Meet the New Teachers!

http://providencehall.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152

Click on the link for biographies of the new Junior High Teachers! 

Dress Code Update!

Given the confusion caused by the "light blue" colored tops option for the coming school year we will be going to a red, white and navy blue only dress code option for student tops at the Elementary school.  Because so many parents already have light blue tops we will be allowing Elementary students to wear those for the coming school year.   

We would ask parents to not purchase any more light blue tops in anticipation of the Elementary phasing those out beginning in the 2012 school year.  

For Junior High students, we are planning to begin the school year with the red, white, navy blue, black and grey as the only colors.  We did originally plan to include the light blue but are now not going to have that as a dress code option.  Our apologies to any parents who may have already purchased those for Jr. High students.   

We are hoping that we are now contacting you in time that you may either not purchase them or return them. 

Thank you for your support.

Providence Hall

Important Letter from Principal Kathy Watson!! Please read!

Dear Parents,

    

I can’t believe summer is already half over.  I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer break and is getting ready for a fabulous school year.  I have recently received several emails asking about the changes we are making at the elementary.  I would like to share with you some details regarding those changes we have made at the elementary level.  There seems to be a lot of information floating around and some of it is incorrect. 

Teachers Assistants

The first change I would like to explain is the use of teacher assistants in each grade level.  Providence Hall is a unique school for many reasons but one of the reasons many parents chose Providence Hall is for our small class sizes and the fact that each class has teaching assistants.  Providence Hall will continue to have a dedicated teacher assistant in each classroom for grades K-3.  The assistants will be working 5 hours each day and 3 hours a day on Fridays because of the early out schedule.  This is actually an increased amount of time from what we have had in the past but still accomplishes what has always been the primary goal:  allowing the teachers to have assistants in their classrooms during core subject instruction in subjects like reading, writing and math.  We have never had TA’s in the class during instruction of PE, Spanish and Art because those subjects are taught using specialized instructors and are taught in such a way that we don’t need the TA’s assistance. 

Beginning this year we are also moving to a project based system for the fourth and fifth grade where we will have 2 assistants per grade level to share among the classrooms.  The reason for this is that by 4^th and 5^th grade the students are much more independent and do not require as much support while completing assignments.  Additionally, TA’s are not as needed for classroom management issues with these more mature students.  One additional reason for this change is that we have seen this year teacher assistants have often been working on clerical assignments in the upper grades instead of working with the students – and that was never the intent for TA’s.  Having 2 assistants for each of those grades will ensure the students that require more support have it available and it allows the students to become more independent which helps ensure a positive transition to the junior high.  This change was not made lightly and the teachers in the 4^th and 5^th grade were involved with the decision. 

Physical Education/Music/Spanish/Art

Another big change at the elementary is the increase of physical education classes.  The students will now have physical education twice a week and it will be instructed to just 25 students instead of 50 at a time.  To accommodate this change, the daily schedules have been adjusted.  Some grade levels will have theirspecials in the morning and some grade levels will have theirspecials in the afternoon.  I have also changed the music schedule to accommodate each classroom having their own music time instead of instructing 50 kids at one time for music instruction.  Spanish will continue to be taught twice a week - just like it was last year.   (We reduced our Spanish instruction time last year based on feedback from IB given to us as part of our IB authorization review).  This year however,  Spanish will also be instructed to just one class rather than the 2 class model we have used in the past.  Art will continue to be taught using the Meet the Masters Program and will rotate thru the grade levels with a different grade level attending art each week. 

This year we have also increased the time of the special class instructors (Music, PE, Spanish, Art, Library) to enable them to accommodate increased collaboration time.  The instructors will be working on Friday afternoons to collaborate with the grade level teachers.  This will enable the instructors to incorporate the curriculum objectives in the special classes as well. 

