May-June, 2016

We have had lots of fun things going on at North Smyr- na Elementary since winter break. Our fourth grade participated in our annual spelling bee, with congratulations going to Dakota Donaghue.

Once again we have formed a Girls on the Run team of 3rd and 4th grade girls. The girls have been working very hard preparing for their 5K run on Saturday, May 21st. As part of their community impact project they held a fundraiser to benefit Magic Arms. Magic Arms is a gravity-balancing, exoskeletal device that’s been proven to assist children with neuromuscular disorders. This device enables children with debilitating weakness in the arms and shoulders make everyday tasks like feeding Mrs. Allabaugh fell in love with school at a very young themselves, putting on their socks, pick up toys and give age and teaching was always her dream. She was born hugs possible. The girls were able to donate over $600 and raised in Smyrna and graduated as a Smyrna Eagle to this organization!! The 3rd & 4th grade chorus stu- in 2005. Following high school, she went on to earn dents once again did an amazing job with their concert! her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Our Early Childhood students all participated in a Spe- the University of Delaware, and minored in Leader- cial Olympics event. They all did a great job!!! ship. She earned her master’s degree in Special Educa- tion from Wilmington University. Mrs. Allabaugh As we are approaching the end of the school year we started her career with the Smyrna School District as a still have some exciting things coming up. On Friday, substitute teacher then went on to teach fourth grade at May 27th we will be having field day!! First grade will Sunnyside Elementary. After three months she then be visiting the Delaware Recycling Center and our last began teaching preschool. She is incredibly grateful for Smyrna Pride reward party will be taking place. the six years she has been with the Smyrna School Dis- trict and all of her students hold a special place in her Some dates to mark on your calendar: heart. On the last day of school Mrs. Allabaugh always sheds tears of sadness and great pride. She always re- School Closed—5/30 flects on the many milestones her students have 1/2 day In-service, dismiss at 12:30—6/3 & 6/4 achieved during the school year. Last Day of School, dismiss at 10:30—6/7 Outside of school, Mrs. Allabaugh has been happily married for six years. She is a very proud, loving, and Enjoy your summer & we will see you August 29th for obsessed aunt. Aside from her family her other inter- the start of a new year!!!!! ests include golfing, skiing, crafting, and almost any- thing Penn State. She has a 25 lb. temperamental cat and a very friendly bunny who’s second home is her classroom.

1 It is hard to believe that the final marking period is almost here. This year has really passed by quickly. Spring has sprung with grass rising, flowers blooming and trees sprouting. It is the time of year that often has us guessing: Is it a cold virus or is it allergies? Cold viruses can last anywhere from one to two weeks. Allergies usually last however long the aller- gen is in the air. Here is a symptom’s checklist as outlined by the Mayo Clinic.

Mrs. Scott began working for the Smyrna School Dis- Symptoms Cold Allergy trict 13 years ago as a Paraprofessional in Cough Usually Sometimes our Early Childhood Program. Her passion is working General aches/pains Sometimes Never with the students and helping them succeed and grow. Fatigue Sometimes Sometimes It fills her heart to see how far her students have devel- Itchy Eyes Rarely Usually oped over the school year. Mrs. Scott has been happily Sneezing Usually Sometimes married for 31 years and raised two wonderful children Sore Throat Usually Sometimes that she is extremely proud of. Runny Nose Usually-discolored Usually-clear Stuffy Nose Usually Usually Fever Rarely Never

If you suspect your child is a seasonal allergy sufferer, contact your We had another successful year with collecting Box health care provider for guidance and treatment. Your child does Tops. We have collected 14,516 so far this year which not need to suffer during this time. For more information please refer to the website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/common- totals $1451.60, We are doing our last collection now cold/an01229. which will end on May 27th. We current have 3,567 collected. Get those box tops in!! Keep saving your Teaching proper hand washing techniques. Ask your child about “Don’t get sick-Wash your hands” slogan. It is the #1 defense box tops over the summer because we will be having a against getting sick. fall contest. I would like to thank everyone who so generously donated items such as shoes and clothes to the nurse’s office. It truly does come in handy for those occasional accidents.

In celebration of World Down Syndrome Day on, Monday, March 21st, staff and students at North Ele- mentary School wore their “crazy” socks. Two weeks prior to the event, socks sold for $1 a pair and we sold With the careful coordination of Mrs. Noll and Mr. close to 600 pairs of socks. As quoted from the Down Sfamurri baseball players and cheerleaders from Syndrome Association’s web page, World Down Syn- Smyrna High School and football players from Wes- drome Day was created to create a single global voice ley College volunteered their time at North Smyrna for advocating for the rights, inclusion and well-being Elementary School on Thursday, March 3, 2016 for of people with Down syndrome in our school, commu- Read Across America Day. This day is celebrated nity and around the world. March 21st (3/21), was nationally to honor Dr. Seuss' Birthday. Volunteers selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication read aloud an array of Dr. Seuss books to students (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which leads to from Pre-K to fourth grade. Down syndrome.

2 Read in the summer? Why, yes, of course! Research On February 5th, members from the Smyrna Middle shows kids who read four or more books during sum- School Junior National Honor Society walked over to mer break are better prepared for the next school year North Smyrna Elementary to “buddy up” with selected and do not go down the "summer slide"-loss of reading students from 2nd through 4t0h grade. Each member and learning skills while school is out of session! Reading during the dog days of summer can really was teamed up with an elementary student for a make a difference to your child's overall education! “getting to know you session”. Once the students were able to get acquainted with one another, they Here are five simple ways you can help your child this collaborated on designing sock snowman for which summer: the elementary students were able to take home. It 1. Make reading important-Be a role model and was a huge success leaving the younger students won- show your child reading is important to you! dering when we can do it again! The plan is to have

2. Power of Choice-Having reading materials available members from the Junior National Honor Society visit is crucial! This could include puzzles, word games, monthly for approximately 30 minutes to do teamwork kid's magazines, fun fact books, joke books, and the list activities and games. The goal of this program is to goes on and on! Allow your child to choose the books give elementary school students a positive role model or reading materials he or she is interested in! Kids are to encourage confidence in academic and social school much more motivated to read and develop a love for settings. reading if the power of choice is given!

