Ideal School Day

Dear Nederland Elementary Community,

You may have heard about the Ideal School Day Task Force and its work on a new schedule for
elementary schools based on research and best practices. The goal is to ensure every child has
access to a well-rounded education, and there is adequate instructional time to enhance student
success. The task force will present its recommendations to the superintendent in December.

Goals of the task force’s work include providing a consistent length of day across the district for
elementary students to ensure adequate instructional time in math, literacy, science, and social
studies and providing students with opportunities to experience art, music and physical
education.

While the recommendations are not yet finalized, current thinking is to offer fifth grade students
a choice of instrumental or general music. The rationale is to create equity of specials
opportunities for all students and to increase learning time for core subjects like science and
social studies. In addition, lunch periods would be extended to 25 minutes to address parent
concerns, and recess to 45 minutes to meet health/wellness guidelines and policies.

The task force’s recommendations will be based on best practices to increase student success
and not budgetary implications. The district will meet contractual obligations to teachers. All non-
probationary teachers will have jobs.

As the Ideal School Day Task Force continues its work, I will provide updates through emails and our school newsletter. There will be information posted on the district website, http://www.bvsd.k12.co.us  that we will link to our school website.

Sincerely,

Jeff Miller
Principal, Nederland Elementary

October 2015 Blog

Hello Nederland Parents,

I hope this post finds you all well.  Our parent-teacher conferences are occurring on October 19, 21, and 27 and this communication will give you helpful hints to prepare for conferences, understand reading assessments, and be aware of PTA events this month.

At Back-to-School Night, I stated that parents are their child's first and most important teacher.  As a staff, it is our role to be your best partner in your child's learning -- we want your children to learn and grow.  When parents and teachers talk to each other at conferences, we can share important information about your child's talents and needs.

What should parents expect at conferences?

• Two-way conversation.  Like all good conversations, parent teacher conferences are best when both people talk and listen.  Our staff will be sharing data and observations pertaining to attendance, social/emotional progress, BVSD assessments, in-class progress, and home-school learning.  We enjoy hearing about your child's passions and pursuits away from school -- it helps us personalize the teacher-student relationship at school.
• Emphasis on learning. Good parent teacher conferences focus on how well the child is doing at school. To get ready for these conversations, review your child's schoolwork and notices that go home in Friday Folders.  If you have a specific question, I advise that you write it down as a reminder -- conferences last 20 minutes and there is a good deal to share.  If a question is written down, you will not forget to ask it!
• Opportunities and Challenges. Just like you, our teachers want your child to succeed.  You will probably hear positive feedback about your child and areas of improvement.  Be prepared by thinking about your child's strengths and challenges beforehand and seek to create home-school connections.

What is i-Ready?

i-Ready is a diagnostic that BVSD is using to assess Common Core reading standards. i-Ready, along with other literacy measures provide data driven insights that classroom teachers need to determine exactly where to focus their instructional time to ensure that all students are on track to meet these rigorous expectations.  i-Ready pinpoints areas of achievement in the following areas: phonological awareness (recognizing sound units that make words), phonics (recognizing letter/sound relationships withing words); high frequency words, vocabulary, literature comprehension, and informational text comprehension.

What should I know about PTA in October?

• If you get a moment in our community, please acknowledge and thank the parent volunteers of our PTA -- they are busy providing some great opportunities for NES kids.
• Please get excited about the Spell-A-Thon.  This is our prime fundraiser for the year and we need your support.  Spell-A-Thon pledge envelopes went home last week in Friday Folders -- learn those words and get those pledges!  While our school goal, is $11,000, we can provide more opportunities to kids if we exceed that goal.
• Our Book Fair is starting the week of October 19th!
• A school-wide assembly is occurring on October 16th -- a planetarium will be in the gymnasium!  Our intermediate students will be learning about Shakespeare and peaceful pathways to resolving conflicts on October 27th.
• An Outdoor Education and Winter Adventure Days Benefit concert will be happening at the Stage Stop the evening of October 23rd, doors open at 5:00 p.m.  A big thanks to Caribou Mountain Collective for volunteering their time and talents to our kids!
• Trick or Trunk will be occurring on Friday, October 30th at 5:30-6:30 in the NES parking lot.  Students are able to trick-or-treat and parents get to decorate their cars.  Please sign up with Juanita Gloe if you want to volunteer your car this evening!
• PTA is providing abundant enrichment activities after school.  Student scholarships can be accessed at nespta.com under "after school activities" or by contacting our main office.

See you at conferences!

Jeff