January Newsletter

Vol. 1 Issue 4

Riley Elementary
1324 Walnut St., Fostoria, Ohio 44830
http://www.fostoriaschools.org
Phone: 419-436-4145 Fax: 419-436-4158
From the Desk of Mrs. Bernal, Principal
I would like to take this time to welcome everyone back and
hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing break! It looks like
winter has finally shown up, so make sure to send your child to
school with hat, gloves, scarf and winter coat. They are allowed
to wear boots to school and can change into their shoes once
they get here. As we move into the second part of the year,
there are a few housekeeping items I want to share with you:
th

th

Upcoming Events
January 5
School Resumes

January 9
Grade Cards sent home
January 19
NO SCHOOL

January 27 -January 29 , all second grade students will be

taking the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). The assessment contains three parts (batteries): Verbal Battery,
January 27-29
Quantitative Battery and Non-Verbal Battery. The infor2nd grade CogAts
mation gathered from the CogAT provides us with a gauge as
to how your child will perform on future assessments and in
school. Make sure your child has plenty of sleep and eats
breakfast in order to allow them to perform their best!

If you have an address and/or phone number change, please

make sure to complete the appropriate paperwork and turn
it into the office.

Grade cards will be sent home on Friday, January 9th. If you

have any questions regarding your childs grades, please contact their teacher to further discuss your concerns

Please continue to read and complete homework with your

child, nightly. I know how hectic things can get in the evenings, but your continued help with this is greatly appreciated
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From the Desk of Mrs. Bernal, Principal continued...

School Boards Make a Difference
School board members are ordinary people who have an extraordinary dedication to our public
schools. It is time we thanked them for their untiring efforts.
Too often we forget about the personal sacrifices school board members routinely make. Too often
we forget about the important role school board members play in assuring local control over our
public schools, control that is in the hands of people we know people who are our neighbors.
Too often we forget that, in the tradition of a representative democracy, school board members
are our connection to influencing how our public schools are governed.
Too often we are quick to criticize school board members without really knowing all the details that
went into any given decision.
Too often the efforts of school board members go unrecognized and unrewarded.
We can begin to correct these oversights this January, which is School Board Recognition Month.
This is a time to show our appreciation and to begin to better understand how school board members work together to provide leadership for our schools.
The school board works closely with parents, education professionals and community members to
create the educational vision we want for our students. It then formulates goals, defines results
and sets the course for an adequate and equitable educational program for all students.
The school board is accountable to the public. It is responsible for assuring the public that the money allocated to the public schools is providing a good return on the investment. Thus, the board
oversees regular assessment of the districts students, staff and programs.
The school board also is a strong advocate for public schools and is responsible for communicating
the needs of the school district to the public and the publics expectations to the district.
In January, join with others from throughout our district and state to salute the men and
women who provide grassroots governance of public schools. Make a special effort to tell each
school board member his or her hard work has been noticed and is very much appreciated. The men
and women serving the Fostoria City School District Board of Education are: Patrick Grine, Dr.
Thomas Guernsey, Joseph Sheak, Sharon Stannard and Anthony Thompson.

Boxtops for Education

Continue to send in your Boxtops and Campbell Soup Labels. We earn money for the Boxtops and Campbell Soup labels which allow us to pay for PAX
rewards and other incentives for our students.

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A Note From Mrs. Mummert

The 2nd students did a great job participating in their Holiday Program on December 2nd! All of the
students sang awesome in the annual Holiday Sing-along that was held on the last day of school before winter break.
When students return from winter break, students that have been making good PAX choices will
have their second end of the nine weeks popcorn party in music class.
During the month of January, first grade students will be learning about the composer Peter Tchaikovsky, continuing their study of high/low, steady beat, and reading/writing rhythms with winter
themed songs,
Second graders in music class will also study the composer Peter Tchaikovsky, be continuing their
study of reading, writing, and performing melodies, and they will be reviewing reading/writing
rhythms with winter themed songs.

Getting Fit with Mr. Haupert

This month in the gym, we are going to be working on basketball skills. Our students will be developing their; dribbling, passing and shooting skills as well as, building their understanding of offense
and defense. Mrs. Stevens from OSU Nutrition branch will continue to visit once a month and educate our students on healthy food choices from the 5 food groups.

Mr. Romighs Art Corner

We are excited for 2015 in the Riley art room! I hope all the students are refreshed after winter
break and ready to get back into our study of the elements of art. First graders will be learning
about the element of texture and see how artists use texture in their artworks. We will also be
learning about the artist Gustav Klimt and will be using textures to create an artwork similar to a
Klimt work. Second graders are continuing to work with the element of color. We have already
learned about color mixing and the primary and secondary colors, and now we are focusing on the
warm and cool colors and are using them to create a fantasy landscape. I have a lot of exciting projects planned for the second semester and cant wait to get started.

Title 1 News
January, with long cold nights and very short days, is a good time to spend with your child reading
books. This special time together reading books will pay dividends for your childs future success.
If you would like a place to go where the books are free to borrow and a wide selection for your
child to choose from, keep Kaubisch Memorial Public Library of Fostoria in mind. Have a great
month of January reading together!
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Fostoria City Schools Staff and Students: Show Your REDMEN Pride!
Staff and students are encouraged to show your REDMEN pride on each
Friday that the REDMEN have a home basketball game! Lets see everyone wearing
RED and BLACK.
Campus wear is not required and jeans are permitted if wearing REDMEN clothing or RED and
BLACK

REDMEN Pride Days are:

January 9
February 6
February 20
February 27

Perfect Attendance Contest!

Each month we are going to hold a Perfect Attendance competition

between the classrooms. This month each classroom will have to
spell the word SNOW; earning a letter each day when they have
no absences or tardies. Help your childs classroom earn the reward
by bringing them to school everyday, on time!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

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Mrs. Dunn, Counselor

Ginger, School Therapy Dog

Students were read the storybook Dont Bite the

Hook by Karen Gedig Burnett. The story is a
book about teases and putdowns that provides
simple, practical strategies to respond when others tease. Students learned when they say something mean back or get upset it is as if they are
biting the hook. The goal is to try to use a strategy instead. The strategies from the storybook
included:
Do Very Little or Nothing At All (Ignore)
Stay away or walk away
Make a Joke
Agree
Change the Subject
We were able to role play with puppets to practice
the strategies and avoid biting the hook. Often
children feel they need to tell an adult when
someone says or does something mean to them.
These strategies empower them to be problem solvers!

We continued to use the storybook Dont Bite

the Hook as the focus for our character lessons.
Since the students read the storybook last year,
we briefly reviewed the strategies. Students were
then given a Teasing Wheel of Strategies to
make that provided them even more choices to
try when others are saying hurtful comments.
To reinforce the many strategies, students were
broken into groups to practice throwing the hook
and using a strategy with puppets. Its a great
way to build up their self confidence and assertively stand up to others.

Front Row: Jenna Counts, Ginger, Lincoln Augsburger

Middle Row: Xavier Cramer,
Donavin Philon, Cyrus Flores,
Mathew Robinson, Averie Tiell,
Back Row: Landon Mason, Kale
Peters, Alajah Williams, Eli Hill,
Megan Ritter, Ryland Lowe
Not pictured: JaTasia Jones
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