Family
Presumpscot
News
Winter 2014-15
Dear Presumpscot Families and Friends,
At Presumpscot , there is a literacy-rich environment where there is an emphasis on the importance of
reading, speaking, listening and writing in the learning for all students. One of Presumpcot's goals is to increase
daily student engagement and achievement in literacy. We focus on a mindset about learning that emphasizes
Cynthia Loring,
growth and effort through Literacy and Character Trait Learning Targets.
Principal
The Common Core Standards drive the teaching and learning at Presumpscot. The standards are important
for building stronger skills in literacy and math and in compelling and supporting students to work together to tackle challenging
material and solve difficult problems that will prepare them to contribute as active citizens who contribute to building a better
community and world.
As you read the photos and articles, what can you learn about our literacy practices and how we are engaging students in
reading, speaking, listening and writing that contributes to successful scholars and citizens?
What are some of the ways you can support literacy outside of school? Here are some tips I've learned as a parent, teacher,
and principal:
Wish Lis t
Look for things your children might like to read. Use their interests and hobbies as starting points.
Notice what attracts your children's attention, even if they only look at the pictures. Then build on that interest; read
a short selection aloud, or simply bring home more information on the same subject.
Reread favorite books. There is value in rereading stories over and over again. Children may catch things they missed
the first time and it allows them another chance to read a favorite book with someone.
Take your children to the library regularly. Explore the children's section together. Ask a librarian to suggest books
and magazines your children might enjoy.
Present reading as an activity with a purpose; a way to gather useful information for, say, making paper airplanes,
identifying a doll or stamp in your child's collection, or planning a family trip.
Encourage older children to read to their younger brothers and sisters. Older children enjoy showing off their skills
to an admiring audience.
Set aside a regular time for reading in your family, independent of schoolwork, the 20 minutes before lights out, just
after dinner, or whatever fits into your household schedule. As little as 10 minutes of free reading a day can
help improve your child's skills and habits. Set a goal to read books with your children everyday. Even after
children become independent readers,they still enjoy and benefit from being read to. Setting aside 15
minutes every day to read to your children, even teenagers, can go a long way in developing a love of
reading. Reading to children exposes them to texts that they might not be ready to read alone.
Encourage your child to read aloud to you an exciting passage in a book, an interesting tidbit in the newspaper, or a
joke in a joke book. When children read aloud, don't feel they have to get every word right. Even good
readers skip or mispronounce words now and then.
Set aside a special place for children to keep their own books.
Not all reading takes place between the covers of a book. What about menus, road signs, food labels, and
sheet music? Take advantage of countless spur-of-the-moment opportunities for reading during the course of
your family's busy day.
Talk with your children. A child’s vocabulary grows through rich conversations with others. Ask them about the
books they are reading and share with them what you are reading. Rich conversations about books go a
long way toward building a love of reading and enable you to better connect your child to books.
If you would be interested in
donating any items to Presumpscot
classrooms, here are some
suggestions:
~ Dry erase markers
~ Boxes of Tissue
~ Glue sticks
~ Socks
~ Mittens
Responsible Learners
For the month of January, all students and teachers at Presumpscot
School focused on the trait of Responsibility. In each classroom,
students were nominated by their peers for consistently being
responsible learners. Students demonstrated responsibility in
learning in many ways. For example, a responsible learner takes time
to do quality work, they care for personal belongings and classroom
supplies and complete his or her homework. On February 4th, at our
Community Meeting, the students pictured above were recognized
for their responsible actions. Congratulations Responsible Learners!
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students participate
in shared reading daily. The
learning target for this activity is, “I
can learn sight words and print
concepts through books, poems
and nursery rhymes.”
Our kindergarten students are also working on pronouns,
subject-verb agreement and sentence structure in expressive oral language with Mrs. Szanton.
I can make sentences that start with “he”, “she” or “they”. I
can choose an action word to go after my starting word.
I can make a sentence that expresses a complete idea.
Ms. Chmelecki’s Kindergartners taught Mrs. Dalphin’s fifth graders a song and dance. Mrs. Dalphin’s fifth
graders were impressed with the kindergartners and commented with a resounding, “You can always learn
something from anyone at Presumpscot School.”
Hawa uses colored story
bears to practice reading
comprehension targets
with her reading buddy
Iman:
I can retell a story,
including important
details.
I can explain the
important message or
lesson of a story.
2nd Grade
1st Grade
In first grade, students are working on their
individual reading and writing goals during
Daily 5. The Daily 5 is a literacy structure that
teaches independence and gives children
the skills needed to create a lifetime
love of reading and writing. It consists of
five tasks that are introduced
individually. The five tasks include: Read to Self, Read to Someone,
Listen to Reading, Work on Writing and Word Work. During this
time, teachers are working with small groups of readers.