3. Set aside time every day-Reading every day is important. Try to incorporate at least 20 minutes into your daily routine for reading. You could read as a family or just allow your child to read quietly in a special spot. Students who read regularly receive higher test scores compared to those who do not!

4. Talk, talk, talk- To improve comprehension, talking about books before, during, and after reading is also important. Ask open-ended questions and encourage your child to share his or her feelings about the story.

5. Take the Summer Reading Challenge-Stay tuned! Look for a special baggie full of goodies at the end of the school year. Inside will be directions to take part in the North Smyrna Elementary's Sum- Mrs. Allabaugh’s 3 year old Early Childhood mer Learning Challenge! Students who partic- class was visited by Ronald McDonald in recog- ipate in this challenge will not only increase nition of raising the most money during the their knowledge and enjoy a love of learning, fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House. but will also enter themselves into a chance to win cool prizes in the fall! During Ronald McDonald’s visit the children enjoyed watching Ronald juggle, ride his unicy- cle and a snack that consisted of cheeseburg- ers and french fries.

3 Immersion programs help us prepare our students for the jobs of tomorrow. They give students a tremendous economic advantage in an increasingly competitive world. Research has Smyrna’s Spanish Immersion Program shown that exposing students to language at an early age has Beginning in Fall 2016, the Smyrna School District will offer many benefits: a Spanish language immersion program. This new option -Language skills. Students can be expected to reach high will provide elementary students with an opportunity to en- levels of world language proficiency. gage in learning in a non-traditional and exciting way – by -Test performance. There is a positive effect on brain devel- immersing them in two languages and cultures – Spanish and opment and intellectual growth. Immersion produces success- English – from kindergarten through 12th grade. Students in ful learners who perform as well or better than their peers on the program will become proficient in both languages while standardized achievement tests. learning the same content as their peers outside the program. -Cognitive skills. Dual-language learners demonstrate better attention control, memory, and problem-solving skills. What is immersion language study? -Cultural sensitivity. Immersion students have a better un- It is the fastest-growing and most effective type of world derstanding of, and appreciation for, diverse cultures. language instruction currently available in U.S. schools. Immersion offers children an opportunity to learn a Why Spanish? second language the same way we learn English – by living -Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the it. No other type of instruction, short of living in a non- U.S., and the fourth most important international business English speaking environment, is as successful. language. -Knowledge of Spanish is an asset in professions with exten- How does it work? sive Spanish-speaking networks. Immersion offers a rich bilingual experience for young learners. In the classroom, students benefit from not one, but two -More than 50% of modern-day English words trace their highly-qualified educators – one for each language. A Span- origins to Spanish. ish-speaking teacher delivers lessons in Spanish language Who can participate? arts, science, mathematics, and some social studies topics for half the day. During the other half of the day, an English- The Smyrna School District will welcome our first class of speaking teacher provides instruction in reading, writing and language immersion students – Kindergarteners – in Fall some social studies topics. 2016. The Immersion Program will be hosted at North Smyr- The Spanish-language teacher will speak entirely in Spanish na Elementary and is open to any Delaware resident. and communicates using a range of strategies including: pic- Families who wish to enroll an incoming kindergarten stu- tures, songs, games, body language, expressions, drama, etc. dent must complete an “Immersion School Choice” applica- Young learners are adept at acquiring language in meaningful tion. A lottery will be held to determine admission if requests contexts. After a brief period at the beginning of the year, exceed capacity. students will be encouraged to speak only in Spanish during Please note: Children must be five years old on, or before the Spanish-language portion of the day. August 31, to be eligible to attend Kindergarten. Parent Responsibilities Immersion classes follow the same curriculum, in all content -Commit to long-term participation in the immersion pro- areas, that non-immersion students would follow in any other gram so that your child can develop advanced-level language classroom. They use many of the same materials as their non skills. -immersion peers. -Develop an understanding of immersion instruction. Instructional progression -Read with your child in English 20-30 minutes daily. The goal of the program is to create a continuous, K-12 im- -Encourage the use of Spanish outside of school. mersion pathway. Each year, the immersion program will -Encourage community support for immersion programs. “add” a grade as our initial class of Kindergarteners moves -Embrace the challenge and celebrate the results! on to the next level. By high school, immersion students will -Report cards, notices and newsletters are issued in English. be able to take the AP Spanish course in Grade 9. Please be aware that you are expected to attend parent meet- ings held throughout the year. Proven advantages

4 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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Mark your calendars….. —School closed, Memorial Day 5/30 —1/2 day, dismiss at 12:30 6/3 —1/2 day, dismiss at 12:30 6/4 —Last Day , dismiss at 10:30 6/7 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 Field Day 28 PK Picnic

29 30 31 1 2 3 4 School Closed Kindergarten 1/2 Day— Play—1:30 dismiss at 12:30

KN -3rd grade Awards at 9:00

5 6 7 Last Day— 8 9 10 11 1/2 day— dismiss at 10:30 dismiss at 12:30

4th Grade Awards at 9:00

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Labor Day Weekend Mark your calendars…..— —First Day of School—Labor Day 8/29 —School Closed 9/2 —School Closed 9/5 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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28 29 First Day of 30 31 1 2 3 School School Closed— Labor Day Weekend

7 5 School Closed 6 7 8 9 10