WELCOME TO OUR SCHOOL

I am looking forward to working with all of the students who speak other languages than English at home and their families. Did you know many countries are represented in our school community. We welcome students from: Morocco, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Ukraine,  Dominican Republic,  Bosnia, Philippines, Egypt, Turkey and Spain!

It was very nice to see many of you and your parents during our school "Meet your Teacher" time.  See you Thursday August 31st!






                                 

Reading at home

Reading is very important for many reasons, it entertains us and also we can learn. 

It is particularly important for English Language Learners to read many books to build vocabulary and learn many new things.  

Story Line Online is a very good resource to use. This site has many good books which are read by actors. This is a very good tool to use before your children go to bed so they listen to a story and quiet down.  

Check it out!

http://www.storylineonline.net

WELCOME BACK!!

As the new school year begins I am looking forward to working with all of the English Language Learners and their families. As all of you know, many countries are represented in our school community. We welcome students from: Morocco, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Ukraine,  Dominican Republic,  Bosnia, Philippines and Spain!

It was very nice to see many of you and your parents during our school "Meet your Teacher" time.  See you Thursday August 31st!

Looking forward to a very exciting year!

SUMMER IS HERE, HORRAY!!

THE SCHOOL YEAR HAS ENDED BUT LEARNING CONTINUES... 

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HAVE FUN AND LEARN DURING THE SUMMER???

• Visit Museums. Did you know you can get passes from the Hooksett Public Library for many museums and pay only half the price??? Some of those Museums are:

1. Aquarium in Boston
2. Boston Science Museum
3. SEE Museum in Manchester
4. Currier Gallery of Art - Manchester

What else can you do this summer?  Some ideas:

• Listen to stories online:    Yes, its called Storyline Online.   You can go here: http://storylineonline.net
• Play games online:  Do you like playing math and word games online?  Go to abaya.com. Its fun!
• Read interesting books:  The Hooksett Public Library has many interesting books you can check out. 
• Watch good TV:  Sesame Street is an excellent program to learn a lot of English.  Other good TV programs to watch are: Wild Krats, Little Bear and any program on  PBS Kids. 
• Summer is a good time to be outside. Play with your friends jump rope, hop scotch and hide and seek. 
• Write on your journal.  Be a detective or a reporter... write everything you see, experience or learn. Write about the places you have visited. Are you going camping? or to another country?  You can share those with me when you come back next September. 

HAVE A FUN AND SAFE SUMMER!

AND.... THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE!

Incredible to think we are in December and about to welcome 2015!.

At the end of January, students will be very busy with DIBELS and NWEA mid year testing. 

The ESOL students will also be busy taking the WIDA-ACCESS test in February. 

What is the WIDA ACCESS test? All students whose families speak languages other than English  at home qualify to receive ESOL services.  Students whose parents write other languages than English on the Home Language Survey are identified early in the school year. The ESOL program offers support by helping students build English vocabulary, background knowledge and reading comprehension. The ESOL teacher also helps students with math vocabulary and computation skills.   The ACCESS for ELLs test (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-toState for English Language Learners) is an assessment given to all students from K through 12th grade to assess their English Proficiency in reading, speaking, listening and writing.  This is a Federally mandated test, ALL students enrolled in the ESOL program ,whether they receive ESOL services or not take the test. 

Results of the WIDA-ACCESS test will be sent home in early June. 

Enjoy your winter vacation!  


Best Wishes for a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!!

ESOL UPDATES

We are off to a great start. We have been in school for a month... all testing has been done and we are now in full swing!  

Dates to remember:

October 1st - K and 1st grades Ice Cream Social 
October 2nd and Pre-K grades Ice Cream Social

Come and see your child's projects! Even though we have been in the middle of testing... we also have been very busy learning new math concepts and vocabulary. In reading we are now set in our reading groups. Second grade Social Studies have learned about the Seasons and Johnny Appleseed. 

In Frist grade we have been learning about school before and now.... math we are "bonding" our numbers using "number bonds". Ask your student. 

In Kindergarten we are sprinting through the letters of the alphabet, the alphabet song and also learning numbers and number correspondence 1-10.  We are also learning math words such as:
match, more, less, missing.  

We are very busy at Underhill. Please stop by and also inquiry about our plans for our new Playground!  Encourage your students to share their ideas as to how they would like their playground to look like. All ideas are welcome!

This year's Arts in Residence will help us create an "Eco Garden"  Students will work together to develop a gardens in sections of our outdoor space near the library.  

Many exciting happenings are going on in our school!!! Stay tuned.

I look forward to seeing ALL of you the next two days.