PACE Weekly Newsletter Date: November 2, 2007
Important Dates:
November 5, Monday, 9am - Board of Education's Curriculum Committee Meeting ~ Meeting is held at District Administration Center - Conference room, 4175 Route 71, Oswego, (630) 636-3080. This is the meeting of the Board of Education's Curriculum Committee members and the Administration. Parents are encouraged to attend to find out firsthand what is happening in our district's Curriculum. Topics discussed will be
K-Leap Program
Kendall County Cooperative
Dual Language Program
Secondary Curriculum Cycle Proposals
Industrial Arts Update
Robert Crown Update
Junior High Design
High Achieving Students/Enrichment for All Students
November 5 , Monday, 7pm, Board of Education Meeting ~ Meeting is held at Oswego High School Community Room, 4250 Route 71, Oswego. Meeting agenda can be found closer to the date at http://www.oswego308.org/districtinformation/boardofeducation/boardmeetings.htm
November 14, Wednesday, 7 PM, PACE Steering Committee Meeting ~ Meeting place TBD (hopefully Churchill School). Update on Elementary Math Curriculum Renewal Committee; planning for upcoming activities. Parents wishing to join the PACE Steering Committee are most welcome to attend!
November 18, Sunday, Last day to sign up for Parent/Teacher Conferences held on November 19, 20,& 21 ~ Spaces are filling up fast for Parent/Teacher Conferences at Junior High and High Schools. If time slots that parents need are filled up, the District encourages parents to contact the teacher(s) to schedule an alternate meeting time. For helpful tips on Conferences, please see PACE note below:
Junior High conferences are on November 19 & 20. District is offering convenient online signup. Click on link below to sign up:
BEDNARCIK - http://bejh308.ptcwizard.com/ptc/wizard/
PLANK - http://www.oswego308.org/schools/plank/parents/parentteacherconferences.shtml
THOMPSON - http://www.oswego308.org/schools/thompson/parents/parentteacherconferences.shtml
TRAUGHBER - http://www.oswego308.org/schools/traughber/parents/parentteacherconferences.shtml
High School conferences are on November 19, 20, & 21. Click on link below to sign up:
OHS - http://www.oswego308.org/schools/ohs/parents/ptc.htm
OEHS - http://www.oswego308.org/schools/oehs/parents/ptc.htm
November 1 – December 30, 2007, Registration taking place for Northwestern's Center for Talent Development's winter session classes at their Naperville location ~ Register online at http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/sep/ from now until December 30, 2007. Classes begin January 12. They offer classes for pre-school children such as "Superheroes of the 1800's" to classes for 7-8th graders such as "Marine Biology/Oceanography."
PACE Notes:
1) Notes for our Elementary and Junior High Parents ~ If your child took the computerized MAP achievement test in September/October, since results come back the following day, parents are encouraged by the District to go over the results with the teachers at Parent/Teacher Conference. Teachers can share in-depth information generated by MAP about children's test results. Please let teachers know you are interested in this information before conferences.
2) Tips for Parent/Teacher Conferences from National Education Association webpage,
http://www.nea.org/parents/ptconf.html
Getting Ready
Each teacher will probably come prepared with samples of your children's work and with ideas to help them do even better in school. You should get ready for each conference, too.
Talk to your children before the conference. Find out
what they think are their best subjects, and what subjects
they like the least. Find out why. Also, ask your children
if there is anything they would like you to talk about with
their teachers. Make sure your children don't worry about
the meeting. Help them understand that you and their
teacher(s) are meeting together in order to help them.
Before you go to the school, write notes to yourself about:
- things about your child's life at home, personality, problems, habits, and hobbies you feel it's important for the teacher to know
- your concerns about the school's programs or policies
- questions about your child's progress
-
how you and the school can work together to help your
child
- Is my child in different groups for different subjects? Why?
- How well does my child get along with others?
- What are my child's best and worst subjects?
- Is my child working up to his or her ability?
- Does my child participate in class discussions and activities?
- Has my child missed any classes other than ones I contacted the school about?
- Have you noticed any sudden changes in the way my child acts? For example, have you noticed any squinting, tiredness or moodiness that might be a sign of physical or other problems?
- What kinds of tests are being done? What do the tests tell about my child's progress?
- How does my child handle taking tests?
It's a good idea to ask your most important questions first, just in case time runs out before you and the teacher have a chance to discuss them all. Be sure to ask the teacher for specific suggestions on ways to help your child do better. This is the most important part of the meeting. It will become your action plan. If the teacher says something you don't quite understand, don't be shy about asking for an explanation. It's a good idea to end the conference by summing up decisions you've made together. If needed, ask to meet again.
Start immediately on the action plan you and the teacher worked out together. Discuss the plan with your child. Make sure he or she knows that you and the teacher care. To see if the action plan is working, watch your child's behavior and check your child's class work and homework.
Stay in regular touch with the teacher to discuss the progress your child is making. Meeting with your child's teachers should help build strong parent-teacher partnerships—partnerships that are needed if you and your child's teachers are to reach your common goal of helping your child get the best education possible.
Grab Bag of Information:
Scholarship Available - Scholarship for grades 5-8. Stetson University's HATS (High Achieving Talented Students) Program (DeLand, Florida) and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum (Hannibal, Missouri) are collaborating again this year to offer the 2nd annual Mark Twain Young Authors' Workshop to be held June 23-27, 2008 in Twain's hometown of Hannibal, MO. Twelve young authors will win a full scholarship (including airfare, lodging, etc.) and will spend the week learning how Mark Twain used real life to create his enduring fiction. Students will take a riverboat ride on the Mississippi River, explore Jackson's Island, climb Cardiff Hill, tour the boyhood home and museum, and explore the cave and local cemeteries in order to better understand their influence on Twain's writing. They will also participate in various writing workshop activities, and they will have opportunities for their work to be published. Interested students must submit a 3-page writing sample, teacher recommendation, and completed application form, which is available with further details at: http://www.stetson.edu/hats/MarkTwainYoungAuthors.php Deadline for applications is January 15, 2008. Winners will be notified by March 15, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Cindy Lovell, Director of the Mark Twain Young Authors' Workshop, at Cindy.Lovell@MarkTwainMuseum.org
Please send items you'd like to share, questions, & suggestions to PACE email address, pace308org@sbcglobal.net. Visit us at www.pace308.org. If you know someone who may find the weekly updates helpful, please pass it along.
"A fundamental goal of the People of the State is the educational development of all persons to the limits of their capacities." - Illinois Constitution, ARTICLE X, SECTION 1.