Attendance Line Number - 490-3062

September 10, 2004

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Shepardson's Home Page:
http://schoolweb.psdschools.org/she/

	PRINCIPAL REFLECTIONS		A BIG BYTE OF THANKS TO SHEPARDSON PARENTS
	CALENDAR		COUNSELOR'S CORNER
	WRAPPING PAPER FUND RAISER STARTS IN OCTOBER		ADVERTISE IN THE SHEPARDSON DIRECTORY!
	VOLUNTEERS NEED TO REGISTER ON-LINE THIS YEAR		PTO CORNER
	READING IS THE RIGHT RECIPE		How to Contact SIT / PTO / VIPS

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This week was another busy one...conferences, grade level meetings, boy scouts, PTO, and an Ice Cream Social! From instructional, to service, to social...many, many folks are dedicated to contributing to the needs of students and staff at Shepardson, to providing opportunities to network with families and make new friends, to finding about opportunities to keep your children active and not sitting in front of a TV, and to understanding ways you can be active and effective supporters in the instructional program for your children. Research repeatedly shows that students, who attend schools where the parents are highly involved, are the highest achievers. It's what we model for our children, not what we say, that is the loudest message your children hear. Shepardson children are hearing loudly that their parents and their teachers care very much to attend events at their school. Giving of your time for others is one of the most unselfish ways to show how much you care. On behalf of the entire staff, I thank you for all of the different ways you support both your children and the Shepardson community. THANK YOU FOR MAKING A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE IN THE EDUCATION OF EVERY CHILD AT SHEPARDSON!

This week Sue Harbour, our beloved ESL Teacher, was honored by the Noon Rotary Club as Teacher of the Month! She shared her passion, pride, and commitment while she spoke so highly of the entire staff and parents who play important roles in helping each child be successful. She is truly an ambassador to our community for the entire Shepardson team! Congratulations, Sue!

Margie Bucher, our Media Specialist, will be formally recognized next Monday evening by the PSD School Board. Margie received the Colorado Association of Libraries Community Relations Awards of Merit for the annual holiday tree decorating activity. Turn on Channel 10 around 6:30 p.m. and feel proud for this achievement is for the Shepardson Community! It was indeed only possible due to the combined and extraordinary efforts of our entire staff, students and parents! Congratulations, Margie, for making your creative and literacy idea an effective means of improving our Media Center!

Imagine our not being able to reach you if your child has an emergency! This week we need each family to review the data form that we have for each child, make any needed revisions, and return the form to the school office. Phone numbers and emergency contacts change; unknown errors may be on the system. We need your help to ensure that we have the most recent and accurate information. Thank you for responding quickly!

Have a wonderful weekend with your family!

-	Mary Kay Sommers
	email: msommers@psd.k12.co.us

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SEPTEMBER 2004			SEPTEMBER 2004
17	Fri	Student Council Meeting-7:45 am-Media Center	22	Wed	2nd Grade ILP Meeting-6:00 pm-Media Center
21	Tue	Picture Day!!!!	23	Thu	SIT meeting 4:00 - 6:00 pm
21	Tue	4th grade parent curriculum night 6:30 - 7:30 pm

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The Sally Foster Fundraiser has been rescheduled. The packets will go home on Friday, October 1st. The sale will continue through Friday, October 15th. Delivery is scheduled for Monday, November 15th. A display of sample products and prizes can be seen in the display case in the Media Center.

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The district's volunteer program has moved its database into an electronic format. Registering on-line is quick and easy if you only do the "required fields" which have asterisks by them. YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMPLETE THE REST OF THE INFORMATION. You can complete this in less than 3 minutes. This process is required because all volunteers must have a background check. It is also a reliable source for numbers of volunteers and other reporting measures. You only have to do this one time in your life! We hate to ask you to do this but it will transfer even when you volunteer at a high school or even as a "retiree."

Steps to follow:

• Website: www.psdschools.org

• Click on VOLUNTEERS AND RESOURCES (on lower left star of the homepage).

• You only need to know: birthdate, social security number.

• You chose your own password. If you want to edit later, you will need to know your password or there's always a way to support you.

Our coordinator, Becky Haberecht, is actively creating an online link for opportunities that you may find intriguing. She is also determined to help make this process as easy and efficient for you and for those who need your generous service. We truly appreciate her relentless energy and commitment to connecting volunteers with the needs in the school! Thank you, Becky!

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Take a big bag of warm popcorn. Mix with a big jar of candy corn. Throw in a a bunch of M&Ms. What do you have? "A lot of reading and a 'yummy treat,'" says 2nd grade teacher, Sarah Harkins, who will be participating in September's Candy Corn Contest. Patterned after Patricia Giff's book, The Candy Corn Contest, participants who read 30 minutes may get a big jar of candy corn. If a student is in Kindergarten or First Grade, each thirty minutes of reading will put their name in the jar for the drawing on September 30. If a student is in second grade through sixth grade, each thirty minutes of reading will let them guess the number of candy corn pieces in the biggest jar in the media center which will also be announced the same day. Ms. Bucher will post a print-out of their guesses each day. Students will log their minutes of reading on record sheets available in the media center. Start reading, Students, but watch out for those second-graders in Ms. Harkins' class. From the look in her eye and the smile on her face when she found out that teachers could guess for the time they read to students in class, I think she's planning for the candy corn to end up in Room 5! (P.S. For a student who has an allergy to candy corn but wins, a substitute prize will be awarded.) If you have questions about the contest, please contact Margie Bucher in the media center.

