New HTSD Elementary K – 5 Reading Program A Fresh Start JOURNEYS It is hard to believe that we are already three By Roberta M. Good weeks into the start of a new school year. Your Wyland PTO has many exciting events For the first time in over thirty years, the HTSD and opportunities planned! Our Family has adopted a Reading Program that will be used Movie Nights, Scholastic Book Fairs, Secret school wide, for all students K – 5. It is called Shop, and Family Bingo Night are just a few Journeys by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt of the ways you will be able to enjoy time Publishing Company. Students in grades K – 5 with your "Wyland Family." We are very will receive reading instruction from this excited to present a special Family Fun Night wonderful total language arts program and will planned for Friday, October 21st. We hope experience the consistency of this program you will be able to attend many of these throughout their elementary years. events as the year progresses! We have such a wonderful list of volunteers that help to The Journeys program was developed on the make the Wyland PTO a success! If you have solid foundations of proven instruction in an an interest in becoming more involved, please easy to manage organization. The program let us know and we will help find the right fit offers endless Instructional Support – including for you! complete Whole-group Instruction, Five-Day We would like to use this edition of the Small group Instruction, Intervention and English PTO press to highlight our PTO Executive Language learner Support. Board. We have some new faces and would like to take this opportunity to introduce A Readers Workshop Approach is a grade-level each one of them. We are very fortunate to teaching guide that provides mini-lessons and have such a dynamic and supportive group of Interactive Read-Alouds for the Journeys core parents working together in support of the reader selection. It also provides support for the children, teachers and staff of Wyland study of genre to each grade level. Elementary School. When you get a chance, take a moment to thank them for their Benchmark Assessments are provided twice volunteer efforts! Best wishes for a great yearly to measure yearly progress. Unit tests school year! measure the reading and writing skills taught in each unit. Your PTO Co-Presidents, Jennifer Januck and Lisa Goodpaster Screening assessments are group-administered assessments that provide initial screening of the previous year’s skills for comprehension, vocabulary, language arts, decoding, and writing. It also includes passages for comprehension screening. The Talbot is an extinct This is a more rigorous program than the species of hunting dog previous elementary reading program. The expectations for students are high and our similar to a greyhound or teachers have accepted the challenge to better mastiff. prepare our students for acquiring 21st century skills. Spotlight on Wyland Teachers Mr. Michael Thompson I am a Hampton native born and raised. After finishing up at Hampton, I graduated college from Slippery Rock University. Some of my favorite things to do are sports and outdoor activities. You may be surprised to learn that I.... have played the drums since 5th grade. In my free time I enjoy.... exercising, watching sports, and hanging with friends and family. The best thing about my job at Wyland is.... getting to teach every single student in the building. Ms. Lindsey Zandier I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and never even left for college or grad school (Go Pitt!). I am a hard-worker and take great pride in my dedication to teaching. You may be surprised to learn that I.... Am getting married this June and try to eat ice cream once a day. In my free time I enjoy………. Playing with my dog Tanger, watching Pittsburgh sports, and being with my family The best thing about my job at Wyland is.... The children, their families, and my co-workers Mrs. Kelly Birsic I am married with four children. