Principal Monthly Newsletter
January 2013
Live a Healthy Lifestyle
If you are like me, January 1st not only brings a new year but also a time to reflect on the previous year, plenty of football games, and the dreaded new years resolution to lose weight, get in shape, and become the best person I can be. In the past student wellness, especially for elementary students, has been a topic that has not typically been on the forefront of education leaders and parents. However, as times have changed and the number of young people with childhood obesity and other health related illnesses has increased, the need for educating our students about healthy eating and living has increasingly become more important.
Please take the time to talk to your students about the amount of time they exercise every day, the type of snacks that they choose to eat, and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Not only will this healthy lifestyle improve your student’s overall health, but will also help them academically as research has shown that healthy students typically outscore their non-healthy peers on academic achievement tests.
Be A Fit Kid (ideas from the website Kidshealth.org)
Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD Date reviewed: May 2007
1. Eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. You may have a favorite food, but the best choice is to eat a variety. If you eat different foods, you're more likely to get the nutrients your body needs.
2. Drink water and milk most often. When you're really thirsty, cold water is the No. 1 thirst-quencher.
3. Listen to your body. What does it feel like to be full? When you're eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full.
4. Limit screen time. Limit screen time. What's screen time? It's the amount of time you spend watching TV or DVDs, playing video games (console systems or handheld games), and using the computer. Try to spend no more than 2 hours a day in front of a screen.
5. Be active. One job you have as a kid — and it's a fun one — is that you get to figure out which activities you like best.
Parents can be a big help if you want to be a fit kid. For instance, they can stock the house with healthy foods and plan physical activities for the family. Tell your parents about these five steps you want to take and maybe you can teach them a thing or two. If you're a fit kid, why shouldn't you have a fit mom and a fit dad?
SINA Action Plan Status January 2013
Team SMART Goal: 94% of students in grades 3 and 4 will be proficient in reading as measured by the Iowa Assessments (2013-14)
Action Step 1: Unpack the Iowa Core Standards in reading, and place within high quality units of instruction.
Learning Completed To Date:
· All grade levels (K-4) have identified common core power standards for literacy
· All grade levels (K-4) have unpacked the common core literacy standards
· All grade levels (K-4) have aligned the unpacked standards in sequence units and named them
Next Steps:
· Add details to previously completed units
· Create common assessments and implement within instruction
· Complete the learning cycle for developed units
· Provide teacher teams with (2) half-day work sessions to study shared reading and the interactive think aloud strategies.
· Provide teacher teams with time to create a book “wish list” for their shared reading curriculum and for their developed units.
Action Step 2: Develop a systematic approach to non-negotiables in reading instruction (the what and the how).
Learning Completed To Date:
· K-4 Building Literacy Team developed
· Bi-weekly meetings to examine current building practices, discuss reading best strategies, and to develop learning opportunities for teams.
· K-4 Literacy Team attended Sharon Walpole conference
· K-1 ELA team developed per District initiative - Professional learning opportunity on January 11th for K-1 teachers in regards to an effective ELA block
Next Steps:
· Redesign action plan - consider making it a two year plan instead of a one year plan
· Start building professional development on an effective ELA block (focus K-1).
· Develop literacy team into literacy coaches and use to coach grade level teams
· Provide teachers with professional development in the areas of the interactive think aloud, shared reading, and guided reading.
Action Step 3: Develop a systematic capacity for an effective intervention model.
Learning Completed To Date:
· A few different schedules studied from other schools
· A focus on an “intervention” schedule determined
Next Steps:
· Create team to examine intervention schedules
· Develop an intervention schedule for 2013-2014