November: A Time for Votes, Eats, Books and Thanks
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Before everyone takes time to celebrate Thanksgiving, there are a couple of
"can't miss" events in November. First up is the
MES Book Fair: Don't miss this chance to go on Safari while you thumb through a selection of
children's classics and new favorites at prices that only Scholastic can offer.
The
MES Book Fair runs November 3rd – 7th with a special Family Night to be held Thursday until
7pm. Contact Ann Rosati for more information:
arosati@musd20.org./h3>
MES's Site Council will host a district-wide
Parent University on Saturday, November 8th from 8:45a to 12pm.
This event is a great way to find out how to access many of the services and
resources available within the Maricopa Unified School District. This
popular event will include workshop sessions on Internet Safety, Special
Education programs, Gifted Education, and how to register for the district
Volunteer program, just to name a few. No registration is required - the
session is free and open to the community!
This month we will have at least two chances to eat
a great meal and benefit local organizations by dining at Teakwood's Tavern &
Grill in
Maricopa! On Tuesday, Nov 11th, mention
your school (we're having a little friendly competition!) and benefit the F.O.R.
Maricopa Food Bank. This worthy organization will receive 10% of sales, which
will help in meeting record demand for the upcoming holiday season. Our
2nd chance to sample Teakwood's delectable menu will be Friday, November
14th; MES will receive a percentage of your bill when you mention you're
dining for the MES Diamondbacks. We all had a great time back at
September's event, and we hope to see you there again!
After the whirlwind of events in October, we want to
shout out a big "THANK YOU!!" to all the parents, students, faculty and
administrators who helped make each of our sponsored activities successful.
We couldn't do it with out such generous volunteers! Thanks a million!!
Be sure to pick up discounted tickets to the
Phoenix Suns’ game on Dec 15th, vs. the NY Knicks now on sale at the MES
Front Office. Mr. Harris is working on transportation arrangements for
this event.
Lastly, we are very sad to announce that Gehrig
Stone-Awong has decided to step down as PTO President for personal reasons.
Maricopa Elementary and the PTO will miss his tireless leadership, great ideas
and tremendous enthusiasm. Gehrig, we hope you'll be back soon.
Go, Diamondbacks!
Marc Coder, PTO Co-President
Fry's Cool Cash & Bashas' Shop & Give Campaigns Update
One of last years’ biggest successes was our Fry’s Cool Cash® program, which raised the $2,000 maximum for MES faster than any other school and logged the highest sales total in Arizona!
As of October 26th we have 166 Fry’s cards linked to the MES PTO, which means
123 cards were added in the past month!! Great job! We're now on
track to match last year's performance, with $1,136 earned for MES just by doing
our everyday shopping!
One of last years’ biggest successes was our
Fry’s Cool Cash® program, which raised the $2,000 maximum for MES faster
than any other school in
Arizona! As of October 26th we have 166 Fry’s cards
linked to the MES PTO, which means 123 cards were added in the past month.
Great job! We're now on track to match last year's performance, with
$1,136 earned for MES just by doing our everyday shopping.
Bashas' Shop and Give
program (MES ID# 28234) was also successful last
year, although we didn't reach the maximum contribution level. To sweeten
the pot, this year Bashas’ has raised the maximum contribution to
$5,000! So
far we have 71 Bashas’ cards registered to MES, an increase of nearly 50 cards
since last month! Be sure to look for details on our
progress and other easy ways to
help raise funds for MES at
www.maricopaPTO.org.
Teacher Feature: R J Reichhard
This month our featured teacher is R J Reichhard aka "Mr. R". Mr.
Reichhard is a Physical Education instructor, and is one of our newest Teachers
this year at MES. He comes to Maricopa from Manassas, VA by way of Gilbert, AZ.
"It was my experiences with physical education teachers throughout middle school
and high school that really pushed me into athletics and eventually becoming a
physical educator myself." Mr. Reichhard graduated from Northern Arizona
University in 2007 and is pursuing his Master's degree in Education
Administration at Grand Canyon University. He’s already made an impression
on fellow faculty, parents and students by coordinating our first ever "Word
Wide Day of Play," running an after school sports & games program, and being an
all-around friendly, nice guy. When you see Mr. Reichhard, congratulate
him and say "Thanks for being a part of the MES Family, Mr. R !!"
Things you might not know about Mr. R:
· His dog "Samoa" is a 2-year old Australian
Shepherd. He has a really fluffy and curly tail and loves people.
"After school I like taking him to the dog park in Casa Grande to run around and
play with other pups."
· When he was a kid, his favorite superheroes were
Batman and the Ghostbusters!
· His favorite hobbies include taking his dog to the
park, lifting weights and watching Professional Wrestling.
Cultivating a Love of Reading: MES’s Accelerated Reader Program
Will our children be able to compete in an increasingly demanding economy? Most
children who struggle in school have difficulties with reading, while those that
achieve proficiency unlock success in many other subjects later in their school
careers. To be employable in tomorrow’s technology-driven workplace, graduates
will need to be skilled at reading and interpreting both printed and online
information. Accelerated Reader (AR) is a scientifically based and widely
studied computer-based reading assessment system that has been demonstrated to
be effective at improving students’ reading achievement. The program works well
at all grade levels. With a commitment of funding from the MES Diamondbacks PTO,
Maricopa Elementary School plans to deploy the award-winning reading program in
January 2009.
How Does AR Work?
The AR program's steps are easy and fun:
- 1) Read a specially-marked book from the MES Library or AR Book Finder List
(www.arbookfind.com), which includes over 100,000 titles.
-
- 2) Take an online quiz.
-
- 3) Students get immediate feedback on their reading and vocabulary progress.
This information allows teachers to monitor the students’ reading activity
according to their ability and guide them towards books that are at their
reading level.
Parents and students can also log in from their home computers to review quiz
results and track progress toward reading goals.
Teachers who have used the program are enthusiastic about
the system’s effectiveness. “AR facilitates reading practice in my classroom by
letting children know the various levels and types of books there are. They have
learned about percentages and to read for details in the books we read. I feel
this is a far cry from the kindergarten reading we did even six years ago. AR
has also helped the children take tests in other areas by making them more
attentive to details and following directions,” says Mary Meyer, a Kekuk, Iowa
elementary school teacher.
Reluctant Readers Become Reading Fanatics
The AR program helps students to build a
love of reading by developing a sense of accomplishment and pride by tracking
their progress real-time. Patricia Matsen of Milford High School in Delaware
says, “AR provides monitored, consistent daily practice and
complete accountability through the Reading Practice Quizzes. The students love
the immediate feedback, the ability to chart their progress, and earn awards. As a
teacher of seniors, I see looks of accomplishment and sometimes astonishment on
students’ faces as they print their complete reading history from the time they
started to read using AR. It facilitates instruction, tracks progress, and
motivates readers!
Questions? --> Ask us!
Suggestions? -->Tell us!
Marc Coder: Marc@maricopaPTO.org 520-868-6965