The Stadium Drive Star Where academics shine through the arts
STUDENT COUNT & ATTENDANCE MINDSETS
GROWTH OR FIXED: WHAT’S YOURS? RED RIBBON WEEK
NEWS FROM THE PTO
Change Your Mindset, Change the Outcome Rob Murray
Stop in any classroom across America these days and you will undoubtedly hear students talking about school and performance. Listen closely and you may hear things like “I don’t want to get it wrong” and “I’m not a math person”. Until recently, parents and educators may have dismissed these damaging thoughts or reinforced fixed mindset thinking by affirming the importance of being correct the first time or even disclosing the dreaded “I’m was never good at math either”. Mindsets are beliefs—beliefs about yourself and your most basic qualities. Think about your intelligence, your talents, and your personality. Are these qualities simply fixed traits, carved in stone and that’s that? Or are they things you can cultivate throughout your life? People with a fixed mindset believe that their traits are just givens. They have a certain amount of brains and talent and nothing can change that. If they have a lot, they’re all set, but if they don’t... So people in this mindset worry about their traits and how adequate they are. They have something to prove to themselves and others. People with a growth mindset, on the other hand, see their qualities as things that can be developed through their dedication and effort. Sure they’re happy if they’re brainy or talented, but that’s just the starting point. They understand that no one has ever accomplished great things—not Mozart, Darwin, or Michael Jordan—without years of passionate practice and learning. At Stadium Drive, we are working to instill a growth mindset in our students by offering non-judgmental feedback and encouraging soft skills such as perseverance and grit. For more information on mindsets or how you might help at home please see the links below. Fostering a Growth Mindset How Not to Talk to Your Kids Why Praise Can Be Bad for Kids
Arts Infusion As many community members know, the focus of Stadium Drive Elementary School of the Arts is Arts Infusion. What is Arts Infusion? It is a creative process in which arts concepts are connected to other academic subjects to develop deeper understanding. Arts Infusion is not the use of art projects to support the curriculum. Through Arts Infusion, students make meaningful
connections while teachers provide the opportunities. As such, students become agents of their own learning. This year, our goal at Stadium is to increase conversations and discoveries related to Arts Infusion. Next time you’re in the building, be sure to check out Stadium Drive’s Arts Infusion Board. This bulletin board, located between the main office and room 109, highlights various classroom activities related to our school’s unique Arts Infusion focus. Every other month new concept words will be featured. This month, be sure to check out classroom examples related to patterning, ordering, and sequencing.
Box Tops It is time for our October Box Tops for Education collection! For families new to Stadium, we collect Box Tops in October and February of each year. Every Box Top collected is worth 10 cents, and each teacher directly benefits from our earnings as they are able to use the money towards classroom materials. We have a competition to see which classroom can collect the most Box Tops, so please support our wonderful teachers by sending in your Box Tops. All Box Tops need to be sent to school by Friday, October 16. A few reminders: Please make sure the Box Tops are neatly trimmed and please check the expiration 1|Page
date. We cannot submit expired Box Tops. Doing both of these extra steps saves our volunteer team a TON of extra time and is much appreciated. Any Labels for Education or Campbell’s Soup labels should be sorted out and can be turned in at a collection center by the office. They do not count towards our Box Top earnings. You can go to www.boxtops4education.com to view a list of all the products on which Box Tops can be found. We will be offering an extra recess and a special treat to the two classes with the most Box Tops collected, so let the competition begin!! Thanks! Angie Dempsey – Box Tops Coordinator
By The Numbers Click here to take a look at what makes LOHS unique! This video was produced by the students of the Television Production Workshop (TPW), along with a committee of LOHS staff.
LOEF Raffle Tickets for the Lake Orion Education Foundation’s “Destination: Dragon Dreams” scholarship raffle are currently on sale. Only 1,000 tickets will be sold and the winner will receive a post K-12 scholarship for a designated recipient of up to $25,000, depending on how
many tickets are sold. A Cash Prize option also is available. Each ticket costs $50. A drawing will take place on November 21, 2015, at the LOEF Dinner Dance at Indianwood Country Club. For more information, click here.
LOCS Choir Opportunity Do you love to sing? Are you looking for an opportunity to further develop your talents, while at the same time having fun with your friends? Then DS2 might be the choir for you! DS2 will be a select choral ensemble, or honors choir, made up of Lake Orion choir students from all three middle schools, and all seven elementary schools. Students from grades 4-6 are eligible to be a part of the group. Click here for more information.
A Moment in Time Second graders had the opportunity to participate in the burial of our first ever time capsule. Students drew pictures of themselves, answered questions about their likes and dislikes and wrote about what life is like for them now, at the beginning of second grade. The fifth grade news team captured the moment, with an on the scene report and a promise to be there in June when the time capsule will be opened to see all of the ways the second graders have grown in their thinking, writing and drawing. To see the SDNN news report click here.
Count Day Wednesday is the first of two pupil accounting days for the school year. It is very important that all students are in attendance unless ill. School funding from the State of Michigan is tied directly to count days. If your student(s) cannot attend school on Wednesday, please be sure to contact the main office.
