that show parents what information your child isexpected to learn for each grade level. They are simple and easy to understandwith about 20 bullet-points per subject. We will be adding writing samples andpacing guides added to let you know when the instruction will be given.
 
FSGBudget Status: All the fundraisers have met or exceeded budget so far.
 
BecauseFSG is doing well we would like to hear feedback from anyone who hassuggestions for upgrades to the campus or even in-classroom ideas – it could becapital improvements or programs or educational opportunities – please feelfree to e-mail Principal McClure at smcclure@sandi.net or Heather Harris at secretaryfsg@gmail.com.
 
Dads& Donuts – is coming up Friday, February 10, 2012
 
Suggestions:Motor Lab – McClure just put in a grant for a Motor Lab. Physical ways toincorporate your body to get your brain prepared to learn. Bi-Lateral movementswhere the limbs cross the body. The program uses mats, obstacles, and motorplanning. For example, they lay a large ladder with word cards in between therungs and the kids climb over and read.
Differentmodes of moving – rolling, crawling, etc. Our occupational therapist and schoolpsychologist brought up the grant opportunity – it would be $3000 in equipment.Normally set up in the auditorium. They are built as centers, music, shakingtools, videos to demonstrate. Fletcher Elementary over by Sharp. GinaKamatchinagraph (?).
 
Mrs.Jennings was due yesterday (1/5) but has not had the baby yet.
 
Ident-A-Kid– there is a new sign-in computer and printer to track volunteers. The companyis Ident-A-Kid and they would like to have a day at school where parents havethe opportunity to purchase an ID card for your child. You are not obliged todo it. It is much like school pictures where they come in, take photos of thechild and fingerprint them, and then provide 2 ID cards of your student plus adigital version sent to your phone. They’ve been around for 25 years and workwith the police department. No database information collected. $10/Student. Isit helpful to the police. It would be mid-February. It is not a fundraiser, itdoes not in any way shape or form make money for the school so no one shouldfeel obligated. The opportunity to allow this program to come to the schoolgives us the volunteer check-in program for free, but that is only a result ofthem coming, if they sell no ident-a-kid badges, they still give us the programfor free.
 
 
Makea difference! Take 5 minutes and tell the people in charge what you want foryour student:
 
SanDiego Unified School District
Contactyour San Diego Unified School District Area Superintendent and his staff (http://www.sandi.net/page/185)
 
Contactyour San Diego Unified School District Board Member
ScottBarnett
 
Contactyour San Diego Unified Superintendent
BillKowba
 
Cityof San Diego
Contactyour City Council Representative
 
Stateof California
Contactyour California Governor
JerryBrown
 
 Contactyour Assemblymember
ToniAtkins
 
Contactyour State Senator
ChristineKehoe
 
USGovernment
Contactyour US Senators for California
Barbara Boxer
Dianne Feinstein