February 2010

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Between now and the end of the school year, we will be preparing for the 2010-2011 school year.  One of the tasks that we complete prior to closing school is the formation of new class lists for next year.  The teaching staff and I take into account many factors as class lists are developed. 

When forming classes, our goal is to create classrooms that take many student factors into consideration that will provide effective learning environments for all students.  In order to do this, we must address the following areas:

• Student ability
• Gender ratio
• Number of special needs children (discipline, learning disabilities, limited English proficiency, gifted & talented)
• Teacher recommendations
• Parent requests
• Principal recommendations
• Individual student learning and socialization needs
• Class size
• Any other information that aids in the creation of effective classroom learning environments
  

Although we make every effort to honor parent requests, you can see that in order to create heterogeneous groups it is sometimes impossible for us to grant these.  Please stop by the office if you would like to fill out a PARENT REQUEST FOR TEACHER FORM for school year 2010-2011 by Friday, April 9, 2010.  Your request will then be included in our consideration as we select the best educational setting for your child.

Sincerely,

 

Marne L. Milyard

Principal

 Six students, from five different Pueblo city schools, are headed to Denver for the State Spelling Bee competition. It's the 34th time District 60 has sent kids to the competition.

One male and five females make up the group who will represent D-60 this year. Adnan Syed beat 33 others to make the cut, he is the only seventh grader from Pueblo to go. It's the first time Syed participated in the district-wide bee, and he says he's been studying since the beginning of the school year. He attends Cesar Chavez Academy.

Devan Sanchez, an eighth grader from Heaton Middle School, also made the cut. At one point Sanchez was afraid she had misspelled a word because the judge in charge of holding up the "correct" and "incorrect" cue cards mistakenly grabbed the wrong one. The mistake was quickly caught though and only left Sanchez with a racing heart.

Two students from Corwin International Magnet School made the final six. Katelyn Villarreal and Leah Drummond are both eighth graders at the school. Villarreal went to the state competition last year, but says she did horribly. She and Drummond hope to do better this time around. According to Villarreal students studied for the bee every morning at her school. Drummond also participated in the district bee last year, but was knocked out early. She said she missed "bambino" and that was enough to motivate her to take third place this year.

The second place finisher this year, took second place last year as well. Hannah Allen is a soft spoken eighth grader at Goodnight School. She says, she got lucky today on some of the words that were asked of her. Still, Allen has some serious spelling chops. She uses her memory and definitions to help her work through difficult words.

The first place finisher this year is also no stranger to the winners circle. Last year Steffi Roybal, an eighth grader from Roncalli Middle School, took third place at the district bee. Most of the time Roybal exudes confidence in front of the microphone as she flies through the correct spelling of words. Her ability may just be natural, since she says she really doesn't do much studying of the recommended words.

Whether they've been studying all year, or barely pick up a dictionary, all six of the Pueblo students will be challenged in Denver come March. Almost all words with a Spanish, Dutch, French, or German origin were misspelled by contestants Tuesday. Debra DeWitt, a specialist for Gifted and Talented Students with District 60, organized this years bee.

DeWitt says, "They're going to compete against kids from all over the state, that have different writing and spelling programs then we do." Still, she's confident the students will represent District 60 well.

Video available at:
www.kktv.com/home/headlines/83418012.html

Thank you for your support to the Pre-K program.

Our school now has access to a great resource for preparing our students for tests based on the state standards.  We have purchased a building license for a web-based program called Study Island, which is accessible to 3rd through 8th grade students from school or home.  If you have Internet access, your child can access Study Island from home as well as from school.  Usernames and passwords have already been given to students.  Parents can log in to check their child's progress by using their child's username and password.  Contact your child's teacher if you have any questions about logging in.

Click on these directions for an overview of the program.  We are excited about the potential benefits this program can bring to our students, and we encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity by using Study Island, even from home. 

2009-2010 Goodnight and Magnet School Calendar