Dear Parents, The honeymoon period is over and our building is firmly focused on academic achievement for all students. The grade level standards are being sent home with this bulletin. If you do not receive the standards for your child/ren, please make arrangements to have one sent home. I have been reviewing the scores from the Reading and Math tests given the first week of school. Many of our students demonstrated excellent reading and math skills. There is, however, a significant number of students that performed more than a year below grade level in reading. Some of this can be attributed to the summer lapse that research shows affects students' retention of academic skills. Other students need accelerated academic growth to meet standards, or at least gain a year's growth between now and June. We want to enlist parent's help to reinforce classroom activities and use the aforementioned standards to ensure that all students have every opportunity to be successful. Next Wednesday and Thursday there will be Parent Information Night held in the Arbor Heights cafeteria from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. I will review the new Standard Based Learning System, student testing and other topics of interest. I hope to see you there. Sincerely, Barry S. Dorsey Principal A Family In Need One of our Arbor Heights families lost their home in a fire on Monday. The family has two children that attend Arbor Heights. The Red Cross organization will be able to help with things such as housing, clothing and food however there are some items the family will need. Sapina Pele, our Family Support Worker, is hopeful families in the community will have some of the following items available to donate: Towels, dishes, pots and pans, rugs, etc. We are unable to accept cash donations, but would be glad to pass on SCRIP donations. If you have any questions you can call Sapina at 933 5353 or Viv Monahan at 937-8542. If you have items you can donate you may bring them to the office. Thank you, in advance, for your support. Helpful Hints From the Office To avoid confusion when sending correspondence to school regarding your child, please always include the child's first and last name and the date. When sending a check to the lunchroom please write your child's full name and room number at the bottom of the check. Our policies for students going home with another student after school are as follows: If a child is riding a bus home with another student we need a note from both sets of parents stating the child's name (first and last), date requested, other child's name, the bus route and stop location they will be using. Without this note we are unable to allow a child to go on a different bus. If neither child is a bus rider we do not need a note as long as the person picking them up is on the Data Sheet you returned and is picking them up at the regular dismissal time. Students must have a note from their parent/guardian if they will not be riding their regular bus home. Students WILL BE PUT ON THEIR BUS AFTER SCHOOL unless the parent is here before the bell rings. If a parent/guardian is late picking up a student from school, the policy is that the child is to come to the office and wait. If you have made arrangements to meet your child on the playground, and you are late, the students are expected to come in to the office so we know they are still here. Staff members are not available to watch students after school, so please be prompt when picking them up at 1:00 for a.m. kindergarten and 3:10 for the rest of the student population. If your child is going to be late or absent from school we must hear from you before 9:00 a.m. Please feel free to leave a message on our voice mail if you want to call in the evening or before regular office hours at 933 5350. The state truancy laws are very strict and we work hard to keep in compliance with them.