Be s ur e to clip or copy the calendar on the fr on t page to keep up t o date on events at Longfellow.

Fostoria City Schools

Volume 10, Issue 2 October 2013

Longfellow Elementary
619 Sandusky Street Phone: 419-436-4135 Fax: 419-436-4155 Melissa Depinet Principal Email: mdepinet@fostoriaschools.org

This issue:
Principals Message So When Should My Child Stay Home?
What is an SLP? PTO News Miscellaneous

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Principals Message

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The week of October 7th-11th is a very important week for all Dates to Remember schools in Ohio; it is Count Week. During this week, the Ohio Department Week of October 7th of Education carefully monitors the attendance of all students. They use through 11th Count the data that they gather to determine how much money each district will Week; see articles on receive from the state. We have to report how many students are in attendance for the week based on our daily attendance as well as the number of page 1 & 2 Monday, October 7th excused absences and unexcused absences. Only those students who PTO meeting in the have excused absences are included in the number for which we receive FIES cafeteria at 5:30 reimbursement. PM At Longfellow, we will be checking each absence to be sure that it is Thursday, October excused and legitimate. According to our handbook, an excused absence 10th Lifetouch Picture is defined as one where: Day Friday, October 11th 1) the student is ill, (see page 2 to see how ill is defined) Preschool Parent meet2) there has been a death in the family, or ing at 10:15 at Kaubisch 3) there is a religious observance. Library Friday, October 18th As always, a note with the date, students name, reason, and parEnd of First Quarter ents signature should be sent on the day that the student returns for an Friday, October 18th excused absence. In addition, parents are required to call the school to reParent Meeting for Kinport the child absent for the day. If we do not receive a call from you, a dergarten at 10:00 at school resource officer may visit your home to check on your childs welLongfellow fare. Unexcused absences include: oversleeping, car trouble, missing the Tuesday, October 22nd bus, and truancy. (For further information regarding these definitions, you and Thursday, October can see the Fostoria City School handbook which is available at our district 24th Parent-Teacher website). Conferences from 3:00To encourage attendance, we have implemented a system at 7:00 PM Longfellow wherein classes who achieve 95% or better attendance Monday, October for the week will receive recognition. This is posted outside of each 28th Trick-or-Treat of the classrooms. Classes who attain the goal will receive incenBingo at FIES for all Eletives when they have received a certain number of stars. In addition, stumentary Students from dents who have great attendance for each quarter (theyve missed only 1 5:30-8:00 PM day or had only 1 tardy) are given a coupon for a local restaurant. Please help us reach our attendance goal!

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Be sure to clip or copy the calendar on the front page to keep up to date on events at Longfellow.

So When Should My Child Stay Home?

Sometimes its difficult for us as parents to determine when our children should stay home from school. We dont want to send our kids when theyre sick but we also dont want them to miss out on the learning that takes place everyday. So here are some guidelines from both our Longfellow and Riley Elementary Handbook and our School Nurse, Sheryl St. Clair, RN: 1) If your child is complaining of feeling sick, take his temperature. This will save you a lot of frustration if you keep your child home. If he is truly sick, one sign would be a temperature. It is school policy to send all children home with temperatures of 100 or higher. Please do not treat your childs fever with Tylenol or Motrin, and then send him to school. His temperature needs to be less than 100 without the use of medicine. 2) Remember that if your child has vomited overnight, keep him home. 3) Other reasons for staying home include: suspected rashes, suspected pink eye or highly communicable diseases, and pediculosis (head lice); the presence of lice must be confirmed by our school nurse or a doctor in order to be considered excused. If you have questions about whether you should send your child to school, feel free to call us. Someone is usually available in the office around 6:30 AM, and we can help you make that decision. We stress these guidelines as a way of preventing the spread of illness and being considerate of other peoples children or the staff.

What is an SLP?
A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is a person who evaluates and treats children and adults who have difficulty with speech or language. Although people often think of speech and language as the same thing, the terms actually have very different meanings. If your child has trouble with speech, he/she struggles with the how-to of talkingthe coordination of the muscles and movements necessary to produce speech. If your child has trouble with language, he/she struggles with understanding what he/she hears or sees. Your child may struggle to find the right words and/or organize those words in a meaningful way to communicate a message or hold a conversation. (This article was submitted by Sharon Perez, SLP at Longfellow & Riley)

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Be sure to clipbuild or copy the calendar on the front page to to date You cant a reputation on what you are going to do. - keep Henryup Ford on events at Longfellow.

