F E B R U A R Y 2 015

Rockport Elem. News

In this issue:
WORDS READ CLUB
A new initiative celebrating
our accomplished readers.
D O N T B E A B U L LY
A report written by two of our
4th grade students who are
passionate about the issue.
NWEA MAP NIGHT
The latest in our Title I parent
outreach.
TEST TIPS
What can you do as a parent
to prepare your student for
testing?
COLLEGE AND
CAREER MOMENT
Update on testing from
Principal Meyer.

WORDS READ CLUB

We have started something new in the
library. The kids are very excited about
this and are very amazed that it is
reachable. We have started a Words Read
Club.
Once a student reads 500,000
words (noted by the records held in
Renaissance Place) their name goes up on
the wall. Their name will move across as
they reach 600,000 words read, 700,000
words read, etc. until they reach One
Million Words Read. At the end of the
year these students will be recognized
and receive a special reward. Once a
student makes it into the One Million
Words Read Club, their name will remain
on the wall forever. We have one student,
so far, who has made it into that club. His
name is Tyler Swanagan.
Tyler is a
fourth grader in Mrs. Ebles class. A very
close second is Reagan Lawrence. Reagan
has read 797,042 words. Reagan is a
fourth grader in Mrs. Newtons class and
has the determination to reach the One
Million Words Read Club. Other students
who have read 500,000 or more are:
Olivia Conrad, Jose Teniente, Evan Price,
and Allison Puckett. These students are
all fifth graders.

HAVE YOU MOVED OR

CHANGED YOUR
NUMBER
Have you recently moved or
changed your contact phone number? If
you have, have you contacted the front
office to update your contact information?
For the safety and protection of your
student it is necessary that we have a
working phone number to reach a parent/
guardian in

the case of an emergency. Also, it is

required that we have a current address.
If you need to update information, or have
any questions or concerns, please feel free
to call the office at 649-2201 or email
aaron.meyer@sspencer.k12.in.us.

NWEA MAP NIGHT

Rockport Elementary held the first NWEA
MAP Parent Orientation Night on
February 11, 2015. During the meeting,
parents were presented with information
about the purpose of MAP testing, how to
read a Student Report, and were able to
take a sample test. Parents were also
given a Parent Tool Kit of resources to
help their student improve MAP scores.

SPRING CARNIVAL
The spring car nival is
coming April 11, 2015. Be
on the lookout in backpacks
and in the emails for
Volunteer forms and donation forms.
We will have entertainment this year: 4-H
Cloggers, Crown Pointe Dance Studio, &
Rockport Elementary Student Talent
Show. We also have lots of new games,
prizes, raffles, & auctions.
This is the event that allows us to
purchase school supplies for our students.
We are one of the few schools in the area
that is able to do this due to generous
donations of time and resources. Please
volunteer to help out and stay to have
fun .

COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS MOMENT

Greetings Rockport Families
What a time to have a week off of school. Those temperatures and snow are
something else. I hope that everyone has stayed safe and warm during the
cancelations. Things at the DOE have been a bit frosty lately as well. There has been
lots of press about testing. It is easy to get caught up in news stories about Executive
Orders and stripping of powers, eliminating this and reducing that. Making sense of
it all could become a full time job. I want to assure you that the focus at Rockport is,
was, and always will be, educating your students to the best of our ability. We are
teaching your students each and every day to be the best people they can be
academically, emotionally, and socially. Regardless of the buzz around us, we will
stay the course. We will make decisions every day in the best interest of children. We
will create testing schedules which will ensure that students do not spend inordinate
amounts of time testing each day. Those are commitments from me to you, principal
to parent, parent to parent. At Rockport, your childs development is a priority that
will never be sacrificed. If your child suffers from test anxiety and feels nervous or
stressed about coming to school on the day of tests, make sure to get them to bed
early, feed them a hot breakfast, and teach them some breathing techniques for
relaxing. We will join your efforts in trying to
provide a calm and clean testing environment
full of educators who believe in them and their J O I N M Y R E M I N D
efforts and abilities!
101 group so I can
send you text
If you have questions or concerns about
updates: In your "To"
testing, please feel free to call me or email me.
box enter: 81010
And as always, we appreciate you and we
thank you for the opportunity to educate your
In your message box
child!
enter: @rockporte
Your Principal,
Mr. Meyer
that they
stressed.