Student Attendance A key ingredient for ensuring success in school is helping children at the beginning of their academic careers - get into the habit of attending school every day. While going to school regularly will not by itself ensure that children learn, missing extended periods of school, especially when children are acquiring the basic academic skills that lead to becoming proficient readers, certainly puts a child at risk. The research shows: • All children, regardless of socio-economic background, do worse academically in first grade if they are chronically absent (missing 10 percent or more of school including excused and unexcused 2|Page
absences) in kindergarten. A recent study in California found that only 17 percent of children chronically absent in both kindergarten and 1st grade were proficient readers by the end of 3rd grade as compared to 64 percent of their peers who attended regularly (missing less than 5 percent of school.) Going to school regularly in the early years is especially critical for children living in poverty, who are less likely to have the resources to make up for lost time in the classroom. Among poor children, chronic absence in kindergarten predicts the lowest levels of educational achievement at the end of 5th grade. Available well before the results of standardized tests typically in 3rd grade chronic absence can be an important early warning sign that intervention may be needed to ensure a child is on the path to success. While chronic absence is not a problem everywhere, it can reach surprisingly high levels even in the early grades. Nationwide, nearly 10 percent of kindergartners and 1st graders are chronically absent. In some communities, chronic early absence can affect a quarter of all students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Within particular schools in the same district, chronic early absence can range from less than 1 percent to more than 50 percent!
The School Store The School Store will be open again this school year. The profits go to the Student Council. On Wednesday mornings, typically the second Wednesday of the month, a cart will come to your child’s classroom. There are two carts, one for upstairs and down. The dates are listed below. Wednesday, October 14 Wednesday, November 11 Wednesday, December 9 Wednesday, January 13 Wednesday, February 10 Wednesday, March 9 Wednesday, April 13 Wednesday, May 11 Parent volunteers run the store. Thank you to Sue Louvar, our PTO president, for creating a sign up and coordinating volunteers. If you are available on a Wednesday morning, please consider helping out at the School Store this school year.
Red Ribbon Week “Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don’t, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.” We will be celebrating Red Ribbon week this year starting on Monday, October 26 and ending on Friday, October 30. The purpose of this event is to create an awareness of the problems related to the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. During this National Red Ribbon celebration, we will have a theme every day. Students who participate in the theme of the day will be randomly selected to earn a prize. You don’t know when your number may be picked. So make sure to participate every day! Monday, October 26, 2015 Born to be Drug Free (bring a picture from when you were little) Tuesday, October 27, 2015 Make a Pledge to be Drug Free (wear RED) Wednesday, October 28, 2015 Living drug free is no sweat (wear sweatshirt &/or sweatpants) Thursday, October 29, 2015 TEAM Up Against Drugs (wear your favorite Team shirt) Friday, October 30, 2015 Say boo to drugs (bring your costume for the fall parade).
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Red Ribbon week provides us with an opportunity to renew our commitment to a healthy and drug-free lifestyle. This is an excellent time to talk to your children about the dangers of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.
Upcoming Events 10/26-10/30 – Red Ribbon Week
Karen Greening, MA, LPC Family School Coordinator Stadium Drive Elementary
10/30 - Halloween Parade/ Party 2:00 PM
News from the PTO
11/3 – Picture Retakes
11/6 – P/T Conferences 12-3 PM
Our Color Run on October 1 was a phenomenal success. The kids absolutely loved it and the parents did as well. The PTO would like to thank all of our teachers and Mr. Murray for their support and all of the parent volunteers for coming out and making this such a great event. Whether you tossed color, served snacks or water, helped with clean-up, set up, worked behind the scenes or donated granola bars, your efforts are very much appreciated. We are already planning on how to make next year’s Color Run even better! Also, remember that donations to the Stadium Drive PTO are due by Friday, October 9 to be considered for prizes. Click here to see some video footage of this event. The PTO will be hosting a Trunk or Treat on Friday, October 23. Watch for a flyer soon! Our next Spirit Stick sale will begin the week of October 12. We will be featuring Halloween themed Spirit Sticks that will be sold as a five pack. The PTO will once again be helping with the Scholastic Book Fair beginning November 5. Watch for a sign-up genius closer to the event. Our Candy Cane Lane holiday gift shop will take place on Thursday, December 17 from 9:00-2:30 PM. Watch for more information in December. Save the date! The fourth annual Adult Trivia Night will be held Saturday, February 20. Details to follow. Want to stay connected? Join the Stadium Drive Elementary PTO Facebook page by clicking here.
Bruner, C., Discher, A., & Chang, H. (2011, November). Chronic Elementary Absenteeism: A Problem Hidden in Plain Sight. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/media/chronicabsence-15chang.pdf
11/9 – P/T Conferences 4:45-8:30 PM 11/11 – P/T Conferences 4:45-8:30 PM 11/25-27 - Thanksgiving Recess 12/9 – 5th Grade Production 2:30 PM 12/10 – 5th Grade Production 6:30 PM 12/21 – 1/1 - Holiday Recess 1/18 – No School 1/25 – No School End of Marking Period 2/10 – 2nd Grade Performance – 3 PM 2/10 – 2nd Grade Performance – 6:30 PM
Dweck, C. (n.d.). What is Mindset. Retrieved from Mindset: http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/
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