Fall officially arrived on September 22, at 10:49 a.m.  We all knew Autumn was getting close when the Edison PTA sets up the Fall Family Fun Night.  What a great turn out we had!  I want to give a special thanks to Amber Smith and her committee, along with the PTA executive committee, for putting together a spectacular event.  Also, thank you to the many volunteers from Edison, Wellspring Church, and to the Edison faculty and staff. If you haven’t joined PTA yet, memberships are only $5.00 per person, or $10.00 per business. 

On September 13, we held our kick off event for Watch D.O.G.S.  Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) is a National program that encourages fathers, or other adult male role models, to get involved in the school.  We had over 70 males show up and hope to hear back from many of them.  The program asks dads to come and volunteer for just one days during the school year.  If you missed signing up for this event, contact April Payne our school’s volunteer coordinator at 671-4110. 

Coming up this month we have our school pictures on October 2, 2012.  This is a pre-purchase program, which means that you must select your package and send the money at the time the pictures are taken.  We will have another picture day in the spring, in which you can see a proof of your picture before your purchase.  The photographers encourage the children to wear colorful clothing on picture day.

At the end of the month, Edison PTA will also organize our Fall Harvest Parties. These parties will begin at 2:00 pm and end at 3:00 pm.  These are not Halloween Parties and children will not be dressing up. However, we will have fun games and PTA provides small treats for the children.  If you child’s room parent contacts you for help, I hope you will.  One small favor, please do not send candy for the party. 

Finally, I just received word today that we will have a voter registration drive for the upcoming November election.  On October 2, 2012 at 3:00 pm on our playground or (in case of inclement weather in the café), two volunteers will register voters.  You will need to bring some form of identification (utility bill, driver’s license, social security card) to present to the volunteers. They will then get you signed up.

Have a great month!

We invite you to attend registration night at Edison Elementary on August 14, 2012 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.   During this time you will turn in the paperwork that was mailed to all returning children, meet your child’s teacher, put money in your child’s lunch account, and drop off your child’s school supplies.

 1.     Complete the documents that you received in the mail (returning students only) and bring with you on August 14.

•  Health Form (blue) – Please fill this form out completely. We use this to contact you if there is a medical emergency involving your child.  Plan to update if there are any changes, during the school year. 
•    Registration Form (peach) – Please review this form and make any changes by crossing out the incorrect information and printing the new information neatly. This information will be put into the school district data base.

2.  Come to Edison on August 14 between 5:30 – 7:00 pm.

Enter through the art room doors on the East Side of the playground. You will be directed through the registration lines where you will drop off the health and registration forms.  In addition, you will be able to meet with the nurse and drop off medications, if needed.

We will also have food service envelopes available for you to place $10 in your child’s lunch account to get started or you may pay for the full month. For those who would like to apply, we will have free/reduced lunch forms available. These forms must be completed each year and you are responsible for the cost of the meals until your application is approved. If your child received free or reduced priced meals last year, they will continue to do so for about 2 weeks.  At that time, you would begin paying full price for meals, unless you have reapplied and been approved.

 3.  Receive Parent Student Handbook 

 4. Take your child's supplies to his or her classroom. 

 I look forward to working with you again this year.  I encourage each family to join PTA and participate in our school as a family.  We will hold several events throughout the school year to inform you about your child’s learning here at Edison. We also offer multiple ways to volunteer, including serving as room parent or cutting out materials for centers at home. Contact us if you are interested in volunteering.

 Should you have concerns or questions during the school year, I encourage you to first ask your child’s teacher.  Then if you still have questions please do not hesitate to contact me at 671-4110. 

Safety and Cold Weather 

Preschool Round up

Cold Weather Approaches

As we approach the end of the first semester, I think back on those early August days and the high temperatures in the 90s.  Weather plays a part in our educational process whether we admit it or not.  We will eventually have a time this coming Winter when school district officials will determine if they will cancel school, start late, or not.  I strongly encourage you to make sure that you have updated your telephone information.  Our district uses the AlertNow messaging system to notify parents of all changes in the school schedule due to the weather. 

Additionally, make sure that your child dresses for the weather conditions. While cold weather does not cause anyone to get sick, it does contribute to reducing the body’s ability to fight off infectious germs.  When the body has to fight to maintain a normal temperature it cannot fight off the germs that make us sick. Contact Mrs.. Juhl, our family involvement coordinator, if you need help making sure that your children are protected for Winter’s harsh conditions.

Also, make sure that your children do not arrive at school before 8:00 a.m.  We are not able to provide supervision for students prior to that time. Our school does work with the YMCA to provide before and after school childcare.  If you are interested, you may contact the YMCA to find out more information. I believe that they have a sliding scale based on your income level. They also provide services for early out and days when school is out for inclement weather. 

Edison Children Struggle to Read

I have now had the opportunity to review our children’s most recent test scores.  As a school community, we should all pause to reflect on our children’s progress.  I know that each of you monitors your own child’s progress carefully, but how often do you take a look at the progress of all children.  I think we know that our children will have to know how to read in order to do well not just in school, but also in life.  How many of us, however, turn off the TV and encourage our children to read a book, or read with them on a daily basis, or even take time to model our own personal reading?  Our lives are busy.  We so often have good intentions, but fail to follow thru.  I encourage you to recommit to making sure that your children come first.  As educators, we teach children to read, but to get better at reading they have to practice and not just in school.  We will continue to review and monitor our children’s progress and as we do we will continue to inform you on how to support your child at home.

Edison’s New Website Launched

Where can you find resources to support your child?  How about on our new Edison Elementary Website?  If you haven’t already bookmarked our site, click on edisonelementaryeagles.com, and you will find our main page.  We are starting to find and collect parent resources.  You can find these under the parent resources link.  Additionally, I am going to try to update weekly the From the Principal’s Desk blog as well.  Take a look around and feel free to suggest ways for us to give you the information that you need. 

On a side note, progress continues in making Edison one of two elementaries where each student in grades 4-6 will have access to an iPad. I meet weekly with district officials and Apple to work on the details for the roll out of the equipment.  The timeline for our kids having access to this technology continues to be February.  Teachers should have theirs before the holiday break.  This technology will not replace good teaching, but it will allow our children to have access to technology that many others in our community have. Our goal will not be just using the technology for games, though we will have learning games available to them, nor are we going to just use it for word processing our work, though students will do that as well. I want us to figure out to connect our children in a safe way to the world, to talk with other children in a classroom across the country or around the globe.  I want them to become “citizens of the world.”