Randall CarterBack to School Night

WELCOME BACK PARENTS!SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

PRINCIPAL - SCOT R. BURKHOLDER

Back To School Night

Randall Carter Elementary School

 7:00-7:45 p.m.

  

Everyone will meet in the All Purpose Room for a short presentation from the PTO Co-Presidents, SPA Representatives, Board of Education Members, the Assistant Superintendent of Schools, the Director of Elementary Education, and the Assistant Principal and Principal. 

 7:50-8:25 p.m.

 

Parents of students in Grades 3-5 and Mrs. Fitzgibbon’s class will meet with their child’s classroom teacher. 

Grades K-2 will meet with the School Special Area Teachers. Art-(Room 4), Phys. Ed.-(Gym), Music-(Room 5), Media- (Media Center), ASSP/Reading-(Room 3), Speech-(Room 30), Resource Teachers-(Room 23 or 25), Nurse-(Next to Main Office). 

 8:30-9:00 p.m.

 

Parents of students in Grades K-2 will meet with their child’s classroom teacher. 

Grades 3-5 and Mrs. Fitzgibbon’s class will meet with the School Special Area Teachers. Art-(Room 4), Phys. Ed.-(Gym), Music-(Room 5), Media- (Media Center), ASSP/Reading-(Room 3), Speech-(Room 30), Resource Teachers-(Room 23 or 25), Nurse-(Next

to Main Office). 

District and Randall Carter Introductions

Randall Carter Staff Introductions Assistant Principals: Lydia Cooper,

PhD/ Karen Dolci/ Cathy Gaynor Acting Director of Elementary

Education – Mrs. Donna Riechman

SPA Representatives, Board of Education Members, District Leadership

PTO Co-Presidents

PTO President:Audrey Crowe

The Randall Carter PTO Officers 2015-2016

Presidents: Audrey Crowe

Vice President: Vicki Lefelar & Hallie Wolford

Treasurer: Rose Manzo

Assistant Treasurer: Stefanie Jaworski

Recording Secretary: Michele Loffredo

Corresponding Secretary: Ninfa Sykes

Dues are just $7.00 Per Family!

Upcoming School / PTO Events October 2 – Family Bowling Night – Preakness @ 6:30

October 5-9 – Week of Respect

October 12-15 – Book Fair @ Randall Carter Elementary

October 13 – Family Fun Night @ Book Fair 6:30pm

October 14 - PTO Meeting

October 23 – PTO Halloween Party Family Fun Night 7:00pm

October 26 – Fairview Lakes 5th Grade Parent Meeting – Wayne Hills 7pm

March - Talent Show to be held at GW (Date TBD)

May 6 - Mother's Day Plant Sale

May 20 - School Picnic

May 26 – School Field Day (Rain Date: June 3)

Early June - 5th Grade Pool Party (Date TBD)

June 21- 5th Grade Moving Up day

Who is the new guy? 16th year in education

9 years as a teacher - PE/Special Education/ELA and Math In Class Support Teacher – Led I&RS and Crisis Teams

1 Year as a Middle School Vice Principal

5 + Years as an Elementary Principal

Recently attended the Principal Center for Leadership at Harvard University.

Highlights from my Elementary Principalship:

Academic Improvement Every Year

Highest NJASK Science Scores in the district (2015)

Numerous Competitive Grant Wins – Extra $ for the kids!

Cyber Partnership with an Elementary School in Taiwan

Community Garden Project – 4th and 5th grades built the garden

Community Volunteer of the Year – City of Plainfield

NAACP Community Hero Award Recipient

Increased Community Involvement and Extracurricular programs

Highlights of New School Year: School messenger – Parent notification/information system

New Math Program – Envision 2.0 Math

New ELA Program – Wonders with home connections

Technology Enhancement – Bright links interactive boards in K-2, New Ipads, laptops, new chrome book cart, and a newly designed 21st century classroom (5th grade)

New Media Specialist

New Community / Parent Initiatives

Elementary Math Nights

Principals Round Table Events (Educational topics: PARCC, literacy support, etc.

Awarded Bronze Certification for Sustainable Schools NJ

Elementary Report Card – return to grading / commentary (Shorter and clearer than the standards based report cards used previously)

Upper Elementary Departmentalization and 21st Century Classroom InitiativesMr. Serge Sosnov – 5th Grade Teacher

Departmentalization in 4th and 5th grade

What are the benefits?

What does the student day look like?

Visitation Plan for Back to School Night

Start in your child’s homeroom for 20 minutes, then rotate to the other subjects for ten minutes (rotation schedule will be shared by the homeroom teacher during your first session).

21st Century Classroom:

New technology

New Furniture

Changes in traditional instructional delivery

Student Learning Styles Valued and Enriched

Wonders Program (ELA) Aligned with Common Core State Standards

Significant technology resources (for teachers and students)

Assessments, Reading Book, Readers and Writers Workshop, and Practice Books for kids.

Came with Leveled Classroom Libraries

Access codes will allow teachers and student access anytime

6 Units per grade level (with SS/Science Connections)

Built for students of all levels (components for all reading levels)

Online access to articles, Time for Kids, and other resources.

If you want to explore or learn more: http://mhreadingwonders.com

 

Elementary Parent Math Night

Learn about our New Math Program!

October 6 - Wayne Hills Auditorium & Commons

7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Packanack, Ryerson, & Randall Carter

Program Highlights: NEW for the 2015-2016 School Year Grades K-6 Hands-On Activities to Engage Students Consumable Student Workbooks Support Materials for All Learners Meets the Rigor of the Common Core State Standards Bounce Pages App for Homework Help

 EnVision 2.0 Math Program

GATES Program 2015-16Elementary Gifted and Talented – 4th and 5th grade

Identification Process:

Following the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children guidelines for identification, Wayne uses multiple criteria when considering students for the GATES pull-out enrichment program, including:

InView Cognitive Skills Test score

Class performance including: learning ability (mathematical reasoning; abstract thinking; reading and writing ability), creativity, leadership, and task commitment

District Gifted & Talented Aptitude Test scores

Identification Process Timeline:

September: InView Cognitive Test is administered to all 4th grade students, as well as any 5th grade students who did not take the test previously. Class performance data for all 4th and 5th graders is reviewed.

October: Qualifying students are invited to take the Gifted and Talented Aptitude Test in math and/or language arts. Permission slips to test are sent home to those who are eligible. The Gifted and Talented Identification Committee reviews all of the data. Invitations to participate in the GATES program are sent home to qualifying students. GATES pull-out enrichment classes begin.

November: Parent Orientation Night for the GATES program is held.

**Please Note: The GATES Enrichment Specialists work with classroom teachers to challenge students further within the classroom setting throughout the year.

Student Expectations Take pride in your home, school, and community. Obey all school rules. Make informed choices. Do your best at all times. Take responsibility for your own actions. Set goals (short & long term). Don’t give up, finish what you start. Do what’s right, and not just what’s easy. Think about others’ needs and feelings. Be able to disagree with someone without anger or

violence. Stand up for what you know is right.

Code Of Conduct Expectations – Bullying, fighting, and/or disrespect will not be tolerated. I believe in teaching our students character education and self esteem. We will first seek to teach lessons to all students referred to my office. However, students who continue to affect other students ability to learn will be held accountable.

Parent ExpectationsPlease follow the sign in and sign out procedures

sent home and limit the amount of early pick-ups for your children.

Follow Traffic Safety Pattern in the parking lot! No parking in the two staff lots, they will be blocked by cones – students pass through these areas.

Please do not walk into the building freely – all must sign in with the main office to protect your children.

Be involved – PTO, check homework / planner, read with your children – WHAT EVER IT TAKES!

Helpful Parent APP’s - Wayne

Next: Click SETTINGS – slide Randall Carter right to activate. You can select multiple schools if you have kids at other WTPS.

Helpful Parent APP’s – Book WizardScholastic Book Wizard – Looks up books with a search or you can SCAN bar codes directly on the book to get the reading level, grade level, and pricing on most books!

Search by Title, Author, or keyword

Scan the barcode directly

Goals for 2015 -16 Continue to raise student achievement levels

Increase parent involvement at events and on committees.

Increase community service and outreach for families.

Increase the amount of Professional Support/training for all staff members.

Increase communication with parents and guardians on educational programs and student progress.

Effectively implement Envision and the Wonders Pilot.

Ensure a supportive, and challenging environment for all students – including classified students!

Decrease the number of behavioral infractions while providing character education support and resources for students.

We Need Your Help!

Students

Parents /

Guardians

School

Staff

School Administrati

on

Communi

ty

Overall responsibility for making our school the best environment possible for our students is shared by all stakeholders!

This includes parents and guardians, our students, board members, all school personnel, and our valued community members. Each group listed above is expected to work positively to support our children!

Partnership = Success

YOUR TURN …

ANY QUESTIONS? See me!Email Me: sburkholder@wayneschools.comFollow us on Twitter:@Principal_RC

**Presentation will be posted to RC Web Site

Enjoy your visit to our classrooms!