I can read with fluency.
I can read long vowel words
with a silent ‘e’
In second grade, students participate in a Daily 5
model of reading; this consists of Word Study, Writing,
Strategy Groups, Read to Self, and Read to Someone.
During this block, we connect our reading and writing
to our current investigation. In the photos shown,
students are working on Word Study Skills by sorting
sounds, recording them, and through technology.
I can retell what my
partner read to me.
3rd Grade
Students in Mrs.
Nichols' class
participated in a
Read-a-Thon.
The day was kicked off
by listening to a song
parody about reading
books, based on the
song All About That Base. They enjoyed listening to
stories read by actors on Storyline Online, teachers, parents, and each other. Students read
all day and absolutely loved it! The children had such a good time that another one will be held just before February
vacation. Guest readers are welcome to join us. Our targets for the day were: “I can read fluently with good expression. I
can choose a variety of books from different genres to read.”
4th Grade
Ms. Keller's students have been grappling over weather related questions.
Recently the children read an informational text on the water cycle, observed a "Cloud
in a Jar" experiment, and engaged in a Science Talk about the experiment. After the
Science Talk, the students completed a written response on how the cloud formed in
the jar during the experiment. Targets for this activity: I can use evidence from the
text to explain how the cloud formed in the jar. I can write my response using
complete sentences.
5th Grade
Fourth grade students have
Ms. Ericson's class is proud of their class anthology of historical fiction
about life in a New York Colony in the year 1649. Students
completed their Colonial America narratives
typed their published writing pieces independently.
unit and their culminating project
involved writing historical fiction narratives. Students wrote a first person historical narrative, from the point of view of a
blacksmith, cooper, carpenter, printer, or shoemaker. Students engaged in choosing their trade researching, note-taking,
chosen trade and take notes. Students used their notes and began the writing process of drafting. Next students
participated in peer revision and editing, and finally wrote or typed their published piece. Students were proud and
excited to share their final products with their peers and families!
The 5th grade students are learning about the Civil Rights Movement
through a variety of engagement strategies supporting the Learning
Target of : “I can explain how the major events of the Civil Rights
Movement changed the perspective of the accepted practice of
segregation to a new perspective of integration.”
The students have been building background knowledge of four major
events by reading a variety of text and completing activities to build
background knowledge , increase all levels of comprehension, and promote small group and whole
group discussions. An engagement strategy used was 5 Corners: 5 quotes from an expert text were
posted in various parts of the classroom and the students were put into small groups and assigned a
quote to grapple with. The students wrote what they thought the quote meant and they discussed their thinking with their group before bringing their
thoughts back to the whole group. While the expert text was being read, each group found evidence to confirm or dispute their original thinking about their
quote. The picture shows one group "grappling" while reading and writing about their quote : "Be loving enough to absorb evil."
ELL
Comprehension is thinking and
making sense of what you read.
Sometimes children can read or
“sound out” every word of a story or
nonfiction text, but they cannot
understand the ideas. One way you
can help your children to develop
comprehension skills is to ask
questions about what they are
reading.
Questions to Ask about Fiction
Tell me the story in your own words.
What was the problem in this story?
What was the lesson of the story?
What do you know about the character so far?
Where does the story take place?
Questions to Ask About Nonfiction
What is this book teaching you?
What did you learn that you didn’t know before?
What do you think this word means?
What is this book mostly about?
I can identify what the book is teaching me.
I can determine the problem in this story.
I can retell the story in my own words.
Physical Education with Mr. McDonald
Physical Literacy provides a solid foundation for children and youth to develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they need to enable them to
engage with poise an confidence across a wide variety of activities. Physical literacy in physical education class utilizes movement, numbers,
and images to express and communicate to others. Students are reading and responding to the environment through interaction with their
peers. Physical Literacy also gives children the ability to articulate the knowledge, skills, and understanding of health.
Instructional Coaches
At school when students are reading books they often
answer questions about the text. We want students to pay
close attention to the text so we ask a lot of questions that
are text dependent. Students have to read the words closely
and often they read several passages or pages to find the
clues they need to answer the question. Here are two pages
from the book Stink to read and then see if you and your
child can answer the question:
What does Newt Hampshire mean?
If you and your child were able to figure out what Newt
Hampshire means in this book then you used the
comprehension skill called inference.
Who's new at Presumpscot School?
