From the Principal S Desk: Mrs. Tiffani E. Lebouef, M.Ed

Alice Birney Elementary School BEAR FACTS April 2013 Newsletter

http://birney.jppss.k12.la.us/

From the Principal’s Desk: Mrs. Tiffani E. LeBouef, M.Ed. Dates to Remember

It is hard to believe that it is already April and system 4/1/13 Principal’s Breakfast @ 9:00 wide testing will soon take place. We were very 4/1/13 Merit Assembly @ 10 (1st – 2nd) proud of our fourth grade students during Phase 1 4/1/13 Merit Assembly @ 2 (3rd – 5th) testing. They were very focused and tried very hard 4/8 – 4/11/13 State Standardized Testing to do their best on the first part of the test. Fourth 4/12 – 4/17/13 Make-Up Testing grade students will be taking Phase 2 of the LEAP 4/17/13 Saints Junior Training Camp test April 8 – 11, 2013. Third and fifth grade 4/18 – 4/22/13 No School ~ Spring Break students will be taking the ILEAP test at the same 4/26/13 Junior Achievement Day time and second grade students will take the ITBS test the first three days of testing. As always, we ask for your help in making this a stress free and successful experience for your children. Students 5th Grade Social Studies Fair should arrive at school on time, rested and prepared to do their best. Please do not be late. Students are INDIVIDUAL GEOGRAPHY not allowed to enter a classroom once testing has 1ST- CHRISTINA CAMPANA begun. If a student is late, he/she will have to make 2ND-LUKE SINGLETON up the test when conditions may not be ideal. Please 3RD- TIMMY BOLDEN-SMITH do not allow your child to miss school unless truly ill. Because the LEAP test and parts of the iLEAP test INDIVIDUAL HISTORY are un-timed, it will be impossible to predict when 1ST-ANAM CHAUDRY testing will be completed each day. For this reason, 2ND-ELMER CARCAMO it is important that all doctor or dentist appointments 3RD-BROOKE ROGERS be scheduled after school during testing week or HM—ANA FUENTES during another week. Cell phones will be collected prior to testing each day. If a student is found in POLITICAL SCIENCE possession of a cell phone during testing, his/her HM—COLBY MARRERO test is voided and the tests of all students in the classroom could be in jeopardy. Everyone at SOCIOLOGY Birney has been working very hard to prepare HM-MOHAMMAD OTALLAH students to do their very best. We wish all students good luck and know that we will be made proud by GROUP GEOGRAPHY their efforts. 1ST—BRANDY STALEY AND LEILA KIANIFAR Mission GROUP HISTORY 1ST—CARA PALMINTIER AND MICHAEL HOWARD Our mission is to create a learning environment in 2ND—ZAVIAN MANZANNARES AND EDY which students are actively engaged while learning MONCADA the skills necessary to become responsible, respectful, and productive lifelong learners. Important Phone Numbers Pre-Kindergarten News

Office 885-1044 In the month of March we learned about kites and Cafeteria 455-2285 kangaroos, rainbows and rhyming, words that are Bear Care 885-0096 opposites and the imaginary leprechaun named Counselor (Ms. Shallin) 889-0975 O’Reilly. Please review the skills learned in March: Library (Ms. Mitchell) 889-6626 the letters Kk, Rr, Oo, and Xx, the shape of a Fax 888-3314 rectangle, and the numeral eight.

Students of the Month In April, we will continue our study of the alphabet, March continuing with the letter Uu and the introduction of both Jj and Ee. Due to standardized testing during Kindergarten the week of April 11-15th, the pre-k classes will be Willis Joselin Alvarez-Cano held in the cafeteria and we will be going on another Kymes Ahmed Brakta field trip to the Audubon Zoo. On Thursday, April st Tyree Daniel Carroll 21 , we are planning an egg hunt and picnic at Carrone Ashley Montoya Lafreniere Park to kick off the spring holidays. Beck Bryan Santos School will be ending before we know it. Continue First Grade to check Birney folders every night, complete any Lamantia Saira Chaudhry homework sent home, and reinforce what we have Rincon Felix Vallecillo-Cruz been learning in school. Bell Meryam Aallouche Casey Dalia Ottallah Kindergarten

Second Grade Spiess Emilio Peguero Thank you to all of the parents who have already paid Grieshaber James Guidry for the upcoming field trips. We look forward to Diggs Medgina Souvenance going to the zoo, Children’s Museum, City Park, the Chisolm Jezabel Reyes-Arteaga Library, and LaFraniere in April. If you have not yet Aguilera Wendy Zheng paid, the total due is $33. If you have paid the first half, the second half is $16.

