August 31, 2006 Bobcat Beat Newsletter

August 31, 2006


Welcome to Beals! Well we have gotten the first week under way and all students are busily working in their classes! They seem to be excited to be here and have wonderful cheery personalities! You will see an even greater focus this year on literacy and using the curriculum in teaching reading! We can use your help in encouraging your child to read at home, then tell you a sentence or two about what they read. Prior to the start of school, teachers attended workshops on reading comprehension and strategies to use in the classroom. We will have various workshops on this throughout the school year. They also attended a session on personal strengths and how their strengths can benefit the teaching process in the classroom. We are excited about the new year and working with your kiddos. How is an Elementary School Selected for My Child? Currently, the Omaha Public Schools is set up in four zones. Beals is in the pink zone. Within the pink zone, there are boundaries set up that put students in the attendance area for Beals. Any student living in that area can attend Beals. A proof of address is required to make sure youngsters are in their correctly assigned school. Within the pink zone, Beals is paired with several other schools making those schools our “option” schools. Students living in the attendance areas of those schools can “opt” to come to Beals with transportation if there is room at that grade level. Students living in one of the other three zones must request a Special Needs Transfer to attend Beals. If there is room and the request is approved, a youngster may attend Beals and no transportation is provided. How is it determined if there is room? A “full” classroom is different at various grade levels. Kindergarten --- 22 students Grades 1-3 --- 25 students Grades 4-6 ---30 students Beals can take option students up to the numbers listed above. For Special Needs Transfers we can take up to within 2 of the number listed above in each classroom. We accept all neighborhood children, no matter where our numbers stand. This allows us and the Omaha Public Schools to have diversity within our schools! This will give you an idea of how students are assigned to different schools and may answer some of your questions!	************************************************ No School Monday, September 4^th is Labor Day! Therefore there is no school for students and staff on this day. ********************************************* A Big Thank You! Thank you so much for adhering to the procedures in the teardrop drive and the parking lot! It helps so much and keeps traffic moving. Remember the center lane in both lots is for drive through only and not drop off and pick up. Right hand turn out of the lower parking lot only. Thank you, too for not parking in the Reserved parking or Handicapped parking even for “just a minute”. Visitors to the Building We encourage you to visit our school! We want you to see what our kiddos are doing. All visitors need to sign in at the security desk or in the office. You will be provided a tag that lets others know you “checked in”. When visiting the classroom, plan to stay only about 10-15 minutes. If you would like to stay longer, set up a time with the classroom teacher. We may ask you to help while you are in the room! We would love to see every parent visit their child’s classroom during the day sometime this year. Maybe it is over your lunch hour or for 30 minutes on your day off, yet it is a proven fact that parents who are involved increase a child’s chances for learning! Thank You EMBRACE! The EMBRACE Teacher’s program is a group of churches in the community who are assigned to schools east of 72^nd street to support educators. Over the past weekend they came into Beals and painted the teachers lounge, added window boxes, window treatments, tablecloths and pictures! What you may have noticed is the area around the flagpole! They planted plants and mulched all the bushes around the teardrop drive. We have new plants in the entry as well. Thank you EMBRACE for your kindness. We had approximately 75 people up here to do work for the teachers and the building! We truly feel your love and support! Want to be a Room Parent? (Calls other parents in the class, helps with parties/field trips)Call the school and let us know! 554-8570**