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and I have lived in Hampton Township for the past twenty-four years. You may be surprised to learn that I.... began my teaching career in Houston, Texas. In my free time I enjoy.... cooking, gardening, and spending time with my family. The best thing about my job at Wyland is.... greeting twenty-one amazing First Graders each morning and having the opportunity to watch them learn and grow. Mrs. Lauren Rodriguez I’m a graduate of The University of Pittsburgh, and I am finishing my Masters in Education at Carlow University. I am certified in both Elementary Education and Special Education. I have an 8-year-old daughter who is also in 3rd grade. You may be surprised to learn that I.... am a grown-up Girl Scout. I was a Scout as a child and am now a Girl Scout Leader. In my free time I enjoy.... biking the trails around Pittsburgh with my family. I am also an avid reader. The best thing about my job at Wyland is.... helping the students be successful. I really enjoy the process of teaching new skills and learning strategies, and watching the students apply them to new problems. Spotlight on Wyland Teachers Mrs. Lisa Woods I am new to Wyland, new to Pennsylvania and newly married! I am not new to teaching, though. This will be my 12th year of teaching art. I love looking at art, learning about art and creating art with kids! I am very excited about the school year and getting to know the people of Hampton. You may be surprised to learn that I.... once flew the Goodyear Blimp! (Just for 5 minutes!) In my free time I enjoy.... cooking, being outdoors, going to museums, painting, and reading. The best thing about my job at Wyland is.... making art with such wonderful kids! Mrs. Nichole Babka I am 28 years old and I live in Valencia. I was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and I attended Westminster College and Slippery Rock University. You may be surprised to learn that I.... lived in Virginia for three years and taught 4th grade there! In my free time I enjoy………. baking and spending time with my husband and 7-month-old daughter. The best thing about my job at Wyland is.... all the new people I get to know and work with! Mrs. Terri Barnett I am married and have two boys, Michael (9) and Spencer (7), and a dog, Poa. We live in McCandless where I also grew up. I have been teaching at Wyland for 15 years and spent most of my time in first grade. I also taught kindergarten. You may be surprised to learn that I.... love to go to Disney World. I have been there a dozen times! In my free time I enjoy.... spending time with my family, attending the boys’ sporting events, and of course, reading. The best thing about my job at Wyland is.... the kids! I am very excited to be working with students from kindergarten through grade 5. Hampton Township School District is the only US public school represented by the Talbot as its mascot. THANK YOU! Wyland Family Movie Night This year we ordered, sorted and It’s back! packed school supplies for 300 Mark your calendar for the first Movie night of the year. students. Thank you to: Judy Behr, Friday September 23 at 7 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Jocelyn Behr, Zach Carr, Kelly Collins, Katie Collins, Joanne Disney's Spooky Buddies. Crouch, Tess Crouch, Rhonda will take over the Multi Purpose room. Derence, Aimee Erhardt, Lori Furge, So grab your pillow and blanket and come hang out Maddie Krills, BJ Murray, Natalie with your family and friends. A donation of $3 per student is Murray, Lisa Neill, Sarah Neill, Jen suggested– there will be popcorn and other snacks available to Ninehouser, Colleen Nolan, Anne purchase. Just a reminder an adult must stay on site – Ribar, Melissa Rogers, Denise carpooling is okay. th Scanlon, Karrie Schmitt, Theresa Benefits the 5 grade. Straub, Allison Waldschmidt, Evan Waldschmidt, Ryan Waldschmidt, IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER Lynn Wikert, Lilly Zoffel and Stephanie Zoffel who September volunteered to help pack and repack 22nd – Picture Day the school supplies this summer. We 23rd – Family Movie Night could not have done it without you. October 1st - HAEE Walk/Run 3rd – 7th - Grade 4 Stanford Testing Thank you to all the Student 10th – NO SCHOOL Columbus Day Buddies! 11th – Grade 4 OLSAT Testing 13th – PTO Meeting 9 AM Jack F. Evan M. 14th – Talbot Tailgate Maya O. Kaitlyn L. 19th – Group Photos Lily O. Owen D. 21st – PTO Family Fun Night – HMS Madeline A. Lizzie W. 31st – Halloween Parties Zachary C. Tom K. Mia C. Zachary S. November st Alex K. JT N. 1 – NO SCHOOL 2nd – 4th – Early Dismissal Conferences 11th – PTO Meeting 9 AM 14th – 18th – Scholastic Book Fair Wyland is looking for a new Talbot Tailgate 15th – Open House Grades 3-5 chairperson (s) for 2012-2013. 6:00 – 7:30 PM This event is fun-filled for the entire family and a great way to 16th – Open House Grades K-2 get involved in Wyland and Hampton as a community. This 6:00 – 7:30 PM year's event will be held on Friday, October 14 from 4:30-7:00. 18th – Family Movie Night Barbro Kelley ([email protected]) and Marsha Turner 24th – 25th – NO SCHOOL ([email protected]) would love for someone to "shadow" them to see what is involved.