Third Grade In math, we are learning addition and subtraction. In Gladhart Kandace Wallace science, we are learning about plants and how they Virgadamo Austin “Darrin” Richoux grow. In reading, we are nearly through the alphabet. Langlois Marcos Hernandez Please practice the names and sounds of upper and Larson Anthony Reyes lowercase letters at home if your child has not Bolden Ka’mon Lee mastered them. Many kindergarteners are really Kelly Jacob Otero learning to read! Please practice nightly at home with your child. Remember, reading aloud to your Fourth Grade child increases their vocabulary and aids in their Chase Britney Henriquez learning to read on their own. Milford Ashten Taylor Harper Adam Bazzi Gant Nathan Guarino First Grade News Schomaker Gabriel Lopez First graders have been very busy reading, Fifth Grade reading,reading. We are reading for betterfluency. Rogers Shampain Scott The more fluent they read, thebetter they will Sullivan Trinity Williamson comprehend. Also, weare practicing writing better Geise Cara Palmintier sentences. In math, we are working on place value, skip counting, and practicingour addition and subtraction facts. We will take Math Probe Tests. Social Studies and Science classes will both be These are two- minute tests that check accuracy with implemented in the next few weeks. In Science class, number facts. Please help your child memorize we will be learning about rocks and minerals, the theiraddition and subtraction facts so that they will moon and the stars, and observing weather. In Social improve on their Probetests. They must memorize Studies, we will be discussing past and present, cause their factsbefore entering the second grade. We and effect, and heroes from the past. We are also still areplanning field trips in the near future. Information working on our "Step Up to Writing" curriculum. We has been sent home. We will visit the Destrehan hope to expand children's writing and reading skills Plantation, Audubon Insectarium, Aquarium of the across the curriculum. Americas, and the Audubon Zoo. Please note if your child will bring a bag lunch or purchase a lunch from In Math we just completed our unit on fractions. the cafeteria. We need chaperones! The trips will be Over the next few weeks students will be estimating interesting and fun! Please check and label all time, figuring out elapsed time, and using analog and clothing. Checkwith your child to see if they need digital clocks to tell time before and after the hour. any supplies.

Third Grade News Second Grade News Welcome to the busy month of April! We have a lot Spring has arrived which means milder temperatures of exciting things coming up. We will be working on and standardized testing! We have been working our iLEAP practice booklets the weeks of March hard all year to master reading, language, and math 25- April 5, 2013. Please make sure your child is skills in preparation of the ITBS standardized test. present for this important iLEAP prep. The iLEAP The students will be testing the week of April 8th – tests are April 8, 9, 10 and 11. It is important that 11th. Please make sure that your child eats a third graders get a good night’s sleep and eat a hearty nutritious breakfast, gets a goodnight’s sleep, and is breakfast during testing week. Students are being present and on time every day during testing. Your asked by their math teacher to practice and drill child has been given an ITBS practice booklet. Please multiplication and division facts every night!! After practice a few pages in the booklet each night. We the iLEAP Test math classes will return to are proud of how hard the students have been multiplication with 3, 4, 6, 7, & 8 factors. In reading working and we know they are going to a great job! we will be reading historical & realistic fiction, narrative & informational nonfiction, and poetry. During Reading class, the students are continuing to Parents, please continue reading at home with your work on word study and comprehension activities. child. This is going to improve their reading Additionally, we have started working with poetry comprehension skills. Also, make sure you are and will continue poetry activities for the next few checking over their homework nightly. In English we weeks. We are using music to learn about rhythm will be studying adjectives and adverbs. In Social and rhyme. At first, students are allowed to dance to Studies we will learn about our nation’s history and the music, and during the next few times they hear Louisiana culture. As always “thank you” for your the music, they identify rhyme and rhythm with their cooperation!! team. Ask your child about dancing to music by Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole! I believe using music to Fourth Grade News be quite effective as we continue to learn about poetry. Spring is in the air, for fourth graders in all of Louisiana that means Phase1of LEAP has been During English class, the students just finished completed and Phase 2 will soon be here. Students learning about how to use information resources. We are reviewing key concepts in all subjects. We know will continue to work on mastering the accordion our students will do a GREAT job on LEAP. paragraph and learning about its correlation to the Parent/Teacher Conferences in March were well traffic light signal. Please continue to have your attended. Thank you so much for being actively child practice writing at home. After reading a book involved in your child’s education. A strong at home, ask your child to write a written summary partnership between home and school is critical in about the book. This help will strengthen both helping our students achieve their potential. We are Reading and English skills. participating in a “Rewards for Reading” program sponsored by Dawn Busters Kiwanis Club. Encourage your child to participate. Be on the www.louisianapass.org. We appreciate your lookout for more information. cooperation. Fifth Grade News Ms. Bolden and Mrs. Pepin The 5th grade teachers cannot believe how close we are to iLEAP testing! We have been preparing for We welcome the fourth nine weeks as well as spring! testing in all of our classes. Students should be Our third grade students are preparing fr the iLEAP present and on time during the week of iLEAP test. We ask that you give extra attention to math testing. Ms. Sullivan’s math classes are concentrating facts and reading time! heavily on fractions until testing. They are adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, simplifying, and In third grade math, we are learning about fractions finding equivalent fractions. Mrs. Geise’s language and moving into capacity (i.e. gallons and quarts). arts classes are focusing on reviewing grammar skills We will be building a "straw" structure and the and reading skills. We are also doing plenty of Gallon Man!!! In E/L.A., we have been learning how practice with informational resources and reading to research different subjects. We will begin a project comprehension passages. Mrs. Rogers’ science that will include a written report and a story board. classes are working on their unit about space. Details will be sent home in the very near future. Students are learning about planets, the sun, the moon, and Earth's rotation and revolution. Her social Second grade math is working on time...tick, tock. studies’ students are studying the Revolutionary War Second and third grade are both working on a period, discovering what the Constitution is all about, wonderful writing program the district and the school and learning what the three branches of government has provided. We have discovered some wonderful are. Please continue to turn in all assignments and resources on http://www.louisianapass.org/. Please projects on time. have your child visit this site regularly. Each third grade student has a password to log in. We, as Special Programs educators, can help you track your child's progress.