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Students and staff at Shepardson are enjoying the results of your success at work and your "YES" vote on the last bond issue. Shepardson staff began this school year snapping, recording, and downloading those first day-first week activities. The digital cameras so generously given by HP parents last year through their cooperative efforts at work continue to expand the impact of bringing digital photography to school. With the district projects well underway, the first round of bond monies were released to the schools this July. Hardware upgrades were continued for the 3-4 pod, the media center, and the kindergarten rooms. Three Powerbooks with HP projectors became the basis of presentation units for classrooms in each pod. Both of the closed circuit TV channels can now be functioning simultaneously with the addition of two DVD/VHS players. The addition of Toast allows us to burn DVDs as well as CDs when the digital load gets too much for our server. Software upgrades have been made with more planned such as Microsoft Office for Mac. Meeting students' needs and giving staff additional ways to meet those learning needs through technology is because of your willingness to say "YES" through your vote, your generosity, and your workplace. Thank you.

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By Rea Kreider, Shepardson School Counselor

Greetings everyone, and welcome back to another school year. For the many of you who are new, I have been the school counselor at Shepardson for the last four years. The role of a school counselor concentrates on four major areas;

• Prevention- I spend close to half of my time each day in the classrooms working with students. Guidance lessons for students in kindergarten through 2nd grade are adapted from a program called "Second Step" which is a nationally acclaimed violence prevention/ positive behavior program designed by the Committee for Children. Major emphasis is placed on empathy, problem solving and anger management. In 3rd through 5th grades, many of the lessons come from a program entitled "Steps to Respect" which is another program designed by the Committee for Children. Nearly all of the lessons in this curriculum center around activities that provide students opportunities to understand and practice friendly, respectful behavior. The 6th grade curriculum is a drug and alcohol prevention program mandated by the Poudre School District entitled "Here's Looking At You."

• Individual and Small Group Counseling- Approximately 25% of my time is spent working with individual students or with small groups of students needing additional support and guidance. These sessions could be the result of teacher referral, parent request or student initiated. The district's guidelines for school counselors is that we are allowed to meet with students up to three times to assist them in solving whatever difficulties they may be having. If it appears that it will take more than three meetings, or if the counselor feels parents need to be informed of the situation sooner, parents will be consulted. For any regularly scheduled individual or group meetings, parents' permission will be requested before sessions begin.

• Crisis Response- An important part of the counselor's role is to respond to any crisis or potential crisis that students may be experiencing. Thankfully this does not happen often, but at these times it is important to be available to soothe, comfort and support the child here at school. Often times (but not always) it is the parent who informs us of these situations, and every effort is made to communicate frequently with parents throughout these troubling periods.

• System Support- Another important role of the counselor is to support learning and the overall academic environment. I serve as the facilitator of the school's Student and Teacher Assistance Team (STAT), am the Testing Coordinator, manage 504 Plans, assist as one of the adult supervisors for Student Council, am a member of the Stars Committee (Shepardson's Positive Behavior and Character Education Program) and also serve on the Curriculum and Assessment Committee with emphasis on the needs of our gifted and talented students.

On a different note, there are a couple of community events coming up that might be of interest to you and your family. "Make A Difference Day" is this country's largest national day of service. This is an annual event that takes place on the third Saturday of October. However, this year Larimer County will be sponsoring two days, October 22nd and 23rd. If you and your family would like to volunteer your services to make a difference in our community, call FirstCall 211 at 407-7066. Secondly, I have learned about a class entitled "Innovative Approaches in Child Psychiatry- Nutrition for ADHD, Depression and Bipolar Disorders" being taught by Dr. Scott Shannon at Whole Foods Market on September 21, 2004 from 7- 8:30 pm. Cost is $10 and class is limited to 24 participants. I called last Friday and there is room left in the class. Stop by Whole Foods to register.

That's all for now. Look for the Counselor's Corner in future newsletters. If at any time you have questions or concerns regarding the services I provide as your school counselor, or would like to meet with me for any reason, please feel free to contact me at school (226-6370.)

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If you would like to advertise in the Shepardson Directory, please fill out the attached form and send to school by Monday, Sept. 13 with attached payment.

Questions? Call JoAnn Caddoo at 226-3103 or coloradocaddoo@msn.com.

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The next PTO meeting will be held Tuesday, October 5th, 2004
7:00 p.m. in the Shepardson Library

NEW FACES AND INPUT ARE WELCOME SO PLEASE JOIN US AND LEARN ABOUT WHAT GOES ON AT SHEPARDSON!

Thank you...

POD Reps and Room Parents for participating in Tuesday's meeting!
and Ice Cream Social Volunteers!

What a WONDERFUL KICK-OFF for the school year!

Have a GREAT YEAR!

WOW!

Thanks for such a great response to the volunteer sign-up!

We are in the midst of compiling and distributing names of volunteers, so contacts with those who signed up should be made soon!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me, Jennifer Burkhart at 225-1873

Help Still Needed!

PTO is looking for parents to help with various events and positions! A little time goes a long way to support our children's educational experience...

Needed:

• PTO Vice President: The Vice President role has changed in that the VP no longer moves into the position of President automatically. The VP simply serves to assist the President throughout his/her term.

• REACH Week Coordinator: This fundraiser is one of the more simple to organize and run yet provides the school with much needed funds. For more information, please contact Jennifer Burkhart @ 225-1873

• ESL Buddy Coordinator: Assist English as a Second Language families as they become an integral part of Shepardson!

• Sock Hop Coordinator: This event helps cap off the end of the school year with a Twist and Shout!

• Other: Other positions might be identified throughout the year. Keep an eye on the PTO Corner for these announcements.

An excellent way to explore the opportunities available through PTO is to come to the meeting or contact, Jennifer Burkhart at 225-1873, or Burkys@aol.com.

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