CHOOSE TO DO
WELL
True
or
False:
standardized tests are
tough. The
answer
depends on how prepared
you youngster is. Here
are three ways to help
him or her handle test
week:
1.

Explain that the test

will show how much
they have learned.
Encourage them to
try their best, but
dont put so much
emphasis on them

2.

3.

feel

Limit activities the

night before tests.
Yo u m ay w a n t t o
avoid having guests
for dinner or skip a
siblings game if it
means being out late.
Be sure your child
gets to bed on time
and sets an alarm for
the next morning.
On test day, give them
encouragement
before they leave the
house and if they eat
at home include both
proteins (eggs,

UPCOMING
DATES AND
HAPPENINGS

DADDY DAUGHTER
DANCE

Here are a few

things to look out for
as we In the coming
month 2015.

DR. SUESS WEEK

Friday March 13th

Next week last

months newsletter
for more information

yogur t, milk) and

carbohydrates (fruit,
oatmeal, toast).

SHORT NOTES
Picture this: Good
r e a d e r s fo r m m e n t a l
pictures as they read to
i mp r o ve y o u r ch i l d s
comprehension read a
book without letting them
see it. Then, ask them to
guess
what
the
illustrations look like.
Examples: How are the
characters dressed? Is
the setting bright or
gloomy?

ISTEP
ISTEP testing will
begin the week of
March the 2nd there
are lots of tips in this
issue. Breakfast and
snacks will be

At Rockport, our school

community has a
commitment to:
Increased academic
achievement
Developing positive
relationships by practicing
mutual respect
Celebrating the diversity of
learning styles and cultures
Providing a safe environment
Where each child, each day, is
a success!

DADDY DAUGHTER
DANCE
This is coming up on March
13th. We are looking forward to
a great turn out. This event is
open to all girls Pre K through
5th Grade.
STARTS AT 6:30 ENDS
AT 8:30
C O S T I S $ 10 P E R
COUPLE
PICTURES WILL BE
AVAILABLE
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS
WILL BE PROVIDED.

THERE WILL BE A
PRE-SALE
FOR
CORSAGES.

provided for
students that week.
SCIENCE NIGHT
Wed, March 18th
from 5-7 pm.

SPRING CARNIVAL
spring carnival is
c o m i n g A p r i l 11,
2015

NOT EVERYONE HAS BEEN A BULLY OR THE

VICTIM OF BULLIES, BUT EVERYONE HAS
SEEN BULLYING, AND SEEING IT, HAS
RESPONDED TO IT BY JOINING IN OR
OBJECTING, BY LAUGHING OR KEEPING SILENT, BY
FEELING DISGUSTED OR FEELING INTERESTED.

DONT BE
A BULLY
Bullying hurts
feelings so don't bully. When you
bully you get in trouble. We don't need bullying
because it hurts our feelings. What is bullying?
Bullying is when someone keeps doing or saying
something to have power over another person.
They say it's just teasing but it still hurts. Bullying
is not a game. Bullying is calling people names and
saying nasty things. Why do people bully? They say it
as a way of elevating oneself, or making oneself look tough and in
charge. Some bullies do it to get attention. Bullying hurts inside and out. Be a Buddy Not a
Bully! By:Christina Martinez & Hannah Puckett

3.

company name

ROCKPORT PARENTS
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200 S. 6th St. Rockport

Indiana 47635, T 812-649-2201,
aaron.meyer@sspencer.k12.in.us