Huff's Headlines

December Details

Dear Parents:

In our September newsletter, we shared our two school improvement goals for the 2007-2008 school year with regards to student learning. They are:

Goal 1: Students will demonstrate proficiency in reading comprehension at or above expected grade level.

Goal 2: Students will increase proficiency in writing performance.

Mountain View also has the following school performance goal as part of our improvement plan.

Goal 1: Teachers will increase the degree to which they either support or implement the instructional use of technology in their classroom.

This goal has been supported this year by the refreshing of obsolete hardware by the county with the installation of new workstations in our computer lab, new laptops on our wireless carts and new printers throughout the building. Additionally, teachers will participate in differentiated technology staff development that includes classes such as Beyond Question, Technology Components to the New Math Adoption, Excel, PowerPoint, Use of Digital Cameras, Video Streaming and Photo Story. Teachers also update their classroom blogs at least on a monthly basis.

Knowing that technology can support your day to day parenting, we would like to share some valuable resources with you.

Our school website contains up-to-date information with regards to all of our school happenings. Please take time to explore the website and we think you will agree that it will keep you "in the know". http://www.cobbk12.org/~mtview/index.htm  You will find monthly calendars, school lunch menus, our book of the month, this monthly newsletter from administration, PTA and foundation information, Accelerated Reader lists, teacher blogs and so much more! Speaking of teacher blogs, did you know that our classroom teachers communicate a wealth of information through their classroom blogs, located under the teacher tab of our school website? They have shared schedules of upcoming events, websites to support grade level curriculum, study guides, classroom goals, announcements, and even PowerPoints supporting current units of study. You will be amazed by the amount of information at your fingertips so we encourage you to visit the blog of your child's teacher. Additionally, you can find our school nurse's blog under the administration tab.

Another website parents might be interested in is the Georgia Department of Education. They have a special section just for parents at http://www.gadoe.org/parents.aspx . From this page, you can access information about curriculum, testing, special education, gifted education and a school finder.

Finally, we recently sent home access information for Online Assessment System (formerly known as CRCT Online) at https://www.georgiaoas.org to families of first to fifth graders. The Georgia State Department of Education has developed this online assessment system containing practice tests for the CRCT that your child can take at home if he/she has access to the internet. We hope these resources will be helpful to you throughout the year.

Finally, we would like to share with you that Mountain View was one of only twenty-eight Cobb County schools named as an award winner for student achievement by the Georgia Department of Education and the Governor's Office of Student Achievement. Our school received the Bronze Award with at least 95% of students meeting and exceeding standards on the CRCT, with a minimum of 20% exceeding.

Thank you for your continued support of Mountain View Elementary School!

Angela M. Huff and Melanie Medders

November News

Dear Parents,

How amazing it is that we are now in the month of November.  As I write this entry, it is breezy and cool outside and leaves are falling.  This is such a great time of year!

Last year, I shared a section from a book that I was reading, that I would like to share again.  Since we are quickly approaching our Thanksgiving and Winter Break it would be appropriate to share this at this time.  The name of the book is:  “Positive Words, Powerful Results” written by Hal Urban.  Mr. Urban suggests throughout his book that by speaking kind words, powerful result happen.  My parents taught me this a very long time ago, and it truly works! 

Read below what Mr. Urban states in Chapter 11 entitled Affectionate Words Build Strong Families.

Strong families emphasize that good communication doesn’t necessarily happen; it usually takes time and practice.  There are ten ways that words can enrich family life:

1.     Model the language you want your children to use – One thing parents need to be aware of is that they’re teaching their children something every time they open their mouths.

2.     Read to your children

a.      It bonds the child and the parent both physically and emotionally.

b.     It introduces the child to great literature and powerful stories with a moral message.

c.     It fosters a love of reading in the child.

d.     It leads to success in school

3.     Have meaningful conversation – Parents need to make face-to-face meaningful conversation a high priority.

4.     Ask good questions

5.     Celebrate the day at the dinner table – Don’t ask “did you learn anything today?” rather ask “What was the best thing that happened to you today?”  With this question you get better results and you will probably find out what was learned.

6.     Catch your children doing something right.

7.     Correct gently

a.      Literally count to ten to give yourself time to think about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it.

b.     Keep your voice at a normal volume.

c.     Reassure the child. Example: “Jennifer, we love you very much, but what you did is wrong and we need to talk about it.”

d.     Focus on the wrongdoing, not the person who did it.

e.      Forgive the child.

8.     Use and teach the magic words – For hundreds of years the magic words “please” and “thank you,” along with a number of other terms of courtesy, were taught and modeled in virtually every home.  This began to change in the mid 1960’s for a variety of reasons.  While good manners are still stressed by many parents, it can no longer be assumed that most children are learning them in the home.

9.     Write a family mission statement about words in the home – A brief declaration of purpose that helps keep its members focused and reminds them of their responsibilities.

10. Schedule a family night – There are only four rules regarding family night,

a.      It would be at the same time and same day each week.

b.     It would be held even if a family member was absent.

c.     It would be a minimum of one hour in length.

d.     The activity had to include conversation.