Killian Cougar Chronicle
Killian Elementary
November—December 2009
A National Blue Ribbon School
A California Distinguished School
Jason Gass, Principal
Glendy Marin, Learning Director
Thanksgiving Food Drive
Principal’s Message
This year, our
Student Council
I can’t believe the holidays are already upon us. It seems as though the
organized a food
school year just started. I want to take this opportunity to wish all of the
drive for our
wonderful Killian families a happy holiday season and the best of luck in
families in need
the New Year. I am thankful to be the Principal at such a superb school.
this Thanksgiving
Killian has a tradition of excellence that is pervasive in everything we do.
Holiday season.
We strive to provide the best education possible for our students because
Thank you Killian families for generously
quite frankly, that is what we would want for our own children. It is an
contributing to our canned food drive.
honor to be involved in a school that takes such pride in creating an
environment where children are challenged to be the best that they can
be. Please continue to provide support to your children and remember to
treat them as though they are the person you want them to become. Have
a fantastic winter break and I look forward to seeing all students back at
school on January 4th.
CALENDAR
December 4
Student of the Month
Assemblies - Grades K-2
December 9
District Open Enrollment Announcement
CHOICE for 20102010-2011
Winter Band Concert
6:00pm, RHS
December 11 Student of the Month & Honor
The Rowland Unified School District is now accepting forms for open
enrollment within the district for the 2010—2011 school year. This applies only
to the open enrollment for schools within the district.
November 2, 2009
Application form available for pick up at all
schools and Pupil Services Office.
January 22,2010
Last day to turn in the form to Pupil Services
Office. Form must be turned in no later than 4:00
pm on this date. NO LATE APPLICATIONS WILL BE
ACCEPTED.
March 19, 2010
Parents will be notified by mail of their “Choice”
results.
April 23, 2010
Parents must have completed and turned in all
the required paperwork for registration at the
school of choice or have contacted the school of
choice by this date or they forfeit their choice.
Roll Assemblies - Grades 3-6
December 14-January 1 Winter Break
January 4
School Resumes
January 5
Morning Break Club, 9:15am
Rowland Elementary
January 6
KSCA Meeting, 2:55pm
January 18
Martin Luther King, Jr Day
NO SCHOOL
January 22
CHOICE Applications due
January 29
Literacy Day
Killian School’s common vision is: Commitment to excellence for all and by all students and staff, through our dedication to provide a strong support system for students;
provide a rigorous instructional program delivered with high expectations for academic achievement; provide parent training and encourage parent participation.
What’s Happening in Second and Third Grade?!
Check out what these young learners are doing at Killian
Third Grade
Second Grade
Second grade has been working very hard this fall. We are
teaching every minute of every day. Most recently in writing,
we have been focusing on the five parts of the Friendly Letter
and their location along with writing a letter including detail
and information. In mid-November, all second grade
students will take a district writing test on a friendly letter. We
are looking forward to having many students be successful on
this writing test.
Also, in language arts we have finished our Silly Stories theme.
We continue to work on our comprehension of the stories
along with grammar and phonics skill of each story. As part
of our word work, we are learning about homophones,
antonyms, compound words, multiple meaning words and
synonyms. Currently we are reading stories about nature.
Some of these stories are non-fiction and require the students
to pull out the main idea and details instead of retelling the
plot with the problem and solution.
As part of our math curriculum second grade is
working on JiJi math through the Mind Institute.
Students work at their own pace through games
starting at the pictorial level of understanding
up to and including the representational level. In our new
math curriculum several classes are working on recognizing
and adding coins, as well as finding different ways to make
the same amount in change.
The third grade
students in Mrs.
Carreon, Mrs. Childs.
Mrs. Sena, and Mrs
Cocos/Clark’s classes
enjoyed a day at the
La Brea Tar pits and
the Page Museum on
November 5th. The
children learned
about the Ice Age and the extinction of prehistoric animals in
the Los Angeles area during this period.
Back in the classroom students have been studying about
animals in science, as well as learning about geography;
specifically about community. In mathematics, we have been
studying multiplication and a variety of strategies to solve
word problems. Additionally, students have been preparing for
the writing and reading
comprehension tests that will
be administered before
Winter break. The third grade
team in conjunction with the
Celebrating Traditions unit in
reading planned special
activities for the students to
enjoy the days before
Thanksgiving vacation.
A Special Thank You to Killian’s Community Partners
Acapulco Restaurant
Design Plus Signs
Pizza Hut
Applebee’s Restaurant
Elephant Bar Restaurant
Rainforest Café
Benihanas Restaurant
Fresh & Easy
Red Mango
Black Angus Restaurant
Hometown Buffet
Red Robin Restaurant
Boomers
Hot Dog on a Stick
Sam’s Club
California Arborist
IHOP
Speed Zone
Chick-fil-A
In N Out
T.G.I. Fridays
Chili’s Restaurant
Jamba Juice
Target
Claim Jumper
Joe’s Crab Shack
Topline Services
Costco
Millie’s Restaurant
Washington Mutual
Dennys Restuarant
Mimi’s Café
Page 2
Thank You for your
contributions to
Killian Elementary!
Wild About Learning!
Fresh and Easy Fundraiser
Thanks to all your efforts that night and help,
our school raised a total of $272.07.
Family Science Night
Thank You KCSA for “Family Science Night” !!! Students and
families enjoyed all the different
science displays. There was so much to
learn about: bubbles, electricity,
insects, dinosaurs, rain forest animals,
and the dessert. A special thanks to
Mrs. Rosa Leong and Ms. Ocean Wallin
for their help in organizing such an
exciting event.
Fall Fundraiser
The KCSA fundraiser was a huge success. We earned
about $32,000 of which Killian will receive approximately
45%. Students who sold items which totaled $200 or more
were awarded a limo lunch to Hometown Buffet
accompanied by their proud school Principal, Mr. Gass.
Help Your Elementary Schooler
Develop an Achievement Attitude
Attitudes are like mental pictures. Basketball players who can
picture themselves scoring a basket can usually do just that.
Students who have a positive picture of themselves being
successful in the classroom are more likely to achieve.
As a parent, you have the ability to help your child create positive
pictures and positive thoughts about what she can do. Here are
some ways you can help your child create an attitude
of achievement:
Picture success in school. Help your child create a
mental picture of success. "I want you to see yourself
getting an A on that book report."
Stress the importance of effort. If your child is struggling, say,
"When you studied hard last week, you got your spelling words
right. You can do it."
Give the positive behavior you see a name. "I was so proud when
you were kind to the new boy in class today."
Reprinted with permission from the November 2009 issue of Parents make the difference!®
(Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2009 The Parent Institute®, a division of
NIS, Inc. Source: John R. Ban, Parents Assuring Student Success: Achievement Made Easy by
Learning Together, ISBN: 1-879-63972-6 (National Educational Service, www.nesonline.com).
Make School Attendance
a Major Priority
With school vacation coming up, you may be planning to
take your child out of school for an extra day or two. You'll
just ask the teacher for advance homework. Missing a few
days won't really matter, will it?
Teach Your Child to Solve Math
Word Problems in Four Steps
Sometimes, the reason kids can't find the answer to
a math word problem is that they can't figure out
the question. Have your child follow these steps:
Read the question. Suppose the word problem says
Actually, those few days of absence can matter a lot. Think
about the things your child may be missing that can't be
made up with homework.
"John has nine marbles. Joe has 11. If Joe gives
The class discussion about the book they are reading can't
be captured in homework. Neither can the science
demonstration or the group project for
history. In some subjects, like math,
missing even a few days is a problem
because learning builds on what
students already know.
marbles will John have?"
Extra homework will not make up for the things your child
misses when she's out of school. So instead of taking your
child out of school, make an extra effort to improve her
attendance this month.
problem, your child should be able to find the answer. "John has
John three marbles, how many marbles will John have?" Write
down exactly what question the problem asks: "How many
Look for key information. Every word problem will include facts-John has nine marbles and Joe has 11. Joe gives John three
marbles. Write these facts down.
Rewrite the question as a math problem. In this case, nine marbles
plus three marbles equals how many marbles?
Solve the problem. Once the word problem is rewritten as a math
12 marbles."
Reprinted with permission from the November 2009 issue of Parents make the
difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2009 The Parent
Reprinted with permission from the December 2008 issue of Parents make the
difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Parent
Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Jennifer Railsback, "Increasing Attendance:
Strategies from Research and Practice" (Northwest Regional Education Laboratory,
www.nwrel.org/request/2004june/warm.html).
Volume 8, Issue 2
Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Ronald J. Dietel, Get Smart! Nine Sure Ways to
Help Your Child Succeed in School, ISBN: 0-787-98334-9 (Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint,
www.wiley.com).
Page 3
October’s Student of the Month
KINDERGARTEN
Benberyl Korompis
Leslie Estrada
Sharon Kim
Eric Cao
Shane Kuhlman
John Leano
Chanmee Lee
Alexis Chandler
Bernardo Ligsay III
Alvin Pan
Natalie Lopez
Owen Chau
Vicky Wang
Sadat Roya Seyedi-
Enrique Maldonado
Rezvani
Lesley Mares
William Xue Jr
Renee Najem
Aleena Cruz
Ethan Le
SECOND GRADE
Bella Lee
Ashley Chen
Daniel Martinez
Chase Kito
FOURTH GRADE
Nina Puckett
Katie Lee
Soloman Chen
Tony Puckett III
Jenna Padilla
Anaya Hernandez
SIXTH GRADE
Amber Wang
Jacob Romo
Ashlea Howard
Alina Castro
Jessica Susanto
Chloe Leong
Sarah Chang
FIRST GRADE
Anissa Vallejo
Tristan Maglunog
Kyle Couch
Anthony Acuna
Tammy Yi
Alejandra Zapata
Joo Yeong Jeon
Dominic Alvarado
THIRD GRADE
Trisha Mae Zuniga
Serena Nguyen
Cameron Aranda
Jamie Bustos
Rachel Chan
Justin Chen
FIFTH GRADE
Ethan Chin
Tiffany Cheung
Christian Garcia
Tim Deng
Gillean De Castro
Paul Simoun Granadozin
Sadat Leila SeyediRezvani
Zane Perez
Killian Elementary School
19100 Killian Avenue
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Phone: (626) 964-6409
Fax: (626) 965-7729
Governing Board
Gloria Burt
Robert F. Hidalgo
Gilbert G. Garcia, Ph.D.
Heidi Gallegos
Judy Nieh
Maria G. Ott, Ph.D.
Superintendent
RUSD Mission
The mission of the Rowland Unified School District, the
progressive international community united in learning, is to
empower students so that each actualizes his or her unique
potential and responsibly contributes to a global society,
through a system distinguished by rigorous academics,
innovative use of technology, creative exploration, and
Look us up at:
nurturing learning experiences.
http://killian.rowland.k12.ca.us
The Rowland Unified School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic group identification, ancestry, religion, age, marital status,
gender, sex, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, and political belief or affiliation in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in,
its programs and activities including adult and vocational education. Inquires related to this statement should be forwarded as follows: Students—contact Title IX
co-chairs– Director of Pupil services or Director of Special Projects, (626) 965-2541; Employees –contact Assistant Superintendent of Personnel, (626) 854-8336.