A Message From Ms. Dow

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Kit’s Komments
Reading with your children is very important, but may cause tension for many different reasons. To reduce stress while reading at home, be sure to keep it simple. At-home reading activities should be easy to implement and be time-efficient. Encourage your children to read print all around them. Use newspapers, magazines, letters, junk mail, shopping lists, bumper stickers, street signs, signs in stores, religious texts, captioned television shows, cereal boxes, etc. Reading with your children isn’t always characterized by sitting down with a book.

Even though your children can read independently, you should continue to read to and with your children. If they are reading, sit beside them and share the text so you can read a page and then alternate and allow them to read to you. If you can’t sit down right then, have them read to a sibling, a pet, or a stuffed animal. All this helps develop their reading proficiency.

When you go to a library with your child or they bring home library books from school, you can help them decide if the book is “just right” by using the five-finger rule. Have them read a page and raise a finger every time there’s an unknown word. If five fingers have been raised by the end of a page, the book is probably too difficult for them to read successfully. If they insist on reading the book, encourage them to allow you to read aloud with them. They will be able to hear a fluent reader, and possibly be able to ask questions while you read to help them understand. Not to mention the enjoyment and time shared with your child.

It is also important to keep up with children’s literature and use your child’s interests to help them find books they will enjoy reading. Each October, Children’s Choices lists are published. Check your local library or ask the school librarian for this list. You can also visit the following websites:
*American Library Association’s list of notable children’s books:

http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/
childrensnotable/notablecbooklist/currentnotable.htm
*Books selected by children: http://www.reading.org/resources/tools/
choices_childrens.html.
*Teacher’s top 100 books, compiled by the National Education Association: http://www.nea.org/readacross/resources/catalist.html.
*Carol Hurst’s children’s literature site: http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/allreviewed.html.
*The Horn Book’s list of recommended children’s literature: http://www.hbook.com/booklists/default.asp.
*The Children’s Book Council book lists: http://www.cbcbooks.org
/readinglists/childrenschoices/booklists.html.
*Book Spot, a site listing dozens of others: http://www.bookspot.com/readinglists/childrens.htm

Kit’s Komments was inspired this week by an article from The Reading Teacher written by Padak and Rasinki. (Dec.2007/Jan. 2008)

[Kit Orlowski is Coyote Creek’s Building Resource Teacher (BRT). She works closely with staff for the main purpose of staff development, which includes assistance with students from time to time.]

An update on our Neighborhood Coffees………
In January I included in an Infinite Campus message the tentative dates for upcoming Neighborhood Coffees, and asked for volunteers to host these meetings.
There have been no volunteers so far, and I can truly understand why. Many homes just can’t handle the potential 20+ people who might show up. And, if a home is big enough for this number of people, it’s a major task to get a home ready for such an event.
So I’ll be working with PTA and our School Advisory Council to find some alternative locations. One of the values of these Coffees is to not have them here at school but, rather, in a non-school setting to provide a more neutral and inviting atmosphere. I’m also taking feedback gathered at our previous Coffees to make them more effective for you.
Watch IC and Thursday Folders for announcements about future Neighborhood Coffees. I’m looking forward to getting them started again J
Jan

Parent Portal

If you have not yet enrolled in Parent Portal, you may want to add this task to your “ToDo” List. This will give you the capability of viewing your child’s attendance records online. It will also give you the opportunity to designate how you receive messages from the school when we send out messages through Infinite Campus. These messages are sent to all parents who have provided their email address to the school. If you are not receiving these messages and want to receive them, please call the school office (303-387-6175) to make sure we have your email address.

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Readers are encouraged to submit items for this column. Often we at school do not know the accomplishments of students outside school. Please include your phone number so we can reach you if we need more

The following students in Mr. Johnson’s 5A class had poems chosen for publication. This is the fifth year in a row that the work of more than 10 students per year have been chosen for publication. Congratulations!!!!

• Chase
• MacGyver
• Nicolette
• Chelsea
• Meaghan
• Danielle
• Hannah
• Paul
• Alex
• Heather
  
  The following students from Coyote Creek have completed the fall reading program at the Highlands Ranch Library. In order to complete this program they were asked to read for twelve hours over eight weeks. We are very proud of these students and want to acknowledge their success.
• Ainsley
• Mackenzie
• Grant
• Spencer
• Dean
• Kyle
• Quintin
• Hannah
• Montana
• Annalysa
• Cariana
• Ben
• David
• Jacob
• Daniel
• Elizabeth
• Anna
• Nick
• Ashley
• Austin
• Jackson .
  
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INFORMATION BOARD

This is a current listing of all items that can be found on our Information Board, which is located just outside the Music Room.  The listing we are providing will give all parents an opportunity to see what is available, and they can have their student pick up any of the items from the main office, or parents can call our office to “order” items that can then be sent home with their student.

Volleyball
Sportstacking
Young Champions Karate Ski & Snowboard Trip
The Parent University

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Field Trips

TBA             

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Lost and Found

Many of our Girl Scout troops volunteer monthly to sort the lost and found. If an item is labeled with a student’s name, the item is returned to them when the piles are sorted. But please don’t wait! Our lost and found is located by the cafeteria doors. Please check to see if one or two of the many items we have belongs to you! Please contact Genene Moore at 303-683-8128 if you don’t see your item.
Girl Scout Troop 1454 will sort on March 24th

Coyote Creek Leadership Team


Jan Dow- Principal
Kristi Montagrifff- Assistant Principal
Kit Orlowski- Building Resource Teacher

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