Ms. Kelly and Ms. Lori Ms. Gant and Ms. Michelle ESL Program

Room 305 welcomes the month of April! We are Ms. Aguilera’s Class gearing instruction so that students are successful for LEAP and iLEAP testing. We are confident that they The second and third ESL students continue to will do their best. strengthen their reading and writing skills with daily reading interventions and daily writing prompts. In Reading, we are strengthening our comprehension skills by focusing on sequence of events, compare/ Second grade has been working very hard to master contrast, and summarizing. We are covering theme, skills such as subject-verb agreement, contractions, making judgments, and identifying problem and adjectives, fact and opinion and sequencing. The solution. We are also working on adjectives, articles, children have also been preparing to take their first words that compare, and using correct punctuation. state-wide standardized test.

Additionally, we are devoting instruction to the Third grade has also been preparing to take the development and revision of writing skills. iLEAP. This month they concentrated on pronoun- Understanding place value, volume, graphing ordered verb agreement, contractions, adjectives, fact and pairs, and multiplying two digit numbers have been opinion, the use of articles and the ability to use the main focus in math. We have also been different types of resources. reviewing all math skills learned this year. We are very proud of the progress they have made Parents, it is important to encourage your children to this year and wish them the best of luck in the read daily and complete all assignments. Please have upcoming state assessment. students get a good night’s sleep the nights before testing and eat a healthy breakfast the mornings of testing. Students may also practice skills at Mrs. Schomaker’s Class The fourth and fifth grade ESL students are looking Studies show that last-minute cramming forward to Spring Break which starts April 18and doesn’t work. ends on the 22. However, before the break, each  Read the directions – carefully! student will seriously evaluate his or her own  Look the test over quickly. Before strengths and weaknesses. Each will identify and answering any questions, skim quickly concentrate on the skills they feel will better prepare through the test. Figure out how much time them for LEAP or iLEAP. They should be working to spend on each section. on the Language Arts practice pages given to them.  Don’t be afraid to skip a question. Don’t We are checking and analyzing their answers in class. waste time worrying about a question you Their active participation in these exercises should can’t answer. Instead, go on to questions help them respond to the LEAP questions with some you know you can answer. If there’s time, confidence and success. Our united efforts should go back to the items you skipped. achieve their goals---TO PASS LEAP AND  Remember past tests where you did well. iLEAP!!!!! You can do well again. We wish them ‘Good Fortune.’ Talented Theatre Media Center News (LMC) @ Your Library (LMC) Save the date!

