Dear AES Parents and Students,
The start of each school year presents new opportunities for students to make the most of what we have to offer at AES. The building has been cleaned from top to bottom, and several things have been done to improve our school for the upcoming year. In order to provide high quality learning opportunities for students, the staff at AES understand the importance of designing learning environments that work for kids. A classroom needs to be a safe and fun place to be, and AES teachers work hard at making sure students enjoy the time they spend in school. From the time they arrive at school to the time they go home, our staff strives to help each student be the best they can be. This really comes together when the teacher, child and parent work together to help each child be the best student they can be.
With the retirements of four outstanding teachers, we will welcome some MS staff to our building. We welcome Mrs. Katie Mostad to 4th grade and Mr. Randy Strand to 5th grade. In addition, Mrs. Monica Horn will be teaching 3rd grade, Mr. Tom Sandager will be teaching 2nd grade, Mr. Doug Petersen will be the 3-5 Title/RTI Coordinator, and Mrs. Laurie Varley will be the K-2 Title/RTI Coordinator. Mrs. Varley will continue to oversee the district ESL program as well. We will miss Mrs. Rabenberg, Mrs. Buschena, Mrs. Faber, and Mrs. Rust very much, but we all know that things change, and we look forward to starting the new school year with these changes in place.
New Ideas and Ongoing Initiatives
Back To School Open House
With the start of the new school year on Monday, August 22nd, the teachers at AES want to make sure the children are comfortable and prepared for the first day. The past few years we have conducted a Meet and Greet Conference, with a scheduled time for each child. This year we want to create a more festive and relaxed time, so everyone is invited to the “Float Into The New School Year” Celebration Open House on Wednesday, August 17th from 5:30-8:00. All students and parents are encouraged to come to school and visit your classroom. During this time you will meet your teacher, put away your school supplies, get reacquainted with your classmates, and stop by the Dragon Skylight Diner for a Root Beer or Orange Ice Cream Float!!! The Blue and Gold PTO will be on hand to help with this event. We are looking forward to seeing you all on the 17th!!!
Adrian Public Schools at the Nobles County Fair
This year Adrian Public Schools will have a booth at the Nobles County Fair as a way of promoting our school district and all the great things that take place in our schools. While you are at the fair, it is a great opportunity to see all the great things our students are doing through 4-H as well.
Blue and Gold PTO Sponsored Volunteer Coordinator Position
The Blue and Gold PTO has started a Volunteer Coordinator program, and has hired Lara Fransen to coordinate this program. This is a great opportunity for parents and community members to become more involved with the school by assisting children and staff with a wide variety of things. Please refer to the information in the packet to gain a better understanding of this program.
Special Education Changes
This year we are doing some restructuring in the special education department. The early childhood team will continue to work with children up to seven years old. This year, Mrs. Eitreim will focus on children in grades K-2, and Mr. Zinnel will focus on grades 3-5. This new arrangement will allow each of these teachers to focus on either primary or intermediate age children, and will allow them to become a more integral part of these teams.
School Wide Title I/Response To Intervention Reading and Math Services
With the current structure of primary and intermediate PLC teams and the work that is being accomplished, we will implement a primary and intermediate specific focus to our Title/RTI program. With Mrs. Varley focusing on the primary, and Mr. Petersen on the intermediate students, they will be able to work more closely with the grade level teams to break apart the various data that we collect on our students, and focus the instruction on the specific skills that need to be developed. Our goal is to provide training on the use of data analysis tools to pinpoint instruction, and they will work closely with classroom teachers to design intervention plans that focus on the academic needs of the students. Each team will have a paraprofessional as well to assist in the instructional process. Each team will be asked to develop a five day schedule that ensures that the approaching level, on level, and beyond level kids at each grade have their needs met in reading and math. The special education staff will be an integral part of these teams as well.
Technology Instruction
We are changing the way we utilize our computer lab, with a focus on using technology as a tool to improve student achievement. The focus of the K-2 technology classes will be computer familiarity, with a primary focus on literacy and numeracy enrichment. The 3-5 technology classes will meet for 50-minute blocks once a week, and will focus on keyboarding skills through writing projects, Study Island Test Prep, Pearson Access Learning Locator Test Prep, and curriculum based research projects. The Title I/RTI staff will be responsible for supervising the lab on Tuesday/Thursday during the specials block.
AES Path To Success Update
Each spring we look at information collected to determine what we need to work on for the new school year. The first year of AES Path To Success was well received by students, parents, and staff. In the past Parent Surveys, there were concerns expressed about student discipline, including bullying, unfair treatment, and inconsistent policies, and some of these concerns were stated again this year. Based on these concerns, as well as our desire to improve our building wide system of addressing student behavior, the discipline committee has met recently and has come up with some new ideas to help make the program even more effective for SY 11-12. The classroom teachers will share this information through their newsletters as the school year begins.
In closing, as we approach the 2011-2012 school year, I am excited to see what awaits us. We have had a lot of success at AES over the years, and I look forward to continued success this year as we work together and learn from each other. While our state and nation works its way out of a difficult financial situation, our goal is to work as hard and as smart as possible to provide a quality education for your children.
Working together we will continue to provide our students with a quality school experience that prepares them for life. I join with all of you in doing what I can to continue our tradition of excellence at Adrian Elementary School!!! I look forward to working with all of you this year.