CumruKidbits

More Cumru News Online at: www.governormifflinsd.org

PTO OfficersPresident

NOT FILLED AT THIS TIME

Vice-President/ Acting PresidentKORISSA TURNER

Secretary/Membership Chairperson

JOHANNA HEBERLEIN

TreasurerAMBER LESHER

Kidbits EditorLISA SMITH

All Cumru PTO meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Cumru faculty room. We always welcome new people and new ideas. The PTO is your connection between home and school. Please join us at the upcoming meetings listed below!

October 4, 2018November 1, 2018December 6, 2018

Full-color versions of Cumru Kidbits are available on the district web site:

www.GovernorMifflinSD.org/ces_newsletters.asp

The Governor Mifflin School District is an equal opportunity education institution and will not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, sex, or handicap in its activities, programs, or employment practices as required by Title VI, Title IX, Section 504 and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. For information regarding civil rights, handicap requirements, or grievance procedures, contact contact Eric L. Wolf, Assistant Superintendent, 10 S. Waverly Street, Shillington, PA 19607, 610-775-1461.

PTO Meetings

Kidbits in Color!

A Newsletter of the Cumru Elementary School PTO Fall 2018

Reading Workshop: It’s a Blast!Written by Mrs. Kirstin Shockey, Mrs. Sue Wentling and Mrs. Casey O’Connor

Leaving school one afternoon, Michael R. from Mrs. Keiffer-Blatt’s first grade class said it best, “Reading Workshop is my FAVORITE part of the day!” Our new model of reading instruction has taken over Cumru Elementary, and teachers and students alike are loving it. Reading Workshop is a model of instruction that allows students to take ownership of their reading and enables teachers to create successful readers in and out of the classroom. During Reading Workshop, teachers engage students in a brief 10 minute mini-lesson, and then send students off to read. At this time, students engage in independent reading with books matched to each individual child’s interest and reading level. This approach allows students to become high volume readers and emphasizes the interaction between students and text. Given new strategies and tools for selecting books and comprehending literature, even the most reluctant readers have the opportunity to become successful readers. This success comes as a result of one-to-one teacher interaction during Reading Workshop. While students are highly-engaged in independent reading, teachers have the opportunity to hold conferences with students and get to know each reader’s strengths and next steps. Teachers are embracing the Reading Workshop model and are transferring that energy and excitement to their students. Mrs. Radwanski, a third grade teacher, enthusiastically shared, “Kids are taking ownership of their reading. Stamina is increasing daily, and excitement for reading is over the top in my classroom!” Likewise, Mrs. Lavigna, a second grade teacher at Cumru, explained, “The increased excitement and engagement in reading is amazing in only the first two weeks of school.” Now that we have “blasted off in reading” Cumru looks forward to launching into great books!

(Above): Mrs. Radwanski’s third grade class shows their excitement as their new classroom library is unveiled.

Cumru Elementary Skate Night

When: Friday October 12, 2018Where: SkateawayTime: 5:00-7:00 p.m.Cost: $5.00

(Right)Hasini Bezawada and Isabel Rodriguez read to self back to back during reading workshop.

(Left) Gabrielle Barto and Ambioris Vasquez read to someone.

2018 2019

Life Around Cumru

Miss Katelyn Gibbs is teaching in our autistic support classroom. She attended Kutztown University and loves to ride horses and read. She will be getting married in June. Congratulations, Katelyn!

(Above) Miss Robyn Fannon is filling in for Mrs. Joffred in our autistic support classroom. She graduated from Wilkes University and loves anything Disney.

(Above) Miss Sandra Guinther is filling in for Mrs. Chaknos in Cumru’s Life Skills Classroom. She graduated from Kutztown and likes to read and make crafts.

(Aove) Mrs. Jennifer Arnold has joined Cumru’s Kindergarten team. She attended Millersville University and has 2 sons who attend Governor Mifflin. She likes to go camping.

(Above) Mrs. Lynn Walker will be working with Mrs. Davis in Pre-K Counts. She graduated from Millersville University, and loves spending time swimming with her 3 grandchildren.

(Above) Miss April Moore graduated from Penn State Berks. She will be working with Mrs. Gerhard in Pre-K Counts and likes to watch movies.

lllllllWe all Belong toMustang Nation!

(Above) Mrs. Katie Davis attended Millersville University and joins the Cumru staff as the teacher of our second Pre-K Counts classroom. She likes to run.

(Above) Miss Jaide Grim went to East Strousbburg University. She will be filling in for Mrs. Hathaway in 4th grade. Miss Grim loves dance both tap and ballet.

(Right) Karleigh Feick from Mrs. Bolles class was declared the grand champion of the 18-19 Pumpkin Contest.Her winning pumpkin weighed in at 18.8 lbs and was 34 3/4 inches tall.

(Above) Liam Bell from Mrs Lavigna’s class holds one of the snakes in the hands-on animal exhibit at the Fall Festival.

(Above) Nevaeh Hausman from Miss Gumpert’s class uses her creativity to make a fall craft.

(Above) 1st grader, Michael Wilson holds a visiting box turtle at the fall festival.

Staff New To Cumru in 2018

Innovation class kicked off the year by reading Growth Mindset literature, exploring the Power of Yet using the Dojo Big Ideas Growth Mindset videos, and dancing to C.J. Lucky’s Power of Yet rap! We are ready and excited for a successful year at Cumru Elementary School! (Above) Mr. Marley’s 2nd grade class shows the sign for the “Power of Yet.”