PTO News
Hi everyone, its a new school year and we have a lot of good things to tell you. First of all we have decided to combine the PTO from Longfellow, Riley and FIES into one organization. We feel this will not only make us larger and more effective, but also help those parents with students in multiple schools, so they wont have to split their time or deal with several fundraisers. Next, let me introduce myself, my name is Caryl Stone and I am the new president of your PTO. My daughter Willow and I moved here last year, but we are no strangers to Fostoria. For the past 10 years Ive been working for a local company and would travel here nearly every month with Willow. I am also familiar with working with the PTO as Willow is my 7th child I have raised which has had me working within the school system since the early 80s . The rest of your officers are made up of seasoned Fostoria PTO veterans: Mindy Lance: Vice President Addi McElroy: Secretary Bonnie Counts: Treasurer (FIES) and Jason Lewis: Treasurer (Riley & Longfellow). We are all committed to making sure this years PTO is very effective and powerful, supporting all of our schools in a very positive, fun and creative way. Here are some of the activities we have lined up: Candle Sale Halloween Trick or Treat & Bakery Bingo Spirit Wear Sale Santa Shop McDonald's Sticker Sale Parent and child play and learn events

Please join us on Monday, October 7th at 5:30 PM at FIES!

Heres how you can help! Through the efforts of the PTO and all of its great teachers and parents, we are able to fund things like field trips, smart boards for their class rooms, new learning software, playground equipment and much more. Of course wed love you to attend the meetings, the next is October 7th at 5:30 in the FIES cafeteria. Dont have day care? Bring your kids well provide supervision, snacks and help with their homework. Well even have snacks for the adults. Next meeting is salad night. Dont have time for meetings? Just sign up to help with an event, every month theres something going on that would only involve a few hours of your time. Have a little bit more time to spare, then help chair an event! Wed love to hear from you! Facebook.com/RileyLongfellowP Email: ptopresident@fostoriaschools.org Sincerely, Caryl cstone@wepresent.com

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A picture is worth a thousand words. Napoleon Bonaparte

Picture Day
On Thursday, October 10th, Longfellow students will be photographed by Lifetouch National School Studios. Fliers with order information concerning picture day will be sent home with your child this week. Some key things to remember: Only those submitting money can choose the pose and background color. You can pay by cash, check, or money order. Checks and money orders should be made out to Lifetouch. You can also pay by credit card by visiting mylifetouch.com. You will need to write the Online Payment Code on the order form and return it with your child on Picture Day. All children will be photographed but only those submitting money will receive their pictures. Retakes will be on Thursday, November 21st. Students at Longfellow only do not have to wear campus wear!

Birthday wishes!
10/2 Nolan Martinez 10/3 Chase Borkosky, Mercedi Goelz 10/5 Laney Bauman 10/6 Trinty Harman 10/7 Clarissa St Clair-Rickard 10/8 Aliah Van Scyoc 10/10 Emilee Neville 10/13 Andrew Siebenaller, Keyara Carn Howard, David Velasquez, Braydan Ward 10/14 Landen Riser, Koralis Colon-Velez, Zoreilis Colon-Velez 10/17 Blake Hernandez 10/18 Kameron Heiserman 10/22 Jayceon Phillips 10/23 Riley Moyer, Nicole Medlock 10/25 Adylyn Grine

Info on Upcoming Events

Slips for Parent-Teacher Conferences will be coming home soon. Youll be given the option of when youd like to meet with the teacher. This is a great time to catch up on how your child is doing in school and what you can do to help! One of our most well-attended PTO events is coming up on Monday, October 28th. It is our Trick-orTreat Bingo. FIES is hosting the event this year but Preschool through 6th Grade students are invited; its a great chance to use that costume a second time:) Information on the Preschool meeting at Kaubisch has been sent. If you didnt see it and want to attend, give us a call. Watch for fliers with information about the Kindergarten parent meeting should be sent home soon. If you received a letter about your childs RIMP plan, be sure to call us to set up an appointment. Thanks!