Post on 23-May-2020
transcript
M u s t a n g a
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e September 2016
Opening Minds to Lifelong Learning!
Ayanna
4th Grade
Dear Mustang Parents,
Thank you for helping your child be “ready to learn” on a daily basis. We
appreciate all that you are doing at home to encourage your child to be an
active participant in his or her learning by completing homework daily, read-
ing every night, staying organized for daily work, talking with your child about what he or she
is learning each day, and getting plenty of sleep each night.
We will hold our Curriculum Night for parents and students Wednesday, September 28 from
5:00-6:30. This is a time that you will have a chance to go into your child’s classroom and see
what standards the teachers have been covering. We hope you will take this opportunity and
visit! See our flyer for details.
The Irwin staff is looking forward to a great working relationship with our PTO Board. We
are excited about the many activities and events that are being coordinated for our students!
We have our Book Fair coming up next week so come out support the PTO.
Have a Great Idea?????
Please share your thoughts and great ideas with our Continuous School Improvement Team.
We welcome any school wide improvement ideas that move us toward continued student
achievement.
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Opening Minds to Lifelong Learning
Page 2
Important Dates
September 26-30: PTO Book Fair
September 28: Curriculum Night 5:00-6:30
October 7: No School (CSI Day for Teachers)
October 10: No School (Columbus Day)
October 18: Picture Day
October 21: No School (CCRSM PD for Teachers)
October 28: No School (Teacher Workday)
From the Principal’s Desk
Miriam Breece, Principal
Page 3 Seasonal Influenza Vaccine
SEASONAL INFLUENZA VACCINE NOW REQUIRED TO ATTEND DODEA SCHOOLS
The annual seasonal influenza vaccine has been added to the list of required immunizations for
students attending DoDEA schools, following guidance and recommendations provided by the
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
and the Department of Defense Joint Military Medical Services regulation on immunizations.
The annual seasonal influenza vaccine is the best defense against influenza. The military com-
munity is a highly transient one, which increases the potential for exposure and the spread of
infectious diseases such as influenza. Reducing the spread of preventable infections in schools
and the military community, improves students’ health, safety and attendance. Improved
health and safety reduces absenteeism, a reduction in absenteeism improves student academic
achievement.
The requirement goes into effect starting this school year (Fall 2016) and will be a required
vaccine for all students for every school year. Students will not be dis-enrolled from schools if
the vaccine is not available at the MTFs or the MTFs cannot administer the vaccine before
December 1, 2016. DoDEA will work with the MTFs to ensure students can receive the vaccine
when it becomes available and the MTFs can provide the service.
Parents may contact their local Military Treatment Facility immunization clinic or school nurse
for more information.
Page 4
Opening Minds to Lifelong Learning Page 5
Interrelated and Integrated Model of Instruction
Kari Dahl, Staff Development Teacher
At Irwin Intermediate School, our mission is to educate, engage, and empow-
er each student to succeed in a dynamic world. In order to set our students
up for success, they need to master more than just the curriculum
standards. Our students need to be able to work collaboratively with others,
communicate effectively, access and analyze information, and think
creatively. Irwin Intermediate School has implemented the Interrelated and
Integrated Instructional Model (I & I Model) for the 2016-2017 school year,
to ensure that our students master the curriculum standards and 21st Century skills.
The I & I Model provides two blocks of instructional time that are connected
by a driving question. During the Interrelated Block, students are taught the
DoDEA curriculum standards in a traditional classroom setting. Students learn
Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies standards through whole
class instruction, small group lessons, and learning centers. In the Integrated
Block of Instruction, students apply the skills and content they learn during
the Interrelated Block through Project Based Learning units. These teacher-
created PBL units allow the students to dive deeper into the standards and make real-world
connections. Our grade level teams developed the following driving questions for Unit 1:
More information on the I & I Model will be provided at Curriculum Night on
Wednesday, September 28th at 5:00.
2nd Grade
How can we, as explorers, share
information we have discovered about Fort
Bragg to help other students become
familiar with the Fort Bragg community?
3rd Grade
How can we, as American citizens,
exercise our rights and responsibilities
in order to improve our community?
4th Grade
How can I, as a political candidate,
educate and influence voters on a
current issue?
5th Grade
How can we, as colonists, create a
colony and develop a government that
will best represent us?
Tips for Starting the School Year Successfully!
Whether your child is beginning school at Irwin Intermediate School for the first time, or returning to
school after a summer of fun, it is totally normal to have some difficulty with the transition. Here are
some ideas for how you can help prepare to make the transition back to school as smooth as possible.
Get lots of rest – Setting up a regular bedtime and wake-up routine will help cut down on stress and is
crucial to prepare your child for success.
