NOVAK NEWS September 2017

Important DatesIMPORTANT DATES 9/26 - Stride with Pride9/27 - Stride with Pride raindate10/2 - Garden Lunch10/5 - Volunteer Workshop 8:15-10:15 am

10/5 - Homecoming ParadeOct. 9-20 Conference Window10/10 - PTO meeting 6:30 pm10/12 - Late Night Conferences10/17 - Late Night Conferences10/19 - America Reads10/24 - GWAEA hearing checks - ECBP, IEP, Kindergarten10/24 - 4th Grade Art/Music Performance 6:00 / 6:30 pm10/26 - NO SCHOOL - PD Day10/27 - NO SCHOOL - PD day10/30 - NO SCHOOL - Comp Day10/31 – Fall Parties10/31 - PTO Trunk or Treat after school

You can make a difference

Collecting Box Tops and Hy-Vee receipts does make a difference. Please remember to bring yours to the Novak office!

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**Please remember to sign up for SeeSaw and include P.E., Music and Art! Your child’s classroom teacher can help you with sign-up.

Assessments

We are in the middle of our fall testing window. All students five years of age through fifth grade will be participating in the FAST reading assessment. This is our fourth year of this State-required test. Students in grades three, four and five are also taking NWEA math and reading tests. These are computer assessments that are not timed. Teachers will have the results of these assessments to share at conferences in October.

Novak Reading Goal

For the 2017-18 school year, our reading goal is for at least 88% of our students to be proficient on the FAST reading assessment. FAST is a State required assessment administered three times this year to all students five years old through fifth grade. You can support this goal by reading with your child for at least 15 minutes each day. For the younger students, practicing those sight words that come home will also make a difference.

Communication survey results

In the August newsletter was a link for a brief parent survey asking your opinion about current school to home communication. Thanks to everyone that was able to participate. Here is a summary of the results.

The 35 people that responded represent:

Preschool=9%, ECBP=0%, Kindergarten=15%, 1st grade=29%, 2nd grade=32%, 3rd grade=15%, 4th grade=23%, 5th grade=23%

For the next two questions, the scale is 1=poor, 5= excellent

From the Principal – Carol O’Donnell Phone: 319-447-3301

Ninety-four percent of the respondents said that email is the best way to communicate.

Suggestions for improving communication:

Send information, especially regarding upcoming events, earlier. A two week window is preferred. Greater use of Seesaw (which hopefully you are already seeing) Weekly emails from teachers are appreciated. Inform parents on the strategic goals of Novak, what progress is being made, and how parents can help

to achieve these goals. Regular communication from specials teachers. (Please sign up for the Specials Seesaw QR code.)

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Growth Mindset

During some of the professional learning time when your children are not at school, teachers are learning about growth mindset. This is a frame of mind that a person is not born with a certain set of skills, but rather that skills can be developed. Carol Dweck is one of the main authors on this subject. Following is an excerpt from some of her work on praise.

Praise Can Bring Down Performance

"Contrary to popular belief, praising children's intelligence did not give them confidence and did not make them learn better," said Carol Dweck, a professor of developmental psychology at Stanford University and author of "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success."

Her surprising research, which she has repeated with hundreds of kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds, was published recently in the journal Child Development.

Dweck found that children's performance worsens if they always hear how smart they are. Kids who get too much praise are less likely to take risks, are highly sensitive to failure and are more likely to give up when faced with a challenge.

"Parents should take away the fact that they are not giving their children a gift when they tell them how brilliant and talented they are," Dweck says. "They are making them believe they are valued only for being intelligent, and it makes them not want to learn."

When parents, teachers and coaches label a child, they tell the child that he or she is the label and is judged for this label, not for his actual capabilities. The child becomes risk-averse and doesn't want to chance messing up and being labeled "dumb." In other words, a "smart" child often believes that expending effort is something only "dumb" kids have to do.

Be Specific About Praise and Don't Be Afraid to Withhold It

The key is to be specific about the praise you give."Parents should praise children for their effort, their concentration, their strategies," Dweck said.For instance, next time your son gets an A on an exam for which you know he hardly studied, tell him you think he should try a tougher class next semester. When he scores the winning touchdown, instead of telling him he's the best player on the team, ask him how he trained to run so fast.

The flip side is that parents must be honest when their children do not perform as well as their peers. If your daughter finishes last at the track meet, and you know it is because she's younger and less experienced than other competitors, it is better to tell her that she did not deserve to win because she still needs improvement than to tell her you thought she was the best, no matter what the judges said.

But it's hard to refrain from telling children how smart or perfect they are.