Life Around Cumru

The excitement of a new school year filled the air as Kindergarten students from Mrs. Arnold’s class lined -up in the lobby to go to their new classroom during the first week of school.

Mrs. Hoelscher’s first grade students take their place as reading warriors protected with their short vowel shields.

Volunteer Information Remember that ALL volunteers - including those who work at activity stations during special days such as Earth Day or EEK Days - must have the proper clearances to volunteer at Cumru.* Please refer to the district website for more information on how to obtain the clearances:

www.GovernorMifflinSD.orgHuman Resource Tab at bottom of Page

*Volunteers whose clearances are more than 5 years old need to turn in new up-to-date copies.

All Cumru students will:Grow: in characterFlourish: in a safe environmentsucceed: in achieving high academic standards

Pictured Above: The TESLA space car that Mrs. Guenter, Cumru’s Art Teacher, designed for our lobby. The space car reinforces Cumru’s theme, “Blast Off into a New Year.”

Morning announcements, which are coordinated by Mrs. Kristin Swanson, are anchored by different third graders each day of the school year. Pictured above are Cora Fream and Aleah Willever.

Mrs. Turtell’s 3rd grade class shows the importance of working together as they build a class web.

(Left) Tanner Fritz, Ryan Bsiri, and Temperance Rothenberger use Playdoah to show the “Power of Yet.”

(Right) Students participate in our Science Explorer assembly.

Cumru’s Mission Statement

OCTOBER:

2 Cumru Fall Student Picture Day4 Cumru PTO Meeting5 Music in Our Schools Program 3rd and 4th Grades8 - In-service Day No School for Students Columbus Day9 GM Music Association Meeting Middle School Rm 120, 7 p.m.11 Skateaway Night sponsored by the Cumru PTO 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.15 Board of School Directors Voting

Meeting EC 7 p.m.24 Samba School of Reading Drum

Circle Presentations for 2nd grade.26 CumruHalloween Parade 9:30 a.m. Student Half Day Elementary Dismissal 11:45 a.m.

NOVEMBER:

1 PTO General Meeting, 6:30 p.m.6 Fall Picture Retakes9 Family Game Night at Cumru Cumru’s Veterans Day Program

15 American Education Visitation16 American Education Visitation19 Board of School Directors’ Voting/

Curriculum Meeting, EC, 7 p.m.19-20 In-service Days No School For Students Parent-Teacher Conferences21 In-service Day No School for students22-26 Thanksgiving Holiday No School for Students27 School is in session.

DECEMBER:

3 Winter Book Fair6 PTO General Meeting, 6:30 p.m.13 Cumru Holiday Shoppe sponsored by the Cumru PTO17 Board of School Directors Voting Meeting 7:00 p.m. EC24-31 Holiday - No School

JANUARY:

1 Holiday - No School2 School In Session3 Cumru PTO Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Calendar of Events Blast off with the Cumru PTO

The Cumru Hands On Program is in full swing.

Thank you to all the volunteers who generously give their time to come in and help out. If you are not familiar with the program, Hands On Cumru invites parents to help at school as their schedules allow.

Hands On Cumru is a way to help students, teachers, and parents to partner in education, and the strength of the program is its flexibility that allows volunteers to work around their busy schedules. Please contact the Cumru Office at 610-775-5081, if you are interested in helping.

PTO Passive FundraisersBox Top Labels- Send in box top labels with your child to school. Each teacher has a designated area for these labels. Redner’s Receipts- Send your Redner receipts in with your child to school. A gas card must be used on the receipt in order for our school to receive credit.

Hi Cumru Parents- Hoping you and your family had an amazing summer! While everyone was vacationing and enjoying family time, the Cumru PTO from last year handed off their hats to a few new people. Your brand new PTO is very excited to welcome everyone to an amazing school year! We hope you can come out and enjoy some new activities being planned this year. We are also planning some fundraising opportunities that involve NO selling of items!

Our continuous fundraiser will be held on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month AND at each PTO sponsored event. This fundraiser is called the “Quarter Drive.” Each child who brings quarters will be entered into a raffle to be a teacher for the day. Children may bring as many quarters as they like. Each month 1 student from each grade will win this very special privilege. The more quarters you donate, the better your child’s chance is to win!

Our PTO meetings are held on the 1st Thursday of every month. The meetings begin at 6:30pm and last for about 1 hour. The board is brand new so don’t be nervous to attend a meeting. We will all be learning together and getting to know each other as

the year progresses.

The next exciting PTO sponsored activity will be held at Skateaway on October 12th where students will get to skate with some of their teachers! The event will be from 5-7 and will cost $5 for each child. Your child can then skate until 9pm for no additional fee!

On November 9th, PTO will sponsor Game Night at Cumru. We have some fun Minute to Win It games to play with you and your family so put it on your calendar now. Prizes will be awarded!!

That’s it for now! Please make sure you “like” Cumru Elementary PTO on Facebook. Come to a meeting, volunteer at an event, donate a baked good or just be a supportive parent to our Cumru kids! We thank you for being that shining star in their lives!

Korissa- VPJohanna- SecretaryAmber- Treasurer