Library

One new development you might not have yet heard about is that we will have Erica Downs as our new librarian!  In addition to her teaching degree (she’s been one of our amazing 1^st Grade teachers this year), she also holds a Masters in Library Science.  This education, and her great energy, will help us increase our student’s use of the library in some fun and exciting ways.  Erica will split her time between the elementary and the junior high with a full time assistant at both schools.  The elementary students will have library/computer time each week, but again, with one class at a time instead of 2 classes squeezed in the library.  With a full time assistant, the library will also be open each day all day for students to come and check out additional books or work on research projects.  Students will even be taught how to come in quietly and check books out while other classrooms are utilizing the library.  We would love to have some consistent library volunteers to assist us in this as well.  Please let me know if you are interested in helping out in the library.

Lunch Program

The last big change I would like to discuss is of course the much awaited on-site lunch program.  This program is still being developed by our experienced chef – but menus are being written and preparations are now underway for this program. We are offering affordable, healthy options.  We will have homemade healthy options along with a salad bar every day.  There may be days that we offer something like a hot dog or fish sticks, but every day will also have a healthier option like pizza with a whole wheat pizza crust, our own chicken nuggets or chicken pot pie.  Our chef has worked hard to come up with a very creative menu.  One that offers both healthy and affordable options.  We are very close to posting our final menu for the coming school year and excited to launch our lunch program.   I can ensure you that the menu selections are going to have healthy selections and I expect the pricing to be consistent with the offerings we have had in the past.  The menu, pricing and program specifics will be emailed and posted on the website as soon as they are finalized.   Also, I did change the lunch schedule to accommodate each grade level being served individually.  The grade levels will only overlap in the lunchroom and playground by 5 minutes.  All grade levels will eat lunch first and then have recess.   We will no longer have any older grades overlapping the younger grades.

I hope the above information helps clear up some of the incorrect information floating around this summer.  All of the changes we have made have been with the student’s best interest in mind and I believe we have made changes that are going to have a positive impact on our school.

My door is always open and I encourage parent feedback.  I held a meeting this summer for parents to attend and ask questions and give suggestions.  I had very few parents show up for the meeting, however several fantastic ideas were presented by the parents that did attend.  If you were not able to attend, I welcome your feedback as well.   I will be meeting with the school improvement committee in the next few weeks to develop our School Improvement Plan for the 2011-2012 school year.  The committee will consist of board members, administration, teachers, teacher assistants, instructors, parents and students.  If you have a concern or suggestion, please feel free to email me or stop by the school and share your thoughts.  We take all suggestions/comments to the committee. Then the committee will prioritize the areas of need and develop a plan for the upcoming school year. 

One more important thing:  Letters will be mailed out on August 5^th announcing your child’s new teacher.  However, if you just can’t wait until it arrives, I will also post the new class list on the front doors of the school on the afternoon of August 5^th as well.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Kathy Watson

Principal

Junior High Night! Tuesday, July 19th at 6pm

We are going to be holding our next Junior High night this coming Tuesday at 6 pm.  This will be held in the Elementary Library, with break outs in the collaboration areas.   This night will be an opportunity to:

·         Meet our Junior High Director of Academics – Marianne “Peaches” Sansom.   We are thrilled to announce that Peaches has arrived!   She and her husband have now moved to Utah from her IB school in Atlanta to help us create the best IB Middle Years Program possible for the students of Herriman.  Peaches has over 30 years of teaching experience, has helped start other IB schools and is actually a trainer and program evaluator for the International Baccalaureate Program.   We are very lucky to have a teacher of her caliber leading our academic program!  This will be your chance to hear her speak about how this program will be implemented in the school and what it will mean to  your students.

·         Learn more about our other offerings such as:

o   Sports programs,

o   Friday class offerings,

o   Volunteer opportunities,

o   The new Junior High Facilities

o    Student summer activities and socials

·         Ask any questions you have of our Administration

We know that many families are vacationing this time of year so we will put any information we distribute at this event available on the website.  We will also be having additional Parent Nights in upcoming weeks. 

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Providence Hall