"We believe that by telling them they're smart, they'll believe they're smart, and if they believe they're smart, they'll attack their schoolwork with confidence," said Po Bronson, a father of two who wrote the cover story in the current issue of New York Magazine, "How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise." Writing the article forced Bronson to re-evaluate his own parenting techniques after learning of Dweck's research.

"I was frightened of this idea that telling a child that they're smart makes them think that effort is only for dummies, and if you're smart you shouldn't have to rely on effort," Bronson said.

It has not been easy, but Bronson and his wife have changed their ways.

"I have found that I just need to be honest," Bronson said. "Being honest is going to serve us better in the long run."

Tips for Parents

 Avoid labels. Praising for effort sends the message that your child has the power to improve and change, but labeling him "smart" gives him little control over changing how he is perceived. Be mindful of labeling yourself ("I can't do my taxes -- I'm terrible at math") and others ("Your gymnastics partner is such a klutz").

 Teach kids from an early age that the brain is a muscle that can be strengthened with practice. This sends the message that kids can directly affect their intelligence, which may empower unmotivated teenagers.

 Lose the guilt. Parents often praise their kids to make themselves feel good, or to protect their kids from failure. But it's critical for parents to help their kids to learn to cope with setbacks and to help them focus on ways to improve.

Linn-Mar Communication Notification OptionsCommunication notifications for the District can be signed up for in the following ways:

Txtwire : Click on LM Emergency Notifications at the bottom of the LM webpage to register Facebook : visit FB and like Linn-Mar Community Schools

Reminder: To receive district notifications, you must sign up for them! Just click on the appropriate icon at the bottom of the Linn-Mar webpage to register!

Weather-related information will be sent out as a District notification. In the event of an emergency, the text notification may be sent to the entire District (if appropriate) or it may only be sent to an individual building. It is recommended that you sign up for District and building notifications.

Delays and cancellations are also shared via:

Linn-Mar website and red "alert" scrolling banner on website: www.linnmar.k12.ia.us TV Stations: KCRG, KFXA, KGAN, KWWL Radio Stations: KCCK, KHAK, KKRQ, KMRY, KZIA, WMT

Student Dismissal Changes – Let the Office Know!

Please call the Novak office if you need your child to change plans at the end of the day. It is fine to email your child’s teacher, but sometimes they do not have time to check their email before the end of the day. The office personnel always calls classrooms before dismissal with student dismissal changes. You may always leave a message as we check voicemail regularly. Thank you for your help!Main office phone number: 319 447-3300

Safety Drills

We will again be conducting safety drills for fire, tornado, and ALICE. We have already had one fire drill and will have three more this school year. We will have at least two tornado drills, one each semester.

ALICE is an acronym that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. This model teaches adults and students what to do in the unlikely event of an intruder. The ALICE lessons for students are modeled after a book by Julia Cook titled Don’t Be Scared, Be Prepared. All preschool, ECBP, and kindergarten students, and all children new to Novak will be taught the initial lesson about what to do, and learn about our evacuation sight. First grade through fifth grade students will be taught a review lesson this fall. with any questions you may have regarding safety drills and preparation.

PBISPBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. It is a school-wide approach that

decreases common behavioral issues. With PBIS, students are taught the expectations and procedures for the school as a whole, as well as “hot spots” where problems are likely to occur. The Novak PBIS expectations are: We are respectful, responsible, safe, and we do our best.

PBIS is a positive support system where the adults in the school are recognizing positive behavior. Students will know what to expect in all areas of the school, because every faculty member at Novak is participating in PBIS.

Pride tickets are given out by staff to acknowledge students’ positive behavior. Once a student receives a ticket, it goes into a classroom jar, and a small note will come home with the student. All tickets from each classroom are saved for the week and compiled into a school box. Individual student names are drawn from classroom jars weekly to recognize students on an individual basis. Staff also uses the tickets to have classroom celebrations and school wide celebrations. Our first school wide celebration was a school-wide dance party on September 25th because we earned 5,000 tickets!

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Lost and foundOn those cool mornings, children are wearing jackets to school. On those warm afternoons, the jackets are staying at school. The next morning another jacket comes to school, and the pattern repeats itself. Our lost and found area is already overflowing with unclaimed items. Please remind your child to check this area. Parents are also welcome to come into school and check out these items, after checking into the office. Lost and found items can be found on the hooks near the cafeteria right inside the recess doors. To prevent this, please write your child’s name in any outer clothing – jackets, sweatshirts, sweaters, etc.

America Reads – October 19, 2017Each year, the Linn-Mar Community Schools celebrate America Reads with the rest of the country. Local celebrities, parents, staff all visit classrooms to read to students. This year, America Reads day is Thursday, October 19th.

If you would like more information or would like to volunteer to be a reader, please email our coordinators at novakamericareads@gmail.com. Our coordinators this year are Brandy Vorhies and Jamie Weldon.

