Welcome Back, 2013 Becker Elementary .Home of the Bearcats!

IRIS BECKER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Parent Newsletter

Welcome Back, 2013 Becker Elementary….Home of the Bearcats!

Visit the Becker Website at http://becker.dearbornschools.org/

September 2013 Calendar Welcome Back Parent Meeting

9/3Students Return – 11:45 Dismissal9/6Welcome Mr. Higgins will hold a Parent Meeting on Friday, September 6th in the gym Back Parent Meeting @ 10:009/11Late Start – beginning at 10:00. Mr. Higgins will School Begins @ 9:309/11SMART Bond Kick-off @ Park welcome everyone back to school, share Place @ 6:009/19Response to Bullying Assembly, K-5 exciting school news at Becker as well as @ 9:309/19Open House, 3:35-5:00 (See information about the upcoming school year. The PTA will also be available to have below)9/30Dearborn Schools Anti-Bullying you join the Becker PTA and volunteer for Extravaganza @ 6:00 @ Ford Performing Arts school events. Center10/2Late Start – School Begins @ 9:30 Becker Open House Becker Receives Honors…Again!

Becker Elementary will hold Open The Becker staff is once again excited to House on Thursday, September 19th. The start a new school year working with your children format will be different from past years. and dedicating all of our efforts and resources to Students and parents are to gather in the ensure another year of successful academic and gym after school for refreshments. social growth for all students. Teachers will use this time to prepare This summer brought news from the state classrooms. At 3:50 Mr. Higgins will begin of the continued successes of the students at the parent meeting and formally welcome Becker. Becker Elementary was once again everyone back to Becker. Staff will then be identified as a Reward School by the Michigan introduced to all parents. Staff will report to Department of Education, recognized as a their classrooms. Following a brief meeting, “Beating the Odds” school. Additionally, the parents and students will be invited to visit Mackinac Center for Public Policy ranked Becker classrooms. Please…do not go to Elementary as the #2 public elementary/middle classrooms until after the meeting. school in the state out of nearly 2,400 schools. I Please see below. credit these successes to the dedicated staff at Open House - Thursday, Sept. 19 Becker, the supportive and involved families at 3:35 School Dismissal Becker, and of course, the incredible students at 3:35-3:50 Refreshments in Gym Becker! The Becker Community expects and 3:50-4:10 Introduction of Staff / Brief Parent demands the best, and therefore, is the BEST! Meeting Still, we are not satisfied! We are 4:10-5:00 Classroom Visits committed to the continuous growth and success 5:00 Building Closes of all students, and we welcome the challenge! We count on your partnership, and we know that together we will once again succeed! Becker Staff Ready for 2013-2014!

The staff at Becker Elementary has spent much of the summer preparing for the challenges of the upcoming school year. Countless hours have been spent in professional development, researching and reading educational publications on best practices, organizing classrooms into learning centers, and some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Our “Award Winning” teaching and support staff is listed below… Principal: David Higgins Kindergarten: May Berry and Diana Harb First Grade: Ana Gomez and Jennifer Murray Second Grade: Tanya Jabra and Patricia Makssoud Third Grade: Frieda Hindo Third/Fourth Grade: Sukna Hammoud Fourth Grade: Mariam Berry Fifth Grade: Hussein Bazzy and Amal Khansa Bilingual Resource: Iman Khalil Instructional Coach: Sue Abu-Rus Teacher Consultant: Mary Warsop Social Worker: Rola Bazzi-Gates Speech: Emmy Dionysopoulos Psychologist: Roula Korkis Media Specialist: Laura Turk, Media Secretary: Kordula Goebel Special Area Teachers: JaNell Wilder, Matt Laura, Maggie Patroniti, Greg Gozzard Support Staff: Amera Kadiri, Manal Mackie, Maha Elgabri, Niyaz Chahine, Brian Wilkerson, Jason Schlehuber, Chris Katros, Jean Ball, Herminia Espinosa, Hala Elhusseini, Hala Mouhanna, Lena Pason, Ibtisam Chehab, Mary Baker Dearborn Schools to Hold S.M.A.R.T. School Bond Election on November 5 th Ballot Becker Informational Meeting on Friday, October 4th at 10:00

The Dearborn Board of Education will present a S.M.A.R.T. School Bond Election on the November 5th ballot. The Dearborn Board of Education is asking the Dearborn community to consider a $76 million bond proposal that would provide funding for Security, Modifications, Additions, Renovations, Technology, and Transportation. Representatives from Dearborn Schools will be at Becker on Friday, October 4th at 10:00 for an informational meeting concerning the bond, how it will affect all of Dearborn Schools and specifically Becker Elementary. At that meeting, parents and community members are welcome to ask questions about the bond proposal, the need for one, etc. Please plan on attending. Please Remember…

 Daily Schedule: 8:35-3:35 (Kindergarten dismisses @ 3:25 to a parent or guardian)  Students should be at school no later than 8:30, but no earlier than 8:20 unless they are eating breakfast. Breakfast begins at 8:00.  Please have students to school ON TIME and picked up from school ON TIME.  Students are to go directly home after school. Please review safety procedures with your child as he/she walks to school every day.  You will receive a Parent Contract soon to discuss with your child – please sign and return!  If your child is going to be absent or late coming to school, we ask that you call the school by 8:30 in morning at 827-6950. The school office is open daily from 8:00-4:00.  Please update the office on any changes to your contacts and/or emergency phone numbers. It is very important that we have at least two emergency numbers on file. Late Starts: Wednesday, September 11th and October 2nd School begins @ 9:30 on Late Start Days