In an effort to encourage reading, Dawn Buster’s This year's play, "The Bullies and the Magic Shoes," Kiwanis Club is offering numerous prizes for has been scheduled for May 10. As in previous years, Birney’s most avid readers. In all grade-levels, we'll have two performances, one at 9:00 a.m. and students can earn tickets when they turn in assigned another one at 10:00 a.m.. The cast includes: Taleah reading reports or logs to their teachers. The more Duckworth, Leila Kianifar, Alayna Smith, Angelina students read, the more tickets they will receive. Smock, Yasmin Angelety, Amani Green, and Teachers will keep all earned tickets in a classroom Cassadie Worley. jar. The Kiwanis will return in May to draw names from the ticket jars for a grand give-a-way of prizes. The director is Ms. Monica Layton, who wrote the READY, SET, READ! play based on research on the subject and work done in class by the students. If you would like to encourage your child to read more, help them search our school library catalog for Everybody is invited! books they are most interested in reading. Help them write down a list of titles with call numbers. Encourage them to bring this list to school on their PBIS library day. Several eBooks are also available through the Birney library. Search in the same way Since positive behavior is the expectation of Birney you would print books. Those with a blue “e” just students each and every day, our PBIS plan is under the title are available to read online. The embedded in all aspects of our campus life. Our online catalog is available on any computer with students are expected to exhibit positive behavior in Internet service at http://destiny.jppss.k12.la.us. the bus lines, cafeteria, classrooms, and hallways. The teachers at Birney model appropriate behaviors and reinforce them in our students. Positive behavior Counselor’s Corner has to be an attitude, a feeling or belief that runs Overcome Test Anxiety through the school itself and has an effect on every aspect of our school. This only comes about through Nobody likes to take tests and some children get a focused, sustained effort to see and reward the good what’s called “test anxiety.” They are so worried occurring each and every day on our campus. about taking the test that they can’t show what they Students are rewarded for their positive behavior by know. Telling your child, “Just relax” won’t work. receiving Birney Bucks. They can then use their Instead, share these tips: Birney Bucks to purchase items at the Birney Buck Store.  Don’t cram. A good night’s sleep is more important than an extra hour of studying. April 30 Mesquite Chicken

TEACHER SPOTLIGHT

Ms. Angela Willis - Kindergarten BAND NOTES______Reported by: Jaden Coffey and THE MEGA 5 BAND IS BACK! rd th th Fabian Rodriguez – 4th Grade Featuring 3 , 4 , and 5 grade Band Students from Q) Why did you become a teacher? Keller, Green Park, Birney, Riviere, and Ellis A) I chose to become a teacher because I love working with children. SATURDAY, MAY 18th from 10:00-11:00AM Q) Why do you like teaching young students? Rivertown Farmer’s Market in Kenner, LA A) I like to teach you students because they’re full of energy and always have something funny to say. The performance is free for all to attend! Q) How long have you been teaching? A) I’ve just graduated from college and Alice Birney The Mega 5 Band is a “mega-size” band and it is my first teaching job, so I’ve only been teaching includes all 4th and 5th grade band students from five for three months. JPPSS schools; Harold Keller, Green Park, Alice Q) Do you like Alice Birney Elementary? Are you Birney, Marie Riviere, and J.C. Ellis. The Mega 5 willing to stay? Rockin’ Recorders are all of the 3rd grade recorder A) I love working at Alice Birney. The teachers are students from the same 5 schools. The 4th and 5th really kind and the students are great. graders come to after-school practices to prepare for Q) If you could choose another job, what would you the performance for several months in advance. The choose? hard work pays off when family and friends come to A) I would choose to be a vet because I love see them perform. animals. Q) What hobbies do you like to do? “ The Second Annual Mega 5 Band Performance” A) I like going to the park with my dog. I like to will be at Rivertown Historic District and bi-weekly swim for fun and I like to spend time with my family. Farmers Market in Kenner. Rivertown is located at the end of Williams Boulevard and the Mississippi River. Rivertown and the Farmers Market are thrilled to host this years’ event, and I am sure it will be a fun time for all! We are looking for ways to make this What’s for Lunch? performance even better than last year… such as more practice, and more publicity, and a great big Mega 5 Band banner to hang over the stage. April 1 Red Beans/Sausage Thankfully, EZ Parker Airport Parking is helping April 2 Chicken/Sausage Gumbo support the band program again this year, and has April 3 Meatsauce/Spaghetti agreed to give all the students a free Mega-5 band T- April 4 Chicken Nuggets Shirt as well! April 5 Crispy Fish April 8 Cheeseburger I am looking for parent volunteers to help organize April 9 Baked Turkey/Gravy/Rice the students backstage for the performance, and to April 10 Manager’s Choice help set-up and break down the performance area for April 11 Turkey Taco the concert. Please contact me if you can help. April 12 Vegetable Beef Soup Thanks! April 15 Shepherd’s Pie April 16 White Beans/Sausage See you at the Rivertown Farmers Market, Saturday, April 17 Meatballs/Spaghetti May 18! April 23 Creole Macaroni April 24 BBQ Chicken Nuggets Grace Bennett Ferrer April 25 Breaded Fish Nuggets JPPSS Elementary Band Director - Ellis, Riviere, April 26 Toasted Cheese Sandwich Keller, Birney, and Green Park April 29 Red Beans/Sausage Email: [email protected]