Talk about it – Talk to your child about why school is important. The more you show how much you value
education, the more your child will see the importance of making school a priority.
Involve your child in daily routines – Let your child pick out his or her clothing the night before,
choose the spot for the backpack, or help make lunch for the next day. Giving your child small
things to be responsible for now will help him or her become more independent later!
Set a regular schedule for completing homework – Helping your child with homework and making it a
priority is an effective way to show interest in what he or she is learning at school.
Communicate – Talk to your child’s teacher to alert him or her about any changes that may impact your
child at school. The teacher can also alert you to anything that may be happening with your child!
School Success is everyone’s responsibility!
Page 6 Opening Minds to Lifelong Learning
Counselor’s Corner
Dr. George Small, School Counselor
Scholastic Reading Counts! is an independent reading program for grades
K–12 which combines reading practice and software-based reading
assessment. The purpose of the Reading Counts program is to help
students develop vocabulary skills, become better readers, and develop a
life-long love of reading. Classroom teachers will be emailing Reading
Counts flyers to the parents of all students. Stop by the Information
Center if you need another flyer or to ask questions about this program.
Reading Counts
Caramy Taylor, Information Specialist
Opening Minds to Lifelong Learning Page 7
I am your student's Physical Education instructor. We're off to a good start of 2016-17 school year.
I would like to ask that you remind your students when they have Physical Education they will need to
wear tennis shoes that have laces or Velcro. This is a safety rule as floors are slippery and tennis shoes
protect the ankles. There are MANY types of tennis shoes. I recommend the ones made for sports.
Students are encouraged to bring water bottles with only water in them. We go outside as much as
possible and often water is appreciated.
Our school operates on an A,B,C,D,E schedule for Specials. P.E. is considered a Special. It's tempting
to think that A Day = Monday, but in fact, it does not always. We skip a holiday, workday or “no school”
day and resume our Specials rotations the next school day. Since there's no school on Monday, Sept.
7th, so Tues., Sept 8th is A Day. The best way for the students to remember when they have P.E. is to
remember what they had for Specials the day before. For instance... "The day after Music I have P.E."
If your student can not participate in P.E. please send a note. I will be happy to make other arrange-
ments for that day. Students with asthma should please let me know if they are having difficulties.
Please feel free to contact me. My email address is: vera.morgan@am.dodea.edu. I'm available on the
phone after 3:00 p.m.
PE News
Coach Morgan, Physical Education teacher
Gotta Keep Reading!
Beginning Tuesday, September 13, 2016, the Irwin Library Information Center
will be open each Tuesday and Thursday after school. We will be open from
dismissal until 3:45p.m. Parents and children are encouraged to visit us often to
read together, select and check out books, have children do Reading Counts quizzes,
use our many digital resources, and complete any of our many learning centers.
At dismissal time, pick up your child in front of the school from his or her classroom teacher. Come to
the side door of the Information Center. You are to come directly into the Information Center and
not go through the main school door. Since it is after school, you do not need to sign in at the school
office. Students may not enter without a parent. Younger children are welcome as long as parents
keep their younger children physically with them at all times. Parents may check out up to 10 books at
a time. In order to check out books, stop by the Information Center to fill out a parent account
form. It will take us 24 hours to open your account and get you in our system. We look forward to
seeing you soon!
Irwin Information Center
Caramy Taylor, Information Specialist
Page 8 Opening Minds to Lifelong Learning
Here at Irwin, we talk to our students about the “Important P’s” when using our digital resources and
technology: Passwords, Privacy, Permissions, Photographs, and Personal Brand. Students and teachers
alike are enthusiastic when it comes to learning digitally and creatively; that also comes with a global
responsibility! We started our school year off with lessons surrounding the
topics of that responsibility and our role as positive digital citizens. 5th
grade students are demonstrating those skills with creative public ser-vice
announcements to share with our Mustangs community! Ask YOUR stu-dent
how they can be a role model in digital citizenship.
The MBN (Mustangs Broadcasting Network) would like to invite you to sub-
scribe to our channel! We are a student-led; student-created school news
team and broadcast LIVE daily at 8:30am. Tune in...you won’t be disap-
pointed!
21st Century & Digital Learning!
Christine Giusto-Weibl, Educational Technology Specialist
Digital Learning & PBL (Project Based Learning) is an embedded approach here at Irwin! All classes have the integration and technology
collaboration with the school’s “ET”. 5th grade classes also receive a specially
allotted time to create, collaborate, critically think and communicate on
projects, often published for the school’s community and to better prepare them
for College & Career Readiness! Come check us out and see our products when you‛re visiting the school.