Novak General Music News from Mrs. WalkerHello, Novak Families,

My name is Jennifer Walker and I am excited to be starting year 18 as the general music teacher at Novak Elementary. I thoroughly enjoy making music with the students at Novak and am looking forward to a phenomenal year in the music classroom.

This year, all PK-5th grade students will receive 90 minutes of musical instruction during a 4-day period. Our after school choir, “Novak Notes” meets on Mondays and Tuesdays from 2:45-3:40. Choir began on Monday, September 18, 2017. We are looking forward to another great year and we are gearing up for our field trip on Tuesday, October 31st.

This year students will be creating, composing, dancing, performing, playing and singing as we learn

Novak Physical EducationSept. 2017

Welcome to the Physical Education program at Novak Elementary! 

My name is Holly Fencl and the 2017-2018 school year will be my ninth year teaching Physical Education at Novak. I graduated with a B.A. in Physical Education and Health Education as well as a coaching endorsement from Luther College in 2004 and a M.A. in Physical Education from the University of Northern Iowa in 2013.

Novak General Music News from Mrs. WalkerHello, Novak Families,

My name is Jennifer Walker and I am excited to be starting year 18 as the general music teacher at Novak Elementary. I thoroughly enjoy making music with the students at Novak and am looking forward to a phenomenal year in the music classroom.

This year, all PK-5th grade students will receive 90 minutes of musical instruction during a 4-day period. Our after school choir, “Novak Notes” meets on Mondays and Tuesdays from 2:45-3:40. Choir began on Monday, September 18, 2017. We are looking forward to another great year and we are gearing up for our field trip on Tuesday, October 31st.

This year students will be creating, composing, dancing, performing, playing and singing as we learn

Student Teacher in Our Music ClassesDear Novak Families,

My name is Zoe Tien and I am student teaching with Mrs. Walker in the music classroom. I am a music education major at Coe College and am looking forward to getting to work with your children. I will be at Novak through October 6, 2017.

At Linn-Mar we offer a quality physical education program to all elementary students as part of our curriculum. Activities are derived from the SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids) Physical Education program as well as other respected resources. Here at Linn-Mar our physical education program is designed to lead activities that are inclusive, highly active, integrate academic and wellness concepts, and are fun for all students. Additionally, instructional units are designed to develop students’ motor, cognitive, and social skills.

Student progress in the following national P.E. standards will be monitored and assessed regularly

Standard 1 – The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns. Standard 2 – The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance. Standard 3 – The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness. Standard 4 – The physically literate individual exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others. .Standard 5 – The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.

This year we are fortunate to have a student teacher joining us for the first seven weeks of school. Here is a letter from him.

Dear Novak Families,

My name is Zach Smith and I will be assisting Mrs. Fencl for the next 7 weeks in her classroom. I am a recent graduate from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, where I got my Bachelor’s degree in physical education as well as an endorsement in health. I grew up about 30 minutes south of Cedar Rapids in a small town by the name of Oxford, where I have lived my whole life thus far. I attended school in the Clear Creek Amana School District throughout my early childhood before deciding to attend Coe, where I also played four years of football. Along with football, I enjoy being outdoors and in my free time I like to fish, hunt, and play basketball. I am very excited and humble that I get the opportunity to work with your kids and I hope that my time at Novak can be looked back on as a wonderful experience!

Thank you so much,

Mr. Smith

Please help me in reminding your child to dress appropriately for physical education class. For comfort and safety purposes tennis shoes should be worn as well as clothes suitable for activity.

Physical activity must be done regularly to achieve health benefits. Therefore, your child’s participation is very important. Students are expected to participate in all activities to the best of their ability unless a doctor’s note is provided to the nurse.

Please be sure to sign up for your classroom SeeSaw account. I will be updating the P.E. folder regularly. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

Holly Fencl

hfencl@linnmar.k12.ia.us 447-3321

A Note from the Orchestra Director – Mrs. Kelly ViethThe 5th Grade Orchestra members have been working very hard on reading notes and rhythms in preparation for our very first concert on Tuesday, October 24th in the High School Auditorium beginning at 6:00 PM. All family and friends are encouraged to attend!!! Students will receive more information about our performance later this month.

Attention all Adopt-a-Beginners….

All students who signed up for this year’s Adopt-a-Beginner Program will be finding out who their High School practice buddy will be very soon. Students accepted into the program will have the chance to meet and greet their buddy at our annual Adopt-a-Beginner Pizza Party, which will take place before our concert on October 24th. More details to come!Keep up the hard work, orchestra students! Go Lions!!!Kelly ViethAssociate Director of OrchestrasLinn-Mar Community Schools(319) 447-3219