Our Art intern is Adrienne Kitco who is a former resident of Milford, Connecticut. She graduated from
college with a fine arts degree and a concentration in ceramics. She moved to Portland to get her
Masters of Arts in Teaching at Maine College of Art. She is completing her internship at Hall and
Presumpscot at the end of Feb then will be teaching at Scarborough High School
for 8 weeks. She worked in a preschool for 10 years before deciding she really
wanted to teach art. Her hobbies include cooking and yoga. She hopes to stay in
Maine after graduating in May.
Ashley Rawnsley is a student teacher from the University of Maine at Farmington in Heidi Nichols classroom.
She will be working within the Presumpscot School until May 14th. Ashley is from Cumberland, Me and has
worked as a camp counselor for five years at the Cumberland Rec Department. She is most excited to be
working with students in a community that she grew up in and around. Ashley is looking forward to be able to
making a difference in the lives of students through their learning and forming relationships with them.
Remember You, your friends, family and
employers can help Presumpscot
School by collecting box tops and
visiting DonorsChoose. org
Ashley Rawnsley
Superintendent’s Corner by Emmanuel Caulk, Superintendent, PPS
Black History is an Ongoing Legacy
February is Black History Month, a time when we reflect on and celebrate how the contributions of African Americans have
helped make our country great. I’d like to recognize some contributions to black history made here in Maine.
Portland was one of the first cities in the country to spend public money educating African Americans. A few
African-American children attended classes with whites at North School in the early 1800’s. As the population grew, a separate
“colored” school was created in a room at the rear of the building. Later, the “colored” school moved to the Abyssinian Church, the city’s only
African-American church. Today, of course, Portland’s schools are fully integrated.
In a more modern example, Gerald Talbot in 1972 became the first African-American member of the Maine House of Representatives,
representing part of Portland. Talbot also helped reorganize the NAACP in Maine, an organization today led by his daughter, Rachel Talbot Ross.
Today, King Middle School students are studying about the role of Mainers in the Civil Rights movement, through a learning expedition
called, “Small Acts of Courage”.
Casco Bay High School student, Kim Henry, responding to the current national debate on race and the stereotypical way African
Americans are often portrayed in the media, held a “Black Stories Matter Cafe Night” on Feb 12 to enable black students to tell their stories.
Those are just two examples of a wide variety of efforts at the Portland Public Schools - Maine’s largest and most diverse school district to promote tolerance, fight against discrimination and ensure that ALL our students graduate prepared for college and career.
We have a number of school-based groups that work to address issues of bias and reduce barriers in our community and schools,
including the King Fellows, Seeds of Peace, Voices for Student Centered Learning and school Civil Rights Teams.
The Portland Public Schools, Portland Mayor Michael Brennan, and the NAACP are partners in My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative of
President Obama and the White House that is tackling the challenges faced by boys and young men of color.
Parents are involved too, through Portland Empowered, a parent’s group working to get traditionally disenfranchised populations of parents
engaged with the school system to foster student success.
At the staff level, we are also working to enhance professional development to include cultural competency and an understanding of
diversity and inclusion. Our goal is to be a leader on the issues of race and equity.
During the FY 2016 school budget process, we will be looking at ways to close the achievement gap we see in some grades between
groups such as African-American and economically disadvantaged students and their other classmates.
Coming Right Up!
Monday, Feb 23rd - Registration for K and Pre K begins
Monday, Feb 23rd- 4:00-5:00pm - Learning Works -Mad
Science Parent/Guardian and guests Night
Tuesday, Feb. 24th - Play Me A Story
Wednesday, Feb. 25th - UNUM Readers
Thursday, Feb. 26th ~ 6-7pm - Second Step Information
workshop for Presumpscot Parents and Guardians
Thursday, March 5th 3:15-4:15pm - Family Math Night for
grades K-2team
Friday, March 6th- - Last basketball game for the season
Monday, March 9th- Kindergarten field study -Maine Audubon
Monday, March 9th-CPort Credit Union~ College Aspirations
Workshop for 5th graders-9:30-10:30am
Tuesday, March 10th-CPort Credit Union~College Aspirations
Workshop for 4th graders-9:30-10:30am
Wednesday, March 11th-UNUM Readers
Friday, March 13th-Presumpscot basketball closing ceremony
Monday and Tuesday, March 16th and 17th--Student -Led
Conferences-Early Release at 12:00 noon
Friday, March 21 6-9--Presumpscot School's Silent Auction
fundraiser ~ Italian Heritage Center
Wednesday, March 25th- Community Meeting 1:15pm
Monday, March 30th-Kindergarten and First grade-Skippy Jon
Jones performance -Merrill Auditorium
From the Art Room
at Presumpscot
Shadow Puppet Pictures
Connect
the Dots