Newsletter, February 17, 2017

Principal’s Message

Dear Friends and Families of Los Ranchos,

We have had many changes in our curriculum and standards over the last few years. Science is included in these changes. The new standards are called Next Generation Science Standards. Our district adopted NGSS last year and our teachers are implementing parts of the new curriculum this year. These standards will impact your children kindergarten through twelfth grades. We are fortunate to have Tristan Shorba, an experienced and passionate Science teacher,  lead our professional learning and planning for our district.  Mr. Shorba will be sharing information about NGSS at our next Parent Coffee on Friday, February 24th at 8:30 a.m. in the library. I hope you can join us.

Have a lovely weekend.

Sincerely,

Marlie Schmidt  

Upcoming Dates

• No School, President’s Day, Monday, February 20th
• Minimum Days - Thursday and Friday, February 23-24 - Kinder - 6th Graders out at 1:00 p.m.
• Parent Coffee with Mr. Shorba, Friday, February 24th at 8:30a.m., Los Ranchos Library
• Read Across America Day - March 2, 2017

Project for Good

If you have any spare sweatshirts or jackets, please donate them in the box at the office for Transitions Mental Health. One of our 6th grade students is collecting jackets for his project for good. Thank you for your donations!          

YMCA Annual Support Campaign - Family Fun Night

Thursday, March 2nd from 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Bring your kids and your friends to our Family Fun Night. Enjoy music, a photo booth, dinner and ice cream while supporting the YMCA programs at Los Ranchos Elementary School.  

Raffle and silent auction items include:

• Art from the Y kids
• Movie Tickets
• Private Tours
• Gift Certificates
• ...and more!

Please Plan for Minimum Days

Students have minimum days Thursday and Friday, February 23rd and 24th.

We will also have a full week of minimum days March 6th - 10th for Parent/Conference week.

TK students are out at 12:20pm. All other students,

Grades K-6th will be released at 1:00p.m. on minimum days.

Newsletter, February 10, 2017

Principal’s Message

Dear Friends and Families of Los Ranchos,

Sixth grade outdoor school is an amazing experience. Memories are made, new friendships established and students get to re-imagine who they are as individuals. Many, many thanks to Mr. Kersten and Mrs. Matteson.   Camp would not happen without their dedication and commitment!

Special thanks to Mrs. Sabo for bringing children’s author Alexis O’Neill to Los Ranchos and to our PTA for funding the visit. Her presentation connected beautifully to our reading and writing curriculum. Some of my favorite quotes included . . . . . Everything you write, read outloud! How many of you get stuck when you are writing (all hands shot up). Oh good, that means you are real writers. Words have power, not only what they say but how they are said.

       Our school district is wanting to gather important information about the technology needs of our students at home and at school. They are working in collaboration with an organization called BrightBytes to collect the data. Your child’s teacher will be sending out information about a short parent survey. The information is anonymous. The URL will be specific to Los Ranchos Elementary. We appreciate your participation.   

Have a lovely weekend.

Sincerely,

Marlie Schmidt  

Upcoming Dates

• No School, Lincoln’s Birthday, Monday, February 13th
• No School, President’s Day, Monday, February 20th
• Minimum Days - Thursday and Friday, February 23-24 - Kinder - 6th Graders out at 1:00 p.m.

         

Newsletter, February 3, 2017

Principal’s Message

Dear Friends and Families of Los Ranchos,

We had a very informative Parent Coffee with Eileen Calandro this morning. She shared some valuable information to help parents navigate the “constantly flowing river” of social media with our children. Parents had some great questions. How do I teach my children about digital citizenship? How can I be more proactive? What boundaries shall I set? Mrs. Calandro shared many great resources, but highlighted iRules by Janell Burley Hofmann and UnSelfie by  Michelle Borba, Ed.D. We are lucky to have many good opportunities to learn more through our adult school.      Our next Parent Coffee will be on February 24 at 8:30 a.m.. Tristan Shorba, a lead Science teacher  in our district, will be sharing information about Next Generation Science Standards. I hope you can join us.

Have a lovely weekend.

Sincerely,

Marlie Schmidt  

Upcoming Dates

• Dental Screening for TK, Kindergarten and 3rd and 5th Gr Students, Tuesday, February 7th
• Family Night -Children’s Author Alexis O’Neill - Wednesday, February 8th

(Buy pizza from the PTA at 5:30, Author at 5:45pm)

• No School, Lincoln’s Birthday, Monday, February 13th
• No School, President’s Day, Monday, February 20th
• Parent Coffee with Tristan Shorba -NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) , Friday, February 24rh at 8:30am in the Library
• Minimum Days - Thursday and Friday, February 23-24

Author’s Visit

We hope you can join us for literacy night with author Alexis O’Neill on Wednesday, February 8th, sponsored by our PTA. The evening family night will focus on literacy, literature, and the importance of reading together as a family..  She will be available to personally sign any of her books you bring with you to the family night event. We hope you can join us on Wednesday, February 8th from 5:45 - 6:30 p.m..  (Pizza will be sold for $1 a slice at 5:30 prior to the assembly)

Parent CoffeeCoffee Talk

Our next Parent Coffee will be with Tristan Shorba who will talk about NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards). Mark your calendar for Friday, February 24th at 8:30a.m. and join us in the Library to learn more about our Science Standards.

Open Enrollment Period

If you have a  6th grader going into middle school and you are considering transferring to a school outside of your neighborhood school, please note that Open Enrollment begins March 6th- March 31st.  

We also begin Kindergarten and